THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


60TH  CONGRESS    :     =     2o  SESSION 

DECEMBER  7,  1908 -MARCH  4,  1909 


HOUSE  DOCUMENTS 


IN    151    VOLUMES 


VOL,  144 


WASHINGTON  :: GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE::  1909 


60TH    CON7GRES8  \  TTATTCTT    r»l?    Vl?T.»l?irO'tf  NTT  A  TT\n?Q  /DOCUMENT 

gd  Session      I  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  j  NQ> 


TARIFF  HEARINGS 

BEFORE   THE  COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS   AND  MEANS 
OE  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 


SIXTIETH  CONGRESS 
1908-1909 


VOL.  VI 

SCHEDULE  L — Silks  and  Silk  Goods 
SCHEDULE  M — Pulp,  Papers,  and  Books 
SCHEDULE   N — Sundries 

(Schedule  N  continued  in  Volume  VII) 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING   OFFICE 
1909 


COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS. 

HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  SIXTIETH  CONGRESS. 

SERENO  E.  PAYNE,  Chairman. 

JOHN  DALZELL.  NICHOLAS  LONGWORTH. 

SAMUEL  W.  McCALL.  EDGAR  D.  CRUMPACKER. 

EBENEZER  J.  HILL.  CHAMP  CLARK. 

HENRY   S.  BOUTELL.  WILLIAM  BOURKE  COCKRAN. 

JAMES  C.  NEEDIIAM.  OSCAR   W.  UNDERWOOD. 

WILLIAM  A.  CALDERHEAD.  D.  L.  D.  GRANGER. 

JOSEPH   W.  FORDNEY.  JAMES  M.  GRIGGS. 

JOSEPH   H.  GAINES.  EDGAR  W.  POU. 

ROBERT  W.  BONYNGE.  CHOICE  B.  RANDELL. 
WILLIAM  K.  PAYNE,  Clerk. 


COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS. 

HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  SIXTY-FIRST  CONGRESS. 

SERENO  E.  PAYNE,  Chairman. 

JOHN  DALZELL.  EDGAR  D.  CRUMPACKER, 

SAMUEL   W.  McCALL.  FRANCIS  W.  CUSHMAN. 

EBEXEZEIi  J.  HILL.  CHAMP  CLARK. 

HENRY   S.  BOUTELL.  OSCAR   W.  UNDERWOOD. 

JAMES  C.  NEEDIIAM.  JAMES  M.  GRIGGS. 

WILLIAM  A.  CALDERHEAD.  EDWARD  W.  POU. 

JOSEPH   W.  FORDNEY.  CHOICE  B.  RANDELL. 

JOSEPH   H.  GAINES.  ROBERT  F.  BROUSSARD. 

NICHOLAS  LONGWORTH.  FRANCIS  B.  HARRISON. 
WILLIAM  K.  PAYNE,  Clerk. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Volume  I: 

MEMBERS  OP   COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS   AND  MEANS,  60TH  AND  61sr 

CONGRESSES n 

PREFACE m 

REMARKS  BY  THE  CHAIRMAN v 

SCHEDULE  A — Chemicals,  Oils,  and  Paints 1-  579 

SCHEDULE  B — Earths,  Earthenware,  and  Glassware 581-1044 

Volume  II : 

SCHEDULE  B  (continued) — Earths,   Earthenware,  and  Glassware..   1045-1310 
SCHEDULE  C — Metals,  and  Manufactures  of 1311-2170 

Volume  III: 

SCHEDULE  C  (continued) — Metals,  and  Manufactures  of 2171-2834 

SCHEDULE  D— Wood,  and  Manufactures  of 2835-3248 

SCHEDULE  E — Sugar,  Molasses,  and  Manufactures  of 3249-3513 

Volume  IV : 

SCHEDULE  F — Tobacco,  and  Manufactures  of 3515-3604 

SCHEDULE  G — Agricultural  Products  and  Provisions 3605-4833 

SCHEDULE  H — Spirits,  Wines,  and  Other  Beverages 4335-4452 

SCHEDULE.  I — Cotton,  and  Manufactures  of 4453-4636 

Volume  V : 

SCHEDULE  J — Flax,  Hemp,  and  Jute,  and  Manufactures  of 4637^976 

SCHEDULE  K — Wool,  and  Manufactures  of 4977-5767 

Volume  VI: 

SCHEDULE  L — Silks,  and  Silk  Goods 5769-5876 

SCHEDULE  M — Pulp,  Papers,  and  Books 5877-6389 

SCHEDULE  N— Sundries 6391-6790 

Volume  VII: 

SCHEDULE  N  (continued) — Sundries 6791-7339 

FREE  LIST  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 7341-7739 

Volume  VIII: 

APPENDIX 7741-8425 

Volume  IX: 

GENERAL  INDEX. 


G8475G 


SCHEDULE  L. 


SILKS   AND  SILK  GOODS, 


5769 


SCHEDULE  L-SILKS  AND  SILK  GOODS, 


SILK  COCOONS. 

[Paragraph  661.] 

M.  W.  GUSTIN,  SALEM,  MO.,  RECOMMENDS  THE  PLACING  OF  A 
DUTY  OF  FIVE  DOLLARS  PER  POUND  ON  COCOONS. 

SALEM,  Mo.,  November  SO,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  As  the  honorable  committee  over  which  you  preside 
is  considering  the  tariff  question  with  a  view  to  having  some  changes 
made,  I  ask  your  indulgence  to  call  attention  to  what  might  be  made 
by  proper  protection  a  very  profitable  industry  over  a  large  area  of 
the  United  States. 

Experiments  for  a  number  of  years  conducted  at  national  expense 
have  demonstrated  that  wherever  in  this  country  the  Osage  orange 
(our  common  hedge  plant)  will  thrive  silk  cocoons  can  be  produced, 
the  tender  leaves  of  that  tree  being  as  good,  if  not  better,  food  for  the 
silkworms  than  mulberry  leaves.  That  much  is  repeatedly  set  forth 
in  public  official  reports.  Ex-Governor  Colman,  of  this  State,  when 
in  charge  of  the  Agricultural  Department  during  one  of  Cleveland's 
administrations,  said  the  solution  of  the  silk  industry  (raw  silk  and 
cocoons)  here  would  be  a  home  market;  that  the  price  in  competi- 
tion with  China,  France,  Italy,  and  Japan  is  the  mountain  our  home 
producers  will  not  climb. 

You  know  how  to  get  over  that  mountain.  An  import  duty  of  $5 
per  pound  on  cocoons,  with  corresponding  increase  for  each  stage  of 
manufacture,  would  place  the  home  producer  of  cocoons  on  top  of  that 
mountain,  from  whence  they  would  have  a  "down-hill  pull. 

Furthermore,  while  that  industry  would  be  developing — growing 
up  to  meet  the  home  supply — the  duty  on  the  imports  which  would 
still  be  required  would  yield  from  $50,000,000  to  $100,000,000  revenue 
per  annum  (a  sum  which  would  come  in  good  play  right  now) ;  a  reve- 
nue which  would  be  paid  by  the  more  wealthy  people,  in  that  case 
being  a  pride  tax  which  they  would  be  glad  to  pay.  Nothing  makes 
a  silk  dress  or  a  silk  hat  so  valuable  to  the  owners  thereof  as  the  fact 
that  some  one  else,  or,  more  so,  no  one  else,  can  afford  to  wear  them. 
Very  respectfully, 

M.  W.  GUSTIN. 

6771 


5772  SCHEDULE  L — SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

CARDED  AND   SPUN  SILK. 

[Paragraphs  884  and  385.] 

CHENEY  BROTHERS,  SOUTH  MANCHESTER,  CONN.,  THINK  THE 
SPUN-SILK  SCHEDULE  SHOULD  NOT  BE  CHANGED. 

SOUTH  MANCHESTER,  CONN.,  January  6,  1909. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  source  of  all  silk  is  the  cocoon  or  protecting  shell 
made  by  the  silkworm  as  a  shelter  for  itself  while  in  the  chrysalis 
state.  Inside  this  cocoon  the  worm  is  transformed  first  into  a  chrysa- 
lis and  then  into  a  moth,  which  liberates  itself  by  piercing  the  cocoon. 
The  cocoon  is  formed  of  a  continuous  fine  fiber  secreted  by  the  worm 
and  deposited  layer  upon  layer,  and  held  in  place  by  a  gum  secreted 
with  it  by  the  worm.  The  cocoon  has  much  the  shape  and  general 
appearance  of  a  large  peanut. 

Kaw  silk  is  made  by  unwinding  these  fibers  from  the  cocoon  before 
the  moth  has  pierced  it,  in  much  the  same  way  that  a  lady  unwinds  a 
ball  of  yarn.  A  certain  number  of  moths  are  always  allowed  to  come 
out,  that  they  may  lay  eggs  for  the  next  year's  crop.  The  cocoons 
from  which  they  have  escaped  can  no  longer  be  reeled  into  raw  silk 
and  are  known  as  "  pierced  cocoons." 

In  reeling  raw  silk  a  large  amount  of  waste  is  made,  which  is  in 
the  form  of  a  tangled  mat  known  to  the  trade  as  "  frisons."  Again, 
hi  the  process  of  winding  this  raw  silk  on  bobbins,  there  is  produced 
another  kind  of  waste,  known  as  "  winders'  waste."  These  three 
materials,  i.  e.,  pierced  cocoons,  frisons,  and  winders'  waste,  with  some 
other  relatively  unimportant  wastes,  are  classed  together  as  waste 
silk  and  constitute  the  raw  material  from  which  spun  silk  is  made. 
It  should  be  understood  that  this  waste  silk  is  composed  entirely  of 
perfectly  new,  sound  fiber,  and  has  no  similarity  to  the  waste  rags 
and  other  previously  manufactured  and  worn  materials  from  which 
woolen  shoddy  is  made.  There  is  no  silk  material  corresponding  to 
shoddy. 

It  is  this  yarn,  called  spun  silk,  which  we  now  have  under  con- 
sideration. It  is  made  as  follows : 

The  natural  silkworm  gum  adhering  to  the  fiber  is  removed  by 
immersion  in  boiling  soapsuds  or  other  chemical  treatment,  or  by 
maceration  or  decay.  All  three  processes  have  been  or  are  now  in 
practical  operation,  both  in  this  country  and  abroad.  After  the  fiber 
is  ungummed  it  is  combed  and  put  through  complicated  processes  of 
drawing,  roving,  and  spinning,  similar  to  those  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  worsted  yarns.  The  filaments  are  exceedingly  fine 
and  delicate,  and  have  to  be  treated  with  much  more  care  than  wool. 
This  necessitates  the  employment  of  a  great  deal  of  highly  skilled 
labor. 

On  the  continent  of  Europe  spun  silk  is  known  as  "schappe,"  and 
to  a  certain  extent  the  term  has  been  transplanted  to  this  country.  As 
much  of  the  spun  silk  or  schappe  of  Europe  was  formerly  made  from 
stock  which  had  been  ungummed  by  the  old  process  of  maceration,  a 
false  impression  gained  credence  that  there  is  a  real  distinction  be- 
tween the  schappe  from  macerated  stock  and  the  spun  silk  from 


CARDED    AND    SPUN    SILK CHENEY   BROTHERS.  5773 

boiled  stock.  They  are  the  same  thing  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
older  processes  are  giving  way,  both  in  this  and  European  countries, 
to  chemical  ungumming.  There  is  absolutely  no  difference  between 
the  processes  of  manufacture  of  these  yarns  except  the  initial  one  of 
the  ungumming.  They  are  practically  identical  in  character  and  ap- 
pearance, except  that  the  silk  from  boiled  stock  is  cleaner  and  whiter 
than  the  other.  They  are  used  interchangeably  for  the  same  pur- 
poses. The  contention  that  schappe  is  not  spun  silk  has  been  thor- 
oughly argued  before  the  appraiser  of  the  port  of  New  York,  and  a 
decision  has  been  rendered  to  the  effect  that  they  are  the  same. 

It  is  stated  that  spun  silk  from  macerated  stock  is  not  made  in  this 
country,  and  that  for  sanitary  and  other  reasons  it  can  not  be  suc- 
cessfully made  here,  and  it  is  therefore  argued  that  a  reduction  of 
duty  upon  carded  and  combed  silk  (384,  Schedule  L,  Dingley  tariff) 
would  foster  the  growth  of  a  new  industry  of  schappe  spinning  in 
this  country,  .which  does  not  and  under  present  conditions  can  not 
exist.  This  presentation  of  the  case  is  entirely  misleading,  for  the 
maceration  of  silk  stock  not  only  can  be  successfully  done  in  this 
country  but  has  actually  been  done  on  a  very  large  scale,  but  has 
been  practically  abandoned  in  favor  of  better  processes.  If  for  any 
reason  it  was  necessary  to  make  spun  silk  from  macerated  stock  and 
at  the  same  time  avoid  the  disadvantages  attendant  upon  using  that 
method  of  ungumming  the  raw  material  here,  the  way  is  now  open  to 
do  so,  as  the  waste  can,  under  the  present  tariff  law,  be  macerated 
abroad  and  imported  in  the  ungummed  state  free  of  duty,  which 
would  certainly  be  more  favorable  to  the  building  up  of  a  suppo'sed 
new  industry  than  the  suggested  plan  of  importing  macerated  comb- 
ings under  a  duty  even  as  low  as  that  recommended. 

What  does  not  exist  in  this  country  is  the  incomplete  industry  of 
silk  spinning  without  the  accompanying  branch  of  combing,  and  to 
create  it  by  allowing  the  importation  of  combed  silk  at  less  than  a 
protective  rate  would  be  a  great  injustice  to  the  completely  organized 
industries  already  existing.  The  labor  and  capital  employed  in 
combing  are  equally  entitled  to  protection  with  those  employed  in  the 
more  advanced  processes. 

The  proposal  to  make  a  reduction  of  duties  upon  "  tussah  "  spun 
silk  yarns  should  not  receive  favorable  consideration.  Tussah  is  a 
more  or  less  vague  name  applied  to  a  wide  range  of  silks  obtained 
from  a  number  of  different  species  of  wild  silk  cocoons  found  in 
various  parts  of  the  world.  The  methods  and  machines  required  for 
the  manufacture  of  tussah  yarns  are  the  same  as  those  for  making 
other  spun  silks.  The  yarn  is  naturally  dark  in  color,  but  when 
bleached  it  is  only  distinguished  from  other  qualities  by  an  expert. 
Tussah  yarns  have  been  successfully  made  in  this  country,  and  if 
they  are  not  spun  in  large  quantities,  it  is  because  they  and  other  low 
grades  of  yarns  have  not  been  sufficiently  protected. 

On  account  of  the  complicated  and  expensive  machinery  used,  the 
amount  of  skilled  labor  employed  and  the  great  burden  of  carrying 
large  stocks  of  such  an  expensive  material,  both  in  the  raw,  in  proc- 
ess, and  in  finished  yarn,  it  requires  a  very  large  capital  to  install  a 
plant  for  the  manufacture  of  spun  silk  and  to  operate  it  successfully. 
Moreover,  the  article  is  one  in  which  the  prices  of  both  raw  and  fin- 
ished product  fluctuate  more  rapidly  and  over  a  wider  range  than  is 


5774  SCHEDULE  L — SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

usual  in  cotton,  wool,  or  other  textiles,  and  the  risk  is  consequently 
great. 

These  reasons  to  a  certain  extent  explain  why  the  industry  has  not 
made  more  rapid  development  in  this  country,  but  a  more  potent 
reason  is  that  it  has  not  had  the  same  degree  of  protection  under 
which  the  cotton,  wool,  and  other  textile  industries  have  made  such 
rapid  advances.  The  fact  that  two-thirds  of  all  the  spun  silk  used 
in  the  country  is  imported  is  evidence  that  the  present  tariff  rates  are 
hardly  protective.  This  section  of  the  Dingley  tariff  is  at  present  on 
a  revenue  rather  than  on  a  protective  basis,  as  is  illustrated  by  the 
fact  that  during  the  ten  years  for  which  we  have  reports  of  imports 
under  the  law  the  duty  collected  upon  spun  silk  has  amounted  to 
$11,952,034.47,  against  only  $8,098,827.48  for  woolen,  worsted,  and 
cotton  yarns  combined.  The  disparity  between  the  cost  of  manu- 
facturing in  this  country  and  Europe  is  very  great.  The  wages 
which  we  pay  are  two  or  three  times  as  much  as  are  paid  for  the  same 
class  of  labor  in  England,  France,  or  Switzerland,  and  three  or  four 
times  as  much  as  in  Italy. 

The  manufacture  of  spun  silk  has  been  established  with  modern 
machinery  in  the  Orient,  and  is  being  carried  on  so  successfully 
that  the  yarns  are  being  offered  on  this  market  in  competition  with 
American  and  European  qualities.  We  have  to  pay  from  10  to  20 
times  as  much  for  skilled  labor  as  it  costs  in  India,  China,  and  Japan. 
There  is  great  danger  ahead  in  this  oriental  competition,  not  only 
in  spun  silks,  but  in  a  wide  range  of  woven  goods,  which  are  being 
imported  and  consumed  in  place  of  the  silk  goods  manufactured 
here.  The  competition  of  the  Orient  in  some  lines  of  silk  goods  is 
already  more  serious  than  that  of  Europe. 

It  is  very  true  that  specific  rates  of  duty  have  many  advantages 
over  ad  valorem  rates,  especially  because  they  are  more  easily  as- 
sessed and  evasions  of  the  law  are  more  difficult,  and  a  very  serious 
attempt  has  therefore  been  made  to  work  out  a  plan  for  specific 
rates  for  the  spun-silk  schedule.  The  outcome  of  this  study  seems 
to  be  that  it  is  not  possible  to  formulate  a  strictly  specific  schedule 
which  will  bear  evenly  upon  all  qualities  and  operate  with  justice  to 
all  interests.  The  nearest  approach  possible  is  to  make  an  ad 
valorem  classification  with  graded  specific  rates  to  apply  to  each 
class. 

As  the  value  and  the  degree  of  protection  required  are  not  deter- 
mined by  any  physical  property  such  as  size  (or  count),  twist,  or 
anything  which  can  be  accurately  described  or  arbitrarily  determined, 
value  is  the  sole  factor  which  can  with  satisfactory  results  be  used 
as  a  basis  upon  which  to  levy  duties.  Yarns  of  the  same  count,  twist, 
and  number  of  strands  are  sold  at  the  same  time  in  different  qualities 
at  from  say  $1  to  $3  per  pound,  and  it  is  obvious  that  it  would  be 
grossly  unjust  to  collect  an  equal  tax  upon  the  low  grade  as  upon 
the  high.  Should  the  rate  be  fixed  at  a  point  which  would  give 
fair  protection  to  the  best  grades,  it  would  be  prohibitive  upon  the 
low  grade;  that  is,  the  users  of  first-quality  yarns,  as,  for  instance, 
the  velvet  and  plush  weavers,  could  import  them  very  advantageously, 
while  the  consumers  of  low-grade  yarns,  such  as  are  larg-ely  used  by 
the  weavers  of  silk  goods,  intended  for  piece  dyeing  and  printing, 
would  be  at  a  great  disadvantage. 


CARDED   SILK SPUN    SILK   AND   PILE   FABRICS.  5775 

The  schedule  for  spun  silk  in  the  Dingley  tariff  law  has  worked 
well,  and  the  records  show  that  the  duties  collected  upon  the  different 
qualities  have,  when  reduced  to  an  ad  valorem  equivalent,  borne 
with  a  surprising  degree  of  equality  upon  all.  It  is  very  doubtful 
if  a  better  plan  can  be  formulated,  and  it  is  earnestly  advised  that 
no  change  be  made,  unless  it  be  an  increase  upon  the  lower  grades. 

No  change  should  be  made  in  the  manner  of  levying  duty  upon 
dyed  yarns,  attempting  to  base  the  rate  upon  the  weight  of  the  yarn 
as  it  was  before  dyeing.  In  the  first  place  the  dyeing  industry  in 
this  country  should  not  be  denied  the  protection  it  deserves  and  needs, 
and  in  the  second  place  it  would  be  found  impossible  to  check  de- 
clared weights,  as  silk  is  capable  of  being  weighted  to  almost  any 
extent  up  to,  say,  300  to  400  per  cent. 
We  remain,  yours,  respectfully, 

CHENEY  BROTHERS, 
By  J.  W.  CHENEY,  Treasurer. 


SPUN  SILK,    SCHAPPE,   AND   PILE  FABRICS. 

[Paragraphs  384,  385,  and  386.] 

STATEMENT  OF  SIDNEY  BLUMENTHAL,  OF  453  BROOME  STREET, 
NEW  YORK  CITY,  RELATIVE  TO  SILK  PRODUCTS. 

TUESDAY,  December  1,  1908. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Upon  what  do  you  desire  to  be  heard? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  I  represent  some  of  the  manufacturers  of  silk 
velvets. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  paragraph  that  you  wish  to  speak  on? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  Paragraphs  384,  385,  and  386.  The  manu- 
facturers whom  I  represent  do  not  desire  to  take  up  the  time  of  the 
committee,  but  merely  desire  to  express  their  wish  that  the  commit- 
tee may  see  it  possible  to  adopt  specific  duty  so  far  as  such  may  he 
equitable,  and  to  that  effect  we  have  prepared  a  brief,  which  we  would 
like  to  hand  to  the  committee  for  consideration  when  the  time  comes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  may  be  printed  in  the  record. 

(Following  is  the  brief  referred  to:) 

NEW  YORK,  November  30, 1908. 
WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIRS:  On  account  of  the  difficulties  in  appraising  values  of 
schappe  and  spun  silk  yarns,  which  appraisement  is  necessary, under 
an  ad  valorem  or  compound  duty,  we  strongly  advise  that  in  the  pro- 
posed new  tariff  law  a  strictly  specific  duty  be  imposed  on  all 
schappe  and  spun  silk  (including  tussah  silk  yarns).  The  reasons 
in  favor  of  this  change  are  many,  and  we  believe  that  the  change 
would  be  beneficial  to  the  Government  and  importer  alike. 

First.  Such  a  change  would  be  no  experiment,  as  under  the  present 
law  the  duty  on  cotton  yarns  is  solely  specific  and  it  has  worked  very 
satisfactorily. 


5776  SCHEDULE  L — SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

•  Second.  There  would  be  absolutely  no  question  as  to  the  assessment 
and  collection  of  the  correct  amount  of.  duties,  and  this  would  be 
equally  beneficial  both  to  the  Government  and  to  the  importers. 

Third.  Manufacturers  of  goods  into  which  these  yarns  enter, 
usually  make  contracts  sufficient  to  meet  their  requirements  for  a  year 
or  more  in  advance,  the  goods  being  delivered  and  invoiced  by  the 
foreign  spinner  as  required.  The  American  manufacturer  has  to 
sell  the  goods  into  which  these  yarns  enter  six  to  eight  months  in 
advance  of  deliveries,  and  if  during  the  time  he  is  making  up  goods 
there  is  a  sudden  advance  in  market  prices  of  silk  yarns  for  immedi- 
ate use,  and  he  is  compelled  to  pay  a  duty  based  on  such  present  mar- 
ket prices,  a  serious  loss  is  incurred  on  the  goods  which  he  has  already 
sold,  and  business  is  interrupted. 

We  recommend  the  retention  of  the  present  rates  on  velvets, 
plushes,  and  other  pile  fabrics  as  scheduled  in  paragraph  386  of  the 
present  law,  and  we  recommend  including  in  this  schedule  hatter's 
plush,  which  in  the  present  law,  under  paragraph  461,  in  black,  for  use 
of  men's  hats,  comes  in  at  10  per  cent.  As  this  is  an  article  of  luxury, 
there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  it  should  not  come  in  at  the 
same  duty  as  all  other  plushes,  thereby  allowing  it  to  be  made  in  this 
country.  Under  the  present  duty  there  are,  of  course,  no  mills  mak- 
ing this  article  in  the  United  States. 

We  inclose  herewith  schedule  which  we  recommend   to  replace 
paragraphs  384,  385,  and  386  of  the  present  law. 
Very  sincerely,  yours, 

THE  SALT'S  TEXTILE  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY, 

FREDK.  E.  KIP,  President. 

SIDNEY  BLUMENTHAL  &  Co.  (!NC.), 

SIDNEY  BLUMENTHAL,  Treasurer. 

THE  AMERICAN  VELVET  COMPANY, 

CHAS.  A.  WIMPFHEIMER,  Proprietor. 

A.  WIMPFHEIMER  &  BRO. 

Substitutes  proposed  for  present  paragraph*  38^  385,  and  386. 

Par.  384.  Silk  partially  manufactured  from  cocoons  or  from  waste 
silk,  and  not  further  advanced  or  manufactured  than  carded  or 
combed  silk,  thirty  cents  per  pound. 

Par.  385.  Thrown  silk,  not  more  advanced  than  singles',  tram, 
organzine,  sewing  silk,  twist,  floss,  and  silk  threads  or  yarns  of  every 
description,  except  spun  silk,  thirty  per  centum  ad  valorem;  tussah 
spun  silk  in  singles,  or  advanced  beyond  the  condition  of  singles  by 
grouping  or  twisting  two  or  more  single  yarns  together,  in  skeins, 
cops,  warps,  or  on  beams,  not  colored,  bleached,  or  dyed,  twenty-five 
cents  per  pound  on  all  numbers  up  to  and  including  number  seventy. 
Tussah  spun  silk  in  numbers  above  seventy  and  all  other  spun  silk, 
in  all  numbers  up  to  and  including  number  two  hundred  and  thirty, 
in  singles,  or  advanced  beyond  the  condition  of  singles  by  group;ng 
or  twisting  two  or  more  single  yarns  together,  in  skeins,  cops,  warps, 
or  on  beams,  not  colored,  bleached,  or  dyed,  forty  cents  per  pound 
and  one-tenth  of  a  cent  per  number  per  pound;  all  spun  silk  yarns 
above  number  two  hundred  and  thirty,  in  singles,  or  advanced  be- 
yond the  condition  of  singles  by  grouping  or  twisting  two  or  more 


SPUN    SILK  AND   PILE   FABRICS S.   BLUMENTHAL   ET   AL.      5777 

single  yarns  together,  in  skeins,  cops,  warps,  or  on  beams,  not  col- 
ored, bleached,  or  dyed,  twenty-five  cents  per  pound  and  two-tenths 
of  a  cent  per  number  per  pound ;  if  colored,  bleached,  or  dyed,  there 
shall,  on  all  of  the  foregoing  tussah  and  other  spun  silk  yarns,  in 
addition  to  the  duties  provided  above,  be  levied,  collected,  and  paid 
a  further  duty  of  five  cents  per  pound ;  if  dyed,  and  the  weight  is  in- 
creased by  the  dyeing  over  ten  per  centum  beyond  the  original  weight 
of  the  undyed  yarn,  there  shall  be  levied,  collected,  and  paid  a  still 
further  additional  duty  of  ten  cents  per  pound ;  the  duty  on  colored, 
bleached,  or  dyed  yarns  shall  be  assessed,  levied,  collected,  and  paid  on 
the  weight  of  the  yarn  before  bleaching,  dyeing,  or  weighting,  and 
such  original  weight  and  the  weight  after  dyeing  shall  be  stated  on 
the  consular  invoice;  the  numbers  herein  referred  to  are  the  French 
or  Continental  System  of  numbers  based  on  the  number  of  meters 
of  yarn  in  a  kilogram  of  weight. 

Par.  386.  Velvets,  velvet  or  plush  ribbons,  chenilles,  or  other  pile 
fabrics,  cut  or  uncut,  composed  of  silk,  or  of  which  silk  is  a  component 
material,  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  Act,  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  per  pound  and  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem;  plushes,  includ- 
ing hatters'  plush,  composed  of  silk,  or  of  which  silk  is  a  component 
material,  one  dollar  per  pound  and  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem; 
but  in  no  case  shall  the  foregoing  articles  pay  a  less  rate  of  duty  than 
fifty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

Substitute  proposed  for  present  paragraph  385. 

Tussah  spun  silk  in  singles  or  advanced  beyond  the  condition  of 
singles  by  grouping  or  twisting  two  or  more  single  yarns  together  in 
skeins,  cops,  warps,  or  on  beams,  not  colored,  bleached,  or  dyed, 
twenty-five  cents  per  pound  on  all  numbers  up  to  and  including 
seventies;  tussah  spun  silk  in  numbers  above  seventies,  and  all  other 
spun  silk  in  all  numbers  up  to  and  including  two  hundred  and 
thirties  singles,  or  advanced  beyond  the  condition  of  singles  by  group- 
ing or  twisting  two  or  more  single  yarns  together  in  skeins,  cops, 
warps,  or  on  beams,  not  colored,  bleached,  or  dyed,  forty  cents  per 
pound  and  one-tenth  cent  per  number  per  pound ;  all  spun  silk  yarns 
above  two  hundred  and  thirties  in  number  in  singles,  or  advanced 
beyond  the  condition  of  singles  by  grouping  or  twisting  two  or  more 
single  yarns  together  in  skeins,  cops,  warps,  or  on  beams,  not  colored, 
bleached,  or  dyed,  twenty-five  cents  per  pound  and  two-tenths  cent 
per  number  per  pound;  if  colored,  bleached,  or  dyed  there  shall,  on 
all  of  the  foregoing  tussah  and  other  spun  silk  yarns,  in  addition  to 
the  duties  herein  provided,  be  levied,  collected,  and  paid  an  additional 
duty  of  five  cents  per  pound;  if  dyed  and  the  weight  is  increased  by 
the  dyeing  over  ten  per  cent  beyond  the  original  weight  of  the  undyed 
yarn,  there  shall  be  levied,  collected,  and  paid  a  further  additional 
duty  of  ten  cents  per  pound. 

The  duty  on  colored,  bleached,  or  dyed  yarns  shall  be  assessed, 
levied,  collected,  and  paid  on  the  weight  of  the  yarn  before  bleaching, 
dyeing,  or  weighting,  and  such  original  weight  shall  be  stated  on  the 
consular  invoice. 

The  numbers  herein  referred  to  are  the  French,  or  Continental, 
system  of  numbers,  based  on  the  number  of  meters  of  yarn  in  a  kilo- 
gram of  weight. 


5778 


SCHEDULE  L SILKS  AND  SILK   GOODS. 

Schedules  "by  comparison. 


Proposed  duty. 

Count. 

40  cents  per  pound 
and     one-tenth 
cent   per    num- 
ber. 

Value. 

Present 
duties. 

100                                       

|0.50 

Francs. 
14 

Cents 
per  pound. 
4SJ 

no                                 —   

.51 

15 

50 

120                                  

.52 

16 

51 

130                                         .    __     —     

.53 

17 

524 

140                                

.54 

18 

64 

150                                           ..      ...  .  

.55 

'  19 

65 

170                        .      -  -  -  --  

.57 

20 

66 

180                                         ._     ..     „     

.58 

21 

071 

190                         

.59 

22 

69 

200                                      —     —  -     

.60 

2io                                                  _.     .  _ 

.61 

220                                                            - 

.62 

25  cents  per  pound 
and  two-tenths 
cent   per    num- 
ber. 

231                                                                               .     

.71 

240                                                                   "            -    — 

.73 

250                                                    _        

.75 

300                     *                                       -                 - 

.85 

TUSSAH  YARN. 


Cents 

*. 

d. 

per  pound. 

67      ..      —               

$0.25 

3 

t 

32 

Referring  to  the  tariff  on  schappe,  spun  silk,  and  tussah  spun  silk, 
the  following  recommendations  should  receive  serious  consideration : 

The  specific  duty  has,  in  practically  every  line,  facilitated  the  work 
of  the  appraiser,  assisted  the  prompt  delivery  of  merchandise,  and 
eliminated  the  problems  of  the  value  of  materials,  to  find  which  the 
Government  spends  much  money  in  maintaining  a  special  service  of 
information,  and  it  has  finally  excluded  attempts  at  undervaluation 
such  as  may  have  been  possible  under  an  ad  valorem  duty. 

To  the  extent  to  which  the  specific  rate  of  duty  has  been  operative^ 
on  the  yarns  above  referred  to  it  has,  therefore,  proven  of  great  ad- 
vantage, and  a  further  step  forward  would,  it  seems  evident,  be  to 
rely  on  the  purely  specific  duty  instead  of  the  compound  one  now  pre- 
vailing, partly  speci.^c  and  partly  ad  valorem. 

Of  course,  the  tariff  maker  must  take  cognizance  of  existing  indus- 
tries and  how  they  are  affected  by  changes  in  duties. 

The  silk  spinner  in  this  country  confines  himself  to  making  purely 
spun  silk,  producing  no  schappe  at  all.  It  appears  that  one  of  the 
reasons  why  schappe  is  not  produced  here  is  because  of  the  insanitary 
condition  and  the  nauseating  smell  attached  to  making  the  combings 
fit  for  schappe.  In  so  far,  therefore,  as  it  is  desirable  to  assist  the 
industry  for  spinning  schappe  in  this  country,  it  should  be  made  pos- 
sible and  at  least  easier  to  import  the  combings  fit  for  making  schappe 
at  the  lowest  rate  of  duty  consistent  with  the  cost  of  waste  silk  comb- 


SPUN   SILK   AND   PILE   FABRICS S.    BLUMENTHAL  ET   AL.      5779 

ings  made  in  this  country.  The  committee  should  carefully  examine 
this  point  so  as  to  make  it  possible  to  import  combings,  if  it  is  desired 
that  the  spinning  of  schappe  in  this  country  shall  be  encouraged  and 
made  possible  in  the  future. 

Yarns. 

Ine  cost  of  making  yarns  from  waste  silk  differs  between  foreign 
and  American  spinners,  both  in  singles  and  two  plys,  only  in  the 
matter  of  labor.  It  is  acknowledged  by  the  most  important  spinners 
in  England  and  in  France  that -the  amount  of  labor  used  in  spinning 
and  the  expense  involved  is,  if  anything,  larger  when  the  yarns  are 
made  from  a  poor  grade  of  material  than  from  a  good  grade  of  mate- 
rial. In  any  event,  it  is  not  larger  in  the  latter  than  it  would  be  in 
the  former  instance.  The  staples  in  the  lower  qualities  are  short 
and  the  spinning  is  harder  and  all  the  other  processes  necessary  are 
more  costly.  As  a  reasonable  conclusion,  a  specific  duty  ample  to 
pay  for  the  difference  in  labor  involved  in  producing  the  cheapest 
quality  would,  if  made  the  basis  for  a  tariff,  be  ample  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  American  spinner. 

If  this  idea  is  followed  out  it  will  be  evident  that  the  natural 
tendency  of  the  weaver  would  be  toward  the  importation  and  use  of 
higher  qualities ;  the  industry  would  accordingly  be  lifted  to  a  higher 
level  and  the  consumption  of  merchandise  would  be  increased,  be- 
cause the  consumer  got  better  goods  and  the  tendency  toward  lower- 
grade  products  would  be  counteracted,  and  while  protecting  the 
American  spinner  there  would  yet  be  an  increased  revenue  to  the 
Government  due  to  the  larger  general  consumption  of  yarns. 

The  basis  for  a  purely  specific  duty  should  be  made  dependent  upon 
the  fineness  of  the  yarn,  insomuch  as  the  variation  in  count  is  prac- 
tically the  only  difference  in  the  cost  of  labor  and  expense  in  produ- 
cing spun  silk  yarns. 

Cotton  yarns  in  100/2  equal  in  fineness  of  count  spun  silk  or  schappe 
of  170/2 — that  is  to  say,  there  are  an  equal  number  of  yards  to  the 
pound  in  these  numbers. 

Cotton  yarns  of  the  fineness  of  100/2  pay  33^  cents  per  pound  in 
duty ;  the  proposed  duty  for  schappe  yarns  of  the  same  count  would 
be  57  cents,  almost  double. 

The  proposed  schedules  sent  herewith  permit  of  assessing  duties  in 
a  specific  manner,  absolutely  fixed  and  collectible  and  approximating 
the  duties  now  in  force. 

Tussah  spun  silk. 

None  of  this  is  produced  in  this  country,  and  while  it  may  be  pos- 
sible to  establish  the  industry  here  under  a  protective  tariff  undue 
weight  should  not  be  laid  on  the  production  of  tussah  yarns  as 
against  the  importance  of  supplying  the  weaving  industries  now 
consuming  and  in  need  of  such  materials. 

The  industry  of  the  weaving  producer,  which  is  firmly  established, 
can  be  developed  to  a  considerable  degree  without  jeopardizing  any 
existing  (or  rather  nonexisting)  tussah  spinning  plants.' if  a  lower 
rate  of  duty  is  proposed  on  coarse  counts  (such  as  only  tussah  is 


5780  SCHEDULE  L — SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 

spun  in),  a  rate  substantially  three- fourths  of  that  imposed  on  other 
spun-silk  yarns. 

Dyed  silk  yarns. 

It  is  a  good  suggestion  that  all  dyed  yarns  be  submitted  to  a  duty 
based  on  the  weight  of  the  raw — that  is,  the  undyed  yarn — and  both 
the  raw  and  the  dyed  weights  should  be  reported  on  the  invoices. 

It  appears  that  the  cost  of  dyeing — that  is,  the  charges  of  the  dyers 
in  this  country  at  the  present  time  equals  that  of  the  European  dyers; 
in  other  words,  the  dyeing  is  done  as  cheap  here  as  it  is  in  Europe.  It 
is  a  question,  therefore,  to  what  extent  a  duty  should  be  imposed  on 
the  dyeing.  The  only  competition  that  European  dyers  offer  to 
American  dyers  is  in  the  superiority  of  their  work,  chiefly  in  blacks, 
but  not  in  the  price.  It  is  a  broad  question  as  to  how  far  the  weaving 
industry  should  be  jeopardized  by  excluding  such  foreign  dyeing, 
which  is  only  possible  by  reason  of  its  marked  superiority  (not  in- 
volving in  any  sense  the  difference  in  the  labor  cost). 

A  duty  of  5  cents  per  pound  for  dyeing  charges  of  pure  dyes  and 
weight  up  to  10  per  cent  and  of  15  cents  per  pound  for  heavier 
weighting  (all  charges  based  on  the  raw  weight  of  silk)  is  suggested. 

It  appears  to  be  the  thought  of  the  Tariff  Revision  Committee 
that  the  rates  of  duty  should  be  so  imposed  as  to  give  advantage  to 
countries  who  favor  the  United  States,  and  on  that  idea  a  maximum 
and  minimum  tariff  is  to  be  made  the,  basis  of  negotiations  by  the 
Government.  Therefore,  the  scale  submitted  is  recommended  as  a 
minimum  tariff. 

If  a  tariff  law  is  now  framed  on  the  lines  recommended  by  those 
most  conversant  with  the  needs  of  the  industries,  we  all  hope  it  will 
remain  in  operation  for  at  least  ten  years  to  come  or  longer,  much  the 
same  as  the  tariff  now  in  force  has  been  in  existence.  It  is  there- 
fore wise  and  necessary  to  seriously  contemplate  the  growing  im- 
portance of  those  industries  which  are  dependent  on  foreign  spun 
silks  and  schappe,  chiefly  because  they  can  not  be  obtained  here  in 
America. 

If  the  weaving  of  silks,  using  spun  yarns,  grows  at  the  same  rate 
as  it  has  been  growing  during  the  last  five  years  the  amount  of 
schappe  and  spun  yarns  consumed  in  this  country  will  be  stupendous 
and  vastly  larger  than  the  entire  continent  of  Europe  and  England 
will  be  consuming. 

As  opposed  to  this,  there  is  no  prospect  of  the  spun-silk  industry 
or  schappe  industry  here  in  America  growing  in  anything  like  the 
proportion  necessary  to  meet  the  weavers'  requirements.  Upon  the 
two  or  three  spinners  now  making  yarn  from  silk  waste  in  this  coun- 
try a  sense  of  the  responsibility,  therefore,  should  weigh  very  heavily 
to  explain  why  and  to  what  extent  the  enormous  weaving  interests 
dependent  upon  this  material  should  be  handicapped  and  jeopardized 
in  their  growth,  so  that  they,  the  few  yarn  spinners,  can  continue  on 
with  the  present  limited  yarn  production. 

It  is  therefore  fair  to  contemplate  the  legitimate  claims  and  con- 
tentions for  even  lower  rates  than  those  herein  suggested.  If  a 
lower  duty  'than  that  herein  proposed  is  adopted,  a  reduction  corre- 
sponding to  the  lower  cost  of  imported  yarn  in  this  market  could  be 
made  on  such  imported  woven  goods  as  are  made  in  part  out  of 


SPUN   SILK   AND   PILE   FABRICS S.   BLUMENTHAL   ET  AL.       5781 

Bchappe   and   spun-silk   yarns— such   as  velvets,   plushes,  etc. — and 
could  be  readily  adopted. 

SIDNEY  BLUMENTHAL  &  Co.  (Inc.),  Shelton,  Conn., 

SIDNEY  BLUMENTHAL.  Treasurer. 

THE  SALT'S  TEXTILE  MANUFACTURING  Co.,  Bridgeport,  Conn.) 

F.  E.  KIP,  President. 

THE  AMERICAN  VELVET  Co.,  Stonington,  Conn., 

CHAS.  A.  WIMPFHEIMER,  Proprietor. 

A.  WIMPFHEIMER  &  BRO. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  On  this  first  paragraph,  "  Silk  partially  manufac- 
tured from  cocoons  or  from  waste  silk,"  under  that  paragraph,  what 
is  the  amount  of  goods  produced  in  this  country  ? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  I  am  not  quite  positive  as  to  that,  but  I  believe 
that  the  census  statistics  of  the  United  States  show  that  at  the  last 
census  a  production  of  570,000  pounds  of  spun  material,  'at  a  valua- 
tion of  about  a  million  and  a  half,  was  produced. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  There  are  no  importations  in  this  line  of  goods 
at  all,  are  there? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  I  am  not  certain  as  to  materials  partially  manu- 
factured but  not  yet  spun. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  know  of  none  in  your  trade,  do  you  ? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  I  am  not  directly  concerned  in  the  operations, 
excepting  that  we  use  materials  similar  to  those  which  are  made 
here,  and  the  process  of  this  initial  operation,  of  one  part  of  the 
manufacture,  is  one  that  I  have  not  looked  into  as  deeply  as  should 
be  required  to  give  you  an  intelligent  answer. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  do  not  see  any  report  in  the  government  sta- 
tistics of  any  importations,  and  therefore  I  presume  that  the  present 
duty  is  prohibitive.  Do  you  know  anything  to  the  contrary  ? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  I  do  not  know  anything  to  the  contrary. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  if  it  is  a  prohibitory  duty,  I  presume  there 
would  be  no  objection  to  our  making  a  reduction  in  that  clause? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  None  that  I  can  see,  unless  it  shall  cripple  existing 
industries,  which  might  offer  serious  objections  to  such  a  proposition. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Paragraph  385,  "  Thrown  silk,  not  more  advanced 
than  singles" — are  you  familiar  with  the  industry  in  that  schedule? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  Somewhat. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  production  of  the  American  article  ? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  I  think  I  mentioned  it  just  now.  The  para- 
graph, I  believe,  that  you  refer  to  includes  thrown  silks  and  spun 
silks,  does  it  not?  I  haven't  the  paragraph  clear  in  my  mind. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  "  Thrown  silk,  not  more  advanced  than  singles, 
tram,  organzine,  sewing  silk,  twist,  floss,  and  silk  threads  or  yarns  of 
every  description,  except  spun  silk,  30  per  cent  ad  valorem." 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  There  is  a  vast  industry  in  the  thrown-silk  divi- 
sion of  silk  manufacture,  and  practically  the  largest  proportion  of 
that  used  in  manufacture  is  produced  in  this  country. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  you  think  that  99  per  cent  is  produced  ? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  I  should  not  say  as  to  that  figure,  but  not  very 
far  from  it ;  somewhere  between  95  and  99  per  cent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Most  of  that  silk  is  made  by  machine  work,  is  it 
not;  not  hand  labor? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  Very  largely  machine  work. 


5782  SCHEDULE  L — SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Therefore  it  could  stand  a  reasonable  reduction 
in  order  to  obtain  some  revenue? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  I  am  not  sure  as  to  that,  not  having  given  it 
any  consideration. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  next  paragraph  is  386. 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  The  brief  is  more  in  regard  to  the  other  por- 
tions of  the  paragraph  to  which  you  have  alluded.  You  have  only 
referred  to  thrown  silk.  There  are  also  other  rates  of  duty  to  which 
this  paragraph  refers.  In  the  matter  of  materials  spun  from  the 
waste  silk,  concerning  which  you  asked  me  before,  and  the  duties 
operative  now  in  protection  of  manufacture  and  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  the  Government  revenue,  they  are  compound.  At  one  time, 
and  for  many  years,  they  were  ad  valorem.  At  the  present  time  they 
are  partly  specific  and  partly  value  duties.  We  suggest  in  our  brief, 
so  far  as  possible,  a  specific  duty,  a  weight  duty,  be  practically  adopted 
for  the  purpose  of  having  stability  and  uniformity  both  in  the  rev- 
enue to  the  Government  and  in  the  protection  of  the  manufacturer 
and  consumer  using  the  material. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  have  filed  tables  for  the  committee  ? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  I  have,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Are  you  familiar  with  the  velvet  schedule? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  Rather. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  amount  of  production  in  this  coun- 
try? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  Production  in  the  velvet  industry  has  increased 
very,  very  largely  during  the  past  fifteen  years;  I  believe  more  so 
during  the  past  five  to  eight  years.  None  the  less,  importations  have 
kept  pace  in  growth  with  the  increase  of  industry,  so  that  there  has 
been  no  vital  advantage  apparently,  either  in  the  importer's  or  the 
manufacturer's  favor. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  notice  the  importations  under  this  schedule 
amount  to  735,000  pounds  at  a  valuation  of  $2,683,000.  What  per- 
centage would  you  say  that  was  of  the  total  consumption  in  America  ? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  The  foreign  valuation? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Yes. 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  That  would  mean  duty  paid  about  $3,500,- 
000  or  $4,000,000,  I  should  say.  I  estimate  the  production  in  this 
country  at  present  at  from  $6,000,000  to  $7,000,000.  So  that  there 
is  possibly  one-third  of  the  total  consumption  imported. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  is,  one-third  imported  and  two-thirds  pro- 
duced here? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  I  should  think  so. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Is  the  price  of  the  goods  fixed  by  close  competi- 
tion in  this  line  of  goods? 

Mr.  BLUMENTHAL.  Very  much  so. 


SIDNEY  BLUMENTHAL,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  FILES  SUPPLEMENTAL 
BRIEF  FOR  AMERICAN  SILK  MANUFACTURERS. 

NEW  YORK,  December  16,  1908. 
Hon.  E.  J.  HILL, 

House  of  Representatives.  Washington,  D.  0. 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  The   opportunity  for  securing  such  facts   as   we 
intended  to  lay  before  tne  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  not  hav- 


SPUN    SILK   AND   PILE   FABRICS S.    BLUMENTHAL   ET   AL.       5783 

ing  been  sufficient  in  point  of  time  to  allow  us  to  have  them  ready 
when  we  had  the  privilege  of  presenting  our  brief  on  December  1,  I 
take  the  liberty  of  inclosing  an  additional  statement  which  I  ask  you 
to  kindly  bring  to  the  attention  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means 
so  as  to  supplement  and  strengthen  the  recommendations  we  have 
made  with  regard  to  a  specific  duty  on  spun  silk,  schappe,  etc.,  sub- 
stantially as  proposed  in  the  schedule  which  was  suggested  to  take 
the  place  of  the  one  now  in  operation,  covering  paragraph  385,  by  the 
Salts  Textile  Company,  Bridgeport,  American  Velvet  Company, 
Stonington,  and  Sidney  Blumenthal  &  Co.  (Incorporated),  Shelton, 
all  of  Connecticut,  representing  themselves  and  other  manufacturers. 
We  are  entirely  at  the  command  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and 
Means  for  any  further  information  that  is  in  our  power  to  furnish. 
Thanking  you  for  your  courtesy,  I  am, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

SIDNEY  BLUMENTHAL,  Treasurer. 


NEW  YORK,  December  16,  1908. 
The  WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

'Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  Since  we  appeared  before  your  honorable  body  on 
December  1,  we  have  had  an  opportunity  to  compile  some  further 
information,  not  available  to  us  up  to  that  time,  which  we  respect- 
fully submit  for  your  consideration,  in  conjunction  with  the  brief 
already  filed. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  importations  of  spun  silk  and  schappe 
yarns  according  to  the  figures  compiled  by  the  United  States 
Government : 


For  the  year— 

Total 
pounds  im- 
ported. 

Average 
foreign 
value. 

1890... 

884,000 

$2.15 

1891  

1,  820,  000 

2.  15 

1892  

490,000 

2.23 

1893  

758,500 

1  77 

1894  

437,500 

1.64 

1895  

843  000 

1  51 

1896  

783,  000 

1.28 

1897  

782  000 

1  35 

1898  

957  000 

1.23 

1899  

1  703  000 

1  15 

1900  

2,320  000 

1  52 

1901  

1  645  000 

1  52 

1902  

2  002,000 

1  45J 

1903  

1  923  000 

1  46] 

1904  

2  052  000 

1  48 

1905  

2  304  000 

1  34 

1906  

2  253  000 

1  45 

1907  

2  545  000 

1  50 

Eighteen  hundred  and  ninety  was  the  last  year  prior  to  the  enact- 
ment of  the  McKinley  tariff.  The  McKinley  tariff  being  in  operation 
from  1891  to  1895,  was  succeeded  by  the  Wilson  tariff  from  1896  up  to 
part  of  1898,  and  the  Dingley  tariff,  now  existing,  followed  at  the 
compound  rate  which  is  now  prevailing.  During  the  McKinley  tariff 
the  rate  was  35  per  cent,  the  Wilson  tariff  then  followed  with  30  per 
cent  ad  valorem  and  was  succeeded  by  a  compound  rate  of  duty 
intended  to  restore  the  duties  to  an  equivalent  of  35  per  cent,  the 

75!  Ml  -  -  II .  I  ><  ><  •   1 ."( »r,.  00-2— Vol  6 2 


5784  SCHEDULE  L SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 

point  at  which  they  were  operative  during  the  existence  of  the 
McKinley  tariff.  We  respectfully  submit  that  in  estimating  an 
equivalent  for  the  ad  valorem  of  35  per  cent  the  Dingley  tariff  was 
based  on  the  value  of  importations,  as  they  were  made  into  the  ports 
of  the  United  States  during  the  preceding  years  of  1896,  1897,  1898. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  the  average  values  of  all  importations  during 
1896  was  $1.28;  1897,  $1.35;  1898,  $1.23;  1899,  $1.15  per  pound, 
the  average  value  rising  for  the  year  1900  to  $1.52  and  falling  back  to 
$1.34  in  1905.  Taking  this  period  of  ten  years,  from  1896  to  1905, 
inclusive,  as  a  basis  it  will  be  seen  that  the  average  value  is  some- 
where between  $1.15  and  $1.52  for  the  purposes  of  estimating  the 
point  at  which  a  specific  duty  can  be  fairly  imposed.  It  will  be  con- 
ceded that  a  specific  duty,  if  fair  to  the  Government  and  to  the  pro- 
ducer in  this  country  at  a  normal  time,  becomes  doubly  effective,  both 
from  the  point  of  revenue  and  from  the  point  of  protection  in  times  of 
depression,  and  is  only  slightly  lowered  in  percentage  at  a  time  when 
the  revenues  are  naturally  increased  by  the  larger  business  which 
causes  the  advance  in  raw  materials  and  always  at  a  time  when  the 
producer  himself  suffers  least  from  foreign  competition,  a  competition 
which  is  mainly  injurious  at  times  when  low-priced  raw  materials  and 
excess  stocks  on  hand  threaten  to  make  it  unfair. 

During  the  period  of  ten  years,  since  the  compound  rates  now  pre- 
vailing have  been  in  existence,  over  20,000,000  pounds  of  Schappe 
and  spun-silk  yarns  have  been  imported  into  the  United  States.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  imports  of  spun  silk  have  increased  between 
1890  and  1905,  according  to  the  statistics  of  the  United  States  Census, 
to  the  extent  of  190  per  cent,  whereas  the  number  of  employees  and 
the  wages  involved  in  the  production  of  silk  goods  of  all  kinds  in  this 
country  have  increased  by  only  60  per  cent,  and  the  estimated  in- 
crease of  spun-silk  yarns  made  in  this  country  during  the  same  period 
is  hardly  50  per  cent. 

According  to  the  census  statistics  of  the  year  1900,  pages  203  and 
204,  the  production  of  velvets  in  this  country  aggregated  $4,959,971, 
chiefly  in  the  popular  grades,  such  as  go  largely  into  the  consumption 
and  are  bought  by  the  wage-earner  of  the  United  States.  In  spite  of 
the  fact  that  the  manufacturers  of  these  goods,  through  improve- 
ments in  machinery  and  cutting  down  of  profits,  have  reduced  the 
prices  of  the  manufactured  velvets  considerably  during  that  time,  it 
is  estimated  that  the  production  of  velvets  and  plushes  in  this  country 
is  now  hardly  less  than  $7,000,000,  an  increase  of  fully  40  per  cent  in 
eight  years. 

A  still  larger  increase  has  resulted  in  the  use  of  spun  silks  for  the 
weaving  of  silk  fabrics  other  than  pile  fabrics. 

Furthermore,  we  draw  your  attention  to  the  report  recently  issuor! 
showing  that  the  invoice  value  of  the  importations  for  the  year  ending 
June  30,  1908,  2,140,848  pounds  of  spun  silk  (of  a  foreign  value  of 
$3,702,232),  practically  equaled  those  for  the  year  ending  June  30, 
1907,  of  2,545,000  pounds,  at  a  foreign  value  of  $8,789,845. 

If  the  average  value  of  imports  of  the  years  from  1896  to  1899,  on 
which  the  Dingley  tariff  was  based,  is  taken  at  $1.28  and  is  compared 
with  the  average  value  of  the  importations  for  the  year  ending  1908, 
which  is  $1.72,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  consumer  in  1908  was  raade  to 
pay  33  per  cent  more  duty  than  that  which  was  contemplated  by  the 
schedule  of  the  Dingley  tariff  bill  at  the  time  it  was  made  effective  in 
1898. 


SPUN   SILK   AND   PILE   FABRICS S.    BLUMENTHAL   ET   AL.        5785 


Under  dates  of  December  12  and  16,  1908,  we  have  on  file  letters 
from  the  representatives  of  the  two  largest  spinners  of  Schappe  and 
spun  silk  in  the  world,  certainly  the  largest  importers  of  materials 
into  the  United  States,  the  Societ6  Anonyme  de  Filatures  de  Schappe 
of  Lyons,  and  the  Societe"  Industrielle  pour  la  Schappe  of  Basle,  as 
follows : 

Referring  to  your  verbal  request,  below  statement  of  percentage  of  numbers  of 
Schappe  yarns,  shipped  to  the  United  States  by  the  Societe  Anonyme  de  Filatures  de 
Schappe,  Lyons,  for  eighteen  months  from  June  1,  1907,  to  November  30,  1908. 

Numbers..  50        70        80        85      100      110      120      140      160      200      250 

Percentage...     1.26    8.89    1.07     1.1635.78    1.02    0.20    5.5211.3033.97    0.10 

The  proportion  of  importations  of  Schappe  yarn  from  Societe'  Industrielle  pour  la 
Schappe  of  Basle,  expressed  in  percentage,  were  as  follows:  / 


70. 

80. 

100. 

120. 

140. 

160. 

180. 

200. 

250. 

1907            

4.5 

45.5 

3.0 

8.75 

0.75 

37.5 

1908  .  

5.25 

4.5 

40.0 

0.25 

3.0 

4.00 

0.375 

44.5 

0.125 

Taking  these  importations  as  a  basis  for  the  application  of  specific 
duties  such  as  we  have  proposed  to  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 
it  is  plain  that  the  basis  we  have  suggested  would  be.  not  only  specific 
but  also  as  equitable  as  the  rates  of  duty  heretofore  prevailing.  If 
the  duty  had  been  collected  according  to  the  aforesaid  purely  specific 
schedule,  as  submitted  to  your  honorable  committee,  for  the  importa- 
tions of  the  year  1907,  it  would  have  amounted  to  $1.328,875  as 
against  the  duties  actually  collected  of  $1,427,480.  These  were 
collected  on  an  average  foreign  value  basis  of  $1.50.  This  ($1.50) 
we  contend  is  a  price  higher  than  that  which  served  the  framers  of 
the  Djngley  tariff  bill  as  a  basis  for  computing  their  compound  rate 
of  duty  which  was  intended  to  be  equivalent  to  35  per  cent.  Per 
contra,  if  the  rates  of  duty  we  propose  would  have  been  applied 
to  the  importations  for  1907  at  an  average  foreign  value  of  $1.40 
they  would  have  been  just  equal  to  the  duty  collectable  under  Dingley 
rates.  One  dollar  and  forty  cents  is  considerably  higher  than  the 
average  value  prevailing  in  the  years  just  before  and  after  the  framing 
of  the  Dingley  tariff. 

The  importations  of  the  two  companies  whose  figures  are  taken  for 
this  comparison  are  computed  by  number,  or  count,  or  size,  because : 
First.  There  are  no  government  statistics  accessible  giving  such 
information,  grouped  otherwise  than  by  value. 

Second.  These  two  companies  in  the  aggregate  furnish  (conserv- 
atively estimated)  from  70  to  75  per  cent  or  all  the  importations 
made  into  the  United  States,  and  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  the  figures 
which  they  have  compiled  as  to  their  importation  would  reasonably 
apply  to  the  importations  as  a  whole. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

SIDNEY  BLUMENTHAL  &  Co.  (INCORPORATED), 

SIDNEY  BLUMENTHAL,  Treasurer. 

THE  SALTS  TEXTILE  MANUFACTURING  Co., 

FREDK.  E.  KIP,  President. 

THE  AMERICAN  VELVET  Co., 

CFTAS.  A.  WIMPFKIMER.  President. 


5786  SCHEDULE   L SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 

THE  CHAMPLAIN  SILK  MILLS,  WHITEHALL,  N.  Y.,   SUBMITS  A 
TENTATIVE  SCHEDULE  FOR  SPUN  SILK. 

WHITEHALL,  N.  Y.,  February  2, 1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN  :  A  serious  attempt  having  been  made  to  lower  the 
duties  now  fixed  on  spun  silk  imported  from  abroad,  we  desire  to  call 
your  attention  to  causes  underlying  this  request,  and  the  reason  why 
it  should  not  be  granted.  On  the  1st  of  December  last  there  was 
submitted  by  Sidney  Blumenthal,  at  the  hearing  conducted  by  you 
for  the  consideration  of  silk  schedules,  a  memorandum  signed  by 
himself  and  others,  requesting  a  change  in  the  tariff  schedules  cover- 
ing spun  silk,  but  it  may  be  noted  at  once  that  these  gentlemen 
recommended  "  the  retention  of  the  present  rates  on  velvets,  plushes, 
and  other  pile  fabrics,"  articles  in  the  manufacture  of  which  spun 
silk  is  used.  The  reason  assigned  for  requesting  the  change  in  the 
tariff  on  spun  silk  was  that  specific  duties  would  be  more  agreeable 
than  the  present  form,  which  might  be  called  a  compound  or  mixed 
form,  partly  ad  valorem  and  partly  specific.  Carefully  reading  the 
report  of  the  proceedings  had  before  you  on  that  day,  we  can  not 
find  anywhere  a  frank  statement  on  the  part  of  the  then  petitioners 
that  they  desired  a  lesser  duty  on  spun  silk,  but  we  do  find  proposed 
duties  on  a  purely  specific  basis  that  are  decidedly  lower  than  what 
now  prevail.  The  questions  asked  of  Mr.  Blumenthal  by  members  of 
your  committee  would  indicate  that  at  that  time  you  were  not  aware 
that  the  parties  appearing  before  you  and  presenting  to  you  a  pro- 
posed schedule  of  tariffs  on  spun  silk  were  not  spun-silk  manufac- 
turers. Your  attempt  to  obtain  information  from  Mr.  Blumenthal 
by  questioning  disclosed  the  fact  that  he  had  no  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  industry.  Of  course,  the  truth  of  the  matter,  as  no  doubt  you 
are  aware  at  present,  is  that  the  signers  of  the  petition  filed  with  you 
on  December  1,  presented  by  Mr.  Blumenthal,  were  each  and  every 
one  importers  and  users  of  spun  silk,  but  not  manufacturers.  They 
desired  as  low  a  duty  as  they  could  obtain  oa  spun  silk.  They  were 
quite  willing  to  retain  their  present  duties  on  plushes  and  velvets, 
but  their  reason  for  presenting  the  schedule  was  that  they  prefer 
specific  duties  on  spun  silk. 

The  schedule  prepared  by  them,  called  "  Schedule  by  comparison." 
does  not  correctly  set  forth  the  real  protection  afforded,  nor  the  real 
duties  collectable  on  spun  silk  yarns  manufactured  in  this  country, 
this  because  the  lower  or  cheaper  grades  of  spun  silk  yarns  are  the 
ones  that  have  been  imported,  while  the  higher  or  better  grade  yarns 
are  the  ones  that  have  been  manufactured  in  this  country.  The  partly 
ad  valorem  duties  under  the  present  law  are  sufficient  to  give  the 
American  spinner  protection  on  the  higher  grade  of  goods,  and  are 
insufficient  to  protect  him  on  the  lower  grade  of  goods ;  hence  it  has 
been  the  lower  grade  of  goods 'that  has  been  imported  in  major  part, 
and  per  pound  duty  collected  would  necessarily  be  lower  than  what  it 
would  be  if  the  higher  grade  of  yarn,  such  as  is  manufactured  in 
America,  had  been  equally  imported.  To  accept  the  per  pound  duty 
collected  under  the  present  law  as  a  proper  basis  of  specific  duty 


SPUN    SILK CHAMPLAIN   SILK    MILLS.  5787 

would  be  to  take  a  figure  that  has  been  too  low  to  protect  the  Ameri- 
can spinner  on  the  cheaper  yarns  and  would  certainly  be  too  low  to 
protect  him  on  the  higher  grade  yarns.  The  net  result  of  such  a 
method  of  fixing  a  new  duty  would  be  to  deprive  the  American  spin- 
ner of  all  protection. 

In  the  report  of  your  proceedings  this  statement  is  found,  made  by 
Mr.  Blumenthal  and  others :  "  The  spun-silk  manufacturer  in  this 
country  confines  himself  to  making  purely  spun  silk,  producing  no 
schappe  at  all."  It  may  be  startling  to  your  committee  to  be  informed 
in  the  face  of  such  a  statement  that  there  is  absolutely  no  difference 
between  schappe  and  spun  silk,  that  the  two  things  are  identical — 
that  they  are  interchangeable  terms  and  exist  only  in  the  difference  in 
language  of  the  countries  that  produce  the  goods.  Not  to  burden  you 
with  too  lengthy  an  argument,  we  will  sum  up  this  phase  of  the  mat- 
ter by  saying  that  this  question  was  judicially  passed  upon  by  the 
Board  of  Appraisers  of  the  port  of  New  York,  in  which  instance  it 
was  decided  that  spun  silk  and  schappe  are  the  same  thing.  (F.  Victor 
&  Achiles  v.  United  States,  No.  3959.)  There  is  a  slight  variation  in 
the  early  processes  of  making  spun  silk  (or  schappe)  in  various 
countries.  The  European  continental  spinner  and  the  English  spin- 
ner differ  in  this  regard.  In  America  both  processes  are  being  used. 
As  the  industry  in  this  country  is  younger  than  either  in  England  or 
Europe,  it  has  adapted  methods  from  both  regions. 

Based  on  this  misleading  idea  of  a  difference  between  schappe 
and  spun  silk,  a  request  was  made  of  you  to  remove  the  duty  from 
the  combings  of  schappe,  and  this  was  done  on  the  plea  that  it  would 
assist  the  industry  for  spinning  silk  yarns  in  this  country.  We  would 
explain  to  you  that  the  combings  are  the  result  of  about  the  fourth 
or  fifth  operation  in  the  production  of  spun  silk,  operations  which 
at  least  require  as  much  skill  (in  fact  they  require  more  skill)  as 
subsequent  operations,  and  for  the  performance  of  which  a  great 
deal  of  labor  and  machinery  is  required.  Without  doubt  the  Eu- 
ropean spinner  can  produce  his  combings  cheaper  than  the  American 
spinner,  because  he  can  perform  every  process  in  the  manufacture 
of  spun  silk  cheaper,  and  to  allow  the  combings  to  come  in  free  of 
duty  would  be  simply  to  deprive  the  American  spinner  of  just  that 
much  protection.  It  would  make  practically  valueless  a  large  in- 
vestment in  equipment,  consisting  of  buildings  and  machinery,  and 
would  throw  out  of  employment  a  large  proportion  of  those  engaged 
in  the  spun  silk  industry.  The  men  performing  these  operations, 
particularly  the  combing,  or  dressing,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  are 
specially  trained  for  this  work,  just  as  a  machinist  or  carpenter  is 
trained  for  his  particular  work,  and  to  deprive  the  comber  or  dresser 
of  his  field  of  employment  would  be  to  change  him  from  a  skilled 
mechanic  to  a  common  laborer.  In  fact,  there  would  be  as  much 
justification  for  bringing  in  silk  yarn  in  the  unfinished  state,  but 
further  along  in  process,  let  us  say  before  it  was  doubled  and  twisted, 
or  gassed.  Undoubtedly  the  European  spinner  could  land1  it  in  this 
country  at  a  price  much  cheaper  than  the  American  could  produce  it 
(were  the  tariff  to  be  removed  on  the  article  so  unfinished),  and  a 
very  small  amount  of  labor  would  then  be  used  to  finish  the  article. 
If  the  argument  were  to  be  carried  along  sufficiently,  we  would  reach 
the  absurd  conclusion  that  bringing  the  yarn  in  all  but  bundled  would 


5788  SCHEDULE   L SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

be  still  more  desirable.  The  amount  of  labor  employed  in  bundling 
the  yarn,  however,  would  hardly  justify  any  protective  tariff  what- 
ever. 

WHY    A    COMPARATIVELY    LARGER    AMOUNT    OF    SPUN    SILK    USED    IS    NOT 
PRODUCED  IN   THIS  COUNTRY. 

Some  criticism  has  been  directed  against  the  American  spinner  be- 
cause he  does  not  produce  a  larger  proportion  of  the  yarn  used  in 
this  country.  The  fact  is  pointed  to  that  there  is  an  importation  of 
about  2,500,000  pounds,  two-thirds  of  the  entire  consumption.  If 
there  were  no  tariff  at  all,  we  assure  you,  gentlemen  of  the  committee, 
that  there  would  be  no  spun  silk  made  in  the  United  States;  if  the 
protection  were  not  larger,  but  differently  specified,  we  believe  that 
practically  all  of  the  spun  silk  used  in  this  country  would  be  manu- 
factured here.  There  is  no  theoretical  or  practical  reason  that  would 
prevent  this.  Every  form  or  grade  of  spun  silk  can  be  made  in  this 
country,  but  the  American  spinner  has  been  confined  to  the  higher 
grades,  especially  of  late  years.  It  is  interesting  to  note  how  this 
occurred.  When  the  tariff  was  originally  placed  upon  spun  silk,  a 
certain  percentage  was  fixed  on  the  value  of  goods  imported.  Spun 
silk  at  that  time  was  considerably  higher  in  price  per  pound  than 
to-day,  because  the  raw  material  from  which  spun  silk  is  made  was 
then  much  higher  than  it  is  to-day.  The  per  pound  duty  which  Con- 
gress originally  intended  spun  silk  to  have,  on  account  of  fixing  the 
'duty  on  an  ad  valorem  basis,  was  never  realized,  excepting  for  a 
very  short  time.  As  soon  as  the  price  of  raw  material  dropped,  the 
price  of  spun  silk  dropped  and  the  per  pound  duty  dropped.  The 
American  spinner  found  himself  deprived  of  a  large  portion  of  the 
protection  that  Congress  had  intended  he  should  have.  Fortunately, 
on  the  higher  grade  of  goods  there  was  still  enough  'duty  to  cover 
the  difference  in  cost  of  labor  in  Europe  and  America,  and  the  Ameri- 
can spinner  continued  making  the  higher  grades  in  competition  with 
the  foreigner,  and  as  the  country's  business  has  expanded  so  has  the 
spun  silk  industry  of  America,  but  only  in  the  narrow  field  indicated. 
On  the  cheaper  yarns  he  has  always  been  outstripped  by  the  Euro- 
pean; on  the  better  grades  there  has  always  been  a  steady  growth  of 
the  industry,  but  because  of  its  being  confined  to  so  narrow  a  field 
and  because  of  the  narrow  margin  of  protection,  the  spun  silk  in- 
dustry of  the  United  States  has  not  expanded  as  have  other  textile 
industries  that  have  been  afforded  a  much  greater  protection.  There 
are  instances  of  spun  silk  manufacturers  in  this  country  who  have 
found  the  field  for  the  woven  article  much  more  inviting  and  have 
expanded  as  weavers  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  they  have  as  silk 
spinners,  these  weavers  purchasing  a  large  portion  of  the  yarns  they 
use  from  Europe.  Had  the  protection  been  sufficient,  these  parties 
would  have  expanded  their  spun  silk  business  just  as  rapidly  as  their 
weaving  departments,  and  have  given  employment  to  thousands  of 
individuals  in  this  country  instead  of  Europe.  This  woula  not  only 
have  had  an  effect  on  the  labor  of  the  spun  silk  industry  direct,  but 
all  those  lines  which  are  a  source  of  supply,  machinery,  etc.,  for  the 
spun  silk  industry.  If  Congress  would  establish  the  per  pound  duty 
originally  intended  on  spun  silk  and  would  protect  the  American 
spinner  on  the  cheap  grades  as  well  as  the  better  grades,  the  American 


SPUN   SILK CHAMPLAIN    SILK   MILLS.  5789 

spinner  would  produce  all  the  yarn  that  is  needed  in  this  country, 
the  same  as  the  velvet  manufacturers  produce  practically  all  the 
velvet  that  is  required  in  America. 

A  new  and  grave  danger  has  arisen  in  the  last  few  years  to  the 
American  spinner  of  silk  yarns.  Backed  by  enormous  capital,  abun- 
dant supply  of  cheap  labor,  proximity  to  the  great  source  of  supply  of 
the  raw  material,  the  Japanese  and  other  orientals  threaten  to  drive 
the  American  manufacturer  out  of  existence.  Nothing  but  sufficient 
protection  can  preserve  our  American  industry  against  oriental 
competition. 

We  are  not  opposed  to  a  specific  duty  that  will  sufficiently  cover 
the  difference  of  labor  now  existing  between  this  country  and  others 
on  all  grades.  As  shown  above,  had  we  had  a  specific  duty  from  the 
beginning,  we  would  now  be  further  advanced.  What  we  object  to 
is  the  attempt  of  users  to  lower  the  protection  afforded  us,  which  is 
absolutely  necessary  for  our  existence,  on  the  theory  that  it  would 
cheapen  their  product.  Of  course,  the  removal  of  tariffs  on  any 
industry  in  this  country  not  as  well  developed  and  well  fortified  in 
the  way  of  labor  and  otherwise  as  the  same  industry  in  other  countries 
would  cheapen  the  product  and  all  articles  manufactured  therefrom. 
No  doubt,  plushes  and  velvets,  and  other  woven  articles  might  be 
cheaper  if  there  were  no  duty  on  spun  silk,  but  equally  possibly, 
dresses  might  be  cheaper  if  there  were  no  duty  on  the  fabrics,  and  so 
on  down  the  line.  Each  manufacturer  might  ask  that  the  material 
which  he  uses  be  unprotected ;  thus  down  the  line  until  we  undermine 
the  whole  theory  of  tariff  protection.  We  deem  it  unnecessary  to 
argue  this  question  as  to  whether  there  should  be  tariff  protection  or 
not,  as  the  members  of  this  committee,  and  Congress  will  attend  to 
that  particular  subject,  having  apparently,  without  question,  received 
their  instructions  from  the  people  at  the  polls  at  quite  a  number  of 
elections  in  the  past. 

Frankly  advocating  the  protective  system  as  being  the  foundation 
for  the  wonderful  growth  and  prosperity  of  our  country,  we  ask  of 
you  to  afford  us  the  same  protection,  comparatively,  as  is  afforded  to 
other  industries,  thus  enabling  our  industry  to  grow  to  its  proper 
proportions,  and  give  employment  to  a  properly  large  amount  of 
capital  and  a  same  large  number  of  people,  the  number  reaching  into 
the  thousands. 

The  spun  silk  manufacturers  of  America,  we  may  suggest  in  all 
modesty,  are  possessed  of  the  same  average  business  acumen  and  intel- 
ligence as  are  possessed  by  the  average  manufacturer  in  other  lines. 
They  have  no  obstacle  to  their  growth,  excepting  the  difference  in 
labor  between  this  country  and  other  countries,  and  if  this  difference 
be  removed  by  a  sufficient  protection,  their  industry  will  become  as 
important  a  factor  as  that  of  any  other  branch  of  textile  manufac- 
turing. 

We  submit  herewith  a  schedule  and  a  comparison  of  the  duties 
heretofore  paid  and  collectible  under  the  present  tariff  law.  We  have 
asked  for  a  specific  duty,  which  would  amount  to  an  increase  on  the 
lower  grades,  thus  enabling  us  to  manufacture  the  same;  on  the 
higher  grades,  we  are  asking  for  the  same,  or  less,  than  we  have 
always  received.  While  it  has  not  made  us  immensely  wealthy,  it  has 
allowed  us  to  manufacture  and  make  a  reasonable  profit.  We  assure 


5790 


SCHEDULE 


-SILKS  AND  SILK   GOODS. 


your  committee  that  the  difference  in  cost  of  labor  in  Europe  for 
manufacturing  spun  silk,  plus  expenses  (expenses  not  including  mere 
corporation  salaries,  but  all  the  essential  expenses  for  the  running  of 
the  business),  is  over  $0.80  a  pound. 

The  following  schedule  gives  data  for  four  years,  1904,  1905,  1906, 
and  1907,  to  bring  the  matter  up  to  date.  This  schedule  shows  the 
importations  of  spun  silk  during  these  periods,  classified  as  to  value, 
so  as  to  correspond  with  the  present  partially  ad  valorem  scheme  of 
levying  duties,  and  shows  the  number  of  pounds  of  the  different 
values  imported  each  year,  foreign  value,  the  duty  on  each  quality, 
and  the  cost  made  up  of  the  invoice  value  plus  the  duty.  To  arrive 
at  the  exact  selling  price  of  this  imported  yarn  in  this  country,  how- 
ever, there  should  be  added  to  the  figures  in  the  fifth  column  freight, 
marine  insurance,  brokerage,  etc. 

Schedule  showing  importation  of  silk  into  the  United  States  during  the  years 
of  1904,  1905,  1906,  and  1907. 


19O4. 


Value. 

Foreign 
value 
per 
pound. 

Duty 
per 
pound. 

Cost 
(price 
and 
duty) 
her* 
per 
pound. 

Pounds. 

Not  exceeding- 
Si  per  pound  

$0.78 

$0.31 

$1.00 

323  988 

$1.50  per  pound  

1.34 

.50 

1.84 

1,019  830 

$2  pw  pound    

1.62 

.64 

2.26 

717  449 

$2.50  par  pound..  ..  

2.12 

.81 

2  93 

33  654 

$3  per  pound  ,  

2.68 

1.00 

3.68 

1,280 

Total  

2  096  201 

1905. 


Not  exceeding— 
$1  per  pound  .... 

$0  72 

$0  30 

$1  02 

459  573 

$1.50  per  pound  

1.36 

.60 

1  86 

991  538 

$2  per  pound  ,  

1  71 

65 

2  3G 

857  618 

$2.50  per  pound  •  

2.26 

.84 

3  10 

$3  per  pound  

2  59 

99 

3  58 

'  0«Q 

Total  

2  327  637 

1906. 


Not  exceeding— 
$1  per  pound  

$0  71 

$0  30 

$1  01 

360  549 

$1.50  per  pound  

1  37 

50 

1  87 

1  O^s'S"7'} 

$2  per  pound  

1  78 

65 

2  43 

8°6  425 

$2.50  per  pound  

2  22 

82 

3  04 

10  300 

$3  per  pound  

2  70 

1  00 

3  70 

32<> 

Total  

2  310  975 

1907. 


Not  exceeding— 
$1  per  pound  

$0.78 
1.35 
1.82 
2.25 
2.50 

$0.31 
.50 
.67 
.83 
.97 

$1.09 
1.85 
2.49 
3.08 
3.47 

315,  120 
492,  042 
238,  457 
587,  728 
14,861 

$1.5*  per  pound  

$2  per  pound  

$2.50  per  pound  

$3  per  pound  

Total  

2,  568,  208 

, 

SPUN    SILK CHAMPLAIN   SILK    MILLS.  5791 

By  examination  of  this  schedule  we  find  that  there  were  imported 
the  following  amounts  of  spun  silk: 

Pounds. 

1904 2,  096.  201 

1905 2,  327,  637 

3906 2,  310,  975 

1907 1 2,  568,  208 

The  year  1907  was  abnormal  in  many  ways;  prices  soared  in  all 
grades  of  goods,  due  to  the  unprecedented  prosperity  of  the  country; 
all  manufacturers  increased  their  capacity,  as  did  the  spun-silk  manu- 
facturers, but  the  sudden  increase  in  trade  could  not  be  met  by  as 
sudden  an  increase  in  production.  Leaving  the  year  1907  out  of  con- 
sideration, we  find  by  examination  of  this  schedule  that  as  long  as 
the  duty  collected  was  below  $0.85  the  foreigner  could  import  at 
liberty,  that  as  soon  as  the  duty  collected  passed  the  $0.83  mark  the 
importations  became  comparatively  less,  but  it  must  also  be  noticed 
that  the  duty  never,  on  any  grade,  was  prohibitive ;  the  foreigner  could 
always  compete  with  the  American.  While  these  importations  were 
going  on  there  was  a  production  of  spun  silk  of  about  1,000,000 
pounds  a  year  in  this  country.  A  careful  computation  of  the  selling 
prices,  for  the  last  five  years,  of  domestic  spun,  silk  shows  the  average 
to  have  been  about  $2.83  per  pound;  thus  you  will  perceive  that, 
while  a  third  of  the  yarn  used  in  this  country  was  produced  here 
and  two-thirds  imported,  the  third  which  was  made  in  this  country 
was  of  the  higher-priced  goods.  The  reason'  for  this  is  that  so  long 
as  the  duty  under  the  ad  valorem  scheme  was  less  than  $0.83  per 
pound  the  American  was  not  in  position  to  compete  with  the  Euro- 
pean; the  American  manufacturer's  business  was  confined  entirely 
to  the  higher  grades.  Had  he  had  the  same  per  pound  protection 
for  the  cheaper  goods,  he  would  have  been  in  position  to  have  com- 
peted on  all  grades  of  spun  silk  used  in  this  country. 

Within  this  limited  field  of  high-priced  goods  the  American  manu- 
facturer has  made  steady  progress,  and  there  is  to-day  a  capacity 
of  about  1,250,000  pounds  per  annum.  If  the  duty  were  to  be  made 
below  the  $0.83  per  pound  mark  on  the  higher-priced  goods,  as  it  has 
been  upon  the  lower  grade  of  goods,  the  American  spinner's  business 
would  be  sacrificed.  The  amount  of  labor  upon  the  lower  grade  of 
goods  is  about  the  same  as  upon  the  higher-grade  goods — at  least 
as  much — and,  therefore,  the  lower-grade  goods  never  had  suf- 
ficient protection  to  make  up  the  difference  in  labor  in  this  country 
and  in  Europe.  By  fixing  a  specific  duty  of  $0.85  all  around  the 
American  manufacturer  would  be  protected  on  all  classes  of  spun 
silk,  and  the  result  would  be  that  three  times  the  capital. and  three 
times  the  amount  of  labor  would  be  employed  in  the  manu- 
facture of  spun  silk  as  at  present.  Such  a  specific  duty  and 
protection,  while  increasing  and  enlarging  the  industry  in  America, 
would  do  no  harm,  even  supposing,  which  is  most  unlikely,  that  the 
American  spinner  would  not  respond  to  this  incentive  of  a  reasonable 
profit  on  the  lower  goods  as  well  as  on  the  higher-grade  goods,  for 
the  importations  would  continue.  The  result  would  be  a  higher 
revenue  to  the  Government,  a  slightly  increased  cost  of  the  fabric 
woven  from  silk,  which,  being  purely  an  article  of  luxury,  no  hard- 
ship would  ensue,  nor  would  the  manufacturer  of  woven  goods  (that 
is,  he  who  uses  spun  silk)  be  injured,  as  his  protection  would  still  be 


5792  SCHEDULE  L — SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

ample.  Right  here  it  is  important  to  impress  upon  the  mind  the  fact 
that  spun  silk  has  received  less  protection  than  any  other  branch  of 
the  silk  industry,  therefore  the  slow  increase  of  the  spun-silk  indus- 
try, as  compared  to  velvets,  plushes,  and  other  silk  lines.  The  highest 
protection  under  the  ad  valorem  scheme  accorded  the  spun-silk  manu- 
facturer enabled  him  to  make  only  a  meager  business  profit;  none 
the  less,  his  manufacturing  capacity  has  increased  slowly,  but  surely, 
year  by  year,  and  is  to-day  increasing,  but  only  within  the  narrow 
field  or*  higher-priced  goods,  as  set  forth  above. 

There  has  been  filed  with  your  committee  a  proposed  schedule  of 
duties  covering  the  silk  industry  by  a  committee  of  the  Silk  Associa- 
tion of  America.  This  committee  is  appointed  by  the  Silk  Associa- 
tion, but  it  must  be  made  clear  that  it  does  not  act  for  any  individual 
member  of  the  association,  and  no  member  of  the  association  is  bound 
by  its  suggestions,  for  the  reason  that  its  schedule  is  filed  without 
consultation  or  authorization  of  the  individual  manufacturers.  In 
the  present  instance  the  schedule  thus  proposed  by  the  silk  committee 
covering  spun  silk  was  never  referred  to  the  undersigned  for  observa- 
tion, criticism,  or  approval.  The  gentlemen  composing  the  member- 
ship of  this  Silk  Association  committee  all  have  interests  adverse  to 
the  spun-silk  manufacture.  One  member  of  this  committee,  a  gentle- 
man of  highest  integrity  and  great  ability,  it  is  true,  is  a  spun-silk 
manufacturer,  and  a  large  one,  but  he  is  a  much  larger  manufacturer 
of  goods  made  from  spun  silk.  He  is  not  a  specialist  in  spun-silk 
manufacture,  such  as  we  are,  and  he  could  well  afford  to  use  the  spun 
silk  which  he  produces  himself,  and  receive  his  protection  through 
the  finished  article.  It  can  well  be  a  matter  of  indifference  to  him 
whether  he  increases  his  spun-silk  manufacture  or  his  weaving,  and 
it  may  well  be  that  he  prefers  to  increase  his  weaving,  as  the  latter  is 
much  more  profitable,  and  much  less  vexatious.  He  purchases  a  large 
part  of  the  spun  silk  which  he  uses,  that  is,  the  cheaper  grades,  and  he 
may  be  well  content  to  have  the  tariff  on  the  cheaper  grades  as  low  as 
formerly,  and  even  to  accept  a  reduction  of  the  tariff  on  the  higher 
grades,  as  long  as  he  receives  his  full  protection  on  the  woven  article 
which  is  made  from  spun  silk. 

All  the  other  members  of  the  committee  could  buy  spun  silk  cheaper 
if  the  tariff  were  reduced.  For  these  reasons,  the  schedule  proposed 
by  the  Silk  Association  committee  is  not  one  that  represents  the  real 
interest  of  the  spun  silk  manufacturer,  nor,  as  it  happens,  the  real 
interest  of  the  Government,  nor  the  real  interest  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  conceiving  a  protective  policy  as  a  whole  to  be  desired. 
The  spun  silk  industry  should  be  able  to  furnish  labor  to  thousands 
of  people  in  this  country  that  are  not  now  employed  therein;  the 
2,500,000  pounds  and  over  of  spun  silk  that  are  yearly  imported  could 
be  made  in  this  country,  and  these  2,500,000  pounds  per  annum  of  the 
past  would  soon  be  (with  a  natural  growth  of  the  silk  industry) 
3,000,000  and  4,000,000.  There  is  not  one  reason,  aside  from  the  labor 
cost,  why  spun  silk  can  not  be  made  as  well  in  this  country  as  in 
Europe.  Its  process  of  manufacture  is  thoroughly  understood,  the 
nucleus  of  skilled  and  unskilled  labor  is  here,  the  business  organiza- 
tion is  here.  Just  as  other  industries  which  were  European  were 
made  American  by  protection  (instances  are  too  thoroughly  in  mind 
of  this  committee  to  need  even  enumeration),  so  spun  silk  can  be 
made  an  American  industry,  to  answer  all  the  needs  of  the  American 


SPUN   SILK- — CHAMPLAIN   SILK   MILLS.  5793 

consumer.  There  would  follow  a  far-reaching  effect  in  other  lines 
through  the  growth  of  this  industry.  At  present,  most  of  our  ma- 
chinery and  many  of  our  supplies  must  be  brought  from  Europe; 
with  the  growth  of  the  industry  here,  there  would  speedily  arise  the 
manufacture  of  machinery  needed  and  the  necessary  supplies,  and 
once  the  American  machine  builder  becomes  interested  in  the  manu- 
facture of  spun  silk  (and  the  amount  of  such  machinery  needed  would 
be  enormous)  we  would  find  the  inventive  faculty  that  has  modern- 
ized other  industries  pushing  the  American  manufacture  of  spun  silk 
ahead  of  the  European.  The  American  machine  builder,  while  he 
has  done  wonders  for  the  cotton  and  woolen  industry,  has  never 
exerted  his  wonderful  ingenuity  in  behalf  of  spun  silk.  With  an 
industry  three  or  four  times,  or  possibly  five  times,  as  large  to  cater 
to,  the  American  machine  builder's  interest  would  be  aroused,  and 
another  industry,  employing  much  skilled  labor,  would  be  benefited. 

We  append  herewith  a  schedule  showing  the  duties  per  pound  as 
they  now  exist,  the  duties  per  pound  under  the  proposed  schedule  of 
the  Silk  Association,  and  the  duties  per  pound  as  proposed  by  us.  It 
will  be  seen  that  the  Silk  Association  schedule  calls  for  a  decided  cut 
in  protection.  Our  schedule  proposed  would  lower  the  tariffs  on  the 
very  highest  grade  goods  and  raise  them  on  the  lower  grades.  We 
really  strike  a  fair  average.  The  difference  in  any  case  is  not  enor- 
mous. Speaking  generally,  the  raise  in  duties  on  the  lower  grades 
between  our  schedule  and  that  of  the  Silk  Association  is  about  14 
•  •ents  a  pound,  but  it  is  just  enough  to  make  up  the  profit  on  spun  silk. 
We  can  not  impress  this  too  firmly  on  the  minds  of  your  committee. 
The  profit,  after  allowing  for  necessary  expenses,  depreciation,  ordi- 
nary interest  on  the  money  invested,  is,  on  the  average,  not  above 
this  14  cents  per  pound.  To  gain  14  cents  a  pound  in  behalf  of  the 
weaver  of  silk  would  benefit  him  but  little,  if  any ;  to  cut  off  14  cents 
more  a  pound  from  the  spun  silk  manufacturer  would  spell  his 
destruction ;  to  place  a  higher  duty  on  the  lower  grades  of  spun  silk 
would  increase  the  revenues  of  the  Government  without  injury  to 
anyone,  until  such  grades  were  made  in  this  country.  When  these 
grades  of  goods  are  made  in  this  country,  it  will  bring  employment 
to  thousands  of  people. 

Any  further  information  in  particular  that  we  can  furnish  you  we 
will  exert  ourselves  to  supply. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

CHAMPLAIN  SILK  MILLS. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

SUGGESTED    SCHEDULE. 

Silk  manufactured  from  cocoons  or  from  waste  silk  of  any  kind 
and  no  further  advanced  or  manufactured  than  carded  or  combed 
silk,  40  cents  per  pound. 

Threads  or  yarns,  if  single,  50  cents  a  pound,  plus  one-quarter  of  a 
cent  per  pound  per  number;  if  two-ply,  60  cents  a  pound,  plus  one- 
eighth  of  a  cent  per  pound  per  number ;  if  three  or  more  ply  yarn,  60 
cents  a  pound,  plus  one-quarter  of  a  cent  per  pound  per  number;  if 
in  the  gray,  on  bobbins,  spools,  or  beams,  10  cents  per  pound  addi- 


5794 


SCHEDULE  L SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 


tional;  if  colored,  bleached,  or  dyed  in  skeins,  10  cents  per  pound 
additional ;  if  colored,  bleached,  or  dyed  on  bobbins,  spools,  warps,  or 
beams,  20  cents  per  pound  additional. 

In  assessing  the  duty  on  thread  or  yarn  manufactured  from  cocoons 
or  from  waste  silk,  the  number  shall  be  that  indicated  by  the  French 
or  metric  system  of  1,000  meters  per  kilogram  per  number;  in  all 
cases  the  number  shall  refer  to  the  size  of  singles  of  which  said  yarn 
is  composed. 


EXHIBIT  B. 

Application  of  various  tariff  schedules  and  proposed  schedules  to  spun  silk 
yarns  of  various  sizes  and  values. 


Size  of  yarn,  French  count. 

Foreign  cost. 

Duty  at 
37£  per 
cent. 

Duty  under 
present  tariff. 

Duty 
under 
Silk  As- 
sociation 
schedule 

Duty 
under 
our  prop 
osition 
per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

kilo. 

pound. 

pound. 

cent. 

per 
pound. 

pound. 

Francs. 

Dollars. 

Dollars. 

Dollars. 

Dollars. 

Dollars. 

Dollars. 

(      31.  60 

2.75 

1.035 

1.015 

36.8 

0.70 

0.85 

30.00 

2.63 

.985 

.995 

37.8 

.70 

.85 

29.00 

2.54 

.95 

.98 

38.6 

.70 

.85 

2aso 

2.50 

.935 

.88 

35.8 

.70 

.85 

2-200                 .  ...:  

27.50 

2.41 

.905 

.86 

35.7 

.70 

.85 

26.  00 
24.50 

2.28 
2.14' 

.  855 
.80 

.84 
.82- 

36.  8 
38.3 

.70 
.70 

.85 
.85 

23.00 

2.01 

.755 

.80 

39.8 

.70 

.85 

22.75 

1.99 

.745 

.70 

35.2 

.70 

.88 

21.50 

1.88 

.705 

.68 

36.2 

.70 

.85 

20:50 

1.79 

.67 

.67 

37.4 

.70 

.85 

30.  00 

2.63 

.985 

.995 

37.8 

.64 

.77 

29.00 

2.53 

.95 

.98 

38.6 

.64 

.77 

28.50 

2.50 

.935 

.875 

35.0 

.64 

.77 

20.00 

2.28 

.855 

.84 

36.8 

.64 

.77 

2-140  

24.50 

2.14 

.80 

.82 

38.3 

.64 

.77 

23.00 

22.75 

2.01 
1.99 

.  755 
.745 

.80 
.70 

39.8 
35.2 

.64 
.64 

.77 
.77 

21.00 

1.84 

.69 

.675 

36.7 

.64 

.  77 

19.00 

1.67 

.625 

.65 

38.9 

.64 

.77 

17.50 

1.53 

.575 

.63 

41.2 

.64 

.  77' 

17.00 

1.49 

.56 

.525 

35.2 

.64 

.77 

29.00 

2.54 

.95 

.98 

38.6 

.55 

.75 

28.50 

2.50 

.935 

.875 

35.0 

.55 

.75; 

26.00 

2.28 

.855 

.84 

36.8 

.55 

.75 

24.50 

2.14 

.80 

.82 

38.3 

.55 

.76. 

23.00 

2.01 

.755 

.80 

39.8 

.55 

.75 

1-100  

22.75 

1.99 

.745 

.70 

35.2 

.55 

.75 

21.00 
19.00 

1.84 
1.67 

.69 
.625 

.675 
.65 

36.  7 
38.9 

.55 
.55 

.75 
.7.', 

17.50 

1.53 

.575 

.63 

41.2 

.55 

.75 

17.00 

1.49 

.56 

.525 

35.2 

.55 

.75 

16.00 

1.40 

.525 

.51 

36.4 

.55 

.      .  75 

15.00 

1.31 

.49 

.495 

37.8 

.55 

.75 

14.00 

1.23 

.46 

.485 

39.4 

.55 

.7.r* 

THE  AMERICAN  SILK  SPINNING  COMPANY,  PROVIDENCE,  R.  I., 
SUBMITS  WHAT  IT  CONSIDERS  AN  EQUITABLE  CLASSIFICATION 
AND  RATE  FOR  SPUN  SILK. 

PROVIDENCE,  K.  I.,  February  11, 1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  Referring  to  your  esteemed  favor  of  the  4th  instant,  I 
herewith  respectfully  submit  our  reasons  for  protesting  against  the 
proposed  change  in  duty  on  spun  silk,  and  suggest  the  adoption  of  a. 


ARTIFICIAL    SILK AMERICAN    BEAID    MANUFACTURERS.      5795 

schedule  which  will  be  beneficial  to  the  country  at  large,  and  which 
will  enable  our  industry  to  live  and  grow. 

To  put  it  concisely,  there  are  three  strong  reasons  which  we  would 
urge  for  not  lowering  the  present  duty  by  15  to  20  per  cent  as 
proposed : 

•  1.  The  saving  to  the  consumer  based  on  a  variation  of  a  full  25  cents  per 
pound  would  be  at  the  most  2  cents  per  yard  on  a  yard  of  silk  or  velvet  of  an 
average  grade  such  as  we  inclose  both  finished  and  unfinished.  This  difference 
is  infinitesimal  particularly  on  a  luxury. 

2.  About  70  per  cent  of  all  imported  spun  silk  yarns  are  manufactured  by 
two  continental   trusts — the  Societe  Anonyme  and  the   Societe   Industrielle — 
which   are  combined   as  to   absolute   dictation   of  prices,   amount  of   output, 
division  of  territory,  increase  of  machinery,  etc. 

3.  As  the  proposed  reduction  falls  heaviest  on  a  quality  which  would  be  the 
largest  amount  of  our  output,  it  would  virtually  put  us  out  of  business. 

This  last  reason  is,  of  course,  the  principal  one  with  us.  We  can 
submit  sworn  affidavits  as  to  wage  schedules  and  prices  paid  in  Swit- 
zerland and  Italy,  the  two  lowest  priced  labor  countries  in  Europe. 

Incidentally  a  lower  tariif  would  reduce  the  income  of  the  Govern- 
ment at  least  $750,000  on  a  luxury. 

In  'place  of  the  proposed  schedule  submitted  by  the  committee  of 
the  Silk  Association  of  America,  we  respectfully  recommend  the  fol- 
lowing schedule: 

Silk  manufactured  from  cocoons,  or  other  waste  silk  of  any  kind,  if  not 
further  ad\7nnced  in  manufacture  than  carded  or  combed  silk,  40  cents  per 
pound ;  if  threads  or  yarns,  and  valued  at  not  over  90  cents  per  pound,  35  cents 
per  pound ;  if  threads  or  yarns  in  the  greige,  not  dyed  or  bleached,  valued  at 
over  90  cents  per  pound,  in  skeins,  warps,  or  cops,  etc.  (p.  4  of  proposed  sched- 
ule), 50  cents  per  pound  and  one-fourth  cent  per  number  per  pound,  weight  of 
cops  to  be  included  in  weight  in  which  duty  is  assessed ;  if  advanced  beyond  the 
condition  of  singles  by  grouping  or  twisting  two  or  more  single  yarns  together, 
60  cents  per  pound  plus  one-fourth  cent  per  number  per  pound ;  if  on  bobbins, 
spools,  etc.  (p.  4  of  proposed  schedule),  the  rest  of  the  schedule  would  be 
acceptable  as  proposed  by  the  Silk  Association  schedule. 

Yours,  very  respectfully, 

AMERICAN  SILK  SPINNING  COMPANY, 
M.  C.  MIGEL,  Treasurer. 


ARTIFICIAL  SILK. 

[Paragraph  385,  under  provisions  of  section  7.] 

BRIEF   OF  AMERICAN  BRAID   MANUFACTURERS   RELATIVE   TO 
ARTIFICIAL  SILK  AND  HORSEHAIR  BRAIDS. 

682  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK  CITY, 

Saturday ',  November  88,  1908. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

"    Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  wish  briefly  to  give  you  an  idea  of  the  importance 
of  this  industry. 

1.  It  employs  directly  about  35,000  people  besides  giving  employ- 
ment, indirectly  to  many  thousands  of  employees  of  box  manufac- 


5796  SCHEDULE   L — SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 

turers,  paper  manufacturers,  printers,  lithographers,  dyers,  spinners 
of  cotton  and  wool,  and  silk  throsters,  and  represents  an  investment 
of  $12,000,000  to  $15,000,000. 

2.  The  braid  industry  of  the  United  States  began  in  about  1850, 
at  which  time  there  was  a  limited  amount  of  cotton  braids  manu- 
factured in  the  United  States. 

3.  The  first  wool  braid  manufactured  in  the  United  States  was  in 
1860  and  this  was  worsted  skirt  braid  used  for  binding  the  bottom 
of  ladies'  dresses.     Later  they  commenced  manufacturing  pure  dye 
silk  braids  for  use  on  men's  wear,  and  only  a  few  firms  were  manu- 
facturing fancy  braids  and  trimmings. 

4.  The  latter  industry  did  not  make  much  progress  until  the  enact- 
ment of  the  McKinley  protective  tariff  in  1890. 

5.  When  the  Wilson  tariff  bill  became  a  law  the  industry  received 
a  setback.    The  lower  tariff  on  braids,  as  well  as  other  articles,  per- 
mitted the  import  of  braids  cheaper  than  the  American  manufacturer 
could  produce  them.     This  condition  lasted  until  the  Dingley  bill 
(the  present  tariff  of  1897)  became  a  law. 

6.  This  put  a  better  protection  on  these  goods  so  that  progress  was 
again  made. 

7.  Shortly  after  the  Dingley  bill  became  a  law  new  materials  were 
invented  called  "  artificial  silk  "  and  "  artificial  horsehair,"  which 
were  used  largely  in  the  manufacture  of  braids  and  trimming^. 

8.  As  these  materials  and  the  braids  and  trimmings  made  there- 
from were  not  known  at  the  time  of  the  enactment  of  the  Dingley 
tariff,  they  were  not  therein  provided  for.     Consequently  the  Ameri- 
can manufacturers  did  not  receive  sufficient  protection  on  braids  and 
trimmings  made  from  these  materials.     Large  quantities  were  im- 
ported from  Europe  owing  to  insufficient  protection.     The  duty  on 
artificial  silk  was  assessed  at  30  per  cent  and  on  artificial  horsehair 
20  per  cent.     The  braids  and  trimmings  made  from  artificial  silk 
were  assessed  at  60  per  cent  ad  valorem,  which  gave  us  a  protection 
of  only  30  per  cent  above  the  duty  on  the  material  instead  of  60  per 
cent  as  on  other  braids  and  trimmings  made  from  silk,  wool,  and 
other  materials. 

9.  Braids  made  of  artificial  horsehair  were  assessed  at  20  per  cent, 
thereby  giving  the  industry  no  protection  on  these  braids,  as  both 
the  raw  material  and  the  manufactured  article  were  assessed  at  the 
same  rate  of  20  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

10.  In  braid  manufactured  in  the  United  States  the  material  con- 
sumed is  approximately  40  per  cent  of  the  cost  and  the  labor  and 
expenses  are  60  per  cent  of  the  co>t. 

11.  In  Europe,  where  most  of  this  class  of  goods  is  manufactured, 
the  labor  and  expenses  are  about  one-third  of  what  they  are  in  this 
country.     Therefore,   assuming  that  their  material  cos"ts  them   the 
same  as  ours  (through  our  having  a  compensatory  duty  to  cover  the 
duty  on  the  material)  their  material  would  amount  to  40  per  cent 
of  our  cost  and  their  labor  and  expenses  would  be  only  one-third  of 
60  per  cent  of  our  cost,  which  would  be  equal  to  20  per  cent,  thus 
making  their  total  cost  equal  to  60  per  cent  of  our  cost. 

.12.  If  60  per  cent  ad  valorem  duty  be  added  to  this  (in  addition 
to  compensatory  duty,  to  cover  duty 'on  material)  it  will  make  their 
total  cost  landed,  with  60  per  cent  duty  added,  equal  to  about  96  per 


ARTIFICIAL  SILK.  5797 

cent  of  our  cost,  which  would  result  in  putting  us  in  a  position  to 
compete  with  them  without  said  rate  of  duty  being  at  all  prohibitive. 

13.  We  therefore  ask  on  all  our  braids  a  compensatory  duty  equal 
to  the  duty  assessed  on  the  raw  material  and  in  addition  thereto  60 
per  cent  ad  valorem. 

14.  On  trimmings  made  from  braids,  or  trimmings  in  which  braids 
are  used,  there  should  be  an  extra  duty  to  cover  the  difference  in 
cost  of  the  extra  labor  necessary  to  make  these  trimmings,  as  the 
price  for  labor  on  these  trimmings  in  Europe  is  equal  to  25  per  cent 
of  the  price  paid  for  the  same  labor  in  the  United  States,  and  we 
therefore   ask   to   have   a   new    paragraph    inserted   covering   such 
trimmings. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

BRAID  MANUFACTURERS  or  THE  UNITED  STATES, 
HENRY  W.  SCHLOSS,  President. 


STATEMENT  OF  CHARLES  A.  ERNST,  OF  IANSDOWN,  PA.,  REP- 
RESENTING MANUFACTURERS  OF  ARTIFICIAL  SILK  AND  ARTI- 
FICIAL HORSEHAIR  YARNS. 

TUESDAY,  December  1,  1908. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  wish  to  be  heard  upon  artificial  silk? 

Mr.  ERNST.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  paragraph,  Mr.  Ernst? 

Mr.  ERNST.  Paragraph  385. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  may  proceed,  Mr.  Ernst. 

We  represent  the  manufacturers  of  artificial  silk  and  artificial 
horsehair  yarns  of  the  United  States. 

These  goods  were  not  produced  at  the  time  of  the  enactment  of  the 
Dingley  tariff  law  of  1897,  and  therefore  were  not  provided  for  there- 
in. Although  this  industry  is  still  in  its  infancy,  there  are  already 
produced  in  Europe  more  than  10,000,000  pounds  annually,  of  which 
more  than  1,000,000  pounds  are  imported  into  the  United  States  each 
year. 

In  the  United  States  this  industry  is  just  out  of  the  experimental 
stage,  and  there  was  produced  last  year  about  40,000  pounds. 

These  yarns  have  been  assessed  at  various  rates  of  duty  under  the 
similitude  clause,  according  to  the  different  rulings  of  the  courts. 
According  to  the  last  ruling  now  in  force  artificial  -silk  yarn  is  as- 
sessed at  30  per  cent  ad  valorem  and  artificial  horsehair  yarn  is 
assessed  at  20  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

We  strongly  recommend  that  a  duty  on  all  these  yarns  be  made  n 
specific  duty  at  the  rate  of  60  cents  per  pound,  which  is  just  about 
sufficient  to  compensate  the  American  manufacturer  for  the  difference 
between  the  cost  of  labor  in  Europe  and  in  this  country. 

As  the  European  price  of  these  yarns  does  not  fluctuate  much,  the 
minimum  being  about  13  marks  per  kilo  and  the  maximum  being 
about  17  marks  per  kilo,  or  an  average  of  15  marks  per  kilo,  which  is 
equivalent  to  $1.62  per  pound,  this  duty  of  60  cents  per  pound 
which  we  request  would  therefore  be  equivalent  to  about  37  per  cent 
ad  valorem  and  is  the  very  lowest  duty  at  which  this  industry  could 
successfully  compete  with  the  European  manufacturers. 


5798  SCHEDULE  L< — SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 

To  enable  the  consumers  of  these  yarns  in  this  country,  who  are 
principally  manufacturers  of  braids  and  trimmings,  to  compete  with 
the  European  manufacturers  of  braids  and  trimmings,  we  recommend 
that  a  compensatory  duty  of  60  cents  per  pound  be  assessed  upon 
artificial  silk  braids  and  trimmings  (to  compensate  for  the  same  duty 
on  the  yarn)  in  addition  to  the  protective  duty  of  60  per  cent  ad 
valorem. 

We  add  hereto  a  new  paragraph,  which  we  recommend  to  be  in- 
serted in  Schedule  L,  covering  artificial  silk  and  artificial  horsehair 
yarns : 

"Artificial  silk,  wood  silk,  artificial  horsehair,  or  any  kind  of  arti- 
ficial fiber,  filament,  thread,  or  yarn,  in  whatever  way  manufactured 
from  a  solution  of  either  animal,  vegetable,  or  inorganic  material, 
shall  pay  a  duty  of  60  cents  per  pound.  If  colored,  bleached,  dyed, 
.spooled,  or  advanced  beyond  the  condition  of  singles  by  grouping  or 
twisting  two  or  more  single  yarns  together,  the  duty  levied  shall  be 
60  cents  per  pound  and  5  cents  per  pound  additional  for  each  of  the 
above  operations." 

I  represent  the  Genasco  Silk  Works,  Lansdowne,  Pa.,  and  Henry 
'Bernstein  of  the  Art  Fiber  Co.,  Norristown,  Pa. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  present  duty  that  you  are  paying 
under  this  similitude  clause? 

Mr.  ERNST.  The  present  duty  is  30  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  would  a  60  -cent  a  pound  duty  amount  to 
ad  valorem? 

Mr.  ERNST.  About  37  per  cent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  In  other  words,  you  want  an  increase  of  duty  of 
7  per  cent  ? 

Mr.  ERNST.  Exactly. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  consumption  of  this  class  of  goods 
in  this  country  to-day? 

Mr.  ERNST.  They  are  importing  at  this  time  about  1,000.000  pounds 
of  silk  and  about  200,000  pounds  of  horsehair  yarn. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  production  of  the  American  manufac- 
turers in  silk? 

Mr.  ERNST.  Last  year  about  40,000  pounds. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  of  horsehair  yarn,  how  much! 

Mr.  ERNST.  Last  year  it  was  trifling.  The  year  before  that  about 
10,000. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  So  that  at  present  the  foreign  article  has  control 
of  the  American  market? 

Mr.  ERNST.  Exactly. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  the  present  duty  is  not  sufficiently  equalized  ? 

Mr.  ERNST.  We  have  not  been  able  to  put  the  American  manu- 
facture on  a  basis  which  is  sufficiently  attractive  for  anyone  to  invest 
any  more  capital  in  it. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Are  these  goods  machine  made  or  handmade? 

Mr.  ERNST.  Largely  labor ;  a  large  portion  of  the  cost  is  labor  cost. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Where  does  the  imported  article  come  from  ? 

Mr.  ERNST.  The  principal  factories  are  in  Besangon,  France; 
Tubize,  Belgium ;  Elberfeld,  in  Germany,  and  Spreitenbach,  a  little 
town  near  Frankfort.  There  is  also  one  in  England  near  Coventry. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  difference  in  labor  cost  between  this 
countrv  and  the  other  countries? 


ARTIFICIAL  SILK.  5799 

Mr.  ERNST.  About  60  cents  a  pound. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Have  you  any  advantage  in  the  raw  material  over 
the  foreign  producer? 

Mr.  ERNST.  No,  sir.  We  are  at  a  little  disadvantage  in  chemicals, 
but  that  is  about  conxpensated  for  by  the  freight  charges  and  other 
incidental  charges  of  importation. 

Mr.  HILL.  Do  the  factories  that  are  making  artificial  silk  in  the 
United  States  use  a  chemical  process  or  alcphol  ? 

Mr.  ERNST.  A  chemical  process.  Alcohol  is  not  used  in  any  process 
in  the  United  States. 

Mr.  HILL.  Where  is  your  factory? 

Mr.  ERNST.  At  Lansdowne,  near  Philadelphia ;  a  suburb  of  Phila- 
delphia. 

Mr.  HILL.  The  process  in  Europe  has  not  been  adopted? 

Mr.  ERNST.  There  are  two  processes  over  there,  one  consuming 
alcohol  and  the  other  not. 

Mr.  HILL.  You  do  not  use  alcohol? 

Mr.  ERNST.  We  do  not  use  it;  no. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Has  not  the  denaturing  of  alcohol  made  it  cheap 
enough  to  be  used  in  that  process? 

Mr.  ERNST.  It  was  supposed  to  before  the  law  was  passed,  but  it 
was  afterwards  found  that  the  labor  cost  was  too  high  to  enable  it 
to  be  established  here  on  that  basis. 


STATEMENT  OF  A.  S.  WAITZFELDER,  OF  682  BROADWAY,  NEW 
YORK  CITY,  REPRESENTING  THE  BRAID  MANUFACTURERS' 
ASSOCIATION,  HENRY  W.  SCHLOSS,  PRESIDENT. 

TUESDAY,  December  1,  1908. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  paragraph  do  you  wish  to  speak  upon? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  A  paragraph  that  is  not  provided  for  in  the 
present  tariff,  artificial  silk  braids.  I  have  some  samples  here  of  the 
goods.  [Exhibiting  samples  to  the  chairman.]  They  are  made  of 
artificial  silk. 

We  represent  the  braid  manufacturers  of  the  United  States.  We 
manufacture  braids  and  trimmings,  made  of  various  materials,  which 
are  treated  in  the  tariff  in  various  schedules  and  in  relation  to  which 
we  have  already  filed  several  briefs. 

Since  the  enactment  of  the  present  Dingley  tariff  law  of  1897,  new 
materials  known  as  artificial  silk  and  artificial  horsehair  have  been 
invented  which  were  not  known  at  that  time  and  which  have  since 
become  the  materials  most  largely  used  in  the  manufacture  of  braids 
and  trimmings.  These  yarns  are  manufactured  from  solutions  of 
cellulose,  etc.  The  braids  and  trimmings  made  from  these  yarns 
show  a  brilliancy  and  firmness  not  obtainable  from  any  other  ma- 
terial and  have  therefore  to  a  large  extent  supplanted  the  use  of  real 
silk  in  the  manufacture  of  braids  and  trimmings. 

These  yarns  and  the  braids  and  trimmings  made  therefrom  were 
not  known  at  the  time  of  the  enactment  of  the  Dingley  tariff  law 
and  were  consequently  not  provided  for  therein. 

They  have  been  assessed  at  various  rates  of  duty  according  to 
different  rulings  of  the  courts,  unilor  the  similitude  clause  in  the 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  00-2— Vol  G 3 


5800  SCHEDULE  L SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

tariff  act.  According  to  the  last  ruling,  now  in  force,  artificial  silk 
yarn  is  assessed  at  30  per  cent  ad  valorem  and  artificial  horsehair 
yarn  is  assessed  at  20  per  cent  ad  valorem.  Artificial  silk  braids 
and  trimmings  are  assessed  at  60  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

This  therefore  gives  the  domestic  manufacturer  of  artificial  silk 
braids  and  trimmings  a  differential  duty  of  only  30  per  cent  ad 
valorem  above  the  duty  assessed  on  yarns  used  in  these  braids  and 
trimmings.  On  real  silk  braids  and  trimmings,  as  well  as  on  worsted 
braids,  we  have  a  differential  protective  duty  of  60  per  cent  ad 
valorem  above  the  duty  on  the  raw  material,  which  is  the  very  lowest 
rate  of  duty  at  which  we  are  enabled  to  compete  with  foreign  manu- 
facturers. This  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  even  on  those  braids 
and  trimmings  on  which  a  60  per  cent  differential  duty  is  assessed 
there  have  been  large  importations. 

It  can  therefore  be  readily  seen  that  with  only  30  per  cent  differ- 
ential duty  on  artificial  silk  braids  and  trimmings,  the  domestic 
braid  manufacturer  is  absolutely  in  no  position  to  compete  with  the 
European  braid  manufacturer,  except  when  braids  and  trimmings  are 
in  such  demand  that  a  prompter  delivery  can  be  made  than  by  placing 
orders  abroad. 

The  record  of  imports  bears  out  these  facts,  showing  that  since 
artificial  silk  braids  and  trimmings  have  been  manufactured  the  im- 
portation of  braids  and  trimmings  has  enormously  increased.  We 
therefore  recommend  the  insertion  of,  in  Schedule  L,  a  new  para- 
graph covering  artificial  silks  and  artificial  horsehair  yarns,  and 
assessing  thereon  a  specific  duty  which  will  cover  the  difference  be- 
tween the  cost  of  labor  here  and  abroad  in  the  manufacture  of  these 
yarns. 

On  braids,  trimmings,  etc.,  made  from  these  yarns,  we  recommend 
a  compensatory  duty  equivalent  to  the  duty  assessed  on  the  yarn, 
and  in  addition  thereto  60  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

This  would  give  us  the  same  protection  on  these  braids  and  trim- 
mings which  we  have  at  present  on  braids  and  trimmings  made  of 
other  yarns,  and  would  be  the  lowest  duty  which  would  enable  us  to 
compete  with  the  foreign  manufacturers,  as  shown  by  figures  sub- 
mitted in  our  other  briefs. 

We  annex  hereto  two  paragraphs  as  above  referred  to,  recommend- 
ing that  same  be  added  to  Schedule  L. 

Artificial  silk,  wood  silk,  artificial  horsehair,  or  any  kind  of  arti- 
ficial fiber,  filament,  thread,  or  yarn,  in  whatever  way  manufactured 
from  a  solution  of  either  animal,  vegetable,  or  inorganic  material, 
shall  pay  a  duty  of  60  cents  per  pound. 

Laces,  and  articles  made  wholly  or  in  part  of  lace,  edgings,  insert- 
ings,  galloons,  chiffon  or  other  nouncings,  net  or  nettings,  and  veil- 
ings, neck  rufflings,  ruchings,  braids,  fringes,  trimmings,  bandings, 
including  hat  bands,  beltings,  bindings,  cords,  tassels,  cords  and  tas- 
sels, ribbons,  webs  and  webbings,  embroideries  and  articles  embroi- 
dered by  hand  or  machinery,  or  tamboured  or  appliqued,  clothing 
ready-made,  and  articles  of  wearing  apparel  of  every  description,  in- 
cluding knit  goods,  made  up  or  manufactured  in  whole  or  in  part  by 
the  tailor,  seamstress,  or  manufacturer;  all  of  the  above-named  arti- 
cles, made  wholly  or  in  chief  value  of  tartificial  silk,  wood  silk,  arti- 
ficial horsehair,  or  any  kind  of  artificial  fiber,  filament,  thread,  or 
yarn,  in  whatever  way  manufactured  from  a  solution  of  either  ani- 


AKTIFICIAL    SILK A.    S.    WAITZFELDEE.  5801 

mal,  vegetable,  or  inorganic  material,  shall  be  subject  to  a  duty  of  60 
cents  per  pound  and  in  addition  thereto  60  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Under  the  tariff  of  1897  the  duties  prescribed  were : 

Section  1,  paragraph  385.  Silk  threads  or  yarns  of  every  descrip- 
tion, except  spun  silk,  30  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Paragraph  390.  Braids,  fringes,  trimmings,  embroideries,  etc., 
made  of  silk,  or  of  which  silk  is  the  component  or  chief  material,  60 
per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Paragraph  302.  Cotton  yarn  not  advanced  beyond  the  condition  of 
singles,  3  cents  per  pound  up  to  No.  15,  etc.,  and  if  advanced  beyond 
the  condition  of  singles  by  grouping  or  twisting  two  or  more  single 
yarns  together,  on  all  braids  exceeding  No.  20  and  up  to  No.  80,  one- 
fourth  of  1  cent  per  number  per  pound,  and  on  No.  80  and  above, 
three-tenths  of  1  cent  per  number  per  pound. 

SEC.  6.  On  all  raw  or  unmanufactured  articles  not  enumerated,  10 
per  cent  ad  valorem,  and  on  all  manufactured  articles  not  enu- 
merated, 20  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

SEC.  7.  Articles  not  enumerated  but  similar  in  material,  quality, 
texture,  or  use  to  the  enumerated  article  shall  pay  the  same  rate  of 
duty  on  the  enumerated  article  which  it  most  resembles,  and  if  it 
equally  resembles  two  or  more  enumerated  articles  then  the  rate  of 
duty  on  the  highest. 

Under  these  acts  the  Board  of  General  Appraisers  (by  T.  D.  24155) 
assessed  a  duty  of  30  per  cent  ad  valorem,  under  paragraph  385,  sec- 
tion 1,  act  July  24,  1897  (U.  S.  Comp.  St.  1901,  p.  1668),  on  so-called 
"  artificial  silk  yarns,"  under  the  similitude  clause,  as  being  most  like 
silk  yarn. 

The  importers  claim  that  same  were  most  like  and  therefore  duti- 
able as  cotton  yarns  or  else  as  articles  not  enumerated. 

United  States  circuit  court  of  New  York,  in  Von  Burnuth  appeal, 
sustained  the  opinion  of  the  Board  of  General  Appraisers  (133  Fed., 
800) ,  December,  1904,  but  in  Von  Burnuth's  appeal  °  the  circuit  court 
of  appeals  decided  that  the  yarn  was  more  like  cotton  than  like  silk, 
and  should  be  classified  under  paragraph  302  as  cotton  yarn. 

Under  this  ruling  the  appraisers  appraised  the  artificial  silk  yarn 
as  cotton  yarn  advanced  beyond  the  condition  of  singles  at  one-fourth 
of  1  cent  per  number  per  pound. 

This  largely  increased  the  duty,  and  the  importers  protested,  and 
the  final  result  was  that  the  protests  were  abandoned  and  the  assess- 
ments made  by  the  collector  under  the  previous  decisions  of  the  Board 
of  General  Appraisers  at  30  per  cent  ad  valorem  were  adjudged  to 
stand  as  assessed. 

I  have  the  paragraph  here  which  we  propose,  if  you  wish  me  to 
read  that,  or  I  would  be  pleased  to  answer  any  questions  which  any 
of  you  gentlemen  may  wish  to  ask. 

Mr.  HILL.  Does  it  cost  us  any  more  to  weave  the  fabric  from  the 
artificial  silk  than  the  natural  silk? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Approximately  the  same. 

Mr.  HILL.  What  you  are  asking  for  is  substantially  an  ad  valorem 
duty? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  The  same  that  is  on  the  real  silk  braids. 


•  Treasury  Decisions,  voL  11,  No.  23,  June  7, 1906. 


5802  SCHEDULE  L SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  HOAV  do  they  classify  this  silk  in  the  tariff  act  ? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Under  the  last  ruling  of  the  court  it  has  been 
assessed  under  the  similitude  clause  the  same  as  silk  yarns,  and  the 
braids  have  been  classified  under  that  clause  the  same  as  silk  braids. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  still  in  litigation,  is  it  not? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Although  the  Government  has  collected  duty  the 
same  as  upon  the  others  ? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  Are  all  of  the  samples  that  you  have  submitted  here 
made  of  artificial  silk  yarn? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  what  is  it  made  of? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  It  is  made  of  a  solution  of  cellulose,  using  there- 
for either  raw  cotton  or  wood  fiber,  or  any  other  material  of  which  the 
principal  component  is  cellulose.  It  is  treated  chemically,  and  drawn 
through  small  tubes  to  make  the  filament  or  fiber,  which  is  afterwards 
spun  or  twisted  into  yarn. 

Mr.  HILL.  Will  it  go  to  pieces  when  wet  ? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Not  to  the  same  extent  as  it  originally  did. 
-They  have  improved  it  very  much  in  that  respect.  It  will  stand  a 
certain  amount  of  moisture  without  being  injured. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Does  it  burn  very  easily  ? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Not  at  all.  The  first  product  did,  but  it  has 
been  denitrated,  so  it  is  not  more  combustible  than  any  other  real 
silk  fiber. 

Mr.  GAINES.  A  great  deal  of  it  is  made  from  scrap  silk,  isn't  it, 
silk  cloth? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Not  at  all.  They  have  to  take  a  vegetable  fiber, 
not  an  animal  fiber  like  real  silk. 

Mr.  HILL.  Would  you  think  it  was  right  or  wrong  to  require  the 
manufacturer  of  silk  fiber,  made  partially  of  artificial  silk  and  the 
rest  natural,  to  specify  the  same  on  the  label ;  that  is,  to  specify  that 
the  artificial  silk  was  contained  in  the  product? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  I  do  not  see  what  the  advantage  would  be. 
.  Mr.  HILL.  I  mean  of  advantage  to  the  buyer,  not  the  manufacturer. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  is  the  effect  of  water  on  artificial  silk? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  It  makes  it  very  brittle,  easily  broken. 

Mr.  HILL.  It  is  a  very  serious  question  whether  a  lady's  dress 
hung  up  in  a  closet  in  a  damp  climate,  containing  artificial  silk,  will 
not  cause  that  article  to  disappear  in  the  fabric? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  It  would  be  less  durable  than  if  it  was  made 
entirely  of  real  silk;  there  is  no  question  about  that. 

Mr.  HILL.  The  question  is  whether  there  should  not  be  a  distinc- 
tion required,  so  that  the  buyer  would  know  what  he  was  buying. 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Well,  it  would  not  be  objectionable  to  have  that 
distinguished.  So  far  artificial  silk  has  been  used  very  little  for 
weaving  fabric  such  as  dresses.  Principally  it  is  used  for  making 
braids  and  dress  trimmings  and  other  articles  in  which  durability  is 
not  an  essential  quality. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  This  is  a  new  industry,  is  it  not  ? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  So  far  as  it  relates  to  artificial  silk  it  is  an 
essentially  new  industry. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  It  is  an  infant  industry  throughout  the  world,  is  it 
not,  and  it  is  an  industry  which  promises  to  give  large  uses  for  cotton. 


ARTIFICIAL    SILK— A.    S.    WAITZFELDER.  5803 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Yes,  sir;  millions  of  pounds  of  cotton  have 
already  been  used  in  manufacturing  this  silk  yarn. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Do  you  not  think  that  if  the  supply  could  be  furnished 
to  the  people  now  that  the  consumption  of  these  goods  would  be  very 
great  ? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  These  goods  which  we  make? 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Yes;  that  there  would  be  a  rapid  increase  in  the 
amount  used. 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Well,  they  are  essentially  luxuries,  and  there- 
fore the  protective  duty  which  is  put  on  them  would  not  to  any  appre- 
ciable extent  diminish  the  consumption. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  What  do  you  mean  by  "  luxury  ?  " 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Used  for  purposes  of  ornamentation. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Not  goods  for  ordinary  common  use  for  common 
people  ? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  They  are  used  principally  for  trimming  high- 
priced  garments. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  The  product  is  made  much  cheaper  than  silk,  is  it 
not? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  No,  sir;  the  price  per  pound  is  lower  than  the 
price  per  pound  of  silk,  but  the  specific  gravity  of  the  material  is 
very  much  heavier  than  the  specific  gravity  of  silk,  which  difference 
in  Aveight  almost  compensates  for  the  difference  in  price. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  This  will  not  give  any  cheaper  silk,  or  anything  that 
resembles  silk,  but  it  gives  a  different  article  that  will  cost  about  as 
much  as  silk? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  The  present  price  is  about  the  same  as  silk,  but 
the  artificial  silk  possesses  more  brilliancy  and  firmness  than  real  silk. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  I  am  not  asking  about  that.  This  does  not  offer 
a  cheap  commodity  to  the  world,  but  a  different  commodity,  that  has 
its  own  advantages  ? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  You  are  correct  about  that. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  does  this  cost  per  yard  ? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  That  which  you  hold  in  your  hand  would  cost 
about  25  cents  a  yard. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  would  the  same  in  silk  cost  ? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Silk  braid  of  about  the  same  width  and  body 
would  be  about  the  same  price,  approximately. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  makes  a  market  for  cotton,  does  it  not? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  It  certainly  does,  a  very  large  market  for  cotton. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  I  thought  you  said  that  it  was  a -luxury. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  When  the  ladies  learn  about  it,  it  is  easy  to  test 
it  and  see  whether  it  is  artificial  or  real  silk  by  the  application  of 
water  to  the  sample. 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Yes ;  they  could  do  that. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Then  would  you  advise  ladies  to  carry  a  bottle  of 
water  around  with  them  when  they  go  shopping? 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  this  silk  will  wash  out  of 
the  dress? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Not  nearly  as  badly  as  that.  After  it  was  very 
damp  it  would  weaken  it  and  possess  much  less  durability  than  braid 
or  trimming  made  of  real  silk. 


5804  SCHEDULE  L SILKS   AND  SILK   GOODS. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  this  silk  sells  as  high  as  real  silk,  and  if  it  is  liable 
to  go  to  pieces,  what  will  anybody  buy  it  for  ? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  It  is  used  principally  for  braids  and  trim- 
mings, which  do  not  have  to  stand  much  wear,  but  which  are  used 
for  ornamentation.  It  is  used  very  little  for  weaving  into  fabrics 
which  require  great  durability. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Will  it  last  as  long  in  a  dry  place  as  real  silk  ? 

Mr.  WAITZFELDER.  Yes;  it  will.  It  is  not  higher  priced  than  real 
silk.  It  is  also  very  much  more  sightly  on  account  of  the  added  bril- 
liancy and  firmness.  We  have  already  succeeded  in  selling,  quite  a 
quantity  in  place  of  the  real  silk.  It  is  preferred  on  account  of  the 
better  appearance  that  it  makes. 


THE  CLEVELAND   (OHIO)   ART  SILK  COMPANY  SUBMITS  BRIEF 
RELATIVE  TO  ARTIFICIAL  SILK  AND  HORSEHAIR. 

CLEVELAND,  OHIO,  November  28,  1908. 
The  COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  About  five  years  ago  artificial  silk  and  horsehair 
were  classified  as  collodion,  paragraph  17,  with  a  duty  of  65  cents  per 
pound  specific  and  25  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

At  that  time  we  organized  a,  company  and  began  experimenting 
on  different  processes  for  making  artificial  silk,  which  experiments 
have  been  very  costly. 

The  demand  for  artificial  silk  is  at  present  enormous,  but  as  is  well 
known  is  largely  of  foreign  manufacture. 

During  the  time  we  perfected  our  process  for  making  artificial  silk, 
for  some  reason,  this  article  was  reclassified  as  silk,  paragraph  385, 
with  only  30  per  cent  ad  valorem  duty,  which  crippled  this  infant 
industry,  so  tnat  we  could  not  compete  with  the  foreign  goods  on 
account  of  the  much  lower  selling  price. 

A  greater  part  of  the  foreign  artificial  silk  and  horsehair  imported 
into  this  country  is  a  collodion  product,  made  by  either  the  Char- 
donett,  Lehner,  or  Bronnert,  and  Schumberger  process,  and  therefore 
it  should  never  have  been  reclassified,  but  owing  to  the  fact  that 
artificial  silk  and  horsehair  is  also  made  from  hydrocellulose,  viscoes, 
and  other  material,  we  therefore  are  asking  to  have  artificial  silk  and 
horsehair  made  from  nitrocellulose,  hydrocellulose,  viscoes,  or  from 
any  other  material  classified  in  a  paragraph  by  itself  with  65  cents 
per  pound  specific  and  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  duty,  same  as  at  first 
obtained. 

The  reason  we  need  this  protection  asked  for  is  principally  on 
account  of  the  difference  hi  wages  paid  in  this  country  and  in  Europe, 
as  wages  are  a  large  part  of  the  cost  of  production,  particularly  in  the 
beginning,  when  all  of  the  labor  employed  is  unskilled  and  must  be 
educated. 

The  protection  asked  for  is  certainly  very  reasonable,  as  it  would 
only  advance  the  selling  price  to  about  $2.80  per  pound,  and  such 


ARTIFICIAL   SILK.  5805 

protection  would  start  at  once  a  large  industry  in  this  country,  giving 
employment  to  large  numbers. 

We  understand  that  in  Europe  at  the  present  time  about  12  or  15 
factories  are  employing  from  300  to  5,000  people  each,  making  a 
total  production  of  about  25  tons  of  artificial  silk  per  day. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

THE  CLEVELAND  ART  SILK  Co., 
HENRY  HERTEL,  Manager. 


HON.  PAUL  HOWLAND,  M.  C.,  SUBMITS  LETTER  OF  THE  CLEVE- 
LAND (OHIO)  AET  SILK  COMPANY  RELATIVE  TO  ARTIFICIAL 
SILK  AND  HORSEHAIR. 

CLEVELAND,  OHIO,  January  %6,  1909. 

Hon.  PAUL  HOWLAND,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  delayed  writing,  knowing  that  on  your  return  to 
Washington  you  would  be  very  busy. 

When  Mr.  Tinnerman  and  myself  called  on  you,  we  did  not  thor- 
oughly explain  our  wants  and  therefore  I  take  the  liberty  of  writing 
you  at  this  time,  kindly  asking  you  to  suggest  to  the  Committee  on 
WTays  and  Means  that  a  duty  of  65  cents  per  pound  specific  and  25 
per  cent  ad  valorem  on  artificial  silk  and  horsehair  asked  for,  very 
reasonable,  for  reasons  already  mentioned  in  our  brief  now  on  file 
with  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 

This  infant  industry  (artificial  silk)  when  first  started  in  Europe, 
about  six  or  seven  years  ago,  has  grown  so  rapidly  that  they  are  now 
employing  at  least  25,000  people. 

Why  should  not  this  country  make  all  or  a  great  part  of  what  is 
used  here.  The  demand  for  such  silk  is  growing  more  and  more  every 
day,  because  a  new  use  for  it  is  found  right  along,  but  that  will  only 
be  possible  if  the  protection  asked  for  is  granted,  which  protection 
amounts  to  about  the  difference  in  wages  paid  in  this  country  and 
in  Europe. 

For  an  illustration  I  inclose  a  separate  sheet  showing  the  number 
of  help  required  in  a  European  factory  making  350  kilos  (770 
pounds)  per  twenty-four  hours,  working  three  shifts. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  if  the  duty  asked  for  on  artificial  silk  is 
granted,  in  a  very  short  time  this  country  will  have  a  new  industry 
giving  employment  to  at  least  as  many  people  as  are  now  employed 
in  Europe,  and  instead  of  this  country  producing  about  40,000 
pounds  annually,  as  has  been  stated,  the  amount  would  be  nearer 
5,000,000  pounds. 

In  conclusion.  I  will  say  that  we  are  making  the  kind  of  silk  that 
the  manufacturers  prefer  (hydrocellulose  silk),  which  is  far  superior 
to  viscoes  silk  on  account  of  its  strength,  tenacity,  and  elasticity; 
also  superior  to  nitrocellulose  silk,  being  free  from  all  danger  in 
poisonous  vapors  and  explosive  substances,  which  makes  the  nitro- 
cellulose process  very  dangerous.  We  may  also  add  that  our  silk 
at  the  present  time  has  more  strength,  tenacity,  and  elasticity  than 


5806  SCHEDULE  L SILKS  AND  SILK   GOODS. 

any  silk  in  the  market,  and  we  think  that  in  the  near  future  we  will 
be  able  to  make  it  strong  enough  so  that  it  can  be  used  in  broadgoods 
and  ribbons;  but  with  the  present  30  per  cent  ad  valorem  duty  it 
can  not  be  made  with  a  profit,  and  if  the  duty  asked  for  is  not 
granted  this  industry  can  never  prosper,  because  of  one  principal 
reason — that  our  high  wages  against  the  low  wages  in  Europe  is  the 
most  important  item  in  the  cost  of  production. 

Thanking  you  in  advance  for  whatever  you  can  do  to  help  this 
new  industry,  we  remain, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

THE  CLEVELAND  ART  SILK  COMPANY. 

HENRY  HERTEL. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

Showing  the  amount  of  help  employed  in  a  European  factory 
making  350  kilos  (770  pounds)  per  twenty-four  hours,  working  three 
shifts:  Manager,  1;  assistant  manager,  1;  chemist,  1;  cashier,  1; 
office  help,  4.  Washing  and  bleaching  cotton  department :  Foreman, 
1;  men  for  machines,  2;  men  for  boiling,  2;  man  for  packing,  1; 
men  for  rinsing,  2 ;  man  for  picking,  1.  Mixing  and  filtering  depart- 
ment :  Foreman,  1 ;  men  for  mixing,  2.  Spinning  department :  Men 
for  spinning,  180 ;  men  for  washing,  30 ;  men  for  drying,  15.  Reeling 
department:  Girls  for  reeling,  105;  boys  for  reeling,  35.  Twisting 
department:  Girls  for  twisting,  80.  Other  parts  of  the  factory:  Men 
for  manufacture  of  ammonia,  3;  men  for  ice  machinery  and  pumps, 
2 ;  men  for  washing  skeins,  2 ;  men  for  repairs  and  carpentry,  6 ;  men 
instructors,  5;  men  porters,  2;  firemen,  2;  engineers,  2;  electrician, 
1 ;  glassblowers,  2 ;  plumber,  1.  Making  a  total  of  493  people,  which 
number  would  also  have  to  be  employed  in  this  country  to  make  770 
pounds  per  twenty-four  hours,  working  three  shifts,  amounting  to 
about  $825.25  for  labor,  which  amount  is  more  than  double  what 
would  have  to  be  paid  in  Europe  to  make  the  same  amount. 


COLNE  &  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  ASK  THAT  PRESENT  DUTIES 
BE  RETAINED  ON  ARTIFICIAL  SILK. 

NEW  YORK,  December  8,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  0. 

GENTLEMEN:  In  connection  with  the  revision  of  the  tariff  on  silks, 
we  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  the  duties  now  collected  on  artificial 
silk — 30  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

On  behalf  of  parties  intending  to  start  the  manufacture  by  a  new 
process  of  this  artificial  silk  here,  we  would  ask  that  the  present  duty 
be  not  lowered.  This  style  of  silk,  to  our  knowledge,  is  not  manufac- 
tured here,  or,  if  any  is  made,  it  must  be  in  a  very  small  quantity. 

We  have  in  abundance  hi  this  country  the  raw  material  for  this 
manufacture.  The  making  of  this  silk  is  now  in  successful  operation 


ARTIFICIAL    SILK COLNE    &    CO.  5807 

in  France  and  England,  Belgium,  and  Italy.  Owing  to  the  low  price 
of  labor  in  those  countries  this  new  manufacture  could  not  be  made 
successful  here  if  the  present  rate  of  duty  is  not  maintained.  As 
labor  is  the  principal  cost  in  making  this  silk,  we  are  here  under  a 
disadvantage.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  present  duty  is  maintained 
or  raised,  we  will  be  able  to  compete  with  importation.  If  we  are 
encouraged  by  maintaining  the  present  tariff,  our  proposed  works 
will  employ  a  large  number  of  hands,  as  a  great  part  of  the  process  is 
carried  on  by  hand  labor. 

We  send  you  herewith  a  sample  of  some  of  this  silk  made  in  France. 
The  demand  for  this  material  is  great,  and  if  we  are  not  hampered  by 
the  tariff  we  will  be  able  to  create  an  industry  which  will  be  quite 
beneficial  to  the  workingman,  as  well  as  the  owners. 

We  presume  it  is  not  necessary  to  remind  your  committee  that  pro- 
tection has  been  the  means  of  creating  a  large  number  of  industries  in 
this  country  which  are  now  in  successful  operation. 

We  ask  to  be  the  means,  with  your  help,  of  contributing  another 
enterprise  to  the  prosperity  of  the  country. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

COLNE  &  Co. 


COLNE  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  FILE  SUPPLEMENTAL  INFORMA- 
TION RELATIVE  TO  IMPORTATIONS  OF  ARTIFICIAL  SILK. 

11  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK,  January  1,  1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  have  addressed  to  your  committee  a  letter  dated 
December  8,  concerning  the  duty  on  artificial  silk.  Since  that  time 
we  have  received  data  which  we  think  will  bear  on  the  question. 

We  are  informed  that  last  year  $63,000,000  of  raw  silk  has  been 
imported.  From  Japan,  $40,000,000;  from  Italy,  $13,00,000;  from 
China,  $8,250,000,  and  from  France,  $1,500,000. 

We  have  read  the  testimony  before  your  committee  of  Messrs.  Ernst 
and  Wartzf elder,  and  we  fully  concur  in  their  recommendation  of  a 
duty  of  60  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Owing  to  quite  recent  improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  this 
artificial  silk  it  has  taken  a  large  extension  in  Europe.  Naturally,  if 
we  can  not  get  the  proper  protection  for  our  intended  works  here  we 
shall  have  to  abandon  our  intentions.  As  a  consequence  the  European 
manufacturers  will  export  their  silk  in  large  quantities,  and  we  shall 
not  only  have  to  pay  large  sums  of  money  for  the  supply  of  the  silk 
manufacture  and  the  trimming  business,  but  we  will  be  prevented 
from  developing  a  business  which  is  bound  to  become  important. 

Your  committee  will  be  able  to  judge  of  the  future  of  this  business 
by  examining  the  samples  of  the  latest  improved  manufacture  sent  to 
us  from  Europe,  which  we  are  sending  you  under  separate  cover. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

COLNE  &  Co. 


5808  SCHEDULE  L SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

VON  NOSTITZ  &  TRTIBE,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  WISH  INCREASE  ON 
BRAIDS  OR  DECREASE  ON  ARTIFICIAL  SILK. 

106  GRAND  ST.,  NEW  YORK, 

January  1, 1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  of  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Sm :  We  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  you,  as  we  have  heard  that 
you  may  be  interested  in  hearing  opinions  of  manufacturers. 

We  are  manufacturers  of  braids  for  dress-trimming  purposes,  on 
which  the  duty  is  60  per  cent.  The  artificial  silk  that  we  use  is  an 
imported  article,  on  which  the  duty  is  30  per  cent,  and  we  find  that 
we  are  losing  considerable  orders  through  the  fact  that  imported 
braids  can  successfully  compete  with  ours.  Accordingly,  it  would 
be  of  interest  to  the  American  manufacturer  either  to  have  the  duty 
on  the  braids  increased  or  on  the  artificial  silk  (which  we  call  our 
raw  material)  decreased. 

Most  respectfully,  yours, 

VON  NOSTITZ  &  TRUBE, 

Novelty  Braid  Mills. 


CHIFFONS  AND  MOUSSELINE  DE  SOIE. 

[Paragraph  387.] 

NEW  YORK,  November  17, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  of  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Hon.  Mr.  PAYNE:  Trust  you  will  pardon  our  intrusion  on  your 
most  valuable  time,  but  circumstances  compel  us  to  write  to  you  in 
regard  to  some  revision  of  an  article  in  the  present  tariff.  This  arti- 
cle is  not  manufactured  in  the  United  States  but  imported  from  and 
made  in  Lyon.  The  article  is  provided  for  as  follows : 

Woven  fabrics  if  dyed  or  printed  in  the  piece,  of  which  duty  is  $3.25  per  pound, 
but  not  less  than  50  per  cent — weighing  not  more  than  one-third  ounce  per  square 
yard— per  pound,  $4.50,  but  not  less  than  50  per  cent. 

We  are  importers  of  chiffons  and  mousseline  de  soie,  under  which 
heading  the  above  duties  are  quoted.  Now,  in  order  to  reduce  the 
duty  to  $3.25,  99  per  cent  of  the  importers  add  the  weight  in  the  dye, 
and  by  doing  this  they  give  to  the  public  an  article  that  is  liable  to 
rot,  and  the  public  does  not  derive  the  benefit  of  the  right  article. 
If  this  matter  could  be  corrected  and  the  article  brought  over  in  its 
natural  state,  without  the  addition  of  the  weight,  the  public  would 
get  the  proper  value  and  there  would  be  no  interference  with  the 
revenues. 

Yours,  very  respectfully, 

GERMAIN,  HOFFBAUER  &  HELM  Co. 

ALBERT  GERMAIN,  President. 


BKAIDS    AND    TRIMMINGS SILK    CRAVATS.  5809 

BRAIDS  AKD  TRIMMINGS. 

[Paragraph  389.] 

UNITED  STATES  BRAID  MANUFACTURERS  RECOMMEND  CHANGES 
IN  CLASSIFICATION  OF  ARTICLES  OF  SILK. 

NEW  YORK  CITY, 

682  BROADWAY,  November  28, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  recommend  that  the  following  items  be  stricken 
out  of  paragraph  389  and  inserted  in  paragraph  390,  namely :  '' 'Belt- 
ings, bindings,  cords,  cords  and  tassels,"  so  that  paragraph  390  shall 
read  as  follows: 

Laces,  and  articles  made  wholly  or  in  part  of  lace,  edgings,  insertings,  gal- 
loons, chiffon  or  other  flouucings,  nets  or  nettings  and  veilings,  neck  rufflings, 
ruchings,  braids,  fringes,  trimmings,  beltings,  bindings,  cords,  tassels,  cords  and 
tassels,  embroideries,  and  articles  embroideried  by  hand  or  machinery,  or  tam- 
boured or  appliqugd,  clothing  ready-made,  and  articles  of  wearing  apparel  of 
every  description,  including  knit  goods,  made  up  or  manufactured  in  whole  or 
In  part  by  the  tailor,  seamstress,  or  manufacturer;  all  of  the  above-named 
articles  made  of  silk,  or  of  which  silk  is  the  component  material  of  chief  value, 
not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  and  silk  goods  ornamented  with  beads 
or  spangles,  of  whatever  material  composed,  sixty  per  centum  ad  valorem : 
Provided,  That  any  wearing  apparel  or  other  articles  provided  for  in  this  para- 
graph (except  gloves)  when  composed  in  part  of  India  rubber,  shall  be  subject 
to  a  duty  of  sixty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

The  reason  we  recommend  the  above  articles  being  stricken  out  of 
paragraph  389  and  inserted  in  paragraph  390  is  that  they  resemble 
more  nearly  in  texture,  quality,  and  use  the  articles  enumerated  in 
paragraph  390,  such  as  braids  and  trimmings,  than  they  do  the 
articles  enumerated  in  paragraph  389,  and  are  made  by  manu- 
facturers of  braids  and  trimmings. 

We  recommend  that  the  present  duty  of  60  per  cent  ad  valorem  in 
paragraph  390  be  retained,  as  that  rate  is  necessary  to  compensate  for 
the  difference  between  cost  of  labor  in  this  country  and  in  Europe. 

Respectfully  submitted  by  the  Braid  Manufacturers'  Association 
of  the  United  States. 

HENRY  W.  SCHLOSS,  President. 


SILK  CRAVATS. 

[Paragraph  390.] 

STATEMENT  OF  CHARLES  RUSTON,  JR.,  OF  No.  10  WEST  TWEN- 
TIETH STREET,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  REPRESENTING  JAMES  KEI- 
SER,  OF  NEW  YORK. 

THURSDAY,  December  17,  1908. 

(Mr.  Huston  was  duly  sworn  by  the  acting,  chairman,  Mr.  Dalzell.) 

Mr.  RUSTON.  I  would  like  to  say,  gentlemen,  that  I  come  here  this 

morning — and  I  am  representing  simply  our  own  concern — to  speak 

regarding  the  subject  of  silk  cravats,  which  some  people  call  neck- 


5810  SCHEDULE  L—  SILKS   AND   SILK   GOOBS. 

ties;  but  we  didn't  come  here  to  ask  any  increase  of  duty  nor  a  re- 
duction, but  simply  that  the  tariff  remain  as  it  is  at  the  present  time. 
I  have  a  statement  here  that  will  boil  the  whole  matter  down,  and  if 
I  read  it  it  will  probably  save  time. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  You  may  read  it. 

Mr.  RUSTON  (reads) : 

Manufacturing  silk  cravats  is  a  distinct  Industry.  Cravats  are  in  a  great 
majority  of  cases  made  from  silks  that  are  woven  specially  for  this  purpose, 
and  such  silks,  as  a  rule,  are  not  suitable  for  any  other  purpose. 

There  are  probably  150  to  200  concerns  engaged  in  the  silk-cravat  industry. 
Many  of  these  concerns  have  only  a  few  thousand  dollars  capital.  There  are 
a  few,  probably  about  half  a  dozen,  having  a  capital  of  from  $100.000  to  $200,000. 
The  business  annually  of  tljese  concerns  ranges  from  about  $30,000  to  $50,000 
each,  up  to  several  hundred  thousand.  There  are  probably  only  six  or  eight 
concerns  whose  business  ranges  between  $500,000  and  a  million.  The  total 
annual  business  on  a  rough  estimate  is  probably  at  least  $25,000,000. 

There  is  absolutely  no  trust  combination  or  understanding,  secret  or  other- 
wise, existing  between  the  various  concerns,  and  such  we  believe  impossible. 

Competition  has  lowered  the  price  to  the  minimum ;  in  fact,  there  is  a  large 
amount  of  business  done,  particularly  in  the  medium  and  lower  priced  lines,  at 
practically  little  more  than  a  mere  commission  for  profit.  There  have  been  no 
large  individual  fortunes  built  up  from  the  profits  in  this  business. 

The  consumer  has  been  able  to  get  exceedingly  good  value  at  the  various 
prices  of  25  cents,  50  cents,  $1,  and  above.  It  is  only  necessary  to  examine  the 
retail  stocks  to  be  sure  of  this.  In  fact,  we  have  heard  many  people  say  that 
they  thought  it  was  possible  to  get  better  value  in  this  country  in  cravats  than 
abroad.  This  is  due  to  the  keen  rivalry  among  competing  manufacturers,  par- 
ticularly smaller  ones  with  perhaps  insufficient  capital  employing  no  salesmen, 
and  also  to  the  almost  continuous  unloading  of  surplus  stock,  because  of  change 
of  style,  by  either  manufacturer  or  retail  dealer  in  one  locality  or  another. 

Under  the  present  duty  of  60  per  cent  since  1897  the  business  has  grown 
rapidly. 

Under  the  old  duty  of  50  per  cent  previous  to  1897  the  importation  of  foreign 
cravats,  mostly  English,  was  developed,  and  this  part  of  the  business  seemed  to 
be  growing  rapidly  until  it  was  largely  cut  off,  excepting  where  consumers  were 
willing  to  pay  the  price  for  a  luxury,  by  the  increase  of  10  per  cent  duty  in 
1897.  We  have  heard  some  manufacturers  say  that  the  duty  should  be  70 
per  cent  on  silk  cravats.  Our  own  opinion  is  that  it  should  certainly  remain 
at  not  less  than  60  per  cent.  Any  reduction  in  duty  would  result  in  either 
forcing  a  number  of  concerns  out  of  business  or  the  price  paid  to  labor  would 
have  to  be  reduced.  There  are  probably  40,000  to  50,000  people  engaged  in  this 
industry.  If  the  duty  was  reduced  the  conditions  under  which  we  would  have 
to  do  business  would  be  worse  than  they  were  previous  to  1897,  as  the  price  of 
labor  in  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years  has  advanced  from  25  to  50  per  cent,  and 
from  everything  we  have  been  able  to  gather  there  has  been  far  from  any  such 
increase  in  the  price  of  labor  in  Europe,  particularly  in  England,  from  which 
country  we  would  feel  the  keenest  competition.  The  difference,  therefore,  be- 
tween labor  here  and  abroad  is  greater  to-day  than  when  the  old  duty  of  50 
per  cent  was  in  force. 

As  there  is  practically  very  little,  if  any,  export  business  in  silk  cravats,  any 
lowering  of  duty  would  not  gain  us  the  export  trade,  and  our  only  market 
would  be  seriously  interfered  with. 

As  about  60  per  cent  of  the  wholesale  selling  price  paid  for  silk  cravats  is 
made  up  of  labor  apart  from  raw  material  or  profit,  it  can  easily  be  seen  that 
60  per  cent  duty  is  none  too  much  to  protect  us  against  the  conditions  govern- 
ing labor  abroad. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Are  there  any  importations  ? 

Mr.  RUSTON.  There  are  a  few  at  the  present  time,  sir ;  but  I  do  not 
think  it  is  a  large  item. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  volume  of  business  of  the  cravat  in- 
dustry in  this  country  ? 

Mr.  RUSTON.  Well,  it  is  pretty  hard  to  get  at  that  fact,  but  as  near 
as  I  can  estimate  it  I  think  it  is  at  least  $25,000,000. 


SILK  CEAVATS CHARLES  HUSTON,  JR.  5811 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  the  importations  amount  to  as  much  as  a 
million  dollars? 

Mr.  HUSTON.  I  do  not  believe  they  do;  no,  sir.  They  did  at  one 
time;  but  it  is  pretty  hard  to  ascertain  that,  as  they  come  in  under 
the  heading  of  articles  made  from  silk — that  is,  silk  fabrics — so  that 
I  do  not  know  that  there  is  a  record  on  that  particular  item. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  the  duty  is  prohibitive  now  ? 

Mr.  HUSTON.  Well,  no ;  it  is  not. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Practically  prohibitive,  is  it  not  ? 

Mr.  HUSTON.  No;  I  do  not  think  so,  sir.  You  see,  the  margin  of 
profit  in  our  business  is  very  close  and  the  trade  is  very  discrimi- 
nating in  buying.  The  styles  differ  a  great  deal.  I  honestly  believe 
that  if  the  duty  was  reduced  to  where  it  was  before,  50  per  cent, 
under  the  conditions  upon  which  labor  is  working  to-day,  that  there 
can  be  large  quantities  of  cravats  imported  here  which  would  be  dis- 
tinctly to  the  disadvantage  of  that  labor  employed  to-day. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  are  looking  at  the  fact  that  American  labor 
has  increased  in  the  last  ten  years,  but  overlooked  the  fact  that  labor 
the  world  over  has  also  increased  in  the  last  ten  years. 

Mr.  HUSTON.  Do  you  think  it  is  in  any  such  proportion? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  think  so,  from  my  information. 

Mr.  HUSTON.  Fifty  per  cent? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  proportion  of  increase  abroad  has  been  as 
great  as  at  home. 

Mr.  HUSTON.  Here  is  a  point  that  I  would  like  to  call  your  atten- 
tion to,  and  of  course  we  are  governed  by  experience,  for  that  is  all 
we  have  to  go  by  as  business  men.  We  know  that  when  the  duty  was 
50  per  cent  there  were  large  quantities  of  cravats  imported,  and  it 
cut  into  our  industry  here. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  much  was  imported  when  the  duty  was  50 
per  cent? 

Mr.  HUSTON.  The  nearest  that  I  can  answer  that  question  is  that 
in  1894  the  imports — these  are  the  figures  given  me  by  our  customs 
broker,  but  I  have  no  figures  of  my  own — 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  would  like  to  have  your  figures  on  that  ques- 
tion, and  you  can  verify  them. 

Mr.  HUSTON.  I  would  like  to  say  that  I  do  not  vouch  for  these  fig- 
ures, but  he  told  me  that  the  imports  on  articles  made  from  silk  were 
$7,571,000. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  was  in  1894? 

Mr.  HUSTON.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  about  the  total  volume  of  business  in  this 
country  at  that  time  compared  with  what  it  is  to-day  ? 

Mr.  HUSTON.  Well,  I  should  not  think  that  it  was  much  more  than 
half.  Our  business,  our  general  industry,  has  grown  rapidly  in  the 
last  ten  years. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Would  you  say  it  amounted  to  fifteen  millions  of 
dollars  ? 

Mr.  HUSTON.  It  might;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  under  a  50  per  cent  ad  valorem  rate  the 
American  producer  controlled  half  of  the  market  at  that  time? 

Mr.  HUSTON.  Yes;  but,  you  see,  you  must  bear  in  rnind  that  this 
seven  and  one-half  millions  includes  the  articles  made  from  silk,  and 
ours  is  only  a  very  small  part  of  that. 


5812  SCHEDULE  L — SILKS  AND  SILK   GOODS. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  is  what  I  asked  you.  Then,  how  much 
of  that  7,500,000  was  cravats,  do  you  think  ?  Estimate  it. 

Mr.  RUSTON.  Well,  I  really  would  not  like  to  estimate  that.  I  am 
guided  by  my  own  experience,  but  I  know  that  it  was  quite  general, 
and  the  importation  of  cravats  cut  quite  a  figure  in  the  industry. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Of  course,  you  do  not  expect  us  to  fix  a  duty  here 
that  will  give  you  an  absolute  "  corner  "  on  the  American  market. 
The  cravat  is  a  luxury,  and  naturally  a  revenue  article,  and  you  do 
not  expect  to  have  the  duty  fixed  so  that  it  will  give  you  a  "  corner  " 
on  the  American  market,  and  with  no  importations  coming  in  ? 

Mr.  RUSTON.  I  desire  to  take  exception  to  that.  I  do  not  think 
the  cravat  is  a  luxury.  Most  of  us  go  in  a  class  of  society  that  requires 
us  to  wear  cravats. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Same  as  a  lady  who  goes  to  a  ball  is  required  to 
wear  a  lace  dress,  but  still  we  put  them  in  the  list  of  luxuries. 

Mr.  RUSTON.  There  are  all  sorts  and  kinds  of  cravats.  You  can 
get  them  down  as  low  as  25  cents  apiece. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  These  cravats  can  come  in  under  the  paragraph  re- 
lating to  wearing  apparel  ? 

Mr.  RUSTON.  Yes ;  the  silk  is  50  per  cent. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  The  figures  would  be  difficult  to  get  accurately. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  was  why  I  was  trying  to  find  out  whether 
he  had  that  information. 

Mr.  RUSTON.  I  have  never  had  it  specifically. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  It  looks  as  if  the  common  cravat  should  have  a  lower 
tariff  than  the  finer  quality,  but  the  finer  quality  comes  in  under  the 
50  per  cent  and  the  others  under  the  general  item  of  60  per  cent. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  These  come  in  under  the  paragraph  relating  to  wear- 
ing apparel. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  presume  that  there  is  a  very  small  portion  of 
the  cheaper  cravat  imported,  mostly  high  grade  ? 

Mr.  RUSTON.  I  think  it  is  mostly  high  grade ;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Do  you  know  about  those  answers  that  you  are  mak- 
ing, that  they  are  mostly  high-grade  imports  ? 

Mr.  RUSTON.  I  have  no  figures  to  be  guided  by ;  no. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  was  asking  for  information  in  relation  to  his 
business. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Exactly ;  and  I  wanted  to  know  whether  he  had  defi- 
nite information  about  it. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  are  in  that  business,  are  you  not? 

Mr.  RUSTON.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  know,  when  you  go  into  a  haberdasher's 
store,  what  is  imported  and  what  is  not  ? 

Mr.  RUSTON.  As  a  rule  we  can  tell. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  From  your  observation  and  experience,  is  not  the 
imported  cravat  usually  the  high-grade  goods  ? 

Mr.  RUSTON.  Yes;  mostly. 

Mr.  HILL.  Is  there  any  peculiar  thing  that  would  separate  this 
article  of  cravats  or  neckties  from  the  schedule  in  which  it  is  now 
placed,  paragraph  390,  so  that  it  would  have  a  different  duty  in  case 
a  desire  was  shown  to  change  the  duty  of  that  general  schedule  ? 

Mr.  RUSTON.  I  do  not  think  so ;  no. 


SILK   CRAVATS EMBROIDERIES.  5813 

Mr.  HILL,.  A  very  small  part,  probably,  of  the  articles  embraced 
in  section  390  you  do  ask  a  change  upon ;  that  is,  you  do  not  ask  for 
an  increase  of  duty  on  everything  ? 

Mr.  HUSTON.  No,  sir;  I  am  not  asking  for  a  change  of  duty  at  all, 
but  that  the  duty  should  remain  the  same,  my  plea  being  that  the 
margin  of  profit  is  so  close  that  a  slight  reduction  of  duty  would 
seriously  injure  the  industry. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Where  do  you  draw  the  dividing  line  between  the 
high  and  low  grades  of  cravats? 

Mr.  HUSTON.  Well,  25  and  50  cents,  possibly,  at  retail  is  consid- 
ered the  lower-priced  line,  and  those  retailing  for  $1  and  above,  the 
better  grades. 


SILK  EMBROIDERIES. 

[Paragraph  390.] 

THE  LACE  AND  EMBROIDERY  MANUFACTURERS'  ASSOCIATION, 
NEW  YORK  CITY,  RECOMMENDS  NEW  CLASSIFICATION. 

488  TO  492  BROADWAY, 
New  York  City,  November  30, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  articles  in  this  paragraph  (390)  in  which  we  are 
especially  interested  are  machine-made  silk  embroideries  and  ma- 
chine-made silk  embroidered  laces.  These  goods  are  the  highest  type 
of  luxuries.  In  the  present  act  they  pay  a  duty  of  60  per  cent  ad 
valorem.  Of  the  total  amount  of  these  goods  consumed  in  this  coun- 
try about  75  per  cent  are  imported  and  only  about  25  per  cent  are 
manufactured  here. 

None  of  these  goods  have  been  manufactured  in  this  country  for 
export.  We  therefore  ask  that  a  sufficient  duty  be  assessed  to  cover 
the  difference  between  the  cost  of  production  in  Europe  and  this 
country,  and  we  submit  herewith  figures  showing  what  duty  will  be 
necessary  to  cover  that  difference. 

The  foundation  of  silk  embroideries  is  mostly  silk  net,  woolen,  or 
silk  piece  goods,  all  of  which  pay  a  duty  of  50  per  cent  or  over.  Most 
of  these  goods  (for  instance,  silk  nets  and  chiffons)  are  imported,  and 
we  have  practically  on  our  embroideries  no  differential  duty  above 
the  duties  on  those  materials.  In  order  to  cover  the  difference  in  cost 
between  the  labor  and  expenses  here  and  abroad  hi  the  manufacture 
of  these  goods  on  the  Schiffli  embroidery  machine,  our  figures  show 
that  a  duty  at  the  rate  of  one-fifth  of  1  cent  per  yard  for  each  100 
stitches  of  the  embroidery  produced  by  one  needle  is  required,  and  in 
addition  thereto  60  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

We  also  submit  a  calculation  showing  the  difference  of  labor  and 
expenses  for  embroideries  and  laces  on  the  Swiss  embroidery  machine 
operating  with  double-pointed  needles. 

In  order  to  cover  the  difference  in  cost  between  labor  and  expenses 
here  and  abroad  in  the  manufacture  of  these  goods,  our  figures  show 


5814  SCHEDULE  L SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

that  a  duty  at  the  rate  of  one-fifth  of  1  cent  per  yard  for  each  20 
stitches  of  the  embroidery  produced  by  one  needle  is  required,  and 
in  addition  thereto  60  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

We  inclose  paragraphs  covering  these  articles,  which  we  respect- 
fully ask  to  have  inserted  in  Schedule  L.  At  the  end  of  paragraph 
390  add  the  following: 

And  it  is  further  provided,  That  any  of  the  articles  enumerated  in  this  paragraph, 
and  of  which  real  silk  or  artificial  silk  is  or  the  two  collectively  are  the  component 
material  of  chief  value,  and  which  wholly  or  in  part  are  manufactured  or  produced 
by  the  Schiffli  embroidery  machine,  pay  a  duty  at  the  rate  of  one-fifth  of  one  cent 
per  yard  for  each  one  hundred  stitches  of  the  embroidery  produced  by  one  needle, 
and  in  addition  thereto  sixty  per  centum  ad  valorem.  Each  penetration  of  the  fabric 
by  the  needles  of  the  embroidery  machine  to  be  counted  as  one  stitch. 

And  it  is  also  provided,  That  any  of  the  articles  enumerated  in  this  paragraph,  and 
of  which  real  silk  or  artificial  silk  is  or  the  two  collectively  are  the  component  material 
of  chief  value,  and  which  wholly  or  in  part  are  manufactured  or  produced  on  a  ma- 
chine known  as  the  Swiss  embroidery  machine  operating  with  double-pointed  needles, 
pay  a  duty  at  the  rate  of  one-fifth  of  one  cent  per  yard  for  each  twenty  stitches  of 
embroidery  produced  by  one  needle,  and  in  addition  thereto  sixty  per  centum 
ad  valorem.  Two  penetrations  of  the  fabric  by  the  needles  of  this  embroidery  machine 
to  be  counted  as  one  stitch. 

DETAIL   OF    CALCULATION SCHIFFLI    MACHINE. 

As  a  basis  we  take  a  so-called  "burnt  out"  net  top  embroidered 
lace  10  inches  wide.  The  foundation  is  a  silk  bobbinet.  The  em- 
broidery material  is  artificial  silk;  the  design  of  6/4  repeat  counts 
2,000  stitches  for  every  needle.  The  calculation  shows  what  the  cost 
would  be  in  this  country,  produced  on  a  6|-yard  Schiffli  machine: 

Silk  bobbinet,  72  inches  wide,  2  times  6f  yards=13£  yards,  at  $1.20 $16.  20 

Prepared  cotton  cloth,  72  inches  wide,  2  time?  fij  yards=l  :n  yard-,  at  16  cents. .       2. 16 

Stitches  (United  States  count),  7  times  2,000=14,000  stitches,  at  25  cents 3.  50 

Overseer,  1  day,  at  $1.50 1.  50 

Shuttle  filler,  1  day,  at  75  cents 75 

Mender,  1  day,  at  $2 2.00 

Artificial  silk,  4$  pounds,  at  $3.20 14.  40 

Cutting  out  14  strips,  6|  yards  each=94J  yards,  at  10  cents 9. 45 

Burning  out  13$  yards,  72  inches  wide,  at  10  cents 1.  35 

Boxes,  cards,  wrappers,  etc.,  7  pieces,  13$  yards  each,  at  10  cents $0.  70 

Manufacturing  expenses,  5  per  cent 2.  60 

Profit,  20  per  cent 10.  40 

Total 65.01 

Ninety-four  and  one-half  yards,  $65.01. 

Below  we  give  the  cost  of  the  above  design  as  it  would  be  in  Swit- 
zerland : 

Francs. 

Silk  bobbin  net  72  inches  wide,  2  times  6f =13$  yards,  at  3.75  francs 50.  63 

Prepared  cotton  cloth  72  inches  wide,  2  times  6J  yards,  at  0.60  francs 8. 10 

Stitches  (Swiss  count),  7  times  1,000=7,000  stitches,  at  0.11  francs 7.  70 

Overseer,  1  day,  at  2.50  francs • 2.  50 

Shuttle  filler,  1  day,  at  1.25  francs 1.  25 

Mender,  1  day,  at  3  francs 3.  00 

Power,  oil,  etc 2.  80 

Artificial  silk,  2  kilograms,  at  20  francs 40.  00 

Cutting  out  14  strips.  6J  yards  each=94$  yards,  at  0.17  francs 16.  07 

Burning  out  13$  yards,  184  centimeters  wide,  at  0.03  francs 5.  52 

Boxes,  cards,  wrappers,  etc.,  7  pieces,  at  13$  yards  each,  at  0.60  francs 4.  20 

Expense,  5  per  rr>n( . . 7.  09 

Case,  packing,  etc 50 


SILK   EMBROIDERIES — A.    H.    KURSHEEDT   ET   AL.  5815 

Francs. 

Legalization 01 

Freight  and  insurance 70 

Profit,  20  per  cent 30.02 


Total...  180.09 


180.09  francs $34.  97 

Duty,  60  per  cent  ad  valorem 20.  98 

One-fifth  of  a  cent  100  stitches  per  yard 3.  78 


94}  yards *. 59.  73 

DETAIL      OF      CALCULATION — DOMESTIC       COST      OF       ARTICLES — HAND 

MACHINE. 

Assuming  a  pattern  of  300  stitches;  insertion  embroidered  on 
taffeta  silk  in  various  colors  of  silk  thread  (stitcher  makes  5  bands 
per  day — each  band  300  stitches,  5  tunes  300 — 1,500): 

1, 500  stitches  (cost  of  stitcher  20  cents  per  hundred) $3.  00 

Threader 1.  25 

Mender 1.  25 

10  yards  of  taffeta  silk  at  65  cents 6.  50 

16  nadlichs  of  silk  at  20  cents 3.  20 

Carding  and  boxing 50 

15.70 
Manufacturing  expenses,  12  per  cent 1.  88 

Cost  of  50  yards 17.  58 

DETAIL   OF   CALCULATION — FOREIGN    COST   OF    ARTICLES. 

Assuming  a  pattern  of  300  stitches;  insertion  embroidered  on 
taffeta  silk  in  various  colors  of  silk  thread  (stitcher  makes  5  bands 
per  day — each  band  300  stitches;  5  times  300=  1,500) : 

1,500  stitches  (cost  of  stitcher  7  cents  American  money) $1. 05 

Threader 50 

Mender 40 

10  yards  of  taffeta  silk,  at  44  cents 4.  40 

16  nadlichs  of  silk  thread,  at  16  cents 2.  56 

Carding  and  boxing  (5  pieces) 40 

9.31 

Manufacturing  expenses,  5  per  cent 47 

Legalization,  freight,  and  insurance 06 

9.84 
Duty,  60  per  cent 5.90 

15.74 
Add  1  cent  for  each  100  stitches 1.  50 


50  yards  cost 17.  24 

LACE  AND  EMBROIDERY  MANUFACTURERS' 

ASSOCIATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
A.  H.  KURSHEEDT, 

President. 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 4 


5816  SCHEDULE  L — SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 

SILK  GLOVES. 

[Paragraph  390.] 

STATEMENT  OF  JULIUS  KAYSER,  OF  NO.  524  BROADWAY,  NEW 
YOKE  CITY,  RELATIVE  TO  SILK  GLOVES. 

TUESDAY,  December  1,  1908. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  paragraph  do  you  propose  to  speak  to? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Paragraph  No.  390,  silk  gloves. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Are  you  a  manufacturer  or  importer  I 

Mr.  KAYSER.  A  manufacturer. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  may  proceed,  Mr.  Kayser. 

Mr.  KAYSER.  I  come  before  you  to  give  you  some  information  as  to 
the  magnitude  of  this  business  that  is  a  comparatively  new  one.  I 
want  to  tell  you  that  last  year  about  975,000  dozen  of  silk  gloves  were 
manufactured  in  this  country,  and  probably  125,000  or  150,000  dozen 
imported.  The  importations  were  unusual,  and  only  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  manufacturers  in  this  country  could  not  produce  the 
quantity  required. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  do  you  designate  these  goods? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  As  silk  gloves.  I  wish  to  state  that  this  importation 
that  I  have  just  mentioned  was  a  very  unusual  one.  Prior  to  1906 
I  do  not  believe  that  there  were  5,000  dozen  silk  gloves  imported  into 
this  country,  and  I  do  not  believe  that  at  any  time  within  the  last 
twenty-five  years  there  were  10,000  dozen  imported  into  this  country. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  These  gloves  are  not  mentioned  by  their  name  in 
the  tariff? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Not  in  any  special  schedule.  They  come  in  under 
knitted  wearing  apparel. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  ordinary  importations  amount  to  nothing? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  To  nothing,  and  never  have. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Gloves  are  specifically  excepted  in  paragraph  390, 
which  reads  as  follows :  "  That  any  wearing  apparel  or  other  articles 
provided  for  in  this  paragraph  except  gloves." 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  it  reads,  "  when  composed  in  part  of  india 
rubber." 

Mr.  KAYSER.  I  understood  it  was  paragraph  370,  with  a  duty  of 
60  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Then  they  must  come  under  knit  gloves. 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Yes ;  knit  gloves ;  they  are  a  knit  fabric. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Very  well,  proceed. 

Mr.  KAYSER.  I  do  not  ask  for  any  advance  in  the  tariff.  I  think 
it  would  be  advisable  to  have  a  specific  duty  and  a  percentage  about 
the  same  as  it  is  now  in  place  of  the  ad  valorem.  The  difference  in 
the  labor  cost  in  the  two  countries  on  gloves  is  about  four  to  one.  I 
have  the  prices  paid  in  Saxony  and  our  average  prices  paid  here, 
and  it  shows,  by  the  earnings  of  the  girls  who  work — the  principal 
part  of  the  work  is  done  by  girls  with  sewing  machines,  who  earn 
an  average  wage  of  $9  per  week.  The  wages  in  Saxony  are  not  more 
than  8  or  9  marks  a  week,  with  sixty  hours  of  labor,  against  fifty-five 
hours  of  labor  here. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  How  long  have  you  been  manufacturing  gloves? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Since  1888. 


SILK    GLOVES JULIUS    KAYSER.  5817 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Was  that  the  beginning  of  the  glove  industry  in  this 
country  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  That  was  the  beginning. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  That  was  twenty  years  ago? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Twenty  years. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Has  the  industry  pretty  nearly  grown  by  this  time? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Yes. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  But  still  we  have  to  take  care  of  it. 

Mr.  KAYSER.  No,  no;  it  isn't  that. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  It  is  not  quite  21  years  old  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Not  quite  21,  and  an  infant  industry  comparatively, 
but  I  am  not  afraid  of  foreign  competition  so  far  as  that  is  con- 
cerned, excepting  the  great  difference  in  the  cost  of  labor.  The 
greater  part  of  it  is  labor ;  two-thirds  of  it  is  labor. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Is  that  what  you  want  the  protection  for,  the  differ- 
ence in  the  cost  of  labor? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  That  is  it. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Please  show  us  exactly  what  it  is;  that  is,  put  it  in 
your  brief. 

Mr.  KAYSER.  I  will. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Show  us  the  exact  difference  in  the  cost  of  labor  here 
and  in  Saxony. 

Mr.  KAYSER.  We  have  a  factory  there  ourselves,  so  I  claim  to  be 
thoroughly  posted.  The  gloves  that  we  make  there  are  not  silk 
gloves,  however. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  should  think  that  you  are  pretty  well  off  if  you 
manufacture  at  both  ends. 

Mr.  KAYSER.  We  make  cotton  gloves  there,  not  silk. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  ought  to  put  a  cotton-glove  factory  in  the  South, 
and  not  in  Saxony. 

Mr.  KAYSER.  If  you  will  give  us  proper  working  forces  there, 
hands  to  make  them,  I  would  be  inclined  to  do  it. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  employ  cheap  labor  in  Saxony  and  high  labor 
here? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Yes. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  are  not  a  philanthropist  on  this  question? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Hardly ;  we  would  not  want  to  call  ourselves  philan- 
thropists. But  what  we  have  done,  we  have  given  the  people  of  this 
country  a  good  article  which  gives  satisfaction,  as  the  result  shows — 
an  increase  of  975,000  dozen  gloves  last  year.  I  doubt  whether  in 
any  year  there  has  been  imported  150,000  dozen  silk  gloves  into  this 
country. 

Mr.  EANDELL.  Do  they  have  a  duty  on  these  gloves  in  Saxony  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  There  is  a  duty  on  everything  in  Germany. 

Mr.  EANDELL.  You  favor  that  duty  there,  do  you,  for  the  protec- 
tion of  your  industry  there? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  No ;  I  do  not  care  at  all.  We  only  manufacture  those 
goods  for  the  market  here.  We  do  not  care  for  the  German  market. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  You  are  protected  by  a  protective  tariff  over  there, 
and  you  want  a  protective  tariff  here;  and  you  manufacture  in  both 
)laces? 


5818  SCHEDULE  L SILKS  AND  SILK   GOODS. 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Our  manufacture  over  there  has  nothing  to  do  with 
our  ideas  on  the  tariff  at  all.  It  is  simply  to  give  us  better  facilities 
for  those  who  handle  these  goods  in  this  country. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Suppose  the  labor  cost  was  more  there  than  here, 
would  you  be  willing  to  take  off  the  tariff? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Yes,  certainly ;  we  would  want  no  tariff  at  all. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  say  that  the  production  of  this  class  of  goods 
in  the  United  States  is  975,000  dozen? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Of  course,  that  is  an  estimate  of  the  production  of 
my  competitors.  Our  production  alone  was  480,000  dozen  last  year. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  that  the  importations  in  a  normal  year  will 
amount  to  about  10.000  dozen  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Less  than  that;  that  has  been  exceptional.  Long 
gloves  are  now  worn  in  enormous  quantity.  The  manufacturers  in 
this  country  could  not  supply  the  whole  demand. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  the  importations  are  very  much  less  than 
1  per  cent  of  the  total  production  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Yes,  I  can  say. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  much  duty  do  these  goods  pay  when  they 
come  in  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Sixty  per  cent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  you  have  an  industry  here  upon  which  the 
tax  amounts  to  60  per  cent,  and  the  importations  are  less  than  1  per 
cent.  There  practically  is  no  revenue  paid  to  the  Government,  and 
you  think  the  Government  ought  to  maintain  the  same  prohibitive 
duty  that  you  have  to-day? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  I  think  so. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Why  should  you  think  so? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Well,  firstly,  the  tendency  of  these  Saxony  manu- 
facturers is  to  depreciate  quality. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  But  you  are  one  of  them. 

Mr.  KAYSER.  And  for  the  benefit  of  the  consumer  here,  he  is  better 
off  if  those  goods  could  not  be  imported  at  all.  Whatever  money 
they  pay  for  them  is  thrown  away.  That  is  the  history. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  you  are  a  philanthropist.  You  want  to 
insure  the  American  consumers  against  purchases  that  are  bad. 

Mr.  KAYSER.  It  has  worked  that  way  every  time.  They  can  make 
these  goods  of  much  lighter  silk  and  load  them  in  the  dye,  and  in- 
stead of  getting  articles  placed  before  the  consumer  which  are  cheaper 
articles,  the  consumer  gets  the  worst  of  it. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  This  very  large  production  in  this  country  and 
very  small  importation  indicates  very  clearly  that  foreign  manufac- 
turers can  not  enter  the  home  market  at  the  present  rate  of  duty  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  I  would  like  to  explain  that  to  a  certain  extent.  As 
I  say  the  silk-glove  industry  was  never  anything  until  we  took 
hold  of  it.  I  made  the  article,  took  put  a  patent  on  the  finger  ends — 
upon  silk  gloves  there  is  a  liability,  if  the  finger  ends  cut  through,  to 
do  great  damage  after  one  or  two  wearings — but  I  took  out  a  patent 
in  1887  to  reenforce  the  ends,  making  an  article  which  would  wear, 
and  through  that  succeeded  in  making  an  article  like  these  gloves. 
During  the  time  I  had  the  patent  they  were  barred  from  importing 
those  goods,  and  they  did  not  have  any  other  kind  of  gloves  in  this 
country. 


SILK   GLOVES — JULIUS    KAYSEB.  5819 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  you  not  only  want  a  protection  with  a  pro- 
hibitive duty  in  this  country,  but  you  also  have  your  goods  protected 
by  a  patent? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  The  patent  has  expired. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Under  this  present  duty,  since  1888,  you  have 
built  up  an  industry  in  this  country  that  has  now  obtained  a  monopoly 
in  the  American  market.  Is  not  that  so? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Yes,  sir;  the  industry  has  monopolized  this  market 
to  a  great  extent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Don't  you  think,  under  those  circumstances  and 
the  fact  that  the  Government  is  needing  revenue,  that  this  60  per 
cent  duty  ought  to  be  reduced? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  I  doubt  whether  the  Government  would  derive  any 
revenue  from  that.  I  want  to  say  that  we  personally  do  not  have 
the  monopoly ;  that  is,  I  haven't  got  it  personally.  I  have  a  number 
of  competitors. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  But  your  industry  has  a  monopoly  of  the  Ameri- 
can market? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  It  has,  so  far. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Now,  Mr.  Kayser,  are  you  doing  any  exporting  of 
these  goods  abroad? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  A  very  small  quantity ;  very  insignificant. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  much  do  you  export? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  I  do  not  believe  we  exported  altogether  500  dozen. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Is  that  all  you  have  exported  in  Ihe  history  of 
your  business? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  you  are  not  engaged  in  the  export  business 
in  any  way? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  No. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Are  any  of  your  competitors  exporting  this  line 
of  goods  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  No. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Your  gloves  are  better  gloves  than  the  foreign  gloves, 
are  they  not? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  We  try  to  make  them  so ;  to  have  them  better. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Very  much  better? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Very  much  better ;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  That  would  account,  would  it  not,  for  the  fact  that 
you  and  the  American  manufacturers  substantially  control  the 
market? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  That  is  the  sole  reason,  I  believe,  and  the  best  proof 
of  that  is  that  when  they  had  no  competition,  when  no  silk  gloves  were 
made  in  this  country,  they  never  succeeded  in  selling  to  any  extent, 
and  it  is  not  a  large  article  in  Europe. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  How  many  employees  have  you  in  your  factory  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Altogether  we  have  about  2,800. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  How  many  are  there  engaged  in  other  factories  of 
the  same  kind  in  the  United  States? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  I  should  say  about  an  equal  number. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  So  therefore  there  are  between  5,000  and  6,000 
altogether? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Fully  that,  and  more  indirectly  in  the  different  opera- 
tions required  which  the  other  manufacturers  do  not  do  themselves — 


5820  SCHEDULE  L — SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

that  is,  sewing  the  silk,  dyeing,  and  things  of  that  kind.  I  should  say 
about  7,000  engaged  altogether  in  this  industry. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  In  general  terms,  and  round  figures,  how  much 
capital  is  there  engaged  in  this  industry  in  this  country  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  I  should  say  between  $5,000,000  and  $6,000,000. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  want  to  ask  a  question  or  two  about  your  patent. 
How  long'does  it  run,  or  when  did  it  expire  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  It  expired  in  1904.    The  patent  was  taken  out  in  1887. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  So  that  does  not  protect  you  any  longer  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  It  protects  us  no  longer. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  are  in  a  pretty  prosperous  condition,  are  you  not? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Yes. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Making  money  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  I  want  to  state  further  that  our  pay  roll • 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  asked  you  if  you  are  making  money  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  We  have  made  money  up  to  now.  "What  we  will  do 
in  the  future  we  do  not  know.  Things  have  changed  greatly  in  the 
last  few  months,  but  I  think  we  will  always  be  able  to  make  some- 
thing. I  wish  to  state  that  our  pay  roll  for  the  last  year  was 
$1,400,000  in  the  different  factories. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  was  your  gross  income  ? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Something  over  four  millions  and  a  half,  the  total 
sales.  Part  of  this  income  is  particular  importations.  We  import 
probably  three-quarters  of  a  million  of  those  sales,  so  it  is  not  all 
from  the  manufacture. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  that  makes  your  pay  roll  $2,000,000? 

Mr.  KAYSER.  Possibly  fully  that,  if  not  more. 


AMERICAN  MAKERS  OF  SILK  GLOVES   WISH  PRESENT  DUTIES 
MAINTAINED  AND   SEPARATE  CLASSIFICATION  GIVEN. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  16,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

SIR  :  The  undersigned  manufacturers  of  silk  gloves  respectfully  sub- 
mit to  your  committee  the  following  statement,  to  be  considered  in 
connection  with  the  testimony  given  by  Mr.  Julius  Kayser,  of  New 
York,  on  December  1,  1908: 

Relative  to  the  great  manufacturing  industries  of  this  country,  and 
also  possibly  excepting  Julius  Kayser  &  Co.,  the  manufacturers 
engaged  in  making  silk  gloves  are  small  and  independent  manufac- 
turers. These  manufacturers  are  confronted  with  a  very  high  labor 
rate.  Kindred  industries  in  this  country,  such  as  hosiery  and  under- 
wear, pay  much  smaller  wages  than  do  silk-glove  manufacturers. 

Witnout  further  thought  we  can  not  agree  with  Mr.  Kayser  that 
the  present  ad  valorem  duty  of  60  per  cent  should  be  changed  to 
a  specific  rate.  We  are  building  up  an  industry  that  actually  does 
pay  high  wages,  and  an  industry  which  is  growing  and  has  grown, 
in  the  past  three  years,  enormously  in  volume.  The  price  of  our 
raw  silk  is,  in  a  measure,  fixed  the  world  over  (it  is  true  that  the 
European  manufacturer  has  a  great  advantage  in  the  throwing  or 


SILK  GLOVES — GLOVERSVILLE   SILK    MILLS   ET   AL.  5821 

twisting  of  this  silk  that  the  American  manufacturer  can  not  obtain), 
and  our  increased  cost  for  the  better  grades  means  increased  cost  of 
labor  for  each  better  grade.  Therefore,  it  would  seem  that  an  ad 
valorem  duty,  properly  administered,  better  protects  our  industry. 

The  present  duty  of  60  per  cent  is  by  no  means  prohibitive,  and  our 
business  is  conducted  in  keen  competition  with  the  European  manu- 
facturers. Our  burdens  are  much  greater  than  the  European  manu- 
facturer's in  every  respect.  His  investments  are  not  nearly  so  bur- 
densome as  ours.  Mr.  Kayser's  remarks  as  to  imports  may  be  mis- 
leading. It  is  true  that  prior  to  1904  the  importation  of  silk  gloves 
amounted  to  very  little.  However,  this  was  not  due  to  a  prohibitive 
tariff,  but  to  the  fact  that  the  silk-glove  business  in  America  was 
largely  controlled  by  Mr.  Kayser  and  by  another  American  manu- 
facturer. 

These  men  had  secured  patents  on  improved  methods  of  reenforcing 
the  finger  tips  of  silk  gloves,  which  practically  barred  the  inferior 
European  product  and  also  barred  American  competition.  When 
these  patents  expired  in  1904  the  importations  steadily  increased  until 
they  reached  fully  15  per  cent  of  the  total  consumption  hi  1907,  as  Mr. 
Kayser's  figures  show,  and  after  the  expiration  of  these  patents  other 
manufactories  for  silk  gloves  sprang  up  and  have  rapidly  created  a 
great  business  in  this  country. 

Our  best  estimates  show  that  the  60  per  cent  duty  does  not  keep  out 
the  foreign  glove,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  so  far  as  the  duty  is  con- 
cerned, the  foreign  glove  can  supplant  ours. 

A  great  consideration  in  ladies'  gloves  has  been  the  sudden  changes 
in  fashions,  which  have  made  it  difficult  for  the  large  merchants  and 
wholesalers  to  contract  for  their  requirements  in  Europe  nine  months 
in  advance.  They  naturally  prefer  to  wait  until  they  know  the  styles 
their  trade  will  demand  and  then  have  their  needs  supplied  at  short 
notice  by  the  American  manufacturer;  and  just  here  a  danger  is  aris- 
ing to  our  industry. 

The  styles  will  be  more  fixed  in  the  future,  probably,  than  in  the 
past  and  we  will  lose  the  protection  that  this  consideration  gave  us. 
Then  will  come  the  time  when  we  will  depend  upon  the  protection 
against  the  foreign  cheap  labor  that  a  tariff  affords. 

When  these  styles  become  fixed  the  foreign  manufacturer  can 
store  up  goods  to  await  quick  orders.  His  investment  will  be  much 
less  than  ours  can  possibly  be,  because  his  labor  is,  in  many  cases,  as 
Mr.  Kayser  states,  five-sixths  less  than  ours.  A  silk  glove  manu- 
facturer in  Nottingham,  England,  told  one  of  the  undersigned  that 
he  could  obtain  the  services  of  200  women  in  his  city  at  the  wage  of 
$1.50  per  week  to  do  the  work  that  the  undersigned  paid  women  $1.50 
per  day  and  upward. 

Mr.  Kayser  states  that  he  makes  only  cotton  gloves  in  his  German 
factories  and  that  he  makes  them  exclusively  for  the  American 
market.  We  quite  agree  with  the  statement  of  Judge  Griggs,  that 
we  ought  to  make  cotton  gloves  in  this  country.  We  believe  that 

e  ought  to  make  all  kinds  of  ladies'  gloves  as  well  as  men's  in  this 
country. 

At  the  present  tariff  on  cotton  gloves  (50  per  cent  ad  valorem)  it 
is  impossible  to  compete  with  Europe.  There  is  not  a  pair  of  cotton 
gloves  made  in  the  United  States  to-day;  the  German  and  English 

anufacturers  control   the  business,   and  even   the  United  States 


5822  SCHEDULE  L — SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 

Government  pays  tribute  to  these  manufacturers  in  placing  their 
army  and  navy  contracts. 

Some  of  us  have  tested  this  cotton  manufacture  at  considerable 
expense,  and  have  always  found  that  the  foreign  goods  (owing  to 
cheap  labor)  could  be  produced  at  a  profit  below  our  cost  of  pro- 
duction. The  Reading  Glove  and  Mitten  Company,  Reading,  ra., 
produced  cotton  gloves  for  three  years  and  lost  money  each  year. 
Their  books  and  records  are  at  the  disposal  of  your  committee. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  silk  gloves  could  compete  with  European 
manufacturers  at  60  per  cent  ad  valorem,  and  that  cotton  gloves 
can  not  with  50  per  cent  ad  valorem.  To  some  extent  this  is  explained 
by  a  comparison  of  raw  materials,  the  raw  silk  being  free  and  the 
cotton  yarns  paying  a  duty  of  24  to  60  cents  per  pound.  This  cotton 
yarns,  on  which  there  is  a  great  labor  item,  is  principally  made  in 
England,  and  not  made  in  this  country.  The  German  manufacturer 
pays  a  nominal  duty  on  this  English  yarn,  which  duty  is  refunded 
to  him  by  the  German  Government  if  the  manufactured  goods  are 
exported. 

Our  belief  is  that  a  reduction  in  the  present  tariff  would  mean  less 
work  in  our  factories  and  necessarily  lower  wages  to  those  employed. 

In  quality  our  production  is  now  the  best  in  the  world,  and  this 
production  is  given  to  the  public  at  a  fair  price.  There  is  every 
indication  of  a  great  demand  for  the  silk  glove  if  the  present  high 
standard  of  quality  can  be  kept  up.  We  believe  that  only  the 
American  manufacturer  will  keep  this  quality  up;  that  if  the  foreign 
manufacturer  crowded  us  out  of  business  a  lower  level  in  the  trade 
would  be  reached.  We  are  in  this  country  and  back  up  the  style, 
fit,  and  wearing  qualities  of  our  goods.  If  these  qualities  are  not 
right  the  customer  can  go  to  us  directly  if  necessary.  With  the 
foreign  manufactured  article  there  is  no  redress  except  to  use  it  or 
not,  as  the  consumer  pleases. 

We  respectfully  submit  that  our  present  rate  of  duty  on  silk  gloves 
ought  to  oe  maintained  and  that  these  gloves,  if  necessary,  should  be 
put  in  a  paragraph  by  themselves  or  joined  with  other  fabric  gloves 
in  a  paragraph.  We  protest  that  the  duty  on  our  product  ought  not 
to  be  lowered  simply  to  classify  it  with  other  silk  manufactured  arti- 
cles. 

Most  respectfully  submitted. 

The  Gloversville  Silk  Mills,  by  Albert  M.  Banker,  Presi- 
dent, Gloversville,  N.  Y.;  Niagara  Silk  Mills,  by  J. 
T.  Shanahan,  President,  North  Tonawanda,  N.  Y.; 
Clark  Textile  Co.,  by  J.  H.  Clark,  President,  Sara- 
toga, N.  Y. 


OTHER  AMERICAN  MANUFACTURERS  OF  SILK  GLOVES  WRITE 
IN  ADVOCACY  OF  RETENTION  OF  PRESENT  DUTIES. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  14, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  Washington,  D.  O. 
SIR:  The  undersigned  manufacturers  of  silk  gloves  respectfully 
submit  to  your  committee  the  following  statement,  to  be  considered 
in  connection  with  the  testimony  given  by  Mr.  Julius  Kayser,  of 
New  York,  on  December  1,  1908: 


SILK  GLOVES E.  BICHAKD   MEINIG  CO.   ET  AL.  5823 

We  do  not  agree  with  Mr.  Kayser  that  the  present  ad  valorem  duty 
of  60  per  cent  should  be  changed  to  a  specific  rate.  The  market 
price  of  raw  silk  is  subject  to  violent  fluctuations;  within  the  last 
eighteen  months  the  price  of  the  same  standard  (juality  has  been  as 
low  as  $3.40  and  as  high  as  $6  per  pound.  Prices  of  our  finished 
product  have  fluctuated  hi  proportion,  and  no  specific  duty  could  be 
fixed  to  cover  such  a  wide  range  of  prices  and  give  us  at  all  times  the 
protection  that  Congress  intended  us  to  have. 

The  present  duty  of  60  per  cent  is  by  no  means  prohibitive;  our 
business  is  conducted  in  keen  competition  with  the  European  manu- 
facturers. Mr.  Kayser's  remarks  as  to  imports  are  misleading.  It 
is  true  that  prior  to  1904  the  importations  of  silk  gloves  amounted 
to  very  little.  This,  however,  was  not  due  to  a  prohibitive  tariff, 
but  to  the  fact  that  the  business  in  silk  gloves  was  controlled  by  two 
large  American  manufacturers,  of  which  Mr.  Kayser  was  one,  who 
had  secured  patents  on  an  improved  method  of  reenforcing  the  finger 
tips  of  their  gloves,  which  practically  barred  the  inferior  European 
product.  When  these  patents  expired,  in  1904,  the  importations  com- 
menced to  increase  steadily,  until  they  reached  fully  15  per  cent  of  the 
total  consumption  in  1907,  as  Mr.  Kayser's  figures  prove.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  importations  would  reach  much  larger  proportions  if 
it  was  not  for  the  fact  that  ladies'  silk  gloves  are  subject  to  sudden 
changes  hi  fashion,  which  makes  it  difficult  for  the  wholesaler  to  con- 
tract for  his  requirements  abroad  six  or  nine  months  in  advance. 
He  naturally  prefers  to  wait  until  he  knows  exactly  what  styles  his 
trade  will  demand,  and  then  have  his  needs  supplied  at  short  notice 
by  the  American  manufacturer. 

A  careful  comparison  of  foreign  and  domestic  cost  would  show  that 
under  the  present  law  the  foreign  manufacturer  still  has  the  advantage 
on  account  of  the  extremely  low  wages  paid  by  the  German  manu- 
facturer, and  a  reduction  in  the  rate  would  no  doubt  mean  less  work 
and  lower  wages  for  the  American  factories.  Mr.  Kayser,  who  owns  a 
large  glove  factory  in  Germany,  states  that  he  pays  8  to  9  marks  a  week 
in  Germany  for  the  same  work  that  he  pays  $9  a  week  for  in  America. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Mr.  Kayser  states  that  he  only  makes  cotton 
gloves  in  his  German  factories,  and  that  he  makes  them  exclusively 
for  the  American  market.  We  quite  agree  with  the  suggestion  of 
Judge  Griggs,  that  we  ought  to  make  cotton  gloves  in  this  country. 
Under  the  Dingley  tariff,  which  fLxes  the  rate  of  duty  on  cotton  gloves 
at  50  per  cent  ad  valorem,  it  is  impossible  to  compete  with  Europe. 
There  is  not  a  pair  of  cotton  gloves  made  in  the  United  States  to-day. 
The  market  is  controlled  by  German  and  English  manufacturers,  and 
even  the  United  States  Government  has  to  place  their  army  and  navy 
contract  with  the  importers.  Some  of  us  have  tested  this  matter 
again  and  again  at  considerable  expense,  and  have  always  found  that 
foreign  goods  could  be  landed  at  New  York,  duty  paid,  considerably 
below  our  cost  of  production.  One  factory,  the  Reading  Glove  and 
Mitten  Company,  was  producing  cotton  gloves  for  three  years  and  was 
losing  money  each  year.  The  books  and  records  of  this  concern  are  at 
the  disposal  of  your  committee,  and  the  officers  have  signified  their 
willingness  to  furnish  any  information  desired  in  proof  of  our  con- 
tention. 

It  might  seem  strange  that,  while  with  the  60  per  cent  protection  on 
silk  gloves  we.are  able  to  get  our  share  of  the  trade  and  successfully  com- 


5824  SCHEDULE  L — SILKS  AND  SILK   GOODS. 

pete  with  the  European  manufacturers,  with '50  per  cent  protection  on 
cotton  gloves  we  can  not  compete  at  all  and  have  been  driven  out  of 
the  market.  To  some  extent  this  is  explained  by  the  comparison  of 
the  raw  materials,  which  is  raw  silk  for  the  silk  glove  maker  and  fine 
cotton  yarn  for  the  cotton  glove  industry.  Raw  silk  is  on  the  free 
list,  while  fine  cotton  yarns,  such  as  are  used  by  the  glove  manufac- 
turers in  England  and  Germany,  pay  a  duty  of  from  24  to  60  cents  per 
pound  if  imported  into  the  United  States.  The  German  manufac- 
turer pays  a  nominal  duty  on  English  yarn,  which  is  refunded  by  the 
German  Government  if  the  goods  are  exported. 

A  few  comparisons  of  foreign  and  domestic  costs  will  prove  to  your 
committee  the  inadequate  protection  provided  by  the  present  rate  of 
50  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Comparative  cost  of  a  lady's  cotton  glove,  sold  at  wholesale  at  about 
$1.50  to  $1.75  per  dozen  pairs,  made  of  No.  80  combed  yarn,  weighing 
8  ounces  per  dozen  pairs: 


Germany. 

United 
States. 

Yarn  

$0.28 

I0.4C 

Other  material  

.15 

.23 

Wages  

.25 

.05 

Mill  expenses  

.12 

15 

.SO 

1.75 

Difference  In  cost,  95  cents;  duty  collected,  40  cents. 

Comparative  cost  of  a  lady's  lisle  glove,  sold  at  wholesale  at  about 
$2.50  to  $2.75  per  dozen  pairs,  made  out  of  160/2  lisle  yarn,  weighing 
about  10  ounces  per  dozen  pairs: 


Germany. 

United 
States. 

Yarn                       

SO.  60 

SO  00 

Other  material  

.20 

.30 

Wages     

.35 

1.35 

Mill  expenses  

.20 

.25 

1.35 

2.70 

Difference  in  cost,  $1.35;  duty  collected,  68  cents. 

Cotton  gloves  are  now  classed  as  cotton  wearing  apparel,  and  arc 
assessed  under  paragraph  314  of  the  Dingley  Act. 

Inasmuch  as  the  present  rate  of  50  per  cent  ad  valorem  is  abso- 
lutely inadequate,  and  inasmuch  as  the  law  about  to  be  framed  is 
supposed  to  protect  American  industries  to  the  extent  of  the  differ- 
ence between  the  American  and  the  foreign  cost  (to  say  nothing  of  a 
margin  for  profit)  we  respectfully  ask  that  your  committee  fix  a  rate 
of  duty  on  cotton  gloves  that  will  make  it  possible  for  us  to  get  at 
least  a  share  of  the  American  trade,  and  that  will  put  us  on  a  com- 
petitive basis  with  the  European  mills,  who  are  now  monopolizing 
this  particular  industry.  With  this  end  in  view  we  would  suggest 
that  cotton  gloves  be  taken  out  of  their  present  classification,  and 
made  dutiable  under  a  new  paragraph,  to  read  as  follows: 

(J loves  and  mittens,  including  those  commercially  known  as  "fabric  gloves"  com- 
posed of  cotton  or  other  vegetable  fiber,  finished  or  unfinished,  valued  at  not  more 


SILK   GLOVES. 


5825 


than  one  dollar  per  dozen  pairs,  eighty  cents  per  dozen  pairs.  Valued  at  more  than 
one  dollar  and  not  more  than  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  dozen  pairs,  one  dollar  per 
dozen  pairs.  Valued  at  more  than  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  dozen  pairs  and  not 
more  than  two  dollars  per  dozen  pairs,  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  dozen  pairs. 
Valued  at  more  than  two  dollars  per  dozen  pairs  and  not  more  than  three  dollars  per 
dozen  pairs,  two  dollars  per  dozen  pairs.  Valued  at  more  than  three  dollars  per  dozen 
pairs,  eighty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

The  above  to  be  the  minimum  rates,  and  the  maximum  rate  to  be  twenty  per  centum 
ad  valorem  in  addition  to  all  the  foregoing. 

Most  respectfully  submitted. 

THE  E.  RICHARD  MEINIG  Co., 
GEORGE  D.  HORST,  President,  Heading,  Pa. 
READING  GLOVE  AND  MITTEN  MANUFACTURING  Co., 
JNO.  H.  MALTZBERGER,  Secretary. 


JULIUS  KAYSER  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  SUBMIT  INFORMATION 
RELATIVE  TO  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SILK-GLOVE  INDUSTRY. 

524^528  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK, 

January  19, 1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chaii^man  of  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  submitting  this  brief  in  relation  to  the  proposed  tariff 
on  silk  gloves,  coming  now  under  section  390,  present  tariff,  it  may  be 
in  place  to  give  a  synopsis  of  the  birth  and  growth  of  the  silk-glove 
industry  in  this  country. 

Permit  me  to  state  that  prior  to  1888  silk  gloves  were  not  made  in 
this  country.  The  article  was  mostly  imported  from  Germany,  and, 
being  very  inferior  in  quality  and  high  in  price,  did  not  find  much 
favor,  and  I  doubt  that  more  than  50,000  dozen  were  imported  an- 
nually prior  to  1888.  Believing  that  if  a  good  silk  glove  could  be 
made  in  this  country  and  sold  at  a  moderate  price  the  article  could 
be  made  popular,  I  started  the  industry  in  1888,  in  which  year  I 
made  and  disposed  of  about  1,200  dozen.  The  business  steadily  grew, 
and  while  for  the  first  six  years  I  had  no  competition,  there  are  now 
more  than  fifteen  firms  competing  for  the  business.  As  far  as  I  am 
able  to  ascertain,  the  following  is  a  fairly  correct  list  of  reliable 
domestic  silk-glove  manufacturers: 


Fownes  Bros.  &  Co.,  Amsterdam  and 
New  York,  N.  Y. 

Merrill  Silk  Company,  Hornell  and 
Wellsville,  N.  Y. 

Niagara  Silk  Mills,  North  Tona- 
wanda  and  Manlius,  N.  Y. 

Gloversville  Silk  Mills,  Gloversville 
and  Lyons,  N.  Y. 

William  Lefl  &  Co.,  Glover sville, 
N.  Y. 

Hall  -  Jones  Company,  Gloversville, 
N.  Y. 

Clark  Textile  Company,  Saratoga 
Springs,  N.  Y. 


Jennings  Lace  Works,  Brooklyn 
and  New  York,  N.  Y. 

C.  R.  Morley  Glove  Company,  Dun- 
kirk, N.  Y. 

H.  S.  Hall,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

L.  M.  Blunistein  Silk  Fabric  Com- 
pany, Fultonville,  N.  Y. 

Reading  Glove  and  Mitten  Manu- 
facturing Company,  Reading,  Pa. 

Richard  E.  Meinig  Company,  Read- 
Ing,  Pa. 

Crown  Silk  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, Bangor  and  Easton,  Pa. 

Thissen  Silk  Company,  Bangor,  Pa. 


I  would  estimate  that  $5,000,000  to  $6,000,000  capital  is  at  present 
invested  in  the  business,  and  from  6,000  to  7,000  hands  employed,  the 
bulk  being  females.  The  average  wages  paid  for  female  labor  are 


5826  SCHEDULE  L — SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

$9.85,  working  55  hours  per  week,  and  about  $23.65  for  males.  The 
wages  paid  in  Saxony  for  the  same  class  of  goods  are  very  low, 
females  averaging  not  over  9  marks  ($2.16),  working  60  hours  per 
week,  and  males  24  marks  ($5.76). 

During  the  years  1906,  1907,  and  up  to  July,  1908,  an  abnormal 
condition  prevailed  in  the  silk-glove  industry  in  Europe  as  well  as 
this  country.  Short  sleeves  for  ladies'  dresses  came  in  fashion,  creat- 
ing an  extraordinary  demand  for  long  silk  gloves,  which  it  was 
impossible  for  manufacturers  to  supply.  Prices  for  this  article 
advanced  to  more  than  double  the  normal  and  the  German  manu- 
facturers were  overwhelmed  with  orders,  which  had  the  effect  to 
temporarily  advance  the  wages  paid  operators  in  Germany  to  more 
than  double  the  regular  rates.  This  demand  has  subsided  and  the 
wages  in  Germany  have  returned  to  the  former  rates,  which  are  as 
stated  in  my  brief.  The  wages  paid  to  our  operators  here  are  given 
at  the  present  rates. 

The  gloves  made  in  this  country  may  be  classified  in  three  qualities : 

1.  Gloves  sold  to  the  dealer  for  $3.72.     The  value  of  the  raw  silk  in 
this  glove  is  $1.06,  the  total  cost  of  the  glove  $3.35.     This  price 
includes  sewing  thread,  fasteners,  and  boxes,  which  items  amount  to 
about  28  cents.     Of  these  28  cents  more  than  half  is  labor,  so  that 
$2.15  of  the  total  cost  of  the  glove  is  labor.     The  difference  in  the 
cost  of  labor  between  this  country  and  Germany  would  be  $1.61  on 
this  glove. 

2.  Glove  sold  to  the  dealer  for  $4.87£.    The  value  of  the  raw  silk 
in  this  glove  is  $1.05,  the  total  cost  of  the  glove  $4.05.     Cost  of  labor, 
$3,  including  cost  of  sewing  thread,  fasteners,  and  boxes,  amounting 
to  28  cents.     Of  these  28  cents  more  than  half  is  labor.     The  differ- 
ence in  the  cost  of  labor  between  this  country  and  Germany  would  be 
$2.15  on  this  glove. 

3.  Glove  sold  to  the  dealer  for  $6.74.    The  value  of  the  raw  silk 
is  $1.50,  total  cost  of  the  glove  being  $5.65.     This  includes  sewing 
thread,  fasteners,  boxes,  and  facing,  amounting  to  40  cents,  of  which 
more  than  half  is  labor.     The  difference  in  the  price  of  labor  between 
this  country  and  Germany  would  be  $3.05  on  this  glove. 

In  view  of  these  facts  I  believe  that  the  interests  both  of  domestic 
manufacturers  and  of  honest  importers  would  be  better  served  by 
having  a  schedule  of  specific  duties  to  take  the  place  of  the  present  ad 
valorem  schedule,  and  therefore,  in  accordance  with  your  request, 
desire  to  herewith  submit  the  following  schedule  of  duties : 

TWO-BUTTON   LENGTH. 

(12  inches  In  length  over  all.) 
Silk  gloves  valued  at — 

Not  more  than  $2.50  per  dozen_  $1.  25  per  dozen  and  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Not  more  than  $4  per  dozen 2.  00  per  dozen  and  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Not  more  than  $6  per  dozen 3.  00  per  dozen  and  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Over  $6  per  dozen 60  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

LONG    GLOVES. 

Length  over  all — 

16  inches $2.  00  per  dozen  and  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

20  inches 2.  75  per  dozen  and  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

24  inches 3.  50  per  dozen  and  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

28  inches 4.  25  per  dozen  and  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

32  inches 5.  00  per  dozen  and  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Over  32  inches__ 5.75  per  dozen  and  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

JULIUS  KAYSER. 


BILK   UNDERWEAR AMERICAN    HOSIERY    CO.  5827 

SILK  UNDERWEAR. 

[Paragraph.  390.] 

THE  AMERICAN  HOSIERY  CO.,  NEW  BRITAIN,  CONN.,  URGES  RE- 
TENTION  OF  PRESENT  RATES  ON  SILK  KNIT  GOODS. 

NEW  BRITAIN,  CONN., 

December  1,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WATS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  believe  that  the  present  rate  of  duties  on  manu- 
factures of  silk,  especially  the  knit  goods  listed  in  paragraph  390, 
should  be  maintained  for  the  following  reasons: 

In  the  production  of  silk  underwear,  in  all  the  processes  of  knitting, 
seaming,  looping,  stitching,  finishing,  etc.,  there  must  be  perfect  work 
and  the  greatest  care.  Such  costly  material  as  silk  can  only  be 
intrusted  to  the  most  competent  and  skillful  workmen. 

It  is  an  article  of  luxury  and  is  not  an  article  of  general  use,  but 
yet  the  silk  industry  is  a  large  and  important  one  in  this  country,  and 
it  would  be  a  mistaken  policy  on  the  part  of  the  Government  to  reduce 
the  figures  of  Schedule  L,  so  that  trie  manufacturers  of  Europe  and 
especially  of  China  and  Japan,  who  are  already  making  great  progress 
in  the  modern  methods  of  silk  manufacture,  with  their  low  priced 
but  efficient  labor,  should  not  crowd  out  the  business  which  has  made 
such  commendable  progress  in  this  country. 

For  many  reasons  we  would  prefer  specific  duties  on  knit  silk 
underwear  and  hosiery  which  are  now  included  in  paragraph  390, 
but  on  account  of  the  difficulty  in  arranging  the  specific  rates  so  as  to 
apply  to  the  great  variety  of  weights,  qualities,  and  gauges  (by 
"gauges"  we  refer  to  the  relative  coarseness  or  fineness  as  deter- 
mined by  the  number  of  stitches  per  inch),  we  would  suggest  no 
change,  but  would  urge  that  the  present  rate,  60  per  cent,  in  para- 
graph 390  should  be  the  minimum. 

In  fact,  any  material  reduction  in  the  present  tariff  on  silk  under- 
wear and  hosiery  would  be  prohibitive  of  its  manufacture  in  this 
country. 

The  present  rate  imposes  no  burdens  upon  people  of  limited  means 
in  this  country,  as  silk  underwear  is  properly  regarded  as  one  of  the 
luxuries  of  modern  life,  and  its  use  is  confined  to  comparatively 
well-to-do  people. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

AMERICAN  HOSIERY  COMPANY, 
EDWARD  H.  DAVISON,  President. 
GEORGE  S.  TALCOTT,  Treasurer. 


5828  SCHEDULE   L — SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

VELVET  CASES. 
[Paragraph  391.] 

AMERICAN  VELVET  CASE  MAKERS  ASK  A  SEPARATE  AND  SPE- 
CIFIC CLASSIFICATION  FOR  THEIR  PRODUCTS. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 

December  1,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  It  is  my  duty  to  present  to  you  the  situation  of  the 
velvet  case  makers  of  this  country,  which  has  by  an  anomalous  work- 
ing of  the  tariff  law  been  well-nigh  done  to  death.  It  is  our  misfor- 
tune that  the  conditions  of  the  business  make  impossible  any  exact 
demonstration  thereof.  We  realize  that  by  submitting  certain  stand- 
ard products  with  affidavits  showing  their  component  and  total  costs 
here  and  abroad  our  case  would  be  impregnable.  There  is,  however, 
such  a  diversity  in  the  product — one  arising  from  its  very  nature — 
that  this  is  impossible. 

The  case-making  industry  covers  cases  for  rings,  brooches,  earrings, 
scarf  pins,  breastpins,  lockets,  watches,  silverware,  fountain  pens, 
penholders,  knives,  and  other  articles  too  numerous  to  mention.  They 
all,  however,  possess  the  one  common  characteristic,  to  wit,  that  of 
being  expensive  luxuries  appealing  to  the  taste.  As  a  result  there  is 
a  bewildering  diversity  of  size,  shape,  color,  and  materials.  An 
exact  duplicate  is  rare. 

At  present  under  section  No.  391  these  cases  come  in  as  articles 
manufactured,  of  which  silk  is  the  chief  component  value,  and  pay  a 
duty  of  50  per  cent. 

Now,  the  injustice  of  this  lack  of  separate  classification  arises  from 
the  fact  that  the  greater  part  of  the  material  used  in  the  making  is 
taxed  from  60  to  100  per  cent  ad  valorem.  In  other  words,  the  foreign 
makers  get  their  material,  velvet,  plush,  satin,  and  so  forth,  into  this 
country  in  the  manufactured  state  at  a  less  rate  than  the  same  goods 
would  pay  in  the  piece.  The  domestic  maker  by  this  provision  has  a 
handicap  to  start  with,  so  that  instead  of  being  protected  he  is  dis- 
criminated against.  Assuming  that  the  labor  difference  was  covered 
by  the  50  per  cent,  which  is  not  so,  the  American  maker  would  be 
handicapped  by  the  difference  on  materials  approximately  25  per 
cent  thereof.  But  the  labor  difference  is  much  greater  than  50  per 
cent.  The  wages  here  are  from  five  to  ten  times  greater  than  paid  in 
Europe.  This  is  in  part  compensated  by  the  greater  efficiency  of  the 
American  labor.  Tne  work  itself  is  entirely  done  by  hand  and  mani- 
festly the  difference  can  not  be  thus  wholly  made  up.  As  near  as  it 
is  possible  to  approximate  it  the  labor  cost  here  is  300  per  cent  more 
than  in  Saxony.  That  this  is  a  conservative  estimate  will  be  plain  to 
you  gentlemen  when  you  consider  the  difference  between  workmen 
is  never  great  enough,  unaided  by  machinery,  that  one  should  do  five 
times  as  much  of  the  same  work  in  a  given  time  as  the  other.  Here 
again  we  are  handicapped  by  the  impossibility  of  giving  the  exact 
figures.  In  this  country  men  are  employed  at  from  $2.50  to  $3  per 
day;  women,  from  $1.25  to  $1.50,  depending  on  localities.  In 
Saxony  the  men  receive  in  our  money  from  35  to  60  cents  per  day,  and 


VELVET  CASES H.  A.  ANDREWES.  5829 

the  women  and  children  from  10  to  25  cents.  Here  the  men  workers 
exceed  in  number  the  women,  while  abroad  the  latter  are  in  the 
greater  majority.  Here  the  shop  system  prevails,  while  in  Saxony 
it  is  sweat  shop  exclusively.  That  is  to  say,  it  is  done  in  the  huts 
and  hovels  of  the  unfortunate  peasantry. 

German  and  American  wage  standards  and  conditions  are  well 
known  to  the  members  of  this  committee;  I  take  it  they  need  no 
proof  on  these  points  but  will  take  judicial  notice  thereof.  In  many 
of  our  industries  by  improved  machinery  we  are  able  to  overcome 
this  difference  in  wage  standards,  but  in  the  case-making  industry 
this  does  not  obtain  and  it  is  almost  all  entirely  hand  work.  We 
feel  certain  that  with  a  few  years  of  real  protection  that  the  inventive 
genius  of  our  mechanics  would,  stimulated  by  the  reward  of  reason- 
able profits,  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  details  of  this  business  and 
eventually  result  in  machinery  which  will  permit  us  to  even  up  the 
conditions  as  has  occurred  in  so  many  other  industries.  At  present 
the  only  set-off  against  the  great  difference  in  wages  is  the  character 
of  the  work  people  themselves.  That  because  of  their  intelligent 
diligence  they  do  in  large  part  overcome  this  handicap  is  a  striking 
testimonial  to  them  and  proves  them  worthy  of  help  by  this  com- 
mittee. Now,  gentlemen,  I  have  placed  before  you  certain  facts 
indisputable,  known  to  all  men,  requiring  no  man's  oath  or  opinion 
to  show  their  truth  or  foundation.  These  facts  have  shown  the  need 
of  protection  for  this  industry.  I  will  now  endeavor  to  show  to 
you  by  like  arraignment  of  verities  the  justice  and  advisibility  of 
placing  us  in  a  section  apart  with  a  rate  equalizing  the  conditions. 
As  the  situation  now  is,  the  foreign-made  case  has  practically  driven 
the  American  from  the  market,  and  the  work  now  done  is  either 
special  orders  or  small  lots  which  permit  the  payment  of  the  higher 
wages.  The  inevitable  result  of  the  increase  would  be  a  greatly 
augmented  business  here ;  finding  employment  for  thousands  at  good 
wages.  As  to  the  effect  on  the  revenue  it  would  result  in  a  larger 
return  because  the  velvets,  plushes,  satins,  etc.,  would  be  imported 
at  the  piece  rate  and  thus  pay  half  again  more  duty.  Where  this 
would  not  be  so  the  boxes  would  continue  to  come  over,  paying  the 
increased  duty.  I  submit  that  no  tariff  provision  ever  framed  could 
fall  more  lightly  on  the  consumer.  It  would  mean  that  whenever 
one  purchased  an  article  of  luxury  that  was  cased  he  would  pay  from 
10  cents  to  15  cents  more  than  at  present,  if  he  wanted  the  case, 
depending  on  its  elaborateness.  A  diamond  ring  worth  $500  sold 
in  a  case  costing,  say,  40  cents,  would,  if  this  increase  is  granted, 
cost  him,  say,  10  cents  to  15  cents  more. 

I  will  now  bring  to  your  attention  two  concrete  examples:  The 
first  is  a  ring  box.  This  was  made  in  New  York  City  some  twelve 
years  ago  by  the  thousands;  to-day  it  is  not  made  at  all  because  it  is 
sold  here  by  importers  for  $3  per  dozen,  which  is  $1  less  than  the 
bare  cost  of  making  it  by  workmen  and  25  cents  less  than  the  actual 
cost  of  using  in  part  girl  labor.  The  cost  of  the  material  is  about 
SI,  of  labor  $3.  On  the  other  side,  materials  cost  58  cents  and  the 
labor  60  cents;  total,  $1.18  per  dozen.  They  are  sold  for  about  $2 
and  the  duty  brings  the  price  here  up  to  $3.  The  second  example  is 
a  brooch  box.  The  conditions  are  identical,  the  difference  being 
merely  slightly  higher  cost  as  regards  the  material,  due  to  the  larger 
size. 


5830  SCHEDULE  L SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 

I  will  now  call  your  attention  to  some  examples  of  the  discrimina- 
tion against  us  as  to  materials.  I  offer  for  your  inspection  samples 
of  satin,  velvets,  and  plushes  of  varying  grades,  all  in  common  use, 
with  the  figures  showing  the  exact  duty  paid  thereon,  which  can  be 
verified  by  the  custom  records.  I  could  also  submit  at  least  about 
40  more  such  instances,  but  these  will  suffice  to  show  the  general 
condition.  There  are  two  grades  of  satin  used  by  the  European 
makers  that  owing  to  the  pound  rate  can  not  be  sold  in  this  country 
at  all.  Another  element  which  enters  into  the  price  difference  is  the 
fact  that  these  materials  taxed  in  the  box  form  pay  the  50  per  cent 
duty  only  for  the  amount  actually  used.  Here  the  maker  pays  duty 
on  the  whole  piece,  and  the  inevitable  waste  in  cutting  up  and  the 
selvage  he  must  pay  duty  on.  Further,  should  he  import  them  in 
the  strip  form,  which  he  could  do  to  better  advantage,  another  15 
per  cent  is  added  on  the  cost  of  the  goods  to  him.  The  cost  per 
dozen  for  the  ring  boxes  is  S3. 93;  of  the  brooch  boxes,  S4.58;  they 
are  sold  in  the  market  for  $3  and  $3.50,  respectively.  Abroad  the 
proportion  of  labor  and  material  cost  is  about  the  same,  but  in  this 
country  the  labor  cost  is  from  two  to  three  times  greater  than  the 
material.  To  offset  this  difference  we  would  suggest  first,  the  placing 
of  our  industry  under  separate  classification,  and,  second,  the  reten- 
tion of  the  present  ad  valorem  duty,  50  per  cent,  and  the  addition  of 
a  duty  for  each  piece  of  10  cents  to  15  cents.  We  feel  that  with  a  few 
years  of  such  protection  we  would  be  able  to  make  these  boxes  at  a 
much  less  cost  and  thus  reduce  the  price  to  the  consumer,  giving  him 
a  better  box  at  the  same  rate  that  ne  is  at  present  paying.  This  has 
been  the  way  it  has  worked  out  in  other  industries  and  this  is  the 
way  it  will  work  out  in  this  of  ours. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

H.  A.  ANDREWES, 
Counsel  to  Velvet  Case  Makers'  Committee. 


RIBBONS. 

[Paragraph  391.] 

STATEMENT  OF  B.  A.  LEVETT,  OF  24  STATE  STREET,  NEW  YORK 
CITY,  REPRESENTING  THE  STAR  RIBBON  COMPANY  AND 
GEORGE  QUACKENBUSH. 

TUESDAY,  December  1,  1908. 

Mr.  LEVETT.  The  merchandise  that  I  desire  to  speak  on  to-day 
consists  of  ribbons  cut  from  a  fabric  represented  by  this  sample 
[handing  sample  to  chairman  of  the  committee.]  It  is  a  fabric 
woven  in  the  piece,  designed  to  be  cut  into  ribbons. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  What  paragraph  is  this? 

Mr.  LEVETT.  Paragraph  391,  for  manufactures  of  silk  not  specially 
provided  for.  Imported  ribbons  similar  in  character  to  our  ribbons 
did  pay  at  one  time  60  per  cent,  but  in  a  decision  of  the  circuit  court 
about  four  years  ago  it  was  held  that  ribbons  were  dutiable  as  man- 
ufactures of  silk. 

There  are  two  domestic  manufacturers  of  these  ribbons  in  this 
country  whom  I  represent.  The  ribbons  are  not  made  on  a  ribbon 
loom  at  all.  They  are  made,  as  you  see,  by  weaving  a  broad  fabric 


RIBBONS B.   A.    LEVETT.  5831 

with  what  is  called  a  "  doupe  edge,"  about  20  per  cent  silk,  and  the 
balance  is  cotton,  although  the  silk  is  the  chief  .value.  You  will 
notice  an  interval  there,  a  thread  left  out,  so  as  to  mark  the  width 
of  the  ribbon.  The  Star  Ribbon  Company  was  the  pioneer  in  the 
manufacture  of  this  article  here. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  say  that  that  is  a  linen  ribbon? 

Mr.  LEVETT.  No ;  it  comes  in  as  a  manufacture  of  silk  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  The  article  that  we  are  asking  a  higher  rate  of  duty  on 
is  ribbon  made  from  that  fabric.  There  is  very  little  of  that  fabric 
imported. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  is  the  process  of  manufacture  ? 

Mr.  LEVETT.  It  is  put  through  the  cutting  machine;  then  it  is  cut 
and  wound  on  spools. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  would  like  to  have  the  fabric  brought  in 
under  the  paragraph  on  ribbons? 

Mr.  LEVETT.  We  would  like  to  have  the  duty  on  ribbons  made 
from  this  fabric  increased  and  the  fabric  correspondingly  increased. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  What  does  it  pay  now  ? 

Mr.  LEVETT.  The  fabric  would  come  in  under  the  broad  fabric 
classification  of  paragraph  387  at  a  specific  rate  equal  to  about  50  per 
cent.  The  point  is  this :  You  gentlemen  have  heard  a  number  of  argu- 
ments showing  that  protection  fosters  trusts  and  makes  the  price  to 
the  consumer  higher  here.  I  want  to  show  in  a  few  moments  that  pro- 
tection will  decrease  the  price  of  these  ribbons  to  the  consumer,  and 
the  reason  for  that  is  this,  that  before  the  domestic  people  started 
to  make  this  the  importers  had  a  monopoly.  They  were  charging 
$4  for  a  thousand  yards  of  baby  ribbon,  at  wholesale  in  the  market 
here,  with  7  per  cent  off — the  regular  discount.  The  domestic  people, 
the  Star  Ribbon  Company,  started  to  manufacture,  and  as  soon  as 
the  competition  began  to  be  felt,  the  price  went  down,  so  that  to-day 
the  price  of  those  ribbons  for  which  was  charged  $4  before  the 
domestic  people  started  to  manufacture  is  $2.10  to  $2.25  with  7  per 
cent  off.  At  the  time  we  started  to  manufacture,  of  course  the  price, 
$4,  had  a  fair  profit  in  it.  We  started  with  one  loom,  and  we  had 
gotten  up  to  30  looms,  and  were  turning  out  a  million  yards  a  week, 
when  the  price  commenced  to  be  cut.  To-day  the  price  is  about 
$2.10,  and  it  costs  the  Star  Ribbon  Company,  by  figures  which  I  have 
here  and  will  submit,  $2.07  to  make  an  article  which  is  selling  to-day 
for  $2.10  with  7  per  cent  off. 

The  other  concern  which  I  represent,  and  the  only  other  manu- 
facturer of  that  ribbon,  has  a  little  higher  cost,  because  the  chief 
fabric  is  made  outside,  and  it  costs  them  about  $2.14.  They  are  run- 
ning a  few  looms  now  to  keep  in  the  market.  According  to  my  best 
information,  at  the  port  of  New  York  the  imported  price  of  ribbon 
of  this  character  is  about  7.75  to  8  francs  a  thousand  meters,  with  a 
discount  of  20  per  cent,  which,  turned  into  American  money  on  the 
basis  of  8  francs  is  about  1.23  a  thousand  meters,  or  $1.11  per  thousand 
yards.  If  you  add  a  duty  of  50  per  cent,  that  would  bring  it  up  to 
$1.67.  If  you  add  3  per  cent  for  expenses,  ocean  freight,  and  other 
nondurable  expenses,  it  brings  that  total  landed  price  in  New  York 
City  to  $1.71  per  thousand  yards. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  fabric  you  present  there  is  capable  of  being 
manufactured  into  ribbon  by  simply  running  it  through  the  cutting 
machine,  and  is  plainly  brought  in  under  an  evasion  of  the  ribbon 
duty. 

7.~><.m— II.  Doc.  i  r,t  C,.<;<  i-2— Vol  6 5 


5832  SCHEDULE   L — SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 

Mr.  LEVETT.  I  do  not  claim  so;  it  is  very  little  imported. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  But  it  is  capable  of  being  converted  into  ribbon 
in  that  way,  and  they  do  it.  It  comes  under  the  basket  clause. 

Mr.  LEVETT.  The  broad  fabric  clause,  which  is  practically  about 
50  per  cent. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  the  same  duty,  is  it  not — ribbon,  GO  per 
cent. 

Mr.  LEVETT.  Fifty  per  cent. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  you  want  is  to  have  it  made  60  per  cent, 
the  same  as  ribbon? 

Mr.  LEVETT.  What  I  want  is  that  the  ribbons  pay  a  duty  that  will 
bring  the  landed  price  up  to  our  cost  of  production. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  want  a  greater  protection  ? 

Mr.  LEVETT.  Greater  protection. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  On  ribbons,  too? 

Mr.  LEVETT.  Mainly  on  ribbons;  the  fabric  is  an  incident.  I  pro- 
pose to  show  just  exactly  what  that  duty  should  amount  to  to  put 
us  on  an  equality  with  the  importer.  According  to  these  figures, 
with  the  duty  and  all  expenses,  it  costs  the  importer  $1.71  a  thousand 
yards  to  land  this  in  New  York.  It  costs  us  $2.07  to  make  it.  We 
ask  that  a  duty  be  put  on  equal  to  the  difference  between  our  cost  and 
the  landed  price  of  the  imported  ribbon  to-day.  I  have  figured  that 
out.  and  basing  it  on  a  specific  rate  per  pound,  we  ask  that  the  duty 
be  made  on  cut  ribbons,  dyed,  $1.25  per  pound  and  15  per  cent  ad 
valorem.  On  this  fabric  there  is  about  50  cents  difference  in  the 
cutting  and  winding,  and  so  on. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  ratio  does  the  weight  of  the  ribbon  bear  to 
its  value  ? 

Mr.  LEVETT.  All  the  silk  specific  duties  are  by  the  pound. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is,  where  the  goods  run  uniform.  But  there 
is  .no  uniformity  in  ribbons  ? 

Mr.  LEVETT.  These  will  run  very  uniform. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Is  not  a  pound  of  some  worth  ten  times  as  much 
as  a  pound  of  another  kind  ? 

Mr.  LEVETT.  No,  on  these  narrow  ribbons  the  percentage  of  silk 
is  about  20  per  cent  by  weight,  so  that  they  would  run  uniform  and 
the  rate  would  be  equitable.  We  are  asking  for  a  provision  on  this 
specific  cut  baby  ribbon,  not  on  ribbons  in  general.  We  have  nothing 
to  do  with  that.  We  started  to  manufacture  this  particular  article, 
have  built  up  an  industry,  and  now  we  have  to  sell  at  a  loss,  because 
they  are  landed  at  30  or  40  cents  below  our  cost. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Have  you  given  there  the  value  of  a  pound  of 
these  goods? 

Mr.  LEVETT.  I  was  coming  to  that.  Three-quarters  of  a  pound 
of  our  ribbons  would  be  about  a  thousand  yards,  so  that  a  pound 
would  be  about  1,333  yards. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  In  those  goods,  would  not  a  pound  make  more  than 
1,500  yards  ? 

Mr.  LEVETT.  I  understand  that  the  imported  ribbon  is  lighter  than 
ours  and  that  a  pound  would  run  about  1,500  yards.  I  have  used 
that  as  a  basis  to  get  a  pound  duty,  which,  added  to  the  landed  price 
of  a  pound  of  the  ribbons,  will  equal  the  cost  of  manufacture  to  us  of 
a  pound  of  similar  ribbons.  By  taking  the  duty  at  $1.25  a  pound 
and  15  per  cent  ad  valorem,  it  will  give  us  a  protection  of  about  4  per 
cent. 


EIBBONS B.   A.   LEVETT.  5833 

Now,  one  of  the  reasons  for  that  enormous  difference  in  the  cost  of 
production  abroad  and  here  is  difference  in  labor,  of  course.  We  pay 
about  $2  a  day,  and  I  have  a  letter  here  which  was  written  in  1907  to 
one  of  the  manufacturers  on  another  subject-matter.  He  was  at  that 
time  importing  some  of  these  narrow  ribbons;  one  order  was  not 
quite  right,  and  he  wrote  about  it,  and  in  his  answer,  among  other 
things,  he  said : 

1  had  given  due  instructions  and  this  order  should  have  been  correctly  de- 
livered. Unfortunately  weavers  who  only  earn,  by  working  ten  hours  a  day, 
about  25  or  30  cents  can  not  be  depended  upon,  as  they  work  on  the  looms  when 
they  have  nothing  else  to  do,  and  this  accounts  for  the  cheap  price  we  make  this 
article  here. 

A  weaver  in  Lyons  will  get  more  than  that,  but  the  people  who 
make  these  ribbons  are  up  in  the  mountains,  where  they  work  when 
they  feel  like  it,  and  they  get  25  or  30  cents  a  day,  while  we  pay  our 
men  $2  a  day. 

The  other  manufacturer  whom  I  represent  started  with  four  looms 
some  time  ago,  and  he  still  has  that  number.  He  has  never  had  a 
chance  to  increase  them.  He  can  not  sell  his  goods  to-day,  as  he  is 
always  met  by  the  answer,  "  Put  your  price  down  to  the  price  the 
importers  sell,  and  we  will  dp  business  with  you."  We  ask  that  a 
special  provision  be  inserted  in  the  silk  schedule  covering  this  par- 
ticular kind  of  ribbon — that  is  to  say,  a  ribbon  cut  from  piece  goods. 
We  suggest  the  following  paragraph  : 

Ribbons  in  chief  value  of  silk  in  the  piece  not  dyed  or  bleached,  sixty  cents 
per  pound  and  15  per  cent  ad  valorem ;  if  dyed  or  bleached,  seventy-five  cents 
per  pound  and  15  per  cent  ad  valorem ;  ribbons  in  chief  value  of  silk  cut  from  a 
fabric,  one  dollar  and  25  cents  per  pound  and  fifteen  per  cent  ad  valorem. 


BRIEF  RELATIVE  TO  SILK  RIBBONS  AND  THEIR  CLASSIFICATION, 
FILED  BY  B.  A.  LEVETT  FOR  THE  STAR  RIBBON  CO.  AND  GEORGE 
QUACKENBUSH,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 

December  1, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  Star  Ribbon  Company  is  a  domestic  concern 
manufacturing,  among  other  things,  what  are  known  as  No.  1  cut- 
edge  ribbons,  or  sometimes  commonly  referred  to  as  cut-edge  "  baby- 
ribbons."  These  articles  are  not  made  on  a  ribbon  loom,  but  are 
made  by  first  weaving  a  broad  fabric  with  what  is  called  a  doupe 
edge.  This  fabric  contains  about  20  per  cent  silk  by  weight  and  the 
balance  cotton,  silk  chief  value.  It  is  cut  into  strips  or  ribbons. 
In  this  fabric  at  intervals  representing  the  width  of  the  desired 
ribbon  a  binding  edge  is  woven,  then  a  thread  is  omitted,  leaving  the 
fabric  in  such  condition  that  it  can  be  readily  cut  into  strips  or 
ribbons.  The  Star  Ribbon  Company  was  the  pioneer  in  this  country 
in  this  line,  starting  about  nine  years  ago  with  one  double  loom  and 
building  up  a  business  which  at  one  time  kept  occupied  thirty  double 
looms,  turning  out  a  million  yards  of  ribbon  a  week,  and  was  in  a 
fair  way  to  work  up  a  large  domestic  industry.  At  the  time  we 
started  the  imported  goods  of  the  same  character  were  selling  as 


5834  SCHEDULE  L SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

high  as  $4  per  spool  of  1,000  yards.  When  our  competition  began 
to  be  felt  the  importers  started  to  cut  the  price  and  continued  to  do 
so  until  to-day  when  the  ribbons  are  selling  at  $2.10  to  $2.25  per 
1,000  yards,  with  7  per  cent  off  if  paid  in  ten  days. 

These  ribbons  to-day  pay  a  duty  of  50  per  cent  ad  valorem  under 
paragraph  391.  Prior  to  four  years  ago  they  were  assessed  at  CO 
per  cent  as  trimmings,  but  in  a  decision  of  the  United  States  circuit 
court  rendered  in  1904  they  were  held  to  be  properly  dutiable  as 
manufactures  of  silk,  and  the  Treasury  Department  thereupon  issued 
instructions  to  assess  the  goods  at  50  per  cent,  in  accordai  ce  with 
the  court's  decision  (T.  D.  25375).  This,  coupled  with  the  fact  that 
the  foreigner  through  cheaper  labor  is  enabled  to  produce  his  goods 
far  below  our  cost  of  production,  has  resulted  in  practically  putting 
an  end  to  our  industry  on  this  ribbon  for  the  reason  that  to-day  the 
imported  article  sells  in  the  market  here  at  less  than  it  costs  us  to 
produce  similar  goods.  Instead  of  operating  30  double  looms,  as 
heretofore,  we  are  now  operating  only  9,  and  at  a  loss.  We  attach 
hereto  a  detailed  statement  of  our  cost  of  production,  giving  every 
item  that  enters  into  the  cost. 

Detailed  statement  relative  to  cost  of  production. 
[325  by  21=6,825  satin;  326  by  12=3,912  edge;  total,   10,737.] 

Spaces  or  ribbons,  325.    No.  1^.    Lines,  If.    Length,  600V 

|f  grege  organzine,  450,  at  $25 $112.50 

Winding 3.  00 

Warping  10,737  ends,  at  9  cents  per  100 9.  66 

Weaving  570  yards,  at  7  cents 39.90 

Twisting  10,737  ends,  at  4  cents  per  100 4.29 

Harness,  English,  10,800,  at  20  cents  (one-fourth)  _j 5.40 

Front  reed 1.  50 

Cotton  _.  55.  00 


Total 231.  25 

Manufacturing  expenses,  10  per  cent 23. 13 


570  yards  cost 254.  38 

Cost  per  yard ,44f 

Calculation  of  cost  of  No.  1  spool,  1,000  yards  cut  ribbon. 

1,000  yards,  uncut,  325  ribbons  wide,  at  44|  cents $446.  30 

Dyeing  same 80.00 


Total 526.30 


Cost  per  1,000  yards,  single  width 1.62 

Cutting,  winding,  spooling,  boxing,  and  rolling .17 

General  expenses  10  per  cent .  is 

Selling  expenses  5  per  cent '  10 


Net  cost 2.  07 

From  this  statement  of  cost  it  appears  that  1  yard  of  the  fabric 
costs  us  to  manufacture  44f  cents;  to  this  are  added  the  cost  of  dye- 
ing, the  cutting,  winding,  spooling,  boxing,  and  general  expenses  of 
10  per  cent,  selling  and  expenses  of  5  per  cent,  making  our  net  cost 
$2.07  per  1,000  yards  of  ribbon.  Waste  is  not  included. 

We  are  informed  and  believe  that  the  committee  can  substantiate 
the  fact  through  the  Government's  statistics  showing  the  value  per 


RIBBONS B.   A.   LEVETT.  5835 

1,000  yards  of  these  goods  as  imported,  that  the  imported  ribbons  of 
this  character  pass  the  custom-house  at  a  value  of  about  7.75  to  8 
francs  per  1,000  meters,  discount  20  per  cent.  This,  turned  into 
American  money  on  the  basis  of  8  francs,  is  about  $1.23  per  1,000 
meters  net,  which  means  about  $1.11  per  1,000  yards.  Adding  the 
duty  of  50  per  cent  brings  the  cost  to  $1.67,  and  adding  3  per  cent  for 
freight,  etc.,  makes  the  total  cost  to  the  importer  to  land  the  goods  in 
Xew  York  $1.71  per  1,000  yards  of  goods  similar  to  those  which  it 
costs  us  about  $2.07  to  make. 

We  understand  that  it  is  proposed  to  insert  the  word  "  ribbons  "  in 
the  trimmings  paragraph,  which  at  present  fixes  a  duty  of  60  per 
cent;  but  we  desire  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  60  would  not 
enable  us  to  compete  on  this  article.  We  therefore  ask  that  a  special 
provision  as  to  these  cut  ribbons  be  inserted  fixing  a  special  duty 
which  will  be  somewhat  higher  for  the  ribbons  when  cut  than  when 
imported  in  the  doupe  fabric.  We  ask  that  this  rate  be  based  on  our 
cost  of  production.  Taking  that  cost  as  $2.07  per  1,000  yards  as  a 
basis,  we  ask  that  a  duty  be  assessed  on  these  goods  which  will  bring 
the  landed  price  equal  to  our  cost  of  production  plus  about  4  per  cent. 
In  other  words,  we  ask  that  we  be  allowed  to  make  the  same  profit 
as  the  importer,  with  a  protection  of  4  per  cent  to  protect  American 
industry  and  labor.  On  this  basis  it  should  cost  the  importer  to  land 
his  goods  $2.07  plus  8  cents,  or  $2.45  per  1,000  yards.  That  is  to  say, 
he  should  pay  to  the  Government  as  duty  $1  per  1,000  yards,  the 
difference  between  $2.15  and  $1.15 — his  net  cost  of  $1.11  plus  3  per 
cent  for  expenses. 

While,  as  before  stated,  our  ribbons  run  about  1,333  yards  to  the 
pound,  the  imported  ribbon  which  competes  with  ours  is  somewhat 
lighter,  running,  as  we  are  informed,  about  1,500  yards  to  the  pound, 
so  that  in  order  to  get  a  pound  duty  which  will  equal  $1  per  1,000 
yards  we  must  multiply  $1  by  1£,  making  $1.50.  The  price  on  the 
other  side  being  $1.11  per  1.000  yards,  the  price  per  pound  would  be 
$1.67.  A  specific  duty  therefore  of  $1.25  per  pound  plus  an  ad  valo- 
rem duty  of  15  per  cent  would  equal  a  total  duty  on  a  pound  of  the 
imported  ribbon  of  $1.50,  and  on  1,000  yards  of  the  imported  ribbon 
of  $1.  If  this  duty  be  added  to  the  foreign  cost  and  nondutiable 
charges  added  it  would  bring  the  landed  price  of  1,000  yards  of  the 
imported  ribbons  to  $2.15,  giving  us  a  protection  of  7  cents  per  1,000 
yards  which,  on  the  cost  of  manufacture  here  of  $2.07,  is  less  than 
4  per  cent. 

We  are  informed  that  the  average  invoice  value  of  such  of  these 
goods  as  are  imported  in  the  piece  is  75  centimes  per  meter,  60  centi- 
meters wide,  although  not  much  of  this  is  imported.  It  is  obvious, 
however,  that  should  the  duty  be  advanced  on  the  ribbons  when  cut 
it  should  also  be  advanced  on  the  doupe  cloth.  We  therefore  suggest 
that  the  fabric  be  taxed  at  75  cents  per  pound  and  15  per  cent  ad 
valorem  and  that  the  ribbon  be  dutiable  at  $1.25  per  pound  and  15 
per  cent  ad  valorem. 

We  beg  to  call  attention  to  a  similar  provision  which  exists  in  the 
present  tariff  act  in  paragraph  386,  for  silk  plushes  at  $1  per  pound 
and  15  per  cent  ad  valorem,  and  silk  plush  ribbons  at  $1.15  per 
pound  and  15  per  cent  ad  valorem;  also  to  the  provision  in  para- 
graph 315,  where  cotton  plushes,  etc.,  are  provided  for  at  9  cents 
per  square  yard  and  20  per  cent  ad  valorem  if  not  bleached,  etc. ;  at  12 


5836  SCHEDULE  L SILKS   AND   SILK   GOCDS. 

cents  per  pound  and  20  per  cent  ad  valorem  for  plush,  etc.,  if 
bleached,  while  articles  made  therefrom  are  provided  for  at  the 
same  rates  with  an  additional  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

It  is  true  that  the  requested  duty  is  high  ad  valorem,  but  in  reality 
it  is  a  very  conservative  request,  for  we  ask  only  an  actual  protection 
of  less  than  4  per  cent,  and  we  urge  that  we  are  entitled  to  a  fair 
chance  to  exist,  and  the  seemingly  high  rate  we  ask  for  is  necessary 
owing  to  the  tremendous  difference  in  the  cost  of  labor  here  and 
abroad. 

We  pay  weavers  who  run  two  looms,  producing  from  180  to  240 
yards,  7  cents  per  yard.  They  earn  from  $12  to  $15  per  week  of 
fifty-five  hours.  We  are  informed  that  the  weavers  who  make  these 
goods  on  the  other  side  earn  25  or  30  cents  a  day.  We  suggest  the 
following  language  to  be  inserted  in  the  proper  paragraph: 

Ribbons  in  chief  value  of  silk  in  the  piece,  not  dyed  or  bleached,  sixty  cents 
per  pound  and  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  if  dyed  or  bleached,  seventy-five 
cents  per  pound  and  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem;  ribbons  in  chief  value  of 
silk,  cut  from  a  fabric,  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  pound  and  fifteen 
per  centum  ad  valorem. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

STAR  RIRUON  Co. 
GEORGE  QUACKENBUSH. 


THE  STAR  RIBBON  COMPANY  AND  GEORGE  QUACKENBUSH,  NEW 

YORK  CITY,  FILE  SUPPLEMENTAL  BRIEF  RELATIVE  TO  THE 

DUTY  ON  CUT  RIBBONS. 

NEW  YORK,  December  3, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  Supplemental  to  the  statements  made  by  our  repre- 
sentative, Mr.  Levett,  before  you  on  the  1st  instant,  relative  to  cut 
ribbons  in  part  of  silk  manufactured  by  us,  we  beg  to  present  the 
following: 

While,  as  stated,  we  believe  from  the  letter  received  by  Mr. 
Quackenbush,  an  extract  from  which  was  read  into  the  record,  that 
the  weavers  in  France  who  live  in  the  mountains  and  make  goods 
of  similar  character  receive  from  25  to  30  cents  per  day,  it  is  a  fact, 
as  we  are  informed,  that  the  weavers  in  Lyon  receive  about  3 
francs  a  day.  We  desire  to  emphasize  the  point,  however,  that 
irrespective  of  wages  the  fact  remains  that  ribbons  similar  in  char- 
acter to  those  made  by  us  are  imported  into  this  country  at  a  price 
which  including  duty  and  expenses  is  greatly  below  our  cost  of 
production;  and  that  in  advocating  the  duty  suggested  by  us  we 
are  merely  asking  to  be  put  on  a  par  with  the  importers  in  selling 
these  ribbons  in  this  country  with  a  protection  which  would  not 
exceed  10  per  cent.  The  output  of  the  Star  Ribbon  Company  had 
grown  to  a  million  yards  per  week,  w^hen  the  price  of  the  imported 

foods  was  cut  to  such  an  extent  that  their  production  has  gone 
own  to  300,000  yards  per  week,  some  of  these  goods  being  sold  at 
a  loss. 

It  should  be  said  that  the  imported  ribbon  which  competes  with 
ours  is  somewhat  lighter  in  weight  than  our  domestic  ribbon,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  the  silk  used  in  its  manufacture  is  9f  a  lighter  weight. 


CUT   RIBBONS JACQUARD   FIGURED   GOODS.  5837 

We  have  tried  repeatedly  to  manufacture  these  ribbons  of  lighter 
weight  silk  than  what  is  known  as  "  fourteen-sixteenths  denier"/' 
but  we  have  been  unable  to  make  our  ribbons  with  silk  as  light  as 
that  used  abroad.  The  finished  product  is  so  similar,  however, 
that  we  believe  the  ordinary  consumer  would  hardly  notice  the  dif- 
ference. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

STAR  RIBBON  COMPANY, 
GEORGE  QUACKENBUSH. 


JACQUARD  FIGURED  GOODS. 

[Paragraph  391.] 

STATEMENT  OF  CHARLES  SCHOEN,  OF  NO.  97  GREEN  STREET,  NEW 
YORK  CITY,  RELATIVE  TO  JACdUARD  GOODS. 

TUESDAY,  December  1,  1908. 

Mr.  SCHOEN.  I  have  no  special  suggestion  to  make  as  to  the  various 
rates  of  duty  to  be  levied  under  the  new  tariff,  but  I  would  like  to 
show  here  figures  as  to  how  the  present  specific  duties  act  in  propor- 
tion to  the  ad  valorem  duties  that  are  collected.  I  have  here  a  list 
of  importations  which  came  in  under  the  50  per  cent  clause,  and  if 
the  respective  specific  rates  would  be  collected  there  would  be  only 
one  item  that  would  pay  50  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  schedule  are  you  speaking  upon  ? 

Mr.  SCHOEN.  Silks.  And  all  the  other  items  would  pay  less. 
This  schedule  is  a  copy  of  the  importations  at  the  port  of  New  York. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Are  you  talking  to  any  particular  paragraph  in  this 
schedule  ? 

Mr.  SCHOEN.  I  am  talking  about  paragraphs  387  and  391. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Are  you  a  manufacturer? 

Mr.  SCHOEN.  I  am  a  manufacturer  of  tie  silks.  Our  business  is 
a  very  peculiar  business,  and  the  designs  and  preparation  for  the 
designs  brings  about  a  great  deal  of  labor.  I  have  brought  two 
samples  along — one  a  Jacquard  article  and  one  a  plain  article.  I 
would  say  that  as  to  the  weight  per  square  yard  of  these  articles  they 
are  both  alike,  but  this  article  [indicating  sample],  36  inches  wide, 
sells  for  90  cents  a  yard,  while  this  article  [indicating  sample],  24 
inches  wide,  sells  at  the  same  price,  so  that  a  similar  specific  duty 
could  not  be  applied  to  both  articles  alike.  I  therefore  advocate 
either  a  higher  special  duty  for  Jacquard  goods — that  is,  goods  with 
more  than  two  colors  in  the  warp  and  in  the  filling,  or  goods  contain- 
ing more  than  two  weaves — or  a  minimum  rate  of  duty  such  as  we 
have  now,  50  per  cent,  or  whatever  the  committee  may  desire.  I  do 
claim  that  without  a  minimum  rate  of  ad  valorem  duty  our  industries 
would  be  severely  crippled.  The  product  manufactured  in  this  coun- 
try amounts  to  between  five  and  seven  million  dollars.  The  majority 
of  these  goods  imported  in  this  line  come  in  under  the  ad  valorem 
duty. 

I  would  like  to  leave  this  statement. 


5838 


SCHEDULE 


-SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 


(The  following  statement  was  submitted  by  Mr.  Schoen :) 

Particulars  of  certain  importations  of  silk  woven  fairies  in  the  piece  from  in- 
voices in  the  custom-house,  Neio  York. 

[These  goods  all  weigh  between  15  and  8  ounces  to  the  square  yard  and  are  dutiable  at  50  per 
cent  ad  valorem  under  the  provisions  to  paragraph  387  of  the  act  of  1897.] 


Description. 


Length. 


Meters. 


Yards. 


Width. 


Con  ti- 
me ters. 


Inches 


Weight. 


Kilo- 
grams. 


Pounds. 


Silk  and  cotton.  20-30  per  cent  silk, 

yarn  dyed,  colored 

Do - 

Do 

Silk   and   cotton,  under   20  per  cent 

silk,  piece  dyed 

Do. 

Do 

Silk  and  cotton,  30-45  per  cent  silk, 

yarn  dyed,  colored 

Do 

All  silk, yarn  dyed,  weighted, colored-- 
Do  

Do I 

Do ! 

Do ! 

Do ' 

Do - 

Do 

Silk  and  cotton,  over  45  per  cent  silk, 

yarn  dyed,  colored,  weighted 

Do 

Do 

Do. 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do— 


1,105.00 

1,073.85 

580.35 

347.50 

95.90 

100.30 

292.75 
287.35 


48.85 

46.40 

120.45 

90.45 

101 .50 

103.55 

25.00 

24.10 


1,208.44 

1,174.37 

634.68 

380.03 
104.88 
109.69 

320.15 
314.25 

9.00 
50.00 
90.00 
12. 16 

6.08 
16.09 

2.09 

7.00 

53.52 

50.74 

131.73 

98.92 

111.00 

113.24 

27.34 

25.36 


60    - 


70,700 
81,270 
40,250 

18,400 
6,550 
5,670 

18,000 
16,200 


3,000 


3,200 
2,750 
6,700 
5,950 
6,950 
6,800 
1,400 
1,500 


155.87 
179.17 
88.74 

40.56 

14.44 
12.50 

39.68 
35. 71 

1.94 

6.61 
14.15 

2.56 
.62 

4.65 
.47 

1.53 

7.05 

6.06 

14.77 

13.12 

15.32 

14.99 

3.09 

3.31 


Description. 


Value. 


Foreign. 


United 
States. 


Primary 
specific 
rate  per 
pound. 


Actual 
duty 
paid. 


Amount 
of  spe- 
cific rate 

per 
pound. 


Per  cent. 


Silk  and  cotton,  20-30  per  cent  silk, 

yarn  dyed,  colored 

Do 

Do 

Silk  and  cotton,  under  20  per  cent 

silk,  piece  dyed 

Do.. 

Do 

Silk  and  cotton,  30-J5  per  cent  silk, 

yarn  dyed,  colored 

Do— 


All  silk, yarn  dyed,  weighted, colored- 
Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do— 


Silk  and  cotton, over 45 per  cent  silk, 

yarn  dyed,  colored,  weighted 

Do        

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 


Marks. 
1,49.5.05 
1,453.00 
785.40 

230.15 
87.90 
81.75 

485.80 
388.65 

£.  s.  d. 

459 
16    0 
22    9 

56 

2  13 

6  19 

10 

31 
Austrian 
crowns. 
243.40 
195.85 
495.20 
391.95 
441.95 
455.80 
109.25 
109.20 


$3">5.82 
345.81 
185.93 

54.78 
20.94 
19.46 

115.63 
92.51 

20.87 
78.02 
109.31 
25.89 
12.93 
33.94 
4.87 
14.94 


49.41 
39.76 
100.53 
79.57 
89.72 
92.53 
22.18 
22.17 


$0.90 
.90 
.90 

.60 
.60 
.60 

1.30 
1.30 

2.25 
2.25 
2.25 
2.25 
2.25 
2.25 
2.25 
2.25 


2.25 
2.25 
2.25 
2.25 
2.25 
2.25 
2.25 
2.25 


$177.91 
172.90 
93.48 

27.39 
10.47 
9.73 

57.81 
46.26 

10.44 
39.01 
54.65 
12.95 
6.47 
16.97 
2.44 
7.47 


24.70 
19.83 
50.27 
39.78 
44.83 
46.26 
11.09 
11.09 


$140.28 

161.26 

79.86 

24.34 

8.66 
7.50 

51.58 
46.42 

4.36 

14.87 

31.81 

5.76 

1.40 

10.47 

1.05 

3.44 


15.86 
13.61 
33.23 
29.52 
34.47 
33.73 
6.95 
7.45 


78.75 
93.20 
S5.45 

88.90 
83.00 
78.00 

89.00 
100.00 

42.00 
38.00 
58.30 
44.50 

2i.no 

60.00 
43.00 
46.00 


St.OO 
fifi.OO 
6fi.OO 
74.  IV) 
77. 00 
73.  OC 
62.50 
67.20 


UPHOLSTERY  FABRICS KAMMERLOHR  &  DUFFY  ET  AL.      5839 

REPRESENTATIVES  OF  DOMESTIC  MANUFACTURERS  OF  UPHOL- 
STERY FABRICS  ASK  FOR  A  NEW  CLASSIFICATION. 

WASHINGTON,  December  1,  1906. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  In  the  matter  of  the  revision  of  paragraph  391  of 
the  tariff  act  of  1897,  so  far  as  the  same  relates  to  Jacquard  figured 
goods,  silk  chief  value,  containing  two  or  more  colors  in  the  filling, 
we  wish  to  state  that  the  undersigned  represent  domestic  manufac- 
turers of  Jacquard  tapestry  or  upholstery  fabrics,  composed  in  chief 
value  of  silk. 

We  complain  of  an  evasion  of  the  following  provision  in  para- 
graph 391 : 

*  *  *  All  Jacquard  figured  goods  in  the  piece,  made  on  looms,  of  which 
silk  is  the  component  material  of  chief  value,  dyed  in  the  yarn,  and  containing 
two  or  more  colors  in  the  filling,  fifty  per  centum  ad  valorem.  *  *  * 

These  goods  are  designed  especially  for  upholstery  purposes  and 
have  replaced  to  a  large  extent  the  similar  domestic  product.  (See 
brief  of  the  undersigned  on  the  revision  of  paragraph  31G.) 

In  1900  an  evasion  of  the  present  provision  was  perpetrated  in  the 
following  manner :  The  act  says  "  containing  two  or  more  colors  in 
the  filling."  The  foreign  manufacturers  made  a  Jacquard  fabric 
which  in  real  truth  contained  only  one  color  in  the  filling,  but  upon 
the  back  thereof,  forming  no  part  of  the  design  and  not  showing 
upon  the  face  of  the  fabric,  they  placed  at  intervals  of  about  one-half 
inch  a  single  cotton  thread  different  in  color  from  the  regular  filling 
thread. 

The  collector  disregarded  the  attempted  evasion  of  the  tariff  and 
classified  the  goods  under  paragraph  387,  where  they  properly  belong. 
The  importers  protested  and  the  issue  came  before  the  Board  of 
General  Appraisers. 

The  board  found,  in  addition  to  the  facts  set  forth,  that  the  occa- 
sional cotton  threads  did  not  constitute  exceeding  2  per  cent  of  the 
component  materials  of  the  goods.  Their  decision  (T.  D.,  22178; 
G.  A.,  4705)  says: 

Indeed  an  inspection  of  the  samples  in  evidence  is  sufficient  to  establish  these 
facts  and  to  make  it  manifest  that  resort  was  had  to  the  rather  bunglingly 
accomplished  artifice  of  introducing  these  occasional  threads  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  removing  the  goods  from  classification  under  the  specific  provisions  of 
paragraph  387  of  the  tariff  act  of  July  24,  1897,  as  properly  made  by  the  col- 
lector, and  to  bring  them  within  the  provision  in  paragraph  391  of  said  act  for 
"  all  Jacquard  figured  goods  in  the  piece,  made  on  looms,  of  which  silk  is  the 
component  material  of  chief  value,  dyed  in  the  yarn,  and  containing  two  or  more 
colors  in  the  filling."  It  is  upon  these  threads  that  the  protestants  place  their 
claim,  and  upon  which  they  rely  for  a  reversal  of  the  collector's  decision 
respecting  the  dutiable  classification  of  the  goods. 

Upon  the  ground  that  this  was  a  deliberate  contrivance  of  question- 
able propriety  to  escape  the  lawful  duties  accruing  upon  the  mer- 
chandise, the  board  overruled  the  protest  of  the  importers. 

The  importers  appealed,  and  the  decision  of  the  circuit  court  is 
found  in  Johnson  v.  United  States  (123  Fed.  Eep.,  997).  The  court 
reversed  the  board  upon  the  ground  that  the  evasive  intent  evident 


5840  SCHEDULE  L SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 

in  the  manufacture  of  the  goods  could  not  be  allowed  to  affect  their 
classification. 

It  is  therefore  law  to-day  that  goods  of  this  kind  which  are  obvi- 
ously not  within  the  fair  meaning  of  paragraph  391  are  allowed  entry 
thereunder  instead  of  being  assessed  with  the  higher  duties  prescribed 
in  paragraph  387. 

We  propose  the.  following  amendment :  After  the  words  "  and 
containing  "  insert  the  f ollowing :  "  as  part  of  the  design  and  appear- 
ing upon  the  face  of  the  fabric." 

The  present  rate  of  50  per  cent  does  not  afford  the  domestic  manu- 
facturers of  these  goods  a  fair  measure  of  protection.  They  are 
placed  in  the  present  act  in  the  catch-all  clause  of  the  silk  schedule, 
whereas  they  are  fully  entitled  to  a  separate  provision.  Much  the 
same  argument  can  be  advanced  with  respect  to  these  fabrics  as  is 
set  forth  in  the  brief  of  the  undersigned,  filed  with  this  committee, 
on  the  revision  of  paragraph  316  and  referring  to  cotton  upholstery 
fabrics. 

We  therefore  propose  that  a  separate  provision  be  adopted  which 
shall  prescribe  a  duty  of  55  per  cent  ad  valorem  thereon. 

KAMMEKLOHR  &  DUFFY, 

New  York. 

(Appearing  for  The  Orinoka  Mills,  Stead  &  Miller  Company,  Phil- 
adelphia Tapestry  Company,  The  Moss  Rose  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, Bromley  Manufacturing  Company,  Rosenheim  Brothers, 
George  Brooks  &  Sons,  A.  Theodore  Abbott  &  Co.,  Thompson  &  Hal- 
lowell,  and  Vigilant  Mills,  Philadelphia;  Robert  Lewis  &  Co.,  Frank- 
ford,  Pa. ;  J.  B.  Ryer,  Son  &  Co.,  Paterson,  N.  J.) 


SILK   GOODS. 

STATEMENT  OF  ARTHUR  W.  WATSON,  OF  83  GREEN  STREET,  NEW 
YORK  CITY,  RELATIVE  TO  SILKS. 

TUESDAY,  December  1,  1908. 

Mr.  WATSON.  We  have  a  brief  here  that  we  want  to  submit.  Shall 
we  read  it — it  is  very  short — or  shall  we  hand  it  in  ? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Just  as  you  choose  about  that. 

Mr.  WATSON.  We  will  hand  it  in,  sir. 

(The  following  brief  was  submitted  by  Mr.  Watson:) 

Gentlemen,  the  committee  appointed  by  the  importers  of  silks  and 
silk  goods  to  appear  before  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  has 
been  instructed  to  ask  that  all  rates  on  silk  goods  be  adjusted  on  a 
purely  specific  basis. 

As  the  classifications  of  silk  goods  need  considerable  and  careful 
study  in  order  to  be  equitable  to  all  interests  concerned  and  as  the  time 
has  been  very  limited  to  work  out  such  a  schedule,  it  is  our  intention 
to  confer  with  the  committee  of  the  Silk  Association  of  America  for 
the  purpose  of  cooperating  with  them  in  framing  a  proper  schedule. 
We  therefore  ask  the  indulgence  of  your  honorable  committee  to  sub- 


SILK   GOODS.  5841 

mit  within  a  reasonable  time  a  schedule  of  rates  which  we  believe  will 
be  satisfactory  to  you  and  to  all  interests  concerned. 

We  desire  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  all  ad  valorem  rates  shall  be 
abolished. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

A.  TV.  WATSON, 
WALTER  KOBBE, 
SAMUEL  KRIDEL, 
HENRY  F.  TIEDEMANN, 
Committee. 


STATEMENT  OF  SAMUEL  KRIDEL,  OF  NO.  47  GREEN  STREET,  NEW 
YORK  CITY,  RELATIVE  TO  SILK  BRIEF. 

TUESDAY,  December  1,  1908. 

Mr.  KRIDEL.  I  will  simply  say  that  we  all  signed  the  brief  that  was 
last  submitted  by  the  committee  representing  the  importers,  the  brief 
submitted  by  Mr.  Watson. 


STATEMENT  OF  F.  W.  CHENEY,  OF  MANCHESTER,  CONN.,  REPRE- 
SENTING THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 

TUESDAY,  December  1,  1908. 

Mr.  CHENEY.  I  appear  here  as  the  chairman  of  the  revenue  laws 
committee  of  the  Silk  Association  of  America.  We  have  expressed 
our  views  in  our  brief  which  we  will  submit,  to  be  either  read  or  filed 
as  you  wish.  We  wish  to  take  up  as  little  time  as  possible. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  may  read  your  brief. 

(Following  is  the  brief  submitted  by  Mr.  Cheney:) 

WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  Silk  Association  of  America  has  authorized  the 
members  of  its  committee  on  revenue  laws  to  appear  before  the  Com- 
mittee on  Ways  and  Means  at  the  hearing  on  the  silk  schedule,  Tues- 
day, December  1,  and  represent  it  in  all  matters  relating  to  the 
tariff  revision  to  come  before  Congress. 

Our  committee  has  earnestly  endeavored  to  harmonize  the  views 
of  the  domestic  manufacturers  and  the  importers  of  silk  goods.  We 
have  hopes  of  being  able  to  bring  about  the  cooperation  of  both 
parties  to  secure  substantially  the  recommendations  as  to  rates  of 
duty  required  under  the  new  tariff,  but  it  requires  more  time  than 
we  have  at  our  disposal  to  bring  about  such  an  agreement  to  report 
to  you  to-day. 

We  are  earnestly  trying  to  make  the  duties,  so  far  as  practicable, 
specific  and  only  to  resort  to  ad  valorem  rates  in  cases  where  specific 
duties  can  not  be  applied  equitably.  Ad  valorem  rates  are  theoret- 
ically the  fairest  ones,  but  many  years'  experience  has  proved  that 
they  can  not  be  collected  because  of  undervaluation,  and  they  lead 


5842  SCHEDULE  L SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 

to  the  demoralization  of  the  import  trade  and  give  unfair  advantages 
to  unscrupulous  importers. 

Under  the  Dingley  bill  specific  duties  were  imposed  so  far  as  they 
seemed  to  be  at  that  time  practicable.  The  Dingley  tariff  has  worked 
fairly  well  on  the  whole,  but  some  weak  points  have  developed  the 
fact  that  in  extreme  cases  the  rates  have  been  excessive  and  in  others 
inadequate.  It  is  our  wish  to  correct  these  inequalities  and  to  make 
specific  rates  bear  more  uniformly. 

Silks  belong  to  the  class  of  luxuries  consumed  by  the  rich.  Taxes 
on  these  articles  do  not  bear  heavily  on  the  laboring  classes,  who  can 
escape  them  altogether  without  hardship  whenever  wages  are  not 
ample  enough  to  permit  indulgence  in  even  moderate  luxuries. 

The  profits  in  silk  manufacture  are  not  excessive,  considering  the 
risks  incurred.  No  large  fortunes  have  been  acquired  by  silk  manu- 
facturers, and  there  is  not  even  one  very  rich  silk  manufacturer  in 
this  country.  The  production  of  silk  goods  is  absolutely  on  a  free 
competitive  basis,  without  any  combination.  One  result  of  this  home 
competition  has  been  to  materially  decrease  the  cost  of  silk  goods  to 
consumers. 

A  severe  cut  in  the  tariff  rates  on  silks  will  be  followed  imme- 
diately by  a  cut  in  the  wages  of  the  workers  in  the  silk  mills,  who 
are  in  no  way  responsible  for  the  economies  which  will  be  forced 
upon  their  employers.  They  have  already  suffered  enough  during  the 
panic  year  we  have  just  passed  through  and  can  ill  afford  to  be  sub- 
jected to  further  losses. 

It  is  our  intention  to  cooperate  with  you  in  any  way  in  our  power 
to  facilitate  the  revision  of  the  tariff,  and  to  do  so  with  as  little 
delay  as  possible.  If  you  wish  us  to  furnish  in  detail  the  rates  of 
ad  valorem  and  specific  duties  to  be  applied  we  will  prepare  them. 

We  are  not  here  to  protest  against  anything,  and  will  accept  what- 
ever your  honorable  body  desires. 

We  respectfully  request  more  time  to  work  out  our  figures  before 
finally  submitting  them  to  you.  We  will  have  them  ready  by  the 
time  you  really  require  them.  Our  present  wish  is  to  encroach  as 
little  as  possible  on  your  valuable  time  and  to  do  nothing  that  can 
be  construed  as  obstructive  or  not  responsive  to  your  investigations 
of  existing  conditions. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

F.  W.  CHENEY, 
JACQUES  HUBER, 
WILLIAM  SKINNER, 
CHAS.  F.  HOMER, 
OTTO  ANDREWS, 
Committee  on  Revenue  Laws  of  the 

Silk  Association  of  America. 

Attest: 

FRANKLIN  ALLEN,  Secretary. 


SUGGESTED   SILK   SCHEDULE F.    W.    CHENEY   EH  AL.         5843 


SUGGESTED   SILK   SCHEDULE. 

RATES  AND  CLASSIFICATION  OF  SILKS  RECOMMENDED  BY  THE 
COMMITTEE  OF  THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 

SOUTH  MANCHESTER,  CONN., 

January  26, 1909. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Silks  and  silk  goods  occupy  a  position  different  from 
most  commodities.  There  is  no  such  thing  ascertainable.  either  in 
this  country  or  abroad,  as  market  value.  Two  colors  or  prints  of  the 
same  texture  may  sell  at  the  same  time  for  a  variation  of  25  per  cent 
in  price,  while  two  months  later  that  which  sold  at  the  higher  price 
may  be  sold  at  less  than  the  other.  The  market  prices  are  fixed  by 
the  freaks  of  fashion  in  women's  dress.  Costs  in  foreign  countries 
vary  greatly  with  the  country  in  which  the  goods  are  produced.  Silk 
is  one  of  the  very  few  articles  of  manufacture  made  in  the  United 
States  which  comes  into  direct  competition  with  goods  made  in 
oriental  countries. 

For  these  reasons  importers,  manufacturers,  and  the  customs  au- 
thorities have  had  great  difficulties  in  meeting  questions  of  import 
values  and  unfair  competition  due  to  undervaluation  of  goods  for 
import.  Therefore,  all  are  agreed  that  specific  rates,  wherever  pos- 
sible of  application,  are  the  only  ones  that  are  fair. 

The  schedules  herewith  submitted  are  the  result  of  careful  com- 
putation and  much  compromise  and  giving  way  on  the  part  of  those 
interested  in  the  trade,  in  order  to  secure  the  one  thing  that  all  are 
anxious  to  have — specific  rates. 

In  some  industries  American  labor  is  much  more  productive  than 
foreign.  This  is  not  the  case  in  the  silk  industry.  European  ma- 
chinery in  the  best  mills  is  quite  the  equal  of  the  best  in  America. 
Many  American  manufacturers  even  import  their  looms. 

In  Japan  modern  mills  are  being  built  rapidly,  equipped  with  the 
very  best  American  and  European  machinery.  While  it  is  doubtless 
true  that  in  some  industries  Japanese  labor  can  not  be  profitably 
employed,  it  is  not  true  in  silk.  The  Japanese  and  Chinese  were 
proficient  in  the  silk  industry  before  it  was  known  in  Europe.  They 
have  been  accustomed  to  handling  silk  for  generations  and  have  the 
soft  hands  and  supple  fingers  necessary,  while  the  American-  manu- 
facturer is  often  compelled  to  take  as  labor  Irish,  Swedes,  Germans, 
and  Poles,  who  have  never  known  silk  and  whose  hands  are  roughened 
with  work  on  the  farm. 

Owing  to  the  loAver  cost  of  labor  in  foreign  countries,  the  manu- 
facturer is  able  to  use  cheaper  materials  than  it  would  pay  to  handle 
with  our  high-priced  labor.  It  has  even  occurred  that  goods  were 
invoiced  from  Japan  at  lower  prices  than  the  American  manufac- 
turer would  have  paid  for  his  material  from  which  to  make  them, 
but  the  American  manufacturer  would  have  made  more  perfect  goods. 


5844 


SCHEDULE  L SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 


Wages  paid  in  the  United  States  and  foreign  countries,  taken  from 
private  and  consular  reports,  are  as  follows,  taking  as  a  basis  of 
comparison  wages  paid  to  weavers,  the  largest  labor  item : 


Wages  per  day. 

Hours  of 

labor 
per  day. 

Men. 

Women. 

United  States  (Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  and  New  York)... 

81.  60  to  83.  00 
2.25 
.75  to    1.50 
.  50  to      .80 
.  15  to      .  20 
.10  to     .12 

$1.00  to  82.  50 
1.60 
.  60  to      .90 
.30  to      .60 
.10  to      .12 
.06  to      .09 

8   to  10 

France  and  Switzerland  (Lyons  and  vicinity,  Zurich,  etc.). 
Italy  (Como    etc.)  

9    toll 
9|  to  12 
10   to  14 
10   to  14 

Japan  (power  looms,  pay  includes  board  and  lodging)  

The  average  pay  of  the  employees  in  a  large  American  factory — 
men,  women,  boys,  and  girls — was  $1.75  per  day.  The  United  States 
now  manufactures  more  silk  goods  than  any  other  country  in  the 
world  unless  it  is  China,  whose  product  it  is  imposible  to  ascertain. 

Table  showing  the  condition  of  the  silk  industry  in  the  United  States  for  a  term 

of  years. 


Census  of — 


1905. 

1900. 

1890. 

1880. 

1870. 

I860. 

Number  of  establishments.  .  . 
Capital"  

624 
$109,  556,  621 

483 

881,082,201 

473 

851,007  537 

382 
S19  125  300 

86 
86  231  130 

]39 
82  9°6  980 

Salaried  officials,  clerks,  etc. 
(number  of  )  

4,027 

2,657 

1  531 

(t>) 

(b) 

(b) 

Salaries  

84,  742,  270 

$3,134,352 

81,917,877 

(6) 

(b) 

m 

Wage-earners,  average  num- 
ber    

79,  601 

65,416 

49,382 

31  337 

6  649 

5  435 

Total  wages  

826,  767,  943 

820,982  194 

817  76'>  441 

89  146  705 

$1  942  286 

81  050  224 

Miscellaneous  expenses  
Cost  of  materials  used 

814,052,777 
875  861  188 

810,  264,  208 
862,406  665 

84,  259,  623 
851  004  425 

(c) 
822  467  701 

(<=) 
$7  817  559 

(c) 
83  901  777 

Value  of  products,  including 
amount  received  for  con- 
tract work  

8133,  288,  072 

8107,  256,  258 

887  ;298,454 

841  033  045 

§12  210  662 

86  607  771 

Raw  silk  used  pounds 

11  572  783 

9  760  770 

6  376  881 

2  690  482 

684  448 

462  965 

Value  of  products  duplicated  . 

814,754,512 

814,  805,  046 

818,  143,  855 

Net  value  of  product  

S118,  533,  560 

892,451,512 

869,  154,  299 

•  Does  not  include  dyeing,  conditioning,  designing,  card  cutting,  loom  and  machinery  building, 
mill-supply  establishments,  nor  rented  buildings. 
fc  Not  reported  separately, 
e  Not  reported. 


SUGGESTED   SILK   SCHEDULE F.    W.    CHENEY   ET  AL.         5845 


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SUGGESTED   SILK   SCHEDULE F.    \V.    CHENEY   ET   AL.         5847 

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5848 


SCHEDULE 


-SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 


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PARAGRAPHS  384  AND  385—  Continued. 

aragraph  as  amended  or  reconstructed  —  Con.  1 

Thrown  silk  in  the  gum,  if  singles  fifty 
cents  per  pound;  if  tram  seventy  five 
cents  per  pound;  if  organzine,  one  dollar 
per  pound;  if  ungummed,  wholly  or  in 
part,  or  if  further  advanced  in  manufac- 
ture in  any  way,  in  addition  thereto, 
fifty  cents  per  pound: 

Sewing  silk,  twist,  floss,  and  silk  threads 
or  yarns  of  any  description  made  from  raw 
silk,  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act, 
if  in  the  gum,  one  dollar  per  pound; 
if  ungummed,  wholly  or  in  part,  or  if 
further  advanced  in  manufacture  in  any- 
way, one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  pound. 

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SUGGESTED   SILK   SCHEDULE F.    W.   CHENEY  ET   AL.         5849 


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5850 


SCHEDULE 


-SILKS   AND   SILK    GOODS. 


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SUGGESTED   SILK   SCHEDULE P.    W.    CHENEY   ET  AL. 


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5852 


SCHEDULE  L  -  SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 


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SUGGESTED  SILK   SCHEDULE F.    W.   CHENEY   ET  AL. 


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SCHEDULE   L — SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 


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and  if  containing  not  more  than  twenty 
per  centum  in  weight  of  silk,  if  in  the  gum 
seventy  cents  per  pound;  if  ungummed 
wholly  or  in  part  or  if  dyed  or  printed  in 
the  piece  or  further  advanced  in  manu- 
facture in  any  way  eighty  five  cents  per 
pound;  if  containing  more  than  twenty 
per  centum  in  weight  of  silk,  but  not 
more  than  thirty  per  centum;  if  in  the 
gum,  eighty  five  cents  per  pound;  if  un- 
gummed wholly  or  in  part,  or  if  dyed  or 
printed  in  the  piece  or  further  advanced 
in  manufacture  in  any  way,  one  dollar 
and  ten  cents  per  pound;  if  containing 
more  than  thirty  per  centum  in  weight 
of  silk  but  not  more  than  forty  per 

centum:  if  in  the  gum,  one  dollar  and 
five  cents  per  pound,  if  ungummed, 
wholly  or  in  part,  or  if  dyed  or  printed 
in  the  piece  or  further  advanced  in  manu- 

facture in  any  way  one  dollar  and 
twenty-five  cents  per  pound;  if  contain- 
ing more  than  forty  per  centum  in 
weight  of  silk,  but  not  more  than  fifty 
per  centum;  if  in  the  gum  one  dollar  and 
twenty-five  cents  per  pound;  if  un- 
gummed, wholly  or  in  part,  or  if  dyed  or 
printed  in  the  piece  or  further  advanced 
in  manufacture  in  any  way  one  dollar  and 

a 


o 

1 


.3    1 


t?  e  i 


i  * 

a  .a 

•§  a 

a  s 


a 

a 

to 


.a 


£j  F-H 


SUGGESTED   SILK   SCHEDULE- — F.    W.    CHENEY   ET  AL.          5855 


"2  a  s  ftt  n  ^StsjM  a  P  Id  „£  c£<a  II  bLI-sJ  i  la^i'S.sSl.lllS  gj 

H3M,.S<D2^.0-t^rtCUMi  Pta  .P?  —     _  "^    ••*»  >   >»_c!   3  -u   vf,  PtH  IT-I^   SI^HTI   •>»>_2   cS   hn 


1  i  a  1    1          i       1 


. 


-- 


5856 


SCHEDULE 


SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 


ii 


i  * 

*    5 

ii 


o3  aiai^a) 

a-2!l 


PJ  o 


»*|    -=|^3-2  Ipl^s  III 

StJ^'-S-H  g^  a,  "5  MS  °  m"tc»  re  2°^  •- 


c  'o' "  T3   0>  "^"C    •*» 

5  -SJzrS  °<8  c-S 

sfilFiftl 

1  "II  &I  II  si 


a,  xl' 


«G 


i^.g|al4-a!||lli!l 

:•?::;§  8.m?4f  lii  J 

•?S  ®  2-S  S  ^43  s?5^  g^  n  r-i 

TTr  C    O    Bl  M  nH 


-  c3 
X  J3 
tC-^> 


51    ^*    wv        i-*  -*-1    ^    C 
-^<Bo3Mi    _Q&,&,3 

B3-§-b"03^&S 


O  a"*  e' 

B«if»a 

«5^^ 

'"sis 


•- 


QJ         «,_, 


5      2 


5    .2 


^rt 
2 

C 


if  oth 


d  n 


c     ^ 


SUGGESTED  SILK  SCHEDULE — F.   W.   CHENEY  ET  AL,.        5857 


^^^-rt'-r;s'^<>-'      ^m'-'TH(i"-<DOmH^-1""ra"7;b<^;,w_Q  TT,.^   o>   >-c  ^  *""         P   &   9 

« z  2?  s~«  c  o  JV.TS    ^fl >>*a49"S,5,sB£ « er^S^ i a    •-- 


x-?  an  r2  « 

*2  4<)        >»  S        _  d        3 

?„       cq  rt  So      5  c«        O 

f    1  8  |  ^°|f.2'-'Sg$52?< 

|    8         .  ^       ^Is^l'lil^'ilS, 

*      S  *"d-'5_ST)'!:3fetn«5JtH'c)S 

1 1 !  1 1 ..  1 11 ! !  1  i  1 1 1  iJJ 

®»3'T3^«3'd-S?<.  Sd"<«^!>S»3T3>'i1> 

cj         -*J         TO         cd         IU         S'        _rt         o        "*^        rO         ^        ^^  BBS        V3 

•gllslll^fl-glsliiiill. 

c^TjrL-CTJcvflJpCsl"^!  r-^          03         T3          o. 

i— •  ^>        fe  P^        fcO        TO         bfl       »— « 

filllllfslSl   1  £  §  s  ^  | 

.«       o       Pi     »3       O       Bi     rs      «A      <S      !M      >9        &       m       F      !3       O       Oi«34S 


5858 


SCHEDULE 


-SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 


selv- 
e cents 
ee  dol- 
arp  and 
nd  one 
dollars 
ighing 
s,  but 


eg 
e 


lack  (excep 
twenty  five 
n  black  thr 
ed  in  the  wa 
than  one  a 
yard  three 
ound:  if  we 
third  ounc 


ny  goods  made  on 
goods  containing 
he  filling,  includ- 
ubber as  a  compo- 
rate of  duty  than 
orem; 


p; 
rs  a 
er 
f  pr 
mo 
squ 
per 
nd 
o  ounc 
d  twen 
ng  mor 
two  d 
pound. 
shall  a 
and 
lor  in 
india 
y  a  les 
ad  va 


the  wa 
o  doll 
d;  if  o 
ound  : 
ng  not 
ces  pe 
ents 
ne 


wo 
nd;  if 
poun 
ing 
nces 
y  ce 
an  o 


an 

ghi 
rd 
r 
cas 
om 


han 
ars 
weig 
e  ya 
s  pe 


inch  i 
edges) 
Eer  poun 
irs  per 
if  weighi 
third  ou 
and  fift 
more  th 


r     - 

sS.1 
I 

-<•«  ~+J      _  d  S_g  y 

0)   O-TH   ri    d    d  ^3   C3   rj  •£   «-t 
gT3--pg-~£.So§35 

Iif8>*?lftlj* 
glliE"!!?^ 

d'S  aewa     ^  3. 2  d<c 


n 
t 
ll 


^ 

J> 

s 

s 

-^ 

f 

'S 

1 

° 

^ 

1 

x_ 

^ 

s 

1 

o 

.s 

~         0) 

_J 

0 

'"§ 

S         <3 

a 

g 

O 

o 
o 

1    - 

TS" 

• 

0) 

g 

E 

'QD 

1 

-w~ 

d 

d 

Q 

c? 

*4—  ( 

»-1 

u 

^ 

0)          d 

^     .2 

**       -u 
o>      i-d 

r£l             W> 

**     'S 

13     '" 

.a    ^ 

•£P     2 

0         Q> 

o>      5 

0°^          *^            «f-t 

liars  per  pou 

d      g 

^      a) 
tc     d 

S         0 

!§ 

a> 

§ 

if 

£ 

>> 

£ 

c3                   'o 
<»                13 

*      g 

0)                     ^1 
^                       0 

.s        ° 

i—  i 
en 

CO 

^ 

p, 

nufacturea  o 

S    3 

-rH                                          0 
O               TI)                ^j 

^     S     A 

73        O        bD 

^  J"  1 

o 

T3 
O 

£ 
M 

•u 

S        T5 

.tc      d 

^       a> 
„_      d 
-—      o 

o 

S 

per  squa 

'-S     p"    13 

|   1    a 

-3        >.       o 

«*-<      b      ^ 
•S       o      *» 

§      1 

a  l 

53     ~ 
A 

cS 

a 
< 

SUGGESTED  SILK   SCHEDULE F.    W.    CHENEY   ET   AL.         5859 


S       o 


-21     °, 

"o     -S 
x;      £ 


dk 


2  K 


w    a 


finish 


af 

en 
oJ 

6 

1 

„ 

"o 

a 

60 

3 
1 

1 

3 

*H 

=- 

3 
CT1 
y 

a 
o 

is 

1 

o 

y 

TJ 

a 

e« 

a 

XI 

'G 

a 

1 

O 

«*-! 

^ 

0) 

CU 

^ 

1 

"a 

5 

c 

a 

O 

[fi 

1 

1 

p 

"o 

c 

"g 

0 

c3 

"y 

a 

a? 

o 

2 

'5, 

compoue 

0> 

m 

_O 

"o 
y 

0) 

o> 

i 

1 

•w 

a 

a; 

dl 

OD 

0> 

o> 

X) 

fll 

M 
o 

d 

e 

d 

a 

"a     .S 


.—     .«     13 

00  ^ 

"S     =       2 


«2      ^ 


_w 


.i        .S          c3 


OH  ^ 

a  's 

O  U-, 

y  o 


^ 

.s 


d 
S 

•8 


5860 


SCHEDULE  L SILKS  AND  SILK  GOODS. 


I 


3 

The  saving  clai 
the  duty  straight  i 

tinued. 

1 

13 

"3 

<D 

e 

r» 

0 

a 

•  . 

PARAGRAPH  388—  Co 

1 

fe 

i 
1 

not  hemmed  or  hemmed 

•3 
S 
1 

1 
1 

ft 
"3 

9 

•a 

"o 

o 
§       3 

°    'ft 

(j)          0) 

1  f 

BrH             CD 

•3    'g 

nd 

'S 

| 
"ft 

•c 

o 
S 

ndition 

provided  for  in  this 
icdule; 

such  handkerchiefs 

mufflers  are  hemstitched 

imitation  hemstitched,  o 

S 

> 

* 

a 

to 

OQ        0 

'O 

8 

S     8 

a 

0 

o 

2 

ct  of  1897  —  Contini 
ed  or  hemmed  onl; 
e  same  rate  of  dutj 

I  on 
piece  of  the  same 

—  " 

-a 
1 

for  in  this 
idkerchiefa 

•8 

<B 

03 

^H           C          /H 

5       o> 

*, 

•-r*                                O3 

c3 

O)           ^» 

*     H. 
o     s: 
fl     Is 

v_       ^ 

Srd 
•u 

&  .a 

•|H             00 

•2      'o 
2        ?„ 

d 
o 

'"ft 
•g 

1-pH 

sondition 

"^            QJ           _gj 

1  1  i 
?  1  1 

ir  mufflers 

ft 

"o 

a 

3 

•g 


5 

?  i 

•*  1 

^  a 

i  2 

3 1 

s  a 


o 

-d" 

I 
•43 

o> 
^4 

fl 
o 
'•*3 

3 
'S 


SUGGESTED   SILK   SCHEDULE F.    W.   CHENEY   ET  AL. 


5861 


•a 


ft         -S 


3     -2 


wh 


o      ,2 
£      I 


mbro 


oth 


pay  a  duty  OJ 


^      I 


•H      xj 


in 


5862 


SCHEDULE  L SILKS  AND  SILK   GOODS. 


1 1 


.s    * 


t 

1 

EC 


o      ^2 


OD  _ 

•O       Ip  -  dP 

§     &  1° 

°5       ta  9 

•°  •.§  =3 

*J  rs  o 


jf 

73 

a 

webbinj 

"o 

X! 

T3 

a> 

a 

T) 

T3 

00" 

T3 

§ 

0 

c3 

00 

•2 

0 

e 

(V 

2 

eS 

£ 
& 

a 

'§ 

T3 

a 

00 

& 

.1 

la 

3 

a 

03 

00 
X! 

S 

w 

a. 
1 

a 

93 

O 

bC 

be 

00 

P 

y 

'S 

SUGGESTED  SILK.  SCHEDULE E.    \V .   (JiiiilxEi    ET  AL.         5863 


o 

e 

a 


~       72  *~  T3 


.-  05         •- 


1  1 

0  b 

ft  o 

a  % 

2 1 

2  2 


x!     -o 
<£     .S 


"d     .S 


-      i 


i 
n 


§  I 

05         -S 


T3 


-    S 


•s    3 


w 

I 


1 


^  d 

1  2  2 

•s  -e  « 

•§  6  -V 

2  w  d 

2  o  ^ 

T3  d  t 

d  v-  £ 


'O 
rO         ^8 

c      S 


£  F— 

iS      "o 

S         1 


I       1  §  § 

I       I         1       I 


floun 


75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6- 


5864 


SCHEDULE 


-SILKS  AED  SILK.   GOODS. 


£ 

0 

0) 

T3 

a 

w 

M 

2 

s" 

*         $z 

» 

<x> 

3 

Ss 

B 

&         o 

;  i 

s 

1  I 

\     -=^ 

i          g        nT 

G             "3 

OH        ^ 

fringes, 
trimmings, 

ornaments, 

embroideries  and 

articles  embroidered 

by  hand  or  machinery 

tamboured  or  appliqu 

clothing  ready  made, 

articles  of  wearing  apj 

of  every  description, 

including  knit  goods, 

made  up  or  manufacti 

in  whole  or  in  part 

1 

03 
0) 
00 

_O 

'5 

1 

manufacturer; 

jf 

a 

1 

(V 

i 

•d 

<j> 

d 

U3 

a 

o 

.. 

-, 

T3 

s 

O 

o 

•  o 

<D 

d 

*-< 

73" 

b 

V0> 

3 

c« 

o< 

/—  > 

fi 

2 

•8 

OJ 
00 

orT 
JO 

fringes, 
trimmings, 

embroideries  and 

articles  embroidered 

by  hand  or  machine] 

tamboured  or  appliq 

clothing  ready  made 

articles  of  wearing  a] 

of  every  description, 

including  knit  goods 

made  up  or  manufac 

tf 

c3 

0. 

.9 
S 

0) 

"o 

.9 

by  the  tailor,  seamst 

manufacturer; 

all  of  the  above  nam 

SUUUEiSTED   SILK   fci(JiiEDU.LE — IP.    W.   CHEWE1"    fJT   AL,.         5865 


made  of  silk,  or  of 
silk  and  india-rubber,  or  of 

silk,  india-rubber,  and  metal,  or 
of  which 
silk  is  the 

component  material  of  chief  value, 

not  specially  provided  for  in 

this  Act,  and 
silk  goods  ornamented  with 

beads  or  spangles, 

sixty  per  centum  ad  valorem: 

provided, 

a 

o 

o 

8 

"c 

'•e 

03 

H 

wholly  or  in  chief  value  of 

any  of  the  materials  or  goods 

dutiable  under  this  paragraph 

XI 

i 

3 

0 

a 

1 

"3 
•S 

1 

3 

1 

•8 

<D 
g 

•? 

«*-( 
I 

"8 

.3 

S 

QJ 

1 

TJ 

composed, 

valorem: 

1 

H 
pif 

*3 

5 

d 

i& 

•r! 

1 

S1 

.2 

j§ 

X) 

•S 

! 

silk  is  the 

component  mater 

S 

'o 

& 

OQ 

"o 

a 

this  Act,  and 

silk  goods  orname 

beads  or  spangles, 

of  whatever  matei 

a 

! 

o 

(H 

o 
0, 

>> 
43 

1 

1" 
i 

i 

That  any  wearii 

or  other  articles 

a 
I 

•8 

rs 

1 

A 

(except  gloves) 

when  composed 

in  part  of  india-ru 

5866 


SCHEDULE 


-S1L.KS  A.ND   SILK   GOODS. 


Remarks  —  Continu 


ed  —  Con 


390  —  ContL 

8 

.g 

xl 

o 

<D 

y 
O 

0) 

a 

O 

xl 

— 

O 

rt 

B 

^ 

to 

rrj 

8 

*• 

•^ 

**-* 

PARAGRAP 

8 

rfS 

1 

materials  or 

'dedfurther, 

.at  tamboure 

"y 

1 
•^ 

V 
XU 

.? 

•4-9 
O 

a 

PH 

o 
o 

*• 
o 
a> 

IS* 

3 

00 

o 

X! 

"O 

mboured  or 

T3 
<» 
v» 

3 

fcr 

C 
t» 

| 

xl 

i 

5 
2 

a 

jq 

H 

"E< 

c- 

M 

XI 
CO 

i 
eS 

! 

o3 

8 

"H< 
& 

0] 

w 

s 

,c 
"+D 

*o 

a 

2 

p 

>> 

0 

c 
0 

— 
3 
•« 

1 

J. 
k 

^5 

9) 

3 

•a- 

i 

x7 

1 

—^ 

3 

u 

CQ 

O 

g 

a, 

j— 

>> 

"S 

"S 

•S 

•5? 

•a     ^ 

' 


SUGGESTED   SILK   SCHEDULE F.    W.   CHENEY   ET   AL.         5867 


-      _- 

O    O    O'O    O 


oo 

$ 

rC 

03 

a 

U) 

IS 

** 

•8 

£ 

0> 

a 

9 

o 

o 

SJD 

^ 

(X 

<£3 

§ 

a 

of 

T3 

•a 

<U 
O 

8 

o 

0 

£ 

n 
CT 

0 

'S, 

a 
o 

• 
£ 

£ 

is   .2    a   's   *o 


w 

S 

P 

1 

a 

"S 

"p 

b 

03 

^S 

O 

g 

3 

1            - 

-*3         tiO 

S 
+j 
HI 

a 

60       -9 

rl         <-H 

a 

o 

*^         crt 

u 

^r 

C3 

G         ^ 

1  ! 

o      .3 

S, 

>> 

t» 

S 

Provide 

H 

• 


S      3 


I  •-  - 

^       §      H 
o      ^     -S 


£       5 

•g 

a 


5868 


SCHEDULE  L — SILKS  AND  SILK   GOODS. 


0 

te 


M 

E 

Kn 

.2 

B 

73 

a 
o 

0) 

42 

. 

-a 

PARAGRAPH  I 

Paragraph  as  amended  or 

In  ascertaining  the  weij 
silk 

ider  the  provisions  of  th 

hedule,  the  weight  shall 

i  taken  in  the  condition 

O 
i 

0> 

d 
«S 

15 

thout  deduction  therefr 

03 

a 

tc 
1 

1 

"o 

0 

1 

other  foreign  substance 

material: 

In  ascertaining  the  nurr 

00 

8 

C 

•3 
f2 

•i 

1 

5 
§ 

-d 
o 

O) 

•3 

ovisions  of  this  schedule 

1 

OD 

T3 
c3 

5 

c 

•3 

(X 

1 

Q> 
1 

counted  as  two  single 

s 
•3 

§* 

oT 

03 
<D 

"o 

p 

g 

w 

.9 

» 

«2 

o 

tn 

O 

«+-* 
O 

S 

ft 
A 

O 

T3 

o 

X! 

^ 

Ob       M 


.2 


•3 

60 

'S 

3 

& 


•s 
I 

& 


•S     .o 
'O       'o 

I    I 


.1 

8 

^     3 
^      S 

<D        ^S 


SUGGESTED  SILK  SCHEDULE — P.   W.  CHENEY  ET  AL,        5869 


^ 


5870  SCHEDULE  L SILKS  AND   SILK   GOODS. 

SILK  AND   SILK  MANUFACTURE. 

CHENEY  BROTHERS,  OF  SOUTH  MANCHESTER,  CONN.,  SUBMIT  A 
SHORT  DESCRIPTION  OF  SILK  AND  SILK  MAKING. 

SOUTH  MANCHESTER,  CONN.,  January  %6,  1909. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  raising  and  manufacture  of  silk  are  very  ancient 
arts,  said  to  have  first  originated  in  China.  In  2650  B.  C.  the  Em- 
press Si-ling-Chi  is  said  to  have  invented  the  industry  and  was  placed 
among  the  Chinese  divinities  as  "  Sien-Thsan ;  "  that  is,  "  The  first 
promoter  of  silk  industry." 

From  thence  the  arts  are  said  to  have  found  their  way  through 
India  and  Persia  to  Europe,  arriving  there  about  550  A.  D.,  though 
they  do  not  seem  to  have  become  well  established  in  Europe  before 
the  twelfth  century.  Mezerin  in  his  chronicles  says : 

Silk  became  so  common  that  in  the  year  1347  as  many  as  a  thousand  citizens 
of  Genoa  appeared  clothed  in  silk  in  a  public  procession. 

Our  ancestors  were  in  this  country  only  a  short  time  before  they 
began  to  attempt  to  plant  the  industry  in  America.  In  1624,  we  find 
in  the  colony  •  of  Virginia,  numbers  of  skilled  men  imported  from 
France  to  start  the  raising  of  silkworms.  In  the  year  1649  there 
was  published  in  London  a  pamphlet  called  "  A  Perfect  Description 
of  Virginia,"  in  which  it  said : 

It  surely  would  be  better  to  grow  silk  here  where  mulberry  trees  are  so 
plenty  than  to  fetch  it  as  we  do  from  Persia  and  China,  with  great  charge  and 
expense  and  hazard,  thereby  enriching  heathen  and  Mahumetans. 

Connecticut  was  very  early  in  the  field,  and  in  1747  Governor  Law 
appeared  in  silk  coat  and  stockings,  the  silk  for  which  is  said  to  have 
been  raised  on  his  own  place.  From  that  time  to  the  present  day 
there  have  been  countless  efforts  to  start  the  raising  of  silk  in  this 
country,  sometimes  by  the  aid  of  government  bounties,  sometimes 
without. 

They  have  extended  from  Maine  to  Florida,  to  California,  and  all 
have  failed  from  various  reasons,  chiefly  on  account  of  the  cost  of 
labor,  which  in  Europe  is  paid  from  8  to  25  cents  per  day,  while  in 
Asia  as  low  even  as  2  cents  per  day. 

Between  the  years  1837  and  1840  there  was  the  wildest  of  specula- 
tion in  mulberry  trees  throughout  the  country.  Just  previous  to  this 
time  of  speculation  the  Cheney  Brothers  first  became  interested  in 
the  raising  of  silkworms  and  later  in  the  sale  of  mulberry  trees. 
Both  failed,  but  in  1838,  one  of  them  started  a  small  plant  to  make 
sewing  silk  at  South  Manchester,  Conn.,  in  which  he  was  afterwards 
joined  by  his  brothers.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  first  really 
successful  silk  factory  in  this  country;  a  business  which  has  grown 
until  to-day  the  firm  employs  3,600  operatives. 

The  raising  of  silk  in  this  country  has  been  a  failure,  but  the  manu- 
facture has  increased  with  great  rapidity  during  the  years  since  1850, 
thanks  to  the  tariff,  without  which  it  could  not  exist.  Of  recent  years, 
competition  in  the  United  States  has  become  very  close  and  fierce. 


SILK    AND    SILK    MANUFACTURE CHENEY    BROTHERS.      5871 


In  the  year  1902,  Chabrieres,  Morel  &  Co.,  of  Lyon,  published  the 
following  estimates  of  the  world's  production  and  consumption  of 
raw  silk : 

[Kilo=2.2  pounds.] 


Pro- 
duction. 

Con- 
sumption. 

Pro- 
duction. 

Con- 
sumption. 

Europe: 
France 

Kilos. 
700  000 

Kilos. 
4,  000,  000 

Asia: 
Bruitia.           

Kilos. 
400,000 

Kilos. 
50  000 

Italy 

4,  412,  000 

1,  000,  000 

Syria  

450,000 

100,000 

50  000 

1  550  000 

Persia 

330  000 

165  000 

Spain.  . 

82,000 

200,000 

Turkestan  

820,000 

700,000 

Austria.        

204,000 

725,000 

China  

11,280,000 

6,  435,  000 

Hungary 

115,  000 

Canton     

4,  000,  000 

2,000  000 

Russia  and  Caucasus.  . 

400,000 

1,400,000 

Japan  

7,  300,  000 

3,  000,  000 

Bulgaria    S  e  r  v  i  a  , 

India 

1,  200,  000 

1,400  000 

Roumania.        .  ... 

88  000 

Tonquin  and  Annarn 

1,000,000 

800,000 

Greece  and  Crete  

60,000 

15,000 

Africa: 

Salonica,  Adrianople  . 

200,000 

Egypt  

180,000 

Germany  

2,800,000 

Tripoli  and  Morocco  . 

100,000 

England  

800,000 

Algeria  and  Tunis  

75,000 

America: 

Other  countries  

596,000 

United  States 

4  900  000 

Total  

33,091,000 

33,091,000 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  China,  Japan,  and  Italy  are  the 
greatest  producers  of  raw  silk,  in  the  order  named,  and  that  China, 
United  States,  France,  Japan,  and  Germany  are  the  great  manu- 
facturers or  consumers  of  raw  silk,  also  in  the  order  named,  or  the 
United  States  is  now  the  second  silk  manufacturing  country  in  the 
world,  and  is  greater  even  than  France. 

For  the  year  1904,  the  imports  of  raw  silk  into  this  country  reached 
16,037,411  pounds,  valued  at  $55,373,440.  The  imports  of  manu- 
factured silk  were  $31,030,522,  showing  that  by  far  the  largest  part 
of  the  manufactured  silk  used  in  the  United  States  was  made  here. 
The  value  of  the  raw  silks  imported  into  the  United  States  in  1904, 
when  manufactured,  would  be  considerably  over  $100,000,000. 

The  Silk  Association  of  America  estimates  in  the  United  States  for  the  year 

1904. 

Power  looms  on  broad  goods 49,000 

Power  looms  on  ribbons,  etc 9,000 

Throwing  spindles 1,  300, 000 

Other  spindles 1, 150,000 

Value  of  output  finished  goods $116,500,000 

It  is  estimated  that  4,000  looms  have  been  added  during  the  year 
1905. 

The  States  most  largely  engaged  in  the  manufacture  are  New  Jer- 
sey, Pennsylvania,  New  York,  and  Connecticut,  but  there  are  factories 
in  many  other  parts  of  the  country.  In  recent  years  a  number  have 
been  started  in  the  Southern  States. 

Silk  is  the  product  of  cocoons  made  by  the  silkworm,  which  is 
found  in  the  countries  enumerated  in  the  list  of  silk  producers  given, 
the  food  of  which  silkworms  is  the  leaves  of  the  mulberry  tree, 
though  there  are  certain  coarse  wild  silks,  such  as  tussahs,  found  in 
China,  Korea,  Japan,  and  India,  the  worms  producing  which  are 
said  to  live  on  the  leaves  of  certain  species  of  oak. 

The  color  of  the  cocoons  varies  greatly.  Most  of  the  Europeans 
are  bright  yellow,  though  some  are  white.  The  eastern  cocoons  on 


5872  SCHEDULE  L SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

the  other  hand  are  mostly  white,  while  a  very  few  are  yellow.  The 
wild  silks  are  for  the  most  part  ecru  color,  though  some  are  pale 
green.  This  color,  except  in  the  wild  silks,  is  derived  from  the  gum 
secreted  by  the  worm,  with  which  the  fibers  are  stuck  together.  It 
comprises  from  15  to  30  per  cent  of  the  weight  and  is  removed  by 
boiling  in  soap  and  water  before  the  silk  is  dyed.  All  silks  except 
the  wild  silks,  after  the  gum  is  removed,  are  from  white  to  cream 
in  color.  The  tussahs  or  wild  silks  remain  an  ecru  color. 

The  greatest  care  has  to  be  exercised  throughout  in  the  care  of  the 
moths,  eggs,  worms,  and  cocoons,  such  being  the  succession  of  changes. 
That  is,  the  moth  lays  eggs  which  are  collected  and  kept  cool  till  the 
proper  season  for  incubation,  when  they  are  kept  warm  during  the 
time  occupied  in  hatching,  sometimes  about  the  person  of  the  raiser. 
After  a  time  these  eggs  hatch  out  worms,  little  tiny  things  hardly 
bigger  than  a  pin  head.  After  the  worms  are  hatched,  they  require 
constant  care  and  feeding  with  chopped  mulberry  leaves  till  they 
reach  maturity,  about  3  inches  in  length,  and  spin  their  cocoons  from 
a  fiber  and  gum  which  they  secrete.  When  the  cocoons  are  spun,  the 
worms  become  chrysalides  inside  of  them.  The  cocoons  are  then 
collected  and  the  chrysalides  killed,  generally  by  heat,  before  they  can 
again  become  moths. 

The  cocoons  are  then  sent  to  the  reelers  or  filatures.  A  number  of 
cocoons,  greater  or  less,  according  to  the  size  of  thread  desired,  are 
placed  in  a  basin  of  hot  water,  which  softens  the  gum.  After  the  out- 
side fibers  are  removed,  so  that  the  ends  run  free,  just  as  you  would 
unwind  a  thread  from  a  ball,  the  ends  are  collected  together  through  a 
guide  and  wound  up  on  a  reel.  As  the  silk  cools  and  dries,  the  gum 
hardens,  sticking  the  fibers  from  the  different  cocoons  together  in  one 
smooth  thread  varying  in  size  according  to  the  number  of  cocoons 
used.  The  finest  sizes  reeled  are  but  little  coarser  than  a  spider  web. 
An  8  to  10  denier  silk  runs  491,000  yards  per  pound,  or  a  pound  would 
stretch  297  miles.  It  is  seldom  reeled  coarser  than  28  to  30  denier, 
which  runs  about  150,000  yards  per  pound.  The  silk  in  this  state 
is  known  as  raw  or  reeled  silk;  practically  none  is  produced  in  the 
United  States.  The  size  is  denoted  by  the  denier ;  the  hank  or  skein 
is  400  French  ells  (476  meters — 520  yards) ;  233^  deniers  make  1  ounce 
avoirdupois.  The  number  of  deniers  that  one  such  hank  or  skein 
weighs  is  the  count  of  the  yarn.  In  the  English  system,  but  little 
used,  the  number  is  denoted  by  the  drams  per  1,000  yards. 

From  this  point,  raw  silk,  the  manufacture  in  the  United  States 
begins.  We  import  our  raw  silk  chiefly  from  Italy,  China,  and  Japan. 
It  is  handled  here  first  by  the  throwster,  who  winds  it  from  the  skein 
and  makes  various  kinds  of  thread  for  different  purposes. 

Raw  silk  wound  on  spools  in  a  single  thread  and  called  singles  is 
often  used  to  make  warps  (that  is,  the  thread  running  lengthwise  of 
a  piece  of  cloth)  for  piece-dyed  goods  or  cloth  which  is  woven  with 
the  gum  in  the  silk  and  afterwards  boiled  out  and  dyed.  Singles  are 
also  sometimes  used  for  filling  (that  is,  the  cross  threads)  in  very  thin 
fabrics. 

Organzine  is  usually  used  for  the  warps  of  yarn-dyed  goods  (that 
is,  goods  the  threads  of  which  are  dyed  before  weaving).  To  make 
organzine  the  raw  silk  is  wound,  then  twisted  in  the  singles,  two, 
three  or  more  threads  put  together,  twisted  in  the  reverse  direction, 
then  reeled  into  skeins  for  dyeing. 


SILK    AND    SILK    MANUFACTURE CHENEY    BROTHERS.      5873 

Tram  is  used  for  filing  of  either  yarn  or  piece-dyed  goods,  also, 
sometimes  for  the  warps  of  piece-dyed  goods.  To  make  tram  the  raw 
silk  is  wound ;  two,  three  or  more  threads  are  put  together  and  twisted, 
generally  rather  slack  twist. 

Crepe  yarn  is  used  in  making  crepe,  in  chiffon  and  for  other  uses. 
It  is  very  hard  twisted  thread,  generally  tram,  from  40  to  80  turns 
per  inch. 

Floss  silk  is  not  used  for  weaving.  A  very  slack  twisted  tram,  gen- 
erally composed  of  a  large  number  of  threads  of  singles. 

Embroidery  silk  is  made  by  winding  the  raw  silk,  putting  a  large 
number  of  ends  together,  giving  them  a  slack  twist,  doubling  and 
twisting  in  the  reverse  direction  with  a  slack  twist. 

Sewing  silk  is  made  by  winding  and  doubling  the  raw,  twisting  into 
tram,  hard  twisted,  doubling,  and  twisting  in  the  reverse  direction, 
drawing  under  tension  at  the  same  time  it  is  twisted.  Machine  twist 
is  similar,  but  3-ply. 

There  is  another  class  of  threads  made  from  silk  other  than  those 
made  from  raw  or  reeled  silk,  namely,  those  produced  from  waste 
silk  by  spinning  and  known  as  spun  silks.  Waste  silks  are  the 
pierced  cocoon,  that  is,  those  from  which  the  moth  has  come  out  by 
making  a  hole  and  breaking  the  fibers  in  one  end  of  the  cocoon ;  also 
the  waste  made  in  the  filatures  in  producing  raw  or  reeled  silk,  chiefly 
the  outside  fiber  of  the  cocoon  and  the  inside  next  the  chrysalis  and 
the  waste  made  in  manufacture. 

Spun  silks  are  made  by  several  manufacturers  in  the  United  States, 
Cheney  Brothers  being  the  largest  producers.  The  waste  silk  is  un- 
gummed ;  that  is,  the  gum  is  removed  from  the  fibers  by  boiling  with 
soap,  by  maceration  or  rotting,  or  by  chemical  reagents. 

After  the  gum  is  removed  from  the  cocoons  and  other  waste  silk 
they  are  opened  and  combed,  most  of  the  chrysalis  shell  being  re- 
moved. The  remainder,  with  other  foreign  matter,  is  picked  out  by 
hand  from  the  combed  silk,  which  is  then  lapped,  put  through  a  num- 
ber of  drawing  frames  to  get  the  fibers  even,  on  the  roving  frames, 
where  it  first  takes  the  form  of  thread,  then  on  the  spinning  frames, 
where  it  is  twisted.  If  it  is  to  be  used  as  singles,  the  manufacture 
ends  here.  If  two  or  three  ply  yarns,  the  singles  are  doubled,  twisted 
again,  singed  by  running  through  gas  flame,  cleaned  by  friction, 
controlled;  that  is,  the  knots  and  lumps  are  taken  out,  and  then 
reeled  into  skeins  for  dyeing  or  put  on  spools. 

There  are  two  methods  in  general  use  for  numbering  spun  silk.  In 
the  French  system,  the  number  is  based  on  the  singles,  by  the  meters 
per  kilogram;  two  and  three  cord  yarns  have  1-2,  1-3,  etc.,  the  length 
the  numbers  indicate.  Thus :  No.  100  singles  has  100,000  meters  per 
kilogram;  No.  2-100  has  50,000  meters  per  kilogram;  No.  3-100  has 
33,333  meters  per  kilogram. 

The  other  and  more  generally  used  system  in  this  country  is  the 
English  system.  The  hank  is  840  yards  and  the  number  of  hanks  in 
1  pound  avoirdupois  is  the  count  of  the  yarn.  It  is  based  on  the 
finished  yarn,  and  singles,  two  and  three-cord  yarns  of  the  same 
number  all  have  the  same  yards  per  pound.  Thus :  No.  50  singles  has 
42,000  yards  per  pound ;  No.  50-2  has  42,000  yards  per  pound ;  No. 
50-3  has  42,000  yards  per  pound. 

Generally  speaking,  there  are  two  large  classes  into  which  silk 
goods  may  be  divided,  those  in  which  the  threads  are  colored  before 


5874  SCHEDULE  L SILKS  AND  SILK   GOODS. 

weaving  and  called  yarn  dyed  goods,  and  those  dyed  or  printed  after 
weaving  and  called  piece  dyed  or  printed  goods.  In  dyeing  yarns, 
the  silk  is  first  ungummed  and  cleaned  by  boiling  in  soap  and  water, 
then  washed  in  cold  water.  If  the  thread  is  to  be  weighted,  as  is  very 
frequently  done,  tin  salts,  iron,  or  other  heavy  material  is  deposited  on 
the  fiber.  If  carried  far,  this  is  very  injurious,  making  the  silk  tender 
and  weak.  Sometimes  there  is  more  weighting  than  silk.  Yarns  are 
usually  dyed  in  hot  liquors,  aniline  colors  being  the  ones  in  most 
common  use  to-day,  though  other  dyes  are  used  for  special  purposes. 
Some  yarns  are  dyed  in  the  gum,  and  some,  called  suples,  with  a  part 
of  the  gum  left  in.  After  dyeing,  they  are  washed  in  cold  water, 
dried,  and  wound  on  spools. 

The  threads  that  run  lengthwise  in  cloth  are  called  warp.  The 
warp  is  usually  made  by  placing  a  large  number*  of  bobbins  on  a  rack 
or  creel  and  running  the  threads  from  this  on  a  reel,  winding  off  as 
many  yards  as  required  for  the  length  of  the  warp;  this  is  called  a 
section.  Enough  sections  are  put  on  the  reel  to  produce  the  desired 
number  of  ends  or  threads  in  the  warp.  The  whole  number  of  threads 
is  then  wound  from  the  reel  to  a  roll  or  loom  beam. 

The  threads  or  ends  of  the  warp  are  next  drawn  through  the  har- 
ness and  reed.  The  harness  is  made  up  of  a  number  of  shafts  or 
leaves;  each  shaft  or  leaf  is  a  series  of  cords  or  wires  with  a  loop  or 
eye  in  the  center,  which  are  strung  between  two  pieces  of  wood  or  a 
frame.  A  thread  from  the  warp  is  drawn  through  each  eye  by  means 
of  a  small  hook,  beginning  with  the  first  thread  of  the  warp,  through 
the  first  eye  on  the  first  shaft  of  the  harness,  the  second  thread  through 
the  first  eye  on  the  second  shaft,  the  third  through  the  first  eye  on  the 
third  shaft,  and  so  on  through  the  harness.  When  one  thread  has 
been  drawn  on  each  shaft,  the  next  thread  is  drawn  through  the  second 
eye  on  the  first  shaft  and  so  through  the  harness  again.  This  is  called 
a  straight  draft;  for  special  work  other  drafts  are  at  times  used.  The 
number  of  shafts  in  the  harness  vary  according  to  the  character  of  the 
weave  to  be  made,  from  2  to  30  in  number.  In  the  case  of  harness 
for  making  brocades  each  eye  is  on  an  independent  cord. 

Next  the  warp  threads  are  entered  or  drawn  through  the  reed  or 
comb — which  is  similar  to  an  ordinary  comb  but  closed  top  and  bot- 
tom— one,  two,  three,  or  more  threads  in  one  dent  or  space  between 
two  teeth  of  the  reed. 

The  warp  with  harness  and  reed  is  placed  in  proper  position  in 
the  loom,  the  warp  beam  at  the  back  next  the  harness,  then  the  reed 
placed  on  the  lathe  or  batten,  and  then  the  cloth,  which  is  rolled  up 
on  another  beam.  When  weaving  is  commenced,  a  certain  number 
of  the  shafts  of  the  harness  are  raised  up,  thereby  lifting  some  of  the 
threads  of  the  warp  above  the  others.  Next  the  shuttle  is  thrown 
through  the  space  between  them.  The  shuttle  contains  a  bobbin  or 
quill  of  thread,  which  is  unwound  as  it  passes  through,  supplying 
the  cross  threads  or  filling  for  the  cloth.  Then  the  reed  is  brought 
forward,  pushing  the  filling  into  its  proper  place.  The  process  is 
repeated,  different  shafts  of  harness  being  lifted  at  such  time  as 
to  produce  the  desired  weave.  For  instance,  if  a  plain  weave  is 
desired,  every  other  shaft  is  lifted,  which  in  turn  lifts  every  other 
thread;  the  next  time  the  remaining  shafts  are  lifted,  while  those 
lifted  on  the  first  pick  stay  down,  and  so  on.  An  almost  endless 


SILK    AND    SILK    MAN  UJb'ACTUEE — CHENEY    BROTHERS.      5875 

variety  of  weaves  may  be  produced  in  this  way  by  the  use  of  shafts, 
and  almost  all  plain  fabrics,  such  as  satins,  twills,  pongees,  taffetas, 
armures,  crepes,  peau  de  soies  and  foulards,  also  a  great  variety  of 
stripes  and  small  figures  are  so  woven.  At  the  present  time  prac- 
tically all  figured  or  brocaded  goods  are  woven  by  the  use  of  the 
Jacquard  machine,  invented  by  Joseph  Marie  Jacquard,  of  Lyons, 
France,  about  the  year  1800.  In  this  machine  each  thread  of  the  warp 
passes  through  an  eye  which  is  attached  to  a  cord,  in  its  turn  attached 
to  a  hook.  These  hooks  are  controlled  by  paper  cards  with  holes 
punched  in  them,  which  either  push  the  hooks  back,  or  if  holes  are 
punched,  allow  them  to  be  lifted  by  means  of  blades,  which  rise  and 
fall  between  the  hooks.  By  the  use  of  such  machines  very  large  pat- 
terns with  great  variety  of  weaves  may  be  produced. 

Ribbons  are  woven  several  pieces  in  one  loom,  with  a  separate 
shuttle  for  each  piece,  which  is  carried  through  the  shed  or  warp  by 
a  rack  and  pinion,  instead  of  being  thrown  through  as  in  broad 
goods;  otherwise  the  weaving  is  the  same. 

Velvets  and  other  pile  fabrics  are  woven  in  two  pieces,  one  over 
the  other,  with  the  pile  threads  woven  back  and  forth  between  them. 
A  knife  travels  between  the  two  pieces,  cutting  the  pile  threads  so 
as  to  leave  the  ends  standing  up  straight.  Velvets  used  to  be  woven 
over  wires  and  cut  by  hand,  but  this  method  is  practically  obsolete. 

If  the  goods  are  woven  with  the  gum  still  in  the  silk,  it  must  be 
taken  out  afterwards  and  the  goods  either  dyed  in  the  piece  or  pre- 
pared for  printing. 

The  most  primitive  method  of  printing  is  by  the  use  of  stencils. 
It  is  the  method  employed  by  the  Japanese  and  Chinese.  Next  came 
block  printing,  which  is  still  extensively  employed  in  Europe.  The 
pattern  is  raised  in  felt  on  wooden  blocks,  the  color  taken  up  from 
pads,  one  block  for  each  color.  The  results  are  good,  but  the  work 
is  very  slow.  Most  silk  goods  are  to-day  machine  printed.  The 
design  is  engraved  or  etched  on  copper  cylinders,  one  cylinder  for 
each  color ;  the  color,  thickened  with  gum,  is  supplied  by  rolls  running 
against  the  cylinders  and  the  surplus  is  scraped  off  by  a  knife  blade, 
leaving  only  that  in  the  engraving,  which  is  taken  up  by  the  cloth. 
After  printing  the  cloth  is  steamed  to  set  the  colors,  and  then  washed, 
in  order  to  remove  the  gum  used  to  thicken  the  colors  for  printing. 

All  silk  goods,  whether  yarn  dyed,  piece  dyed,  or  printed,  are  given 
some  kind  of  finish;  sometimes  it  is  no  more  than  is  necessary  to 
smooth  out  the  wrinkles.  But  there  are  a  great  many  such  processes 
by  which  goods  may  be  treated.  They  are  run  through  gas  flames  to 
singe  off  loose  fiber,  over  steam  cylinders  to  dry  and  straighten  them, 
over  a  great  variety  of  sizing  machines  to  stiffen  them  with  starch 
or  glue,  calenders  or  heavy  rolls  to  smooth  and  iron  them,  steam 
presses  of  great  power  to  press  them  out,  breaking  and  rubbing 
machines  to  soften  them,  tentering  machines  to  stretch  them  to  uni- 
form width.  There  are  also  moireing  or  watering,  embossing,  and 
various  other  machines  for  special  purposes. 

One  of  the  worst  difficulties  with  which  the  manufacturer  of  piece- 
dyed  and  printed  silk  goods  has  had  to  contend  has  been  the  ease 
with  which  they  became  spotted  with  water,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  many  people  have  tried  to  prevent  this  by  various  processes,  as 
is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  there  are  no  less  than  two  hundred 


5876  SCHEDULE  Lr — SILKS   AND   SILK   GOODS. 

such  processes  patented.  None  of  them  have  met  with  much  success, 
as  they  injured  the  feel  or  strength  of  the  goods.  Cheney  Brothers 
have  recently  solved  this  difficult  problem,  and  are  now  treating  such 
goods  with  a  process  invented  in  their  own  works,  which  prevents 
the  spotting  of  silks  with  ordinary  rain  water.  They  call  such  goods 
shower  proof. 

After  goods  are  finished  they  are  carefully  inspected  for  imperfec- 
tions, measured,  and  wrapped  in  paper  and  packed  in  cases  for  ship- 
ment. 

How  complicated  and  numerous  are  the  processes  for  treating  silk 
goods,  may  be  realized  when  a  piece  of  goods,  piece  dyed  or  printed, 
is  handled  its  entire  length  between  50  and  100  times  after  it  comes 
from  the  loom;  sometimes  even  more. 

The  foregoing  is  the  barest  kind  of  a  sketch  of  the  silk  processes ; 
at  the  same  time  it  is  probable  that  it  is  too  long  to  teach  to  little 
children,  and  is  intended  more  for  the  information  of  teachers.  Those 
wishing  more  detailed  information,  we  refer  to  the  library  of  books 
on  textile  manufacture,  published  by  E.  A.  Posselt,  of  Philadelphia, 

CHENEY  BROTHERS, 
Silk  Manufacturers. 


SCHEDULE  M. 


PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 


6377 


SCHEDULE  M-PULP,  PAPERS  AND  BOOKS. 


PAPER  STOCK. 

[Paragraph  632.] 

F.  C.  OVERTON,  41  PARK  ROW,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  WISHES  MORE 
DEFINITE  CLASSIFICATION  OF  STOCK  FOR  PAPER. 

SATURDAY,  November  21, 1908. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  my  object  in 
appearing  here  is  to  get  a  clearer  wording  in  section  632  in  reference 
to  paper  stock  of  every  description.  The  present  law  includes  grasses, 
filters,  rags,  cotton,  jutes,  linen,  flax,  hemp,  and  manila,  coming  in 
various  forms.  We  want  the  law  to  so  read  that  it  will  designate 
the  various  things  that  are  to  go  into  the  manufacture.  It  is  all 
waste  material.  A  part  of  this  is  old  rags  and  domestic  shoddy  or 
wool,  which  is  only  suitable  to  be  used  in  the  cheap  paper — the  roof- 
ing paper.  And  yet,  having  some  small  percentage  of  wool,  it  is 
liable  to  come  under  a  duty. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  committee  has  had  its  attention  given  to  that, 
and  we  will  give  it  careful  attention. 

Mr.  OVERTON.  There  is  another  section  to  which  I  want  you  to 
give  attention,  and  that  relates  to  gunny  bagging. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Whom  do  you  represent  ? 

Mr.  OVERTON.  I  represent  the  New  York  Paper  Stock  Dealers' 
Association,  also  quite  a  number  of  mills. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Are  you  a  manufacturer  or  a  dealer? 

Mr.  OVERTON.  We  are  dealers.  We  sell  to  the  paper  mills.  I  am 
arguing  for  the  raw  stock,  and  I  want  just  what  the  law  apparently 
gives  us. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  do  you  care,  if  you  are  not  engaged  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  paper? 

Mr.  OVERTON.  I  am  presumed  to  bring  in  this  class  of  goods  free, 
and  yet  an  inspector  of  the  United  States  might  say  that  it  is  subject 
to  duty.  If  it  is  going  to  be  subject  to  duty,  I  want  to  know  it,  be- 
cause if  it  is  liable  to  duty  I  am  liable  to  lose  money. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Where  do  you  get  most  of  your  stock  ? 

Mr.  OVERTON.  From  the  Continent;  also  from  England,  .France, 
and  Germany. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  have  to  pay  any  duty? 

Mr.  OVERTON.  The  larger  part  of  the  business  we  do  is  in  waste  for 
paper  making,  which  is  supposed  to  be  free. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Are  you  simply  handling  waste  ? 

Mr.  OVERTON.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  To  whom  do  you  sell — to  the  paper  trust? 

5S79 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 8 


5880  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  OVERTON.  Well,  to  whom  do  you  refer? 
Mr.  CLARK.  The  International  Paper  Company. 
Mr.  OVERTON.  No ;  we  do  not  sell  anything  to  the  paper  trust. 
Mr.  CLARK.  You  have  nothing  in  the  world  to  do  with  the  paper 
trust? 

Mr.  OVERTON.  Nothing  in  the  world. 


BRIEF  SUBMITTED  BY  FRANK  C.  OVERTON  FOR  THE  NEW  YORK 
PAPER  STOCK  DEALERS'  ASSOCIATION. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,     • 

November  21,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  importers  and  paper  mills  handling  paper  stock 
are  satisfied  with  what  they  believe  to  be  the  spirit  or  intention  of 
the  law  as  it  now  stands,  but  experience  has  demonstrated  that  owing 
to  its  wording,  unnecessary  hardship  and  expense  have  been  entailed 
both  upon  the  importer  and  the  Government,  and  indirectly  upon 
the  paper  mills. 

The  clause  "  fit  only  to  be  converted  into  paper  "  causes  most  of  the 
trouble,  and  a  few  examples  will  illustrate  the  nature  of  the  trouble 
with  which  importer  and  appraiser  have  constantly  to  contend. 

Paper  stock  consists,  almost  without  exception,  of  waste  material 
of  some  character,  whether  paper,  rags,  cotton,  linen,  jute,  hemp,  flax, 
or  manila,  and  may  come  in  the  form  of  new  clippings  from  the 
fabrics  made  of  the  various  fibers  or  old  pieces  of  same,  or  may  come 
in  the  form  of  threads,  strings,  twines,  or  ropes,  or  in  the  form  of 
waste  of  various  qualities,  such  as  card  waste,  rove  waste,  washed 
flax  waste,  etc. 

The  quality  is  so  varied  that  although  by  far  the  largest  percentage 
goes  into  the  manufacture  of  paper,  a  certain  small  percentage  may 
find  its  way  into  some  other  use  as  a  raw  material,  or  the  appraiser 
may  think  that  it  could  be  put  to  some  other  use,  and  as  the  law 
specifies  that  the  material  must  be  "  fit  only  to  be  converted  into 
paper  "  he  assesses  duty  at  10  per  cent  ad  valorem  under  section  463, 
"  waste  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  10  per  cent  ad  valorem." 
It  has  frequently  been  the  case  that  an  appraiser  at  one  port  has 
passed  goods  free,  while  exactly  the  same  grade  at  another  port  was 
assessed  10  per  cent. 

Contracts  with  paper  mills  using  certain  grades  of  flax-card  waste 
and  thread  waste  have  been  made  with  the  clause,  "  duty,  if  any,  to 
be  paid  by  buyer,"  inserted,  as  it  was  impossible  to  tell  what  attitude 
the  appraiser  might  take,  and  as  an  assessment  of  a  10  per  cent  duty 
would  frequently  more  than  offset  the  profit,  and  as  duties  of  $20 
per  ton  have  been  assessed,  the  importer  was  unwilling  to  take  the 
risk.  Flax  waste  should  be  distinctly  defined  so  that  the  appraiser 
has  no  discretionary  power  to  impose  duty  applicable  to  tow  of  flax 
or  "  waste  not  otherwise  provided  for." 

A  low  grade  of  colored  jute  waste,  known  as  "  colored  jute  caddis," 
and  sold  for  about  $12  per  ton  to  a  mill  making  roofing  paper,  has 
been  assessed  at  10  per  cent  on  the  ground  that  the  small  sample 


PAPER   STOCK P.   C.   OVERTON.  5881 

brought  to  the  appraiser  led  him  to  believe  it  might  be  used  to  pack 
journal  boxes,  although  wholly  unsuited  for  the  purpose  on  account 
of  dirt  and  grit. 

Old  shoddy,  rags,  and  worn-out  garments,  or  what  is  known  in  the 
paper-stock  trade  as  "  satinet  garments,"  composed  of  a  mixture  of 
cotton  and  wool  or  shoddy,  and  used  by  manufacturers  of  roofing 
paper,  have  usually  been  admitted  free,  yet  in  one  or  two  cases  have 
been  assessed  at  10  cents  per  pound,  although  the  grade  was  too  low  to 
be  worked  up  into  shoddy,  and  the  stock  could  be  used  only  to  be  con- 
verted into  paper,  and  the  domestic  collection  is  sold  regularly  for 
that  purpose,  either  packed  separately  or  mixed  indiscriminately  with 
old  cotton  rags. 

Old  gunny  bagging  has  recently  been  classified  into  three  grades 
by  the  Board  of  Appraisers,  as  follows: 

Assorted  large  pieces. 

Unassorted,  or  original  gunny  bagging. 

Scrap  gunny,  or  small  pieces,  from  which  the  large  pieces  have  been  assorted. 

The  first  two  grades,  assorted  large  pieces  and  original  gunny, 
have  been  assessed  10  per  cent  ad  valorem  under  section  463.  'waste 
not  otherwise  provided  for ;  "  and  the  last  grade,  scrap  gunny,  has 
been  passed  free  under  section  648,  "  rags  not  otherwise  specially 
provided  for  in  this  act." 

A  few  years  ago  gunny  bagging  always  came  in  free  as  fit  only  to 
be  converted  into  paper.  The  question  of  paying  duty  on  same  first 
came  up  when  it  was  found  that  a  very  small  portion  was  broken 
up,  or  shoddied,  for  the  purpose  of  stuffing  horse  collars,  cheap 
mattresses,  etc. 

Some  time  later  it  became  the  custom  with  certain  packers  to  assort 
out  the  large  pieces  and  ship  them  to  America  to  be  used  as  patches, 
tops,  or  sides,  in  rebaling  cotton. 

The  Government  then  assessed  duty  at  10  per  cent  ad  valorem 
under  section  463  on  all  old  gunny  bagging,  irrespective  of  whether 
it  was  assorted,  original,  or. scrap,  and  this  custom  was  adhered  to 
for  several  years,  although  the  paper  mills  were  still  using  a  large 
percentage  of  it,  but  the  oakum  manufacturers  were  also  using  some 
to  be  manufactured  into  oakum,  thus  paying  duty  on  raw  stock  and 
manufacturing  it  into  a  finished  product  which  is  free  of  duty. 

Old  gunny  bagging  has  also  been  used  in  this  country  as  a  raw 
product  by  a  manufacturing  concern  making  gunny  bagging,  the  old 
stock  being  shoddied  and  used  in  connection  with  raw  jute,  which  is 
also  free. 

All  of  these  different  rulings  have  been  under  the  present  tariff 
law  or  previous  laws  whose  wording  of  the  section  pertaining  to 
paper  stock  was,  in  effect,  the  same  as  the  present  law. 

Although  the  paper-stock  importers  cheerfully  admit  that  the 
Board  of  Appraisers  have  given  the  cases  which  have  come  before 
them  careful,  intelligent,  and  impartial  consideration,  yet  the  very 
wording  of  the  section  has  made  it  absolutely  impossible  for  them 
to  give  uniform  decision,  not  because  the  goods  in  question  varied  in 
character  or  quality,  but  because  the  law  specifies  that  the  material 
must  be  fit  only  to  be  converted  into  paper,  and  whenever  an  ap- 
praiser had  evidence  or  believed  that  the  material  could  be  used  for 
anything  else  than  paper  making  (and  this  happens  frequently)  duty 
would  be  assessed. 


5882  SCHEDULE   M- — PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

If  the  Government  sustained  their  claim,  and  they  sometimes 
showe'd  uses  of  which  the  importer  had  never  heard,  the  importer 
would  make  a  loss  not  figured  on  in  the  cost  of  the  goods,  and  if  the 
importer  won  he  received  a  refund,  half  of  which  went  to  his  attor- 
ney for  handling  the  case.  Such  uncertainties  necessarily  curtail 
business  and  make  it  difficult  to  figure  cost,  owing  to  unknown  quan- 
tity of  duty. 

We  respectfully  but  strongly  urge  that  the  wording  of  section  632 
be  revised  so  that  it  is  definite  and  unequivocal,  and  that,  being  raw 
stock,  the  question  of  whether  or  not  it  is  dutiable  be  determined  by 
the  material  itself  rather  than  the  use  to  which  it  is  or  may  be  put. 

A  possible  exception  to  this  principle  might  be  made  with  refer- 
ence to  a  definite  grade,  such  as  "  old  satinet  garments,"  above  men- 
tioned, and  which  contain  a  small  percentage  of  wool  or  shoddy,  by 
stipulating  in  a  separate  section  that  it  must  be  converted  into  paper. 

Again  referring  to  old  gunny  bagging,  it  is  hoped  that  Congress 
may  not  feel  that  it  is  essential,  for  the  purpose  of  protection,  to 
assess  duty  on  any  of  the  three  grades  before  mentioned  and  admit 
all  free  of  duty.  If,  however,  duty  is  to  be  charged  on  any  of  the 
grades  of  gunny,  we  respectfully  suggest  that  the  duty  be  made  spe- 
cific rather  than  ad  valorem,  as  is  the  custom  at  present. 

The  reason  for  requesting  a  specific  duty  is  that  old  gunny  bagging 
frequently  follows  the  market  on  jute  butts,  which  are  free,  and  when 
a  short  crop  of  jute  butts  causes  manufacturers  to  supplement  the 
supply  with  old  gunny  bagging  a  wider  market  and  correspondingly 
wider  range  of  prices  is  apt  to  occur,  frequently  increased  by  specu- 
lative interests  in  no  way  connected  with  the  paper  trade,  and  it  is 
most  difficult  to  determine  the  correct  value  for  duty  purposes,  so  that 
in  addition  to  the  duty,  fines  and  penalties  are  imposed,  owing  to 
difference  of  opinion  between  appraiser  and  importer  as  to  the  market 
value  at  time  of  shipment.  Original,  unassorted  gunny  to-day  is 
worth  approximately  $13  per  ton,  and  within  the  past  three  years  it 
has  been  as  high  as  $45  per  ton.  Instances  have  occurred  where  im- 
porters have  contracted  for  the  purchase  abroad  of  a  quantity  of  old 
gunny  bagging  at  a  low  price,  and  not  wishing  to  speculate  have 
simultaneously  sold  same  in  this  country  on  a  small  profit,  figuring 
duty  at  10  per  cent  on  the  cost,  with  the  result  that  a  rapidly  rising 
market  and  correspondingly  higher  valuations  upon  which  duty  must 
be  paid  have  resulted  not  only  in  loss  of  profit  but  a  substantial  loss 
in  addition,  even  though  furnisher  and  consumer  properly  lived  up 
to  the  terms  of  their  contract.  We  do  not  think  duty  should  be  as- 
sessed on  any  gunny,  because,  in  the  first  place,  it  all  originates  from 
American  cotton  bales  shipped  abroad,  and  has  consequently  either 
been  manufactured  in  this  country  or  else  paid  a  duty  of  six-tenths 
cent  per  pound.  Furthermore,  it  is  used  exclusively  as  a  raw  product 
for  manufacture,  and  even  the  assorted  sides  for  baling  must  be  re- 
assorted,  mended,  sewed  together,  and  put  in  rolls  before  being  ready 
for  the  market,  so  that  all  the  duty  which  is  paid  by  the  importer 
must  eventually  be  paid  by  the  manufacturer  who  uses  the  goods  as 
raw  material. 

In  place  of  section  632,  which  is  as  follows : 

Paper  stock,  crude,  of  every  description,  including  all  grasses,  fibers,  rags 
(other  than  wool),  waste,  including  jute  waste,  shavings,  clippings,  old  paper, 
rope  ends,  waste  rope,  and  waste  bagging,  including  old  gunny  cloth  and  old 
gunny  bags,  fit  only  to  be  converted  into  paper — 


PAPER  STOCK — F.  C.  OVERTON.  5883 

We  recommend  the  following: 

Paper  stock,  crude,  of  every  description,  including  all  grasses,  fibers,  rags 
(other  than  wool),  waste,  including  jute  waste,  flax  waste,  flax-thread  waste, 
hemp  waste,  linen-thread  waste,  shavings,  clippings,  old  paper,  rope  ends, 
waste  rope,  and  waste  bagging,  including  old  second-hand  gunny  bagging,  not 
advanced  in  manufacture,  to  be  used  as  raw  material,  free. 

This,  in  our  opinion,  would  cover  all  grades  of  paper  stock,  ex- 
cepting old  satinet  garments  and  rags  containing  a  small  percentage 
of  wool  or  shoddy,  and  suitable  only  for  paper  making,  and  this 
should  be  provided  for  in  a  separate  section,  and  to  cover  same  we 
urge  the  following  section : 

Rags  or  old  garments  composed  of  a  mixture  of  cotton  and  wool,  or  cotton 
and  shoddy,  or  cotton  and  wool  and  shoddy,  and  suitable  for,  and  to  be  used  for, 
the  manufacture  of  paper,  and  for  no  other  purpose. 

The  object  of  this  brief  is  solely  to  get  the  clearest  possible  word- 
ing of  the  section  relating  to  paper  stock  in  order  to  avoid  conflicting 
rulings  in  the  future,  without  changing  what  we  believe  to  be  the 
intent  of  the  existing  law. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

NEW  YORK  PAPER  STOCK  DEALERS'  ASSOCIATION, 
By  FRANK  C.  OVERTON,  41  Park  Row,  New  York, 
A.  SALOMON,  140  Nassau  street.  New  York, 
HENRY  ATTERBURY,  38  Park  Row,  New  York, 

Committee. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

BOSTON,  November  18,  1908. 
Messrs.  CASTLE,  GOTTHEIL  &  OVERTON, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN:  In  reply  to  your  communication  of  yesterday  I  will 
say: 

Owing  to  the  indefmiteness  of  section  632  of  the  tariff  act,  we  have 
for  ten  years  been  subjected  to  a  series  of  annoyances  which  are  a 
disgrace  to  any  well-ordered  government.  There  has  been  no  uniform 
practice  of  custom-house  officials  in  levying  duties  on  paper  stock. 
Ten  years  ago,  after  a  certain  grade  of  flax  waste  had  been  passed  as 
free  for  a  dozen  years,  there  was  a  sudden  hold  up,  and  duties  of  $20 
per  ton  were  demanded  on  stock  which  only  cost  $25  per  ton,  de- 
livered at  one  of  our  mills,  and  the  authorities  demanded  this  rate 
on  six  carloads  which  had  been  entered,  examined,  passed  as  free, 
and  manufactured  into  board.  We  protested  and  refused  to  pay, 
but  after  five  or  six  years  the  Government  sued  us  and  recovered  the 
duty,  and  then  we  took  the  case  before  the  General  Appraisers  and 
they  decided  that  the  stock  was  not  dutiable  and  the  duties  were 
refunded ;  but  it  cost  us  $1,200  for  expenses. 

I  can  point  to  more  than  a  score  of  cases  where  duties  have  been 
extorted  from  importers  and  refunded  later  after  a  loss  of  interest 
and  legal  expense  had  been  incurred. 

As  "  tow  of  flax  "  is  dutiable  at  $20  per  ton,  there  should  be  a  defi- 
nition of  the  distinction  between  tow  of  flax  and  flax  waste. 


5884  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

The  words  "  fit  only  to  be  converted  into  paper  "  are  worse  still,  as 
every  paper  stock  is  fit  for  something  else,  if  only  for  kindling  fire 
or  bedding  horses.  The  law  was  doubtless  intended  to  have  all  crude 
paper  stock  free,  and  it  should  be  so  expressed  that  if  some  one  uses  a 
few  bales  for  some  other  purpose,  it  should  not  subject  the  whole  class 
to  duty. 

While  the  present  practice  at  Boston  is  more  uniform  than  for- 
merly, the  difficulties  I  have  mentioned  still  exist  and  should  be  reme- 
died. 

Yours,  very  truly, 

NATIONAL  FIBER  BOARD  COMPANY, 
By  STEPHEN  MOORE,  Treasurer. 


NEW  YORK,  November  W,  1908. 
Messrs.  CASTLE,  GOTTHEIL  &  OVERTON, 

No.  41  Park  How,  New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN:  Referring  to  the  hearing  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee  on  paper  stock,  we  beg  to  advise  you  that  in  our  mills  we 
consume  approximately  25,000  tons  per  year  of  rag  stock,  and  find  it 
necessary  to  secure  a  portion  of  this  from  a  foreign  market. 

Referring  to  the  tariff  act  under  "  Importations  of  rags,"  section 
632,  as  the  matter  now  stands  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion  among 
appraisers  as  to  whether  old  satinet  garments,  etc.,  should  be  dutiable 
at  10  cents  a  pound  or  free  as  paper  stock.  Their  value  is  approxi- 
mately the  same  as  dark  rags  for  roofing-paper  use,  and  for  all  in- 
tents and  purposes  as  rags  covered  by  section  632,  but  if  the  assess- 
ment of  same  be  entirely  at  the  discretion  of  the  appraiser,  and  a 
possible  duty  of  10  cents  per  pound  be  assessed,  there  is  difficulty  in 
getting  importers  to  secure  this  stock  for  us. 

We  would  urge  that  a  clause  be  made  applying  to  this  grade  of 
stock,  stating  that  old  satinet  garments  or  rags  composed  of  a  mix- 
ture of  cotton  and  shoddy  suitable  only  for  paper  stock,  and  to  be 
used  only  to  be  converted  into  paper,  be  admitted  free  of  duty. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  it  is  necessary  to  supplement  our  stock  by 
the  purchase  of  foreign  rags,  we  think  this  uncertainty  as  to  the 
interpretation  of  the  present  tariff  should  be  definitely  settled,  and 
we  trust  that  you  will  exert  every  effort  in  helping  secure  the  modi- 
fication above  referred  to. 
Yours,  truly, 

BARRETT  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY. 
W.  A.  FORMAN, 

Manager  Manufacturing  Department. 


LATROBE,  PA.,  November  18, 1908. 
Messrs.  CASTLE,  GOTTHEIL  &  OVERTON, 

New  York. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  understand  you  people  are  going  before  the  Ways 
and  Means  Committee  on  the  tariff  question.  Our  views  are  simply 
this:  In  the  first  place,  we  do  not  think  there  are  enough  domestic 


PAPER  STOCK P.  C.  OVEKTON.  5885 

rags  gathered  in  the  United  States  to  supply  the  demand  of  the  paper 
makers,  and  therefore  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  go  abroad  for 
rags. 

Now  take,  for  instance,  rags  bought  in  the  last  two  years  and  ten 
months.  We  used  in  1906  12,513  tons,  at  an  average  cost  at  the  mill 
of  $19.83  per  ton;  about  13  per  cent  of  this  was  foreign  stock.  In 
1907  we  used  12,988  tons,  at  a  cost  of  $22.24  per  ton ;  about  10  per  cent 
of  this  was  foreign  stock.  And  in  the  last  ten  months  of  1908  we 
have  used  7,956  tons,  at  an  average  cost  of  $15.15  per  ton;  about  5 
per  cent  of  this  was  foreign  stock. 

I  think  it  is  perfectly  absurd  to  think  of  paper  makers  paying  10 
cents  per  pound  for  the  wool  these  foreign  rags  contain,  or  $200  per 
ton.  There  ought  to  be  some  way  for  the  paper  makers  to  get  all  the 
rags  they  want  free  of  duty.  When  you  take  it  on  an  average  the 
year  around,  the  stock  does  not  cost  them  a  cent  a  pound. 

Of  course  the  Government  must  have  some  means  of  knowing  these 
rags  go  into  paper,  and  not  into  shoddy.  Now,  any  reliable  firm  will 
be  willing  to  give  a  bond  that  all  the  foreign  rags  they  buy  would  be 
put  into  paper. 

The  object  of  the  roofing  mills  of  the  country  is  to  sell  roofing  paper 
as  low  as  it  is  possible  to  manufacture  it,  in  order  to  shut  out  competi- 
tion of  other  materials  for  roofing. 

We  would  like  this  committee  to  make  a  strong  plea  to  the  Ways 
and  Means  Committee  that  in  taking  this  duty  off  the  woolen  rags 
suitable  for  making  paper  does  not  interfere  in  any  way  whatever 
with  the  growers  of  wool  in  this  country;  but  when  woolen  rags  are 
sold  in  this  country  to  shoddy  mills,  then  it  does  come  in  competition. 
Taking  the  duty  off  the  woolen  rags,  as  far  as  paper  making  is  con- 
cerned, benefits  all  parties  and  gives  the  American  people  a  cheaper 
roofing. 

Yours,  respectfully, 

PETERS  PAPER  Co., 
JAMES  PETERS,  President. 


YORK,  PA.,  November  18,  1908. 
Messrs.  CASTLE,  GOTTHEIL  &  OVERTON, 

New  York,  N.Y. 

(Attention  Mr.  Frank  C.  Overton.) 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  have  letter  from  Mr.  W.  A.  Forman,  of  the  Bar- 
rett Manufacturing  Company,  New  York,  that  you  expect  to  send  a 
representative  to  Washington  to  meeting  of  Ways  and  Means  Com- 
mittee on  Saturday,  21st  instant,  and  we  hope  that  you  will  use  your 
best  endeavors  with  the  committee  to  admit  foreign  satinets  without 
duty. 

As  manufacturers  of  roofing  paper,  we  can  use  large  quantities  of 
this  material  if  admitted  without  duty,  but  as  the  value  of  this  stock 
is  so  low  we  would  be  unable  to  use  it  should  any  duty  whatever  be 
put  on  its  importation. 

Yours,  very  truly,  YORK  FELT  AND  PAPER  COMPANY. 

By  W.  D.  BALM. 


5886  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

PHILADELPHIA,  November  18,  1908. 
Messrs.  CASTLE,  GOTTHEIL  &  OVERTON, 

New  York,  N.  T. 

GENTLEMEN:  With  reference  to  the  hearing  before  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee  on  paper  stock,  would  say  we  are  manufacturers  of 
roofing  paper  and  consequently  large  consumers  of  foreign  rags, 
approximately  8,000.  to  10,000  tons  per  year.  We  understand  that 
as  the  matter  now  stands,  rags  coming  in  under  section  632,  the  ques- 
tion as  to  whether  they  are  dutiable  or  not  is  discretionary  with  the 
appraisers,  the  difference  of  opinion  of  the  appraisers  making  the 
importers  very  indifferent  in  regard  to  bringing  the  stock  out. 

We  would  suggest,  in  view  of  the  above,  that  the  rags  containing  a 
mixture  of  cotton  and  shoddy  or  wool,  fit  only  for  paper  making, 
should  be  put  on  the  free  list  absolutely. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

JOHN  LANG  PAPER  Co., 
E.  H.  MORRIS,  President. 


NEW  YORK,  November  20,  1908. 
FRANK  OVERTON,  Esq., 

CASTLE,  GOTTHEIL  &  OVERTON, 

New  York  City. 

DEAR  SIR:  It  will  interest  you  to  know  of  the  following  case  that 
we  are  experiencing  with  an  import  of  flax  waste  at  the  port  of  Bos- 
ton. We  bought  a  little  while  ago  a  shipment  of  15  tons  flax  waste 
from  Europe,  and  shipped  it  to  Boston  with  the  intention  of  selling 
it  to  one  of  our  paper  mills  which  offered  us  90  cents  delivered,  with 
10  cents  freight  for  this  shipment.  This  mill  makes  box  and  leather 
board  papers.  Another  mill  offered  us  95  cents  for  it.  The  stock 
costs  us  £4  per  ton,  equal  to  about  90  cents  per  100  pounds,  and,  of 
course,  there  would  have  been  no  profit  in  this  transaction.  Last 
week  we  received  notice  from  our  custom-house  brokers  that  the  value 
of  the  entry  of  £4  per  ton  was  advanced  by  the  appraiser  to  £7  per 
ton,  which  is  above  the  seizure  point,  and  it  was  figured  out  to  us 
that  the  final  sum  that  we  would  have  to  pay,  including  the  fines, 
would  amount  to  about  $1,200  on  a  shipment  worth  $300.  We  went 
to  Boston  to  examine  the  stock  and  found  that  a  good  many  bales 
contained  a  better  grade  of  flax  waste  than  our  purchase  sample  and 
contrary  to  the  stock  that  we  expected  to  get.  A  good  deal,  however, 
in  all  the  bales  wxas  only  the  lower  grade,  and  the  stock  in  the  bales  is 
mixed  up  in  such  a  way  that  the  expense  for  separating  the  various 
qualities  would  bring  the  price  of  the  goods  to  a  very  high  figure, 
which  would  be  prohibitive  of  selling  it  for  the  ordinary  uses  which 
such  flax  waste  is  put  to.  The  quality  of  the  shipment  being  mixed 
up,  it  is  only  fit  for  making  into  paper,  but  the  technicalities  of  the 
law  say  if  there  is  a  percentage  ox  higher  grade,  the  duty  should  be 
assessed  on  the  higher  value,  but  in  a  practical  way  this  lot  of  stock 
could  only  be  used  for  paper. 

If  there  would  be  no  10  per  cent  duty  on  flax  waste,  which  is  only 
a  necessary  by-product  of  the  raw  material,  and  which  latter  is  free 
of  duty  under  the  tariff  law,  these  burdensome  matters  would  be  done 
away  with,  and  as  the  revenue  derived  from  these  importations  is  a 


PAPEE  STOCK F.  0.  OVEETON.  5887 

very  small  sum,  and  as  it  is  not  a  protection  for  any  domestic  stock 
nor  for  the  manufacturers,  but  only  a  burden  on  him  and  the  con- 
sumer, it  would  be  most  desirable  for  everybody  concerned  in  the 
trade  to  have  this  duty  removed,  as  nobody  can  profit  thereby,  but 
only  gain  by  such  removal  of  the  existing  duty  which  is  applied  in 
certain  cases. 

Very  truly,  yours,  SALOMON  BROS.  &  Co. 


PHILADELPHIA,  November  19 ',  1908. 
Mr.  FRANK  ,C.  OVERTON, 

Chairman  Tariff  Committee, 

New  York  Paper  Stock  Dealers^  Association, 

New  York,  N.  T. 

DEAR  SIR:  Replying  to  the  communication  of  Mr.  F.  H.  Chase, 
dated  November  16,  1908,  to  President  J.  I.  Lenhart,  asking  to 
use  the  name  of  our  association  in  relation  to  the  changes  in  the 
tariff  law  affecting  the  importation  of  paper  stock,  bagging,  fibers, 
etc.,  I  beg  to  say  the  matter  was  passed  favorably  upon  at  the  meet- 
ing of  our  association  held  this  evening,  so  therefore  you  are  at  liberty 
to  use  the  name  of  this  association. 

We  are  pleased  to  offer  your  association  our  cooperation  in  this 
matter. 

Yours,  truly,  FREDERICK  H.  MEYER, 

Secretary. 


217-231  CLYBOURN  STREET, 
Milwaukee,  Wis.,  November  23, 1908. 
CASTLE  GOTTHEIL  &  OVERTON, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN:  With  reference  to  section  632  of  the  present  tariff 
act,  under  which  importations  of  rags,  etc.,  for  paper  making  are 
made. 

We  are  manufacturers  of  roofing  paper  and  users  of  rags,  wool, 
papers,  cotton  waste,  and  this  class  of  material  for  the  manufacturing 
of  roofing  papers. 

At  the  present  time  there  seems  to  be  a  great  difference  of  opinion 
among  the  appraisers  as  to  whether  these  goods  should  be  dutiable  at 
10  cents  per  pound  or  free  as  paper  stock. 

To  all  intents  and  purposes  this  class  of  material  is  of  such  a  grade 
that  we  feel  it  should  be  covered  by  section  632. 

We  would  suggest  that  old  satinet  garments  or  rags  composed  of  a 
mixture  of  cotton  and  shoddy  and  suitable  only  for  paper  stock,  and 
to  be  used  only  to  be  converted  into  paper,  should  be  admitted  free. 
Yours,  truly, 

H.  W.  JOHNS-MANVILLE  COMPANY, 
WALTER  MOODY, 
Assistant  Manager  Milwaukee  Factories. 


5888  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

MIDDLETOWN,  OHIO,  November  19,  1908. 
Mr.  FRANK  C.  OVERTON, 

New  York  City. 

DEAR  SIR:  Your  favor  of  the  17th  received,  and  are  pleased  to  note 
that  you  have  been  appointed  to  represent  the  paper  stock  dealers' 
association  at  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  on  tariff  revision. 

In  reference  to  haying  the  old  section,  No.  632,  revised,  I  think  it 
ought  to  be  done  by  all  means,  as  the  way  it  is  worded  is  very  con- 
fusing and  unsatisfactory,  both  to  the  Government  and  the  paper 
manufacturers,  as  you  are  aware  it  has  been  one  continual  strife  ever 
since  the  present  tariff  bill  was  put  in  force. 

We  think  there  is  no  doubt  but  what  the  Government  intended  to 
let  the  old  waste  material,  such  as  is  used  for  paper  manufacturing, 
come  in  duty  free,  and  the  idea  of  saying  "  fit  only  to  be  converted  into 
paper  "  is  a  grand  humbug,  as  we  do  not  know  of  any  old  material  but 
what  could  be  used  for  some  other  purpose. 

As  you  know,  we  are  large  users  of  old  rope,  jute  wastes,  and  bag- 
ging, such  as  burlaps  and  gunnies,  flax  waste,  threads,  etc.  We 
think  it  has  been  demonstrated  heretofore  that  most  of  these  articles 
can  be  used  for  something  else.  For  instance,  you  can  take  old  rope 
and  tear  it  in  pieces  and  use  it  in  plastering  in  place  of  hair.  You 
can  also  take  bagging  and  tear  it  up  and  use  it  in  place  of  excelsior 
or  for  packing  purposes,  or  for  stuffing  cushions,  horse  collars,  and 
various  other  things. 

Flax  waste  we  presume  could  be  used  for  the  same  purpose, 
although  we  have  never  heard  of  it  being  used  this  way.  They  could 
also  take  any  of  this  material  or  all  together  and  grind  them  up  with 
other  articles  and  make  fertilizer  out  of  them. 

If  the  matter  could  not  be  adjusted  any  other  way,  why  not  have  it 
arranged  so  that  the  importers  could  be  put  under  affidavit  when 
parcels  arrive  that  they  have  sold  the  material  to  a  certain  paper 
mill,  then  let  the  paper  manufacturer  also  make  affidavit  and  state 
that  they  had  received  the  stock,  and  state  that  it  would  not  be  used 
for  any  other  purpose  but  for  the  manufacture  of  paper. 

If  this  matter  is  presented  to  the  committee  in  the  right  light,  we 
think  you  would  have  no  difficulty  in  getting  it  adjusted  satisfac- 
torily, as  we  feel  the  Government  is  willing  and  anxious  to  have  old 
paper-making  material  come  in  free  of  duty;  as  you  are  aware  they 
are  investigating  the  matter  of  preserving  our  forests,  and  everything 
in  the  line  of  old  material  that  can  be  used  to  make  paper  helps  to 
decrease  the  usage  of  wood. 

If  there  is  any  way  that  we  can  be  of  service  to  your  committee 
or  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  we  would  be  very  glad  indeed 
to  render  our  services  if  you  will  let  us  know  what  it  is. 
Yours,  truly, 

THE  WARDLOW-THOMAS  PAPER  Co. 
JAS.  LAWRENCE,  V ice-President. 


EAST  ST.  Louis,  ILL.,  November  19,  1908. 
CASTLE,  GOTTHEIL  &  OVERTON, 

41  Park  Row,  New  York. 

GENTLEMEN:  Referring  to  the  hearing  before  the  Congressional 
Ways  and  Means  Committee,  on  paper  stock,  will  say  that  we  think 


PAPEB   STOCK F.    0.   OVERTON. 

it  a  very  important  matter  to  take  up  the  matter  of  satinets  imported. 
The  question,  which  in  the  past  has  been  left  to  the  discretion  of  the 
appraiser,  and  which  has  led  to  such  uncertainty  on  importing  these 
goods,  should  be  settled  definitely  and  in  such  a  way  as  to  permit  any 
old  satinets  or  rags,  which  are  suitable  for  paper  stock  only,  to  come 
in  free  under  section  632.  Any  assurance  required  could  be  given 
that  the  goods  would  be  used  only  for  making  paper  stock,  and  a 
severe  penalty  could  be  put  on  for  any  other  use  of  the  material. 

It  will  surely  cripple  our  line  of  business  to  have  this  continued  in 
the  way  that  it  is  now. 

Hoping  you  will  be  successful  in  showing  the  committee  why  this 
change  should  be  made,  we  are, 

Very  truly,  yours,  GENERAL  ROOFING  MFG.  Co., 

By  GEO.  M.  BROWN,  President. 


LOCKLAND,  OHIO,  November  19,  1908. 
CASTLE,  GOTTHEIL  &  OVERTON, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Mr.  Forman  has  forwarded  us  a  copy  of  your  letter 
to  him  dated  November  17,  and  we  are  taking  this  opportunity  of 
going  on  record  in  behalf  of  this  cause,  which  is  only  fair  and  just, 
and  add  the  weight  of  our  signature  to  your  petition  when  taking 
this  matter  up  with  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee.  So  much  has 
been  said  already  on  this  subject  that  it  is  difficult  to  add  to  it,  and 
every  manufacturer  of  felt  paper,  as  well  as  all  of  the  importers  of 
paper-mill  stock,  know  how  absolutely  unfair  it  is  for  the  Govern- 
ment to  take  the  position  of  collecting  duty  on  satinets  and  let  the 
dark  cottons  come  in  free,  when  they  are  both  used  for  identically  the 
same  purpose.  Perhaps  it  might  be  a  good  suggestion  to  state  that 
-when  putting  satinets  on  the  free  list  every  consumer  in  this  country 
could  be  required  to  furnish  a  bond,  guaranteeing  not  to  resell  any 
of  this  material  to  woolen  or  shoddy  mills  at  any  price;  also  to 
guarantee  not  to  put  the  rags  through  any  process  in  which  the  wool 
was  removed  from  the  cotton  fiber,  but  work  it  all  up  at  the  same 
time  and  in  the  same  sheet  of  paper;  also  to  guarantee  to  sell  every 
pound  of  the  article  manufactured  from  this  raw  material  at  less 
than  5  cents  per  pound,  which  is  one-half  of  the  duty  now  assessed. 
This  might  convince  the  government  officials  that  the  mills  buying 
these  foreign  satinets  are  not  trying  to  take  any  unfair  advantage  or 
evade  a  duty  that  should  be  imposed.  We  certainly  wish  your  asso- 
ciation success  in  taking  this  matter  up.  It  is  certainly  a  good  cause, 
as  the  collection  of  rags  in  this  country  suitable  for  the  manufacture 
of  felt  paper  is  not  increasing  in  proportion  with  the  demand  for  and 
consumption  of  felt  paper,  and  unless  your  association  or  some  simi- 
lar movement  by  others  does  bring  about  the  result  desired  the 
action  of  our  Government  in  prohibiting  the  importation  of  this 
grade  of  rags  is  surely  going  to  hinder,  in  fact  prevent,  the  further 
growth  of  an  industry  in  this  country  that  gives  desirable  employ- 
ment to  labor  and  produces  almost  exclusively  an  article  that  is  used 
as  a  building  material,  thereby  causing  a  saving  in  lumber  in  sub- 
stituting for  shingles  an  article  manufactured  from  junk  and  waste 
material. 


5890  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

This  is  a  cause  that  almost  all  Americans  are  interested  in,  and 
should  particularly  interest  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  of  the 
present  Congress. 

Yours,  truly,  THE  RICHARDSON  PAPER  Co., 

J.  M.  RICHARDSON, 

Vice-President. 


MINNEAPOLIS,  MINN.,  November  W,  1908. 
CASTLE,  GOTTHEIL  &  OVERTON, 

41  Park  Row,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  understand  that  section  632  is  coming  up  for 
consideration  shortly.  We  use  some  40,000  pounds  of  satinets  a  day 
in  the  manufacture  of  roofing  paper.  There  has  been  some  question 
in  the  minds  of  the  custom-house  officials  as  to  whether  this  grade  of 
stock  was  dutiable  or  not.  We  hope  that  you  can  have  a  special  clause 
inserted  to  cover  this  grade  of  rags.  We  know  it  is  hard  to  get  im- 
porters to  attempt  to  get  these  rags  in  on  account  of  this  question 
coming  up. 

It  certainly  would  be  a  great  relief  to  the  paper  mills  of  this 
country  if  such  a  clause  was  inserted.  These  satinets  contain  such  a 
small  percentage  of  wool  that  they  are  only  suitable  for  making 
paper.  And  it  does  not  seem  right  for  mills  that  use  this  grade  of 
rags  to  take  the  chance  of  a  10-cent  duty  being  assessed  against  the 
rags  when  the  rags  are  worth  normally  from  three-quarters  to  1  cent 
per  pound. 

We  will  be  glad  to  be  of  any  further  service  we  can  in  this  matter. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

THE  NELSON  PAPER  Co., 
By  W.  ED.  NELSON,  Treasurer. 


HON.  JOHN  W.  WEEKS,  M.  C.,  SUBMITS  LETTER  OF  F.  W.  BIRD  & 
SON,  EAST  WALPOLE,  MASS.,  RELATIVE  TO  PAPER  STOCK. 

EAST  WALPOLE,  MASS.,  December  19,  1908. 

Hon.  JOHN  W.  WEEKS,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  We  respectfully  call  your  attention  to  the  indefiniteness 
of  section  632  of  the  tariff  act,  which  for  a  number  of  years  has 
caused  us  annoyance  and  expense.  This  section  reads  as  follows: 

Paper  stock,  crude,  of  every  description,  including  all  grasses,  fiber  rags,  other  than 
wool,  waste,  including  jute  rope  and  waste  bagging,  including  old  gunny  cloth  and 
old  gunny  bags,  fit  only  to  be  converted  into  paper. 

This  latter  clause,  "fit  only  to  be  converted  into  paper,"  is  the 
cause  of  most  of  our  troubles.  We  cite  you  the  following  example: 

We  have  imported  from  France  and  Belgium,  to  use  in  making 
paper,  a  grade  of  flax  spinning  waste  called  "  cordellettes "  (little 
cords  or  little  strings).  In  1903  and  1904  these  importations  were 
suddenly  assessed  a  duty  of  10  per  cent,  which  was  subsequently 
increased  to  $20  per  ton ;  all  this  on  stock  worth  $30  per  ton,  and  be- 


PAPER  STOCK — F.    C.    OVEETON.  5891 

cause,  as  we  understand  it,  some  men  had  used  small  quantities, 
not  5  per  cent  of  importations,  for  some  other  purpose  besides  paper 
making. 

We  protested,  and  after  some  time  the  case  was  decided  in  our 
favor,  but  not  until  the  Government  had  tied  up  many  thousands  of 
dollars  belonging  to  us  and  we  had  been  put  to  a  legal  expense  of 
more  than  a  thousand  dollars. 

We  also  use  in  the  making  of  our  roofing  large  quantities  of  old 
satinet  garments.  These  are  old,  worn-out  garments  and  soft  rags 
composed  of  cotton  and  wool  or  cotton  and  shoddy.  They  have  usu- 
ally been  admitted  free,  yet  in  some  cases  have  been  assessed  a  duty 
of  10  cents  per  pound,  being  classed  as  woolen  rags,  although  the 
grade  is  too  low  to  be  worked  up  into  shoddy  and  the  stock  could 
only  be  used  by  converting  it  into  paper. 

Although  the  board  of  appraisers  have  given  cases  of  this  kind 
their  careful  and  impartial  consideration,  the  wording  of  this  section 
has  made  it  impossible  to  give  uniform  decision,  because  the  law 
specifies  that  the  material  must  be  fit  only  to  be  converted  into  paper, 
and  whenever  the  appraisers  had  evidence  or  believed  the  material 
could  be  used  for  anything  else  beside  paper  making  the  duty  would 
be  assessed. 

We  strongly  urge  that  the  wording  of  section  632  be  revised,  or 
added  to,  so  that  nax  waste,  paper  stocks,  and  old  satinet  garments 
containing  a  small  percentage  of  wool  be  admitted  free  when  they 
are  to  be  used  for  the  manufacture  of  paper  and  when  the  importer 
is  willing  to  give  oath  that  they  are  to  be  used  exclusively  for  that 
purpose. 

This  we  believe  to  be  the  intent  of  the  existing  law. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

F.  W.  BIRD  &  SON. 


FEANK  C.  OVERTON,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  FILES  SUPPLEMENTAL 
BRIEF  RELATIVE  TO  PAPER  STOCK. 

41  PARK  Row,  NEW  YORK,  January  6,  1909. 

Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  On  November  21,  1908,  I  filed  before  the  Committee  on 
Ways  and  Means,  at  Washington,  a  brief  in  behalf  of  the  New  York 
Paper  Stock  Dealers'  Association  and  others  affecting  Schedule  M, 
paper  stock,  and  recommended  a  form  which  I  felt  would  correct 
the  existing  evils.  Said  form,  after  mentioning  various  grades  of 
paper  stock,  stipulated  that  there  should  be  inserted: 

Not  advanced  In  manufacture  to  be  used  as  raw  material. 

Upon  further  consideration  it  occurred  to  me  that  there  might  be 
room  for  various  interpretations  of  the  phrase :  "  Not  advanced  in 
manufacture  to  be  used  as  raw  material,"  and  I  took  the  liberty  of 
consulting  with  Judge  Henderson  M.  Somerville,  of  the  Board  of 
United  States  General  Appraisers,  who  said  that  the  Board  of  Ap- 


5892  SCHEDULE    M PULP,    PAPERS,    AND    BOOKS. 

praisers  had  given  this  matter  careful  attention,  and  had   recom- 
mended the  following: 

632.  Paper  stock,  crude,  of  every  description,  including  all  grasses,  fibers, 
rags  (other  than  wool),  waste,  including  jute  waste,  shavings,  clippings,  old 
paper,  rope  ends,  waste  rope,  flax  waste,  flax  thread  waste,  hemp  waste,  and 
linen  thread  waste,  and  waste  bagging  fit  to  be  converted  into  paper;  also  old 
gunny  cloth  and  old  second-hand  gunny  bagging,  whether  fit  for  such  purpose 
or  not. 

This  section  would  be  perfectly  satisfactory  to  the  New  York  paper 
stock  dealers,  as  the  elimination  of  the  word  "  only  "  from  the  ex- 
pression "  fit  only  to  be  converted  into  paper  "  would  in  our  opinion 
eliminate  most  of  the  misunderstanding  which  has  occurred  in  the 
past;  and  the  section  referring  to  old  gunny  cloth  and  second-hand 
gunny  bagging  would  certainly  have  the  effect  of  saving  annoyance 
to  both  the  Government  .and  importer.  We  therefore  trust  that 
Congress  can  see  its  way  to  adopt  the  section  as  proposed  by  the 
Board  of  Appraisers?  and  the  New  York  Paper  Stock  Dealers'  Asso- 
ciation withdraw  their  suggestion  in  favor  of  that  of  the  board. 

We  still  feel,  however,  that  the  paragraph  mentioned  in  the  brief 
filed  on  November  21,  as  follows:  "  Rags  or  old  garments  composed 
of  a  mixture  of  cotton  and  wool,  or  cotton  and  shoddy,  or  cotton  and 
wool,  or  shoddy,  and  suitable  for  and  to  be  used  for  the  manufacture 
of  paper,  free,  is  most  essential,  as  it  is  a  grade  that  can  not  be  in- 
corporated into  the  other  section  without  a  conflict,  and  while  the 
goods  in  question  have  been  brought  in  here  along  with  other  old 
rags  for  paper  stock,  there  is  an  element  of  risk  in  so  doing,  and 
should  be  eliminated. 

If  there  will  be  any  further  public  or  private  hearings  in  this 
matter,  I  would  esteem  it  a  favor  if  I  would  be  advised  of  the  time 
such  hearings  will  be  held. 
Respectfully,  yours, 

FRANK  C.  OVERTON, 
Of  CASTLE,   GOTTHEIL   &   OVERTON, 

Paper  Mill  Supplies. 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER. 

STATEMENT  OF  JOHN  NORRIS,  CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  COMMITTEE 
ON  PAPER,  THE  AMERICAN  NEWSPAPER  PUBLISHERS'  ASSO- 
CIATION, NEW  YORK  CITY. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  Mr.  Chairman,  just  as  an  aside,  and  casually  and  inci- 
dentally and  preliminarily,  I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact 
that  Mr.  Marcuse,  the  gentleman  who  appears  here  for  a  new 
classification  and  a  higher  rate  on  wrapping  papers,  was  the  gen- 
tleman whose  firm  plead  guilty,  June  19,  1908,  in  the  United  States 
court,  as  members  of  the  Parks  pool  on  fiber  and  manila,  and 
his  firm  was  fined  $2,000.  Instead  of  that  stopping  the  operations  of 
these  manufacturers  and  paper  makers  in  fixing  prices  and  in  regu- 
lating output,  they  are  at  it  again.  I  submit  here  a  report  of  the 
Western  Fiber  and  Manila  Association,  which,  under  date  of  No- 
vember 5,  1908,  has  just  advanced  the  price  of  manilas  $3  per  ton  as 


PULP,  AND  PRINT   PAPER JOHN    NORRIS.  5893 

the  result  of  combination.  That  is  merely  preliminary  to  the  other 
proposition.  I  submit  also  a  report  of  the  previous  week  of  the 
Paper  Trade  Journal,  giving  a  statement  of  a  meeting  of  bookmen 
to  discuss  the  unsatisfactory  condition  of  the  trade. 

These  gentlemen  come  here,  not  on  oath,  and  make  statements.  I 
seriously  combat  the  accuracy  of  any  statement  they  have  made  to 
the  effect  that  there  are  no  combinations,  no  agreements,  no  arrange- 
ments, to  restrict  production  or  to  fix  prices. 

I  will  speak,  practically,  for  all  of  the  newspapers.  There  has 
been  somewhat  or  an  understanding  that  I  shall  open,  and  that  then 
the  representatives  of  the  American  Paper  and  Pulp  Association  will 
present  their  side;  and  I  hope  that  I  may  be  given  an  opportunity, 
not  to  answer  them,  but  where  there  are  misstatements  made,  with- 
out going  over  the  ground,  to  call  the  attention  of  the  committee  to 
them. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  will  cross  that  bridge  when  we  come  to  it.  I 
am  afraid  it  will  be  a  good  while  from  now  before  we  get  there. 
[Laughter.] 

Mr.  NORRIS.  All  right.  In  addition  to  myself,  as  representing  the 
newspapers,  there  will  be  representatives  of  the  four  labor  unions 
which  are  employed  by  newspapers,  and  which  feei  the  effect  of  the 
increased  price  of  paper. 

In  submitting  the  views  of  the  American  Newspaper  Publishers' 
Association  upon  the  paper  schedule  of  the  tariff,  I  will  attempt  to 
cover  the  proposition  for  free  pulp  and  free  paper'in  all  its  phases, 
including  the  deception  of  your  committee  and  of  Congress  by  the 
paper  makers  in  1896,  the  failure  of  the  paper  makers  to  give  to 
labor  any  of  the  benefits  of  the  protective  tariff,  the  organization  of 
paper  combinations  in  restraint  of  trade,  the  destruction  of  our  forests 
by  them,  and  their  gigantic  speculations  in  woodlands.  Newspapers 
have  been  made  to  bear  undue  burdens  as  a  result  of  the  advance  in 
1907  of  $12  per  ton  in  the  price  of  paper.  Approximately  1,200,000 
tons  of  news-print  paper  are  used  in  the  United  States  annually, 
costing  consumers  in  excess  of  $50,000,000  per  annum.  As  a  result 
of  the  unjustifiable  advance  of  1907,  one  paper,  the  Baltimore  Amer- 
ican, was  taxed  $60.000  per  annum.  Another  paper,  the  Philadelphia 
Inquirer,  was  taxed  $156,000  per  annum.  Preliminarily  I  call  attention 
to  the  fact  that  because  of  a  labor  dispute  between  the  International 
Paper  Company  and  its  employees,  covering  a  period  of  three  months, 
since  August  1,  1908,  the  output  of  the  market  was  reduced  about 
105,000  tons.  This  curtailment  of  production  has  been  availed  of 
by  paper  makers  generally  to  mark  up  the  price  of  news-print  paper 
this  week  to  $55  per  ton,  New  York,  or  $20  per  ton  in  excess  of  the 
price  which  prevailed  when  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  con- 
sidered this  schedule  twelve  years  ago  and  $15  per  ton  in  excess  of 
the  price  which  would  prevail  under  normal  conditions. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Mr.  Norris,  if  it  will  not  bother  you,  will  you 
state  before  you  make  your  argument,  so  that  we  can  follow  it  along 
the  line  of  your  suggestion,  what  suggestion  you  make  to  the  com- 
mittee as  to  our  future  action  on  this  proposition?  Will  you  state 
what  you  desire  us  to  do? 

Mr.  NORRIS.  Let  me  explain  that  in  a  summary  of  about  twenty 
minutes'  duration  I  substantially  cover  all  of  the  ground,  including 
that  particular  point 


5894  SCHEDULE    M — PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  Mr.  Underwood  wants  to  know  is  what 
amendment  you  suggest  to  the  bill. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  want  to  know  what  suggestion  you  make. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  Free  pulp,  free  paper,  and  reciprocity  with  Canada 
for  free  pulp  wood,  free  paper,  and  free  pulp. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  answers  the  question. 

Mr.  HILL.  Do  you  mean  to  have  all  paper  free,  or  just  news  paper. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  News-print  paper  is  the  particular  matter  for  which  I 
appear. 

Mr.  HILL.  And  that  is  all  for  which  you  make  any  suggestion? 

Mr.  NORRIS.  That  is  all  for  which  I  make  any  suggestion;  but  it  is 
coupled  with  wrapping  paper  and  other  kinds  of  paper,  because  these 
mills  which  make  the  wrapping  paper,  which  make  manila,  are 
equipped  to  make  news-print  paper;  and  when  they  come  together  in 
pools  so  as  to  artificially  stimulate  their  production,  there  is  an  in- 
ducement for  them  to  keep  out  of  the  news-print  paper  market.  I 
will  make  special  reference  to  that  later. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  suggest  that  Mr.  Norris  go  on  and  read  his  state- 
ment. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  Please  note  that  the  publisher — not  the  laborer,  nor 
the  paper  maker — is  asked  to  pay  this  bill  for  industrial  warfare. 
We  will  show  from  its  annual  reports  that  the  International  Paper 
Company,  with  all  of  its  antiquated  outfit  and  its  five  subsidiary 
companies  that  sap  its  earnings,  has  made  an  actual  profit  of  $8.79 
per  ton,  or  29  per  cent,  upon  all  the  paper  it  has  turned  out  in  ten 
years,  and  that  its  cost  of  production  has  been  $30.52  per  ton,  or  $1.51 
per  100  pounds,  and  that  its  average  price  during  the  ten  years  which 
have  elapsed  since  the  passage  of  the  Dingley  bill  has  been  $43.91  per 
ton,  or  $2.19  per  100  pounds  delivered,  an  increase  of  $11.91  per  ton 
over  the  price  at  which  paper  was  sold  when  the  Dingley  bill  was 
passed  July  24,  1897. 

Paper  can  be  made  cheaper  at  Millinocket,  St.  Croix,  and  Berlin 
than  in  Canada.  Labor  is  paid  less  here  than  in  Canada,  and  we  hold 
that  the  protective  principle  provided  for  in  the  Republican  platform 
does  not  apply  to  paper,  because  of  this  treatment  of  labor  by  paper 
makers,  and  because  of  this  cheapness  of  cost  of  home  production  as 
compared  with  foreign  production.  We  will  show  that  the  Dingley 
bill  increased  the  duty  on  ground  wood  45  per  cent  (p.  866)  and  on 
news-print  paper  46  per  cent  (p.  1165),  and  that  the  outcome  of  the 
present  policy  has  been  to  increase  imports  of  pulp  and  to  decrease 
the  exports  of  paper.  There  has  been  a  transformation  in  the  paper 
situation.  Instead  of  exporting  paper,  we  are  importing  pulp. 

We  will  show  that  the  import  duty  on  news-print  paper  has  not 
been  productive  of  revenue  and  that  it  has  furthered  schemes  of 
combination  and  criminal  manipulation  of  the  market.  We  are  pre- 
pared to  show  that  because  of  the  import  duty  of  $6  per  ton,  the  price 
of  news-print  paper  in  the  United  States  has  for  periods  been  raised 
to  a  figure  which  was  $6  per  ton  above  what  it  would  have  been  under 
free  conditions,  and  above  what  it  should  have  been  under  conditions 
that  assume  respect  for  law.  The  paper-manufacturing  business  has 
been  mismanaged,  the  burden  of  which  mismanagement  has  fallen 
upon  the  publishers.  We  are  embarrassed  by  the  chairman's  state- 
ment that  the  Government's  figures  and  studies  of  the  tariff  are  based 
on  prices  quoted  by  trade  papers,  which  the  chairman  said  on  the  floor 


PULP,   AND  PRINT  PAPEE JOHN   NORRIS.  5895 

of  the  House — referring  specially  to  news-print  paper  prices — are 
"  as  accurate  as  accurate  can  be."  YvTe  are  prepared  to  show  the 
utter  worthlessness  of  such  quotations,  as  well  as  the  difficulty  of 
establishing  any  fair  standard  of  comparison,  in  determining  the  cost 
of  production  in  the  United  States  and  abroad. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Mr.  Norris,  did  not  the  chairman  give  the  source 
of  that  information? 

Mr.  NORRIS.  Sure • 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Wait  a  moment.  And  did  not  Mr.  North  state 
that  his  source  of  information  was  from  the  trade  journals,  and  did 
not  the  chairman  state  that  at  the  time? 

Mr.  NORRIS.  He  did ;   but  he  also  gave 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Then  be  fair,  and  state  the  whole  thing. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  But  did  he  not  also  give  it  the  authority  of  his  posi- 
tion, and  his  office,  and  was  it  not  stated  on  the  floor  of  the  House 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  he  stated  was  that  it  was  taken  from  the 
trade  journals. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  But  Mr.  Payne  also  said  that  these  prices  were  "  as 
accurate  as  accurate  can  be."  Now,  I  do  not  desire  to  quarrel  with  the 
chairman.  I  simply  want  to  say,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  that  the  figures 
were  not  accurate. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  chairman  was  making  a  speech.  The  gentle- 
man from  Pennsylvania  sat  at  the  next  seat,  and  when  he  commenced 
to  speak  on  this  subject  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  handed 
him  the  letter  of  Mr.  North,  which  the  chairman  had  never  seen  be- 
fore, and  the  chairman  presented  that  statement  to  the  House;  and 
he  stands  by  what  he  said  in  reference  to  it — that  that  is  the  informa- 
tion that  he  had  upon  the  subject. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  I  do  not  assume 

The  CHAIRMAN.  And  no  one  was  deceived;  much  less  yourself  or 
Mr.  Bitter. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  On  the  contrary.  Do  I  understand  that  the  chairman 
now  says,  or  now  assumes,  or  now  thinks  that  those  figures  are  as  ac- 
curate as  accurate  can  be? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  statement  of  Mr.  North  was  accurate  for  what 
it  purported  to  be.  If  the  trade  journals  did  not  get  it  right,  that  is 
another  instance  of  the  very  small  number  of  cases  in  which  the  news- 
papers of  the  country  make  mistakes  about  statements  of  fact. 
[Laughter.] 

Mr.  NORRIS.  But  it  is  also  an  instance  of  the  basis  and  character  of 
information  upon  which  Congress  legislates  without  due  inquiry  as 
to  the  source  or  accuracy  of  information  upon  which  it  acts. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Congress  was  not  acting  at  that  time.  It  was 
simply  debating  upon  a  statement;  but  perhaps  you  had  better  go  on. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  Yes,  sir. 

We  will  point  out  the  menace  that  hangs  over  the  paper  business  by 
reason  of  the  attitude  of  Canada.  The  increasing  use  of  water  power 
for  electrical  purposes  as  well  as  the  threat  of  prohibition  of  the 
export  of  wood  have  tended  to  stop  the  building  in  the  United  States 
of  new  paper  mills  to  meet  the  increasing  consumption  (p.  907).  We 
will  indicate  how  every  material  American  interest  may  be  promoted 
by  a  reciprocity  arrangement  with  Canada  and  with  Newfoundland, 
providing  for  free  pulp  wood,  free  pulp,  and  free  paper. 
75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 9 


5896  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

We  invoke  your  scrutiny  of  State  Department  records  which  would 
enable  you  to  obtain  an  accurate  list  of  the  dates  of  meetings  of 
American  and  Canadian  manufacturers  at  the  Place  Viger  Hotel, 
Montreal,  and  the  names  of  the  participants,  for  purposes  which  are 
obvious;  also  the  membership  of  a  combination  of  interests  that 
center  at  Three  Eivers,  Canada,  including  the  International  Paper 
Company ;  also  calling  attention  to  a  contract  of  10.000  tons  of  Cana- 
dian news-print  paper  made  at  $35  per  ton  for  one  year,  beginning 
February  1,  1908,  by  the  Belgo-Canadian  Company,  of  Shawinigan 
Falls,  with  S.  A.  Cook,  of  Neenah,  Wis.,  president  of  the  Alexandria 
Pulp  and  Paper  Company,  of  Indiana,  which  would  have  helped  to 
relieve  the  shortage  in  the  American  market,  but  which  was  driven 
out  of  the  country  and  delivered  to  Lloyd,  of  London  and  elsewhere, 
by  threats  of  the  New  York  paper  men  to  destroy  the  trade  of  the 
Canadian  mill  in  the  event  of  its  delivery  in  the  United  States.  Sum- 
mon Mr.  Cook  and  ascertain  from  him  how  much  he  has  paid  toward 
a  settlement  of  that  transaction  which  contributed  to  maintain  an 
artificial  price  for  paper,  and  to  tax  every  American  publisher  whose 
expiring  contract  was  renewed.  Also,  how  the  Canadian  government 
made  a  gift  of  400  square  miles  to  the  Berlin  Mills  Company  as  an 
inducement  for  the  building  of  a  paper  mill  at  La  Tuque,  Ca^da. 

We  are  prepared  to  show  that  in  1907,  at  a  time  when  the  demand 
was  large  and  production  was  overlapping  consumption,  that  Mr. 
John  A.  Davis  bought  up  over  20,000  tons  of  news-print  paper  and 
starved  the  market. 

We  will  show  that  in  1907,  when  its  total  actual  cost  of  making 
paper,  including  labor,  had  increased  only  64  cents  per  ton,  the  Inter- 
national Paper  Company,  without  jurisdiction,  advanced  prices  $10 
and  $12  per  ton. 

We  will  show  that  the  International  Paper  Company  is  producing 
300  tons  per  day  less  of  news-print  paper  than  was  produced  by  the 
mills  which  it  consolidated,  and  that  it  has  either  sold,  leased,  stopped. 
or  diverted  to  other  uses  more  than  46  of  the  111  machines  which  it 
originally  acquired. 

The  paper  makers  lacked  in  appreciation  of  their  obligations  to 
Congress,  because  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  an  industry  which  is  an 
object  of  protection  is  bound  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  consumers.  The 
United  States  Steel  Corporation  has  recognized  this  obligation  by 
an  expenditure  of  several  hundred  million  dollars  within  a  few  years 
for  new  construction,  but  the  International  Paper  Company,  having 
decreased  its  daily  output  and  restricted  production,  has  proved  itself 
unworthy  of  your  consideration. 

We  are  prepared  to  show  the  methods  of  high  finance  which  capi- 
talized at  excessive  figures  a  collection  of  antiquated  mills  located  on 
exhausted  water  courses  tributary  to  denuded  forests.  The  Interna- 
tional Paper  Company  is  capitalized  on  a  basis  which  is  three  times 
that  of  the  cost  of  the  St.  Kegis  plant.  It  represents  $35,000.000  of 
watered  capital  which  its  customers  must  carry.  On  a  capital  of 
$69,000,000  it  does  a  business  of  $20,000,000  per  annum  and  requiring 
nearly  three  and  one-half  years  to  turn  over  its  capital  in  manu- 
facturing. 

We  will  show  you  the  depletion  of  our  spruce  supply  and  the  abso- 
lute inability  of  the  United  States  to  provide  for  the  needs  of  the 


PULP,  AND  PEINT  PAPER JOHN   NORRTS.  5897 

paper  industries.  We  will  show  you  the  impossibility  of  meeting  this 
situation  by  reforestization  because  of  the  time  required  to  mature 
spruce  forests,  and  because  of  forest  fires,  and  because  of  taxes  on 
standing  timber. 

We  will  show  you  that  the  International  Paper  Company  and 
other  beneficiaries  of  the  tariff  on  pulp  and  paper  have  involved  them- 
selves in  gigantic  speculations  in  woodlands  in  Canada  whereby 
money  that  should  have  been  devoted  to  the  expansion  and  better- 
ment of  American  mills  has  been  diverted  to  Canadian  woodlands 
which  can  not  be  made  available  for  use  by  present  owners  during  the 
next  thirty  years.  We  will  give  details  of  the  acquirement  of  over 
12,000  square  miles  of  tracts  in  the  Province  of  Quebec  alone. 

The  newspapers  represented  in  the  American  Newspaper  Pub- 
lishers' Association  are  divided  about  equally  between  the  two  politi- 
cal parties.  They  represent  many  views  on  many  subjects.  They 
are  substantially  unanimous,  however,  in  asking  that  the  duty  on 
pulp  and  paper  be  removed.  The  canvass  made  by  the  Mann  com- 
mittee shows  that  715  newspapers  replying  to  its  inquiry,  651  fa- 
vored the  removal  of  tariff  and  64  opposed,  and  that  the  Kepublican 
papers  favoring  removal  outnumbered  the  Democratic  papers  which 
advocated  removal. 

Unlike  all  other  subjects  of  tariff  taxation,  users  of  news-print 
paper  can  not  pass  along  the  burden  to  the  consumer.  The  price  of 
a  newspaper,  like  the  price  of  a  postage  stamp,  is  fixed.  A  publisher 
can  not  raise  and  lower  his  j>rice  when  the  price  of  news-print  paper 
advances  or  falls.  Neither  is  it  possible  to  shift  the  burden  to  ad- 
vertisers because  of  the  methods  of  the  paper  makers  who  make  long- 
time contracts  with  some  newspapers  at  low  prices,  and  refuse  to 
make  the  same  contracts  with  other  papers.  They  also  make  con- 
tracts that  expire  at  varying  dates.  As  a  result  of  this  overlapping 
of  contracts,  it  would  be  rarely,  if  ever,  possible  to  shift  the  burden 
of  increased  cost  to  advertisers.  In  a  city  where  a  Hearst  paper  was 
paying  $37.60  per  ton  to  the  International  Paper  Company  under  a 
ten-year  contract,  do  you  think  that  another  publication  subjected  to 
a  $50  per  ton  charge  by  the  same  company,  could  afford  to  raise  its 
price  or  increase  its  advertising  rates  without  the  Hearst  coopera- 
tion? Could  it  expect  to  obtain  cooperation  under  such  conditions? 
The  proposition  that  newspapers  increase  their  price  as  was  urged 
by  the  general  manager  of  the  International  Paper  Company  (p.  734) 
would  mean  this:  That  every  purchaser  would  pay  1  cent  per  day 
additional,  or  $3  per  annum  for  approximately  20,000.000  copies  per 
day.  or  $60,000,000  in  all.  Thus  it  is  proposed  that  the  readers  of 
newspapers  should  pay  a  tax  of  $60,000,000  in  order  that  a  group  of 
paper  makers  might  take  four  or  five  million  dollars  from  the  pock- 
ets of  the  people  through  the  publishers. 

Newspapers  are  entitled  to  consideration  from  you  upon  that  score 
even  if  you  ignore  the  extraordinary  function  they  perform  in  dis- 
seminating intelliegnce,  in  promoting  knowledge,  and  in  facilitatir/g 
the  work  of  government.  Those  citizens  are  the  best  citizens  who  are 
in  complete  touch  with  the  work  of  administration  and  the  further- 
ance of  the  newpaper's  mission  is  worthy  of  your  serious  effort.  An 
increase  in  the  consumption  of  paper  is  due  to  the  increasing  intelli- 
gence of  the  people. 


5898  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

According  to  the  best  available  information,  it  is  calculated  that 
all  the  paper  mills  have  capacity  to  turn  out  about  14,885  tons  per  day, 
or  4,546,920  tons  per  annum,  as  follows : 

Tons  per  day. 

News 4,200 

Book 1,900 

Boards 3,300 

[Wrapping  (manila,  fiber  and  straw) 2,850 

Writing 1,400 

Roofing  and  sheathing 610 

Tissue 290 

Hanging 275 

Blotting- 60 


Total 14,885 

Seven  concerns  practically  control  the  output  of  71  mills  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  news-print  paper.  Their  daily  capacity  may  be 
computed  at  4,342  tons  per  day,  as  follows : 

Tons  per  day. 

International  Paper  Company 1,  416 

Great  Northern 450 

Berlin   Mills 225 

W.  H.  Parsons  &  Co 170 

H.  G.  Craig  &  Co.,  selling  agents 500 

Western  interests  formerly  associated  with  General  Paper  Company 729 

3  mills  in  Michigan  and  New  York 120 


Total 3,610 

Pacific  coast  (2  concerns) 280 

Mills  not  primarily  devoted  to  news 301 

Scattered  hi  7  States 365 


Total 4,  556 

In  any  contest  with  Canada  the  publishers  who  pay  for  the  paper 
must  ultimately  bear  the  burden  of  that  struggle,  not  the  paper 
makers  who  have  exhausted  the  domestic  supply  of  pulp  wood. 
These  paper  makers  have  gone  to  Canada  where  there  are  from 
200,000,000  to  550,000,000  acres  of  timber,  largely  spruce,  and  they 
have  invested  many  millions  in  Canadian  woodlands.  The  Interna- 
tional Paper  Company  owns  approximately  four  and  one-half  million 
acres,  or  nearly  7,000  square  miles  of  Canadian  and  American  tracts. 
The  American  paper  makers  are  importing  free  of  duty  about 
1,000,000  cords  of  pulp  wood  per  annum.  I  am  told  that  23  important 
news-print  paper  mills  in  the  United  States  get  substantially  all  of 
their  wood  from  Canada.  The  Ontario  authorities,  to  block  the 
scheme  of  conteryailing  duty  which  was  incorporated  in  the  Dingley 
bill,  have  prohibited  the  export  of  pulp  wood  cut  from  crown  lands, 
and  in  that  way  they  have  deprived  all  the  western  mills  of  a  cheap 
and  ample  supply  of  raw  material.  In  the  Province  of  Quebec,  a  tax 
of  65  cents  per  cord  is  imposed  on  all  pulp  wood  cut  from  crown  lands 
with  a  rebate  of  40  cents  if  the  wood  is  put  into  manufactured  form 
in  Quebec.  Our  courts  have  decided  that  that  rebate  arrangement 
constituted  an  export  tax  of  25  cents  per  cord  on  wood  pulp,  and  you 
have  therefore  imposed  a  countervailing  duty  under  the  provisions  of 
the  Dingley  law  upon  all  paper  manufactured  from  wood  cut  on 
crown  lands  in  the  Province  of  Quebec.  The  burden  of  proving  that 
it  was  not  cut  from  crown  lands  is  thrust  upon  the  importer. 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPEE JOHN   NOEBIS.  5899 

The  Canadian  paper  makers  and  the  Canadian  authorities  say  they 
are  annoyed  by  the  attitude  of  the  American  Government.  The 
Canadian  paper  makers  are  clamoring  for  the  prohibition  of  the  ex- 
port of  pulp  wood  from  the  Province  of  Quebec,  as  from  the  Province 
of  Ontario.  They  have  formally  submitted  their  request  to  the 
Dominion  government,  and  the  pressure  from  them  upon  it  is  very 
strong.  Serious  consequences  to  American  paper  makers  are  imminent. 
Every  American  paper  maker  who  testified  before  the  Mann  com- 
mittee agreed  that  the  prohibition  of  pulp-wood  export  by  Canada 
would  bring  disaster  to  the  trade.  It  would  close  many  mills,  and 
would  force  the  manufacturer  into  Canada.  The  president  of  the 
American  Paper  and  Pulp  Association,  David  S.  Cowles,  on  Septem- 
ber 13,  1907,  sent  to  all  editors  of  American  newspapers  a  circular  let- 
ter calling  attention  to  the  Canadian  threats  and  bewailing  the  possi- 
bilities of  what  he  regarded  as  confiscation  of  American  investments 
in  Canada  in  the  event  of  the  adoption  of  the  prohibitory  programme. 
That  document  was  printed  in  the  records  of  the  Mann  committee, 
although  an  officer  of  the  International  Paper  Company  asked  that 
committee  to  suppress  its  publication.  (P.  2014.)  That  gentleman, 
Chester  TV.  Lyman,  who  is  assistant  to  the  president  of  the  Interna- 
tional Paper  Company,  and  who  is  an  agent  of  all  the  paper  makers, 
took  an  amazing  position  in  another  letter  sent  on  the  day  of  his  re- 
quest for  suppression.  (P.  2013.)  He  said  there  was  an  adequate 
supply  of  wood  left  in  the  United  States  and  that  there  were  unde- 
veloped water  powers  in  the  United  States  sufficient  for  paper  making 
purposes.  He  made  this  declaration  notwithstanding  the  annual  im- 
portation of  nearly  a  million  cords  of  pulp  wood  from  Canada  by  the 
paper  makers,  and  the  investment  of  more  than  $12,000,000  by  them 
in  Canadian  woodlands.  In  other  communications  this  representative 
argued  that  the  paper  makers  were  not  primarily  responsible  for  the 
rapid  destruction  of  our  forests ;  that  paper  makers  took  only  3  or  4 
per  cent  of  the  total  slaughter,  and  that  the  wicked  lumbermen  and  the 
folks  who  started  the  forest  fires  were  responsible  for  whatever  damage 
had  been  done  to  the  country's  resources.  Therefore,  it  would  be  in- 
ferred, it  was  not  necessary  for  the  American  paper  maker  to  go  to 
Canada  for  his  wood  supply,  and  upon  that  proposition  we  have 
diametrically  opposite  views  from  the  paper-mill  representatives. 

The  Canadian  government  is  awaiting  your  action  before  decid- 
ing upon  its  course.  If  you  attempt  to  appropriate  its  pulp  wood 
without  some  concessions  to  the  manufacturers  of  that  pulp  wood, 
then  you  invite  a  trade  war.  Here,  now,  you  have  a  distinct  menace 
to  an  important  industry — a  menace  that  would  carry  serious  conse- 
quences to  the  users  of  paper,  causing  violent  disturbances  in  paper 
prices,  and  a  paper  famine.  You  would  put  a  premium  upon  the  de- 
struction of  more  of  our  forests  with  all  the  baleful  climatic  condi- 
tions that  follow  such  shortsighted  methods.  The  reciprocal  rela- 
tions of  the  two  countries  are  so  extended  and  complex  that  the  in- 
terests which  both  possess  in  mutual  trade  and  the  necessity  imposed 
upon  each  side  for  amiable  intercourse  should  induce  everyone  to  ap- 
proach this  matter  in  a  spirit  of  fairness  and  neighborly  comity. 
Are  we  to  tangle  our  railroad  interchanges,  our  trade  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  millions  per  annum  with  that  neighbor,  in  order  that  we 
may  more  quickly  slaughter  so  much  of  pur  forests  as  remain?  Are 
we  to  start  upon  a  retaliation  and  industrial  warfare  to  insure  another 


5900  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

lease  of  opportunity  for  those  groups  of  lawbreakers  who  have  done 
violence  to  every  sound  principle  of  trade  in  their  efforts  to  crush 
competition,  to  restrict  production,  and  to  impose  upon  the  people  a 
monopoly  of  an  article  that  is  essential  to  the  dissemination  of 
knowledge?  I  am  not  willing  to  believe  that  an  American  Congress 
will  give  heed  to  any  such  proposition.  On  the  contrary,  I  believe 
that  this  committee  would  approve  of  any  plan  by  which  a  solution 
of  this  situation  would  be  reached.  In  the  recent  political  campaign 
in  Canada  it  was  announced  that  the  government  would  refer  the 
proposition  for  an  export  duty  on  pulp  wood  to  a  commission  for  ad- 
justment. Why  not  utilize  the  information  and  studies  of  your  Se- 
lect Committee  on  Paper  and  Pulp  which  has  been  digging  into  this 
matter  for  six  months  and  arrange  through  the  State  Department  for 
informal  conferences?  I  am  confident  that,  as  a  result  of  such  action, 
you  will  recommend  the  plan  outlined  in  H.  R.  22237,  introduced  by 
Mr.  Mann  upon  request,  providing  for  reciprocity  with  Canada. 
That  bill  was  prepared  in  the  State  Department  and  was  passed 
upon  in  the  Treasury  Department.  Its  language  is  that  of  section  3 
of  the  Dingley  bill,  with  the  substitution  of  pulp  and  paper  for  argols, 
etc.  It  follows  the  recommendation  of  President  Roosevelt  to  Con- 
gress, and  it  adopts  the  safeguards  and  precautions  suggested  by  the 
report  of  the  majority  of  the  Select  Committee  on  Pulp  and  Paper 
Investigation,  whereby  American  paper  makers  will  be  insured  pro- 
tection from  hostile  action  by. Canada  in  the  event  of  the  removal  of 
any  duty  by  you.  In  short,  that  Canada  will  not  attempt  to  impose 
any  export  duty  on  pulp  and  paper  and  pulp  wood  in  the  event  of 
the  abolition  of  our  import  duty  on  pulp  and  paper. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Is  that  the  bill  introduced  by  Mr.  Mann,  of  Illi- 
nois, by  request? 

Mr.  NORRIS.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  By  request? 

Mr.  NORRIS.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  could  draw  a  good  deal  better  bill  than  that. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  You  will  have  to  reframe  the  Dingley  bill,  then,  be- 
cause it  is  absolutely  the  language  of  section  3  of  the  Dingley  bill, 
which  I  think  you  had  some  part  in,  and  for  which  you  are  measure- 
ably  responsible,  certainly  as  to  its  phraseology. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  could  make  a  bill  that  would  insure  much  more 
protection  against  Canada  than  any  provision  of  that  kind. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  But  that  means  a  trade  war,  and  I  doubt  if  even  the 
chairman  of  this  committee  wants  to  invite  or  precipitate  anything 
of  that  sort.  I  am  quite  sure  he  has  no  such  disposition. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  As  to  do  what? 

Mr.  NORRIS.  As  to  invite  or  precipitate  a  trade  war  with  Canada. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Certainly  not. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  Certainly  not. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  are  agreed  on  that  entirely.  I  do  not  think 
there  is  any  danger  of  that. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  Well,  we  must  carry  the  load,  if  there  is  danger. 
With  your  ideas  about  it,  if  you  should  so  decide,  we  must  bear  the 
consequences. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  do  not  know  what  my  ideas  are  about  it. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  I  have  no  doubt  that  before  we  get  through  to-night 
you  will  be  for  free  pulp  and  free  paper. 


PULP,  AND  PEINT  PAPER JOHN  NORRIS.         5901 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  suggestion  was  made  to-day  that  when  this 
bill  comes  out  of  the  committee  it  will  probably  come  out  in  the 
shape  of  a  maximum  and  minimum  tariff  bill.  What  have  you  to 
say  on  that  subject,  in  the  light  of  that  statement? 

Mr.  NORRIS.  Will  you  permit  me  first  to  take  up  the  division  of 
"  labor,"  and  of  "  wood  and  forestry,"  and  then  of  the  tariff,  and  then 
of  combinations,  so  that  I  may  cover  the  points  which  I  understand 
were  deep  in  the  chairman's  mind,  that  labor  must  be  protected  and 
that  the  cost  of  production  must  be  insured? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Certainly. 


LABOR. 


Mr.  NORRIS.  Simple  arithmetic  will  determine  the  question  whether 
or  not  the  paper  makers  have  given  to  labor  any  share  of  your  tariff 
benefaction.  In  New  York  State,  which  is  the  largest  paper-making 
State  in  the  Union,  the  state  bureau  of  labor  (p.  359)  gathered  re- 
ports in  1906  from  every  branch  of  organized  male  labor  in  that 
State,  and  the  figures  showed  that  2,786  organized  workers  in  "  paper 
and  paper  goods  "  received  less  than  any  other  class  of  organized 
labor  (exhibit).  Paper  workers  received  an  average  of  $10.94  per 
week,  or  $1.82  per  day,  for  skilled  and  unskilled  labor  combined.  The 
proportion  of  skilled  labor  receiving  $3  per  day  was  less  than  9  per 
cent  of  the  total  number  employed. 

In  the  State  of  Massachusetts  in  the  year  1905  (see  p.  371)  13,364 
persons  engaged  in  the  paper  industry  received  an  average  of  $9.06 
per  week,  or  $3.51  per  day,  and  in  the  year  1906  they  received  an 
average  of  $1.53  per  day. 

In  the  State  of  Wisconsin  (p.  703)  44  establishments,  employing 
5,384  persons,  reported  that  the  average  yearly  wage  was  $462.01, 
equaling  $1.48  per  day,  and  for  1907  the  pay  was  less  than  in  any 
one  of  the  three  years  preceding. 

The  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  at  Washington,  for  July,  1907, 
on  page  3  (pp.  372  and  719  of  Hearings)  shows  that  of  41  industries 
employing  334,107  persons  whose  earnings  were  reported  the  only  in- 
dustry in  which  the  pay  of  labor  had  been  reduced  in  1906,  as  com- 
pared with  1904  and  1905,  was  paper.  The  hours  of  labor  in  that  in- 
dustry were  also  increased  in  that  year. 

The  census  report  for  1905  shows  (p.  372)  that  65,694  persons  em- 
ployed in  the  paper  trade  received  an  average  of  $9.32  per  week,  or 
$1.55  per  day. 

The  paper  makers  based  their  increase  in  price  of  news  print  paper 
to  $50  per  ton  in  1907,  upon  the  representation  that  the  cost  of 
labor  had  been  increased  50  per  cent  by  reason  of  the  change  of  tours 
from  twelve  hours  per  day  to  eight  hours  (p.  733).  It  now  appears 
by  the  records  of  the  American  Paper  and  Pulp  Association  (p.  1743) 
that  only  29  mills  had  changed  to  the  three-tour  eight-hour  system 
and  that  215  had  continued  on  the  twelve-hour  basis. 

The  data  submitted  by  various  paper  companies  throws  an  inter- 
esting side  light  on  the  relative  pay  of  labor.  At  the  Hudson  River 
mill  of  the  International  Paper  Company  the  cost  of  labor  per  ton  of 
paper  produced  was  $1.13  per  ton  less  under  the  eight-hour  system 
than  under  the  twelve-hour  system,  and  that  fact  taken  in  conjunc- 
tion with  others  found  in  the  reports  of  the  paper  companies  would 


5902  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEBS,  AND  BOOKS. 

confirm  the  belief  that  better  paid  labor  is  the  cheaper  labor  in  the 
long  rim. 

The  Remington-Martin  Company  figures  of  labor  cost  for  the  year 
1907,  while  approximating  those  of  the  International  Paper  Com- 
pany for  the  same  year  were  less  than  in  the  year  1906,  when  the 
twelve-hour  system  prevailed.  The  total  cost  of  labor  in  all  of  the 
mills  of  the  International  Paper  Company  in  the  year  1907  under  the 
3-tour  system  increased  only  34  cents  per  ton  over  the  cost  of  1903, 
and  only  66  cents  per  ton,  or  8  per  cent  (not  50),  over  the  cost  of 
1905,  when  the  twelve-hour  system  prevailed  (p.  1977]. 

The  cost  sheets  submitted  by  various  paper  companies  to  the  Mann 
committee  for  the  year  1907  showed  extraordinary  discrepancies,  as 
follows : 

Labor  cost 
per  ton. 

Gould  (New  York)  mill,  12-hour  system $8.53 

Cloquet  mill  (Minnesota),  12-hour  system 11.57 

Park  Falls  (Wisconsin),  12-hour  system 10.56 

Remington-Martin  (New  York),  8-hour  system 8.53 

International  Paper  Company    (New  York  and  New  England),  8-hour 
system 8.  52 

It  would  appear  from  these  figures  that  the  western  paper  mills 
could  not  make  paper  as  cheaply  as  eastern  mills,  and  the  eastern 
mills,  working  on  the  eight-hour  system  could  show  a  saving  of  from 
$2  to  $3  per  ton  in  the  comparisons.  It  is  possible  that  the  excessive 
labor  cost  of  the  western  paper  mills  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  em- 
ploy boys  to  operate  their  paper  machines.  The  Mann  committee  in  its 
visits  to  over  19  paper  mills  in  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  found  very 
few  grown  men.  It  saw  many  15-year-old  boys  who  were  working 
thirteen  hours  for  six  nights.  At  one  mill,  Combined  Locks  (p.  2103) , 
the  night  force  worked  fourteen  hours.  Two  15 -year-old  boys  at  one 
mill  in  Neenah,  Wis.,  were  working  as  members  of  the  crew  on  a 
paper  machine  at  the  rate  of  8£  cents  and  10  cents  an  hour,  respec- 
tively. Workers  in  George  A.  Whiting's  mill  at  that  place  received 
pay  varying  from  90  cents  to  $1.10  per  day.  Women,  who  were  sort- 
ing rags,  were  paid  $4.50  per  week  by  men  who  pose  as  leading  citi- 
zens. Paper-mill  workers  in  the  Fox  River  Valley  were  paid  14£ 
cents  per  hour  for  sixty-five  hours  per  week,  or  $9.52  per  week. 

Mr.  Cowles,  the  president  of  the  American  Paper  and  Pulp  Asso- 
ciation, had  declared  to  Congress  that  the  cost  of  labor  in  the  paper 
mills  had  increased  from  30  to  70  per  cent  in  ten  years,  and  that  a 
large  part  of  this  increase  had  taken  place  in  past  two  years;  but 
when  the  labor  cost  figures  of  his  own  mill  were  dissected  it  appeared 
that  the  labor  cost  was  12.21  cents  per  100  pounds  in  December,  1906, 
under  the  twelve-hour  system,  and  12.68  cents  in  December,  1907, 
under  the  eight-hour  system,  an  increase  of  less  than  4  per  cent  (not 
30  nor  70)  in  his  mill.  Comparative  tables  printed  in  the  Paper  Mill 
of  July  6,  1907,  showing  the  operations  of  a  typical  paper  mill  in 
the  West,  disclosed  the  fact  that  its  labor  cost  had  increased  less  than 
2  per  cent  in  ten  years.  There  were  numerous  factors  that  contrib- 
uted to  keep  down  the  cost  of  producing  a  ton  of  paper.  The  width 
of  machines  had  increased  in  ten  years  from  100  and  120  to  150  and 
160  inches;  their  speed  had  increased  from  350  and  400  feet  to  550 
and  600  feet.  The  daily  product  of  a  paper  machine  had  been  in- 
creased from  20  tons  to  45  tons.  The  labor  mill  workers  contend,  and 


PULP,  AND  PEINT  PAPEK JOHN   NOKKIS.  5903 

with  some  justification,  that  the  pulp  mill  will  grind  more  pulp  when 
the  men  work  eight  hours  than  when  they  work  twelve  hours. 

Upon  the  question  of  the  comparative  pay  of  paper-mill  labor  in  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  I  refer  you  to  the  statement  of  George 
Chahoon,  jr.,  manager  of  the  Laurentide  Paper  Company,  of  Canada 
(p.  805),  and  of  Mr.  Carl  Riordpn,  of  the  Riordon  Paper  Mills,  of 
Merriton  and  Hawkesbury,  Ontario  (p.  805),  and  of  Mr.  F.  B.  Lynch, 
of  Minneapolis,  who  testified  in  October,  and  of  Mr.  Cowles,  presi- 
dent of  the  American  Paper  and  Pulp  Association  (p.  908),  all  of 
whom  said  that  the  Canadian  mills  pay  as  high  and  higher  wages 
than  are  paid  in  the  United  States.  Practically  all  skilled  labor  in 
these  mills  comes  from  the  United  States,  and  the  inducement  of 
higher  pay  must  be  made  to  attract  them  there. 

In  comparing  relative  pay  with  Canada,  Mr.  Cowles  said :  "  If 
anything,  I  should  say  that  labor  is  higher  in  Canada  than  it  is  in 
the  United  States." 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  mean  skilled  labor? 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  mean  skilled  labor  and  cheap  labor,  both.  That  was  not 
formerly  so,  but  it  is  so  to-day.  That  is  my  own  experience  and  my  own  ob- 
servation. 

Consul  Worman,  of  Three  Rivers  (p.  1991),  reported  to  the  State 
Department  that  "  labor  in  the  Canadian  mills  is  as  high  as  in  the 
United  States,  yea,  oftentimes  even  higher.  The  skilled  mechanics 
are  Americans  who  receive  higher  wages  as  an  inducement  to  leave 
their  home  and  country." 

More  than  100,000  newspaper  employees  have  sent  appeals  to  Con- 
gress and  the  President  asking  for  the  abolition  of  the  duty  on  pulp 
and  paper.  Upon  what  theory  can  you  claim  to  give  protection  and 
benefactions  to  paper-mill  employees  who  do  not  treat  their  labor 
properly,  while  you  refuse  it  to  newspaper  publishers  who  pay  to 
their  employees  an  average  wage  that  is  about  three  times  the  amount 
paid  by  the  paper  makers?  The  entire  amount  paid  to  paper-mill 
labor  producing  news-print  paper  will  not  exceed  $9,000,000  per 
annum.  Yet  the  paper  makers  who  profess  such  anxiety  for  their 
labor  ask  you  to  add  to  the  losses  of  compositors,  pressmen,  and  stere- 
otypers,  and  photo-engravers,  whose  enforced  idleness  in  the  last  year, 
partially  because  of  the  high  price  of  paper  and  its  reduced  consump- 
tion, will  more  than  equal  the  total  pay  of  these  paper-mill  employees. 

Instead  of  giving  to  labor  the  rewards  which  protection  was  de- 
signed to  confer,  the  paper  makers  have  treated  their  labor  worse 
than  any  other  industry  has  done.  Since  the  1st  of  August,  1908,  a 
protracted  struggle  was  carried  on  between  the  International  Paper 
Company  and  its  employees  over  a  question  of  a  reduction  of  5  per 
cent  in  wages — the  contest  entailing  a  loss  in  labor  and  other  items 
exceeding  $1,000,000,  all  of  which  must  ultimately  be  borne  by  the 
newspaper  publishers,  under  the  provisions  of  your  tariff  schedule. 

WOOD. 

I  now  approach  the  subject  of  wood  and  forestry. 

In  presenting  estimates  of  standing  timber  in  the  United  States,  I 
do  so  with  misgivings  of  the  accuracy  of  every  government  estimate 
in  that  direction.  Two  recent  experiences  of  the  worthlessness  of 
such  statements  make  me  incredulous  of  all  of  them.  Subject  to  this 


5904  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

reservation,  I  state  that  spruce  constitutes  70  per  cent  of  the  wood 
used  in  paper  making.  Government  reports  of  1906  declare  that  the 
State  of  Maine  supplied  over  one-third  of  the  spruce  used,  and  more 
than  double  the  quantity  furnished  by  its  closest  competitor,  the  State 
of  Washington.  The  spruce  of  New  York  State  has  fallen  off  re- 
cently, and  that  of  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont  has  decreased  about 
one-half  since  1899.  These  four  States  in  the  Northeast  furnished  60 
per  cent  of  the  timber,  "Washington  and  Oregon  20  per  cent,  the  Vir- 
ginias 10  per  cent,  and  the  rest  of  the  country  10  per  cent.  The  State 
of  Minnesota,  about  whose  supply  of  spruce  much  has  been  said,  sup- 
plied only  one-sixtieth  of  the  total  cut.  About  three-fifths  as  much 
spruce  was  used  for  pulp  as  for  lumber  in  the  United  States  in  1906. 
Paper  makers  cut  over  1,830  square  miles  every  year  to  provide  wood  for 
pulp  and  paper  mills.  We  import  from  Canada  for  the  same  purpose 
the  timber  from  338  square  miles,  so  that  our  paper  mills  strip  alto- 
gether 2,168  square  miles  every  year.  Of  this  stripping,  approxi- 
mately one-third,  or  700  square  miles,  is  for  mechanical  ground  wood 
and  two-thirds,  or  1,400  square  miles,  is  for  chemical  pulp. 

New  York  State  consumes  over  a  million  and  a  quarter  cords  of 
wood  in  the  manufacture  of  pulp,  or  more  than  twice  as  much  as 
Maine,  which  ranks  next.  The  amount  of  pulp  wood  used  in  the 
United  States  ir  the  calendar  year  1907,  reported  by  250  mills,  was 
approximately  4,000,000  cords.  Forty-five  per  cent  of  this  quantity 
was  domestic  spruce  and  23  per  cent  spruce  imported  from  Canada. 
Fifteen  per  cent  was  hemlock,  9  per  cent  poplar,  and  8  per  cent  was 
said  to  be  made  up  of  pine,  cpttonwood,  balsam,  and  other  woods. 

The  Census  Bureau  has  pointed  out  (Bulletin  77)  that  the  inroad 
into  the  remaining  supply  of  spruce  is  rapid,  and  that  the  concentra- 
tion of  much  of  the  stand  into  extensive  holdings  of  pulp  manufac- 
turers explains  a  substantial  rise  in  the  cost  of  lumber  stumpage.  I 
hesitate  to  give  estimates  of  standing  spruce,  because  estimates  and 
conditions  vary  widely. 

The  fact  that  the  principal  users  of  spruce  have  bought  over  12,000 
square  miles  of  timber  tracts  in  the  Province  of  Quebec  alone  would 
indicate  their  fear  of  a  shortage,  though  evidences  of  a  gigantic 
speculation  in  woodlands  are  numerous  and  strong.  The  Interna- 
tional Paper  Company,  with  approximately  7,000  square  miles,  or 
four  and  a  half  million  acres,  of  timber  lands  under  its  control,  turns 
out  about  1,600  tons  of  paper  per  day.  The  vice-president  of  the 
Great  Northern  Paper  Company  has  laid  it  down  as  an  accepted 
formula  of  the  trade  that  1,000  acres  of  spruce  will  produce  per- 
petually enough  wood  to  turn  out  one  ton  of  paper  per  day.  Forester 
Pinchot  was  inclined  to  look  upon  this  basis  of  computation  as  cor- 
rect. Applying  the  formula  to  the  International  Paper  Company's 
holdings,  it  would  appear  that  that  company  has  acquired  about  three 
times  the  area  necessary  for  a  perpetual  supply  on  the  basis  of  its 
present  production.  If  the  company  should  cut  its  pulp- wood  supply 
from  its  own  lands,  there  might  be  some  justification  for  a  contention 
that  that  immense  acreage  was  necessary  to  safeguard  its  future  sup- 
ply. But  it  cuts  from  its  own  lands  only  25  per  cent  of  the  wood  it 
uses,  buying  75  per  cent  upon  the  market.  It  therefore  cuts  only  one- 
twelfth  of  that  which  its  acreage  would  permit,  and  it  is  obviously 
engaged  in  the  business  of  speculating  in  woodlands  instead  of 
making  paper.  A  confirmation  of  this  view  of  its  methods  is  shown 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER — JOHN   NORRIS.  5905 

in  the  statement  it  submitted  to  the  Mann  committee,  wherein  it 
claimed  that  it  had  woodlands  worth  $13,493,315,  though  its  annual 
statement  for  June  30,  1908,  placed  the  book  value,  and  assumedly 
the  actual  cost  value,  of  these  woodlands  at  $3,697,560,  showing  an 
estimated  profit  of  nearly  ten  million  "dollars  on  that  speculation. 
Every  purchaser  of  paper  from  that  company  is  forced  to  pay  ap- 
proximately 2£  cents  per  100  pounds  as  a  contribution  toward  the 
carrying  charges  of  that  venture.  Incidentally,  I  may  point  out  that 
in  the  valuation  of  its  properties  it  claimed  that  it  had  194,592  horse- 
power of  undeveloped  water  powers  which  it  valued  at  $9,729,600. 
Here  is  another  venture  to  which  paper  users  must  contribute  for 
carrying  purposes,  these  undeveloped  water  powers  and  these  vast 
timber  tracts  having  been  acquired  to  stop  others  from  competing 
with  it  in  the  manufacture  of  paper. 

Mr.  HILL.  May  I  ask  if  you  refer  to  the  35,000,000  of  which  you 
spoke  a  while  ago  as  undeveloped  water  power  ? 

Mr.  NORRIS.  Oh,  no— no !    That  has  been  worked  to  the  limit. 

The  worst  phase  of  its  business  is  the  use  of  adjunct  companies  to 
hide  its  actual  operations.  It  buys  much  of  its  wood  from  the  St. 
Maurice  Lumber  Company,  in  Canada,  which  it  owns  and  controls.  It 
has  three  or  four  adjunct  companies  in  the  United  States  and  Canada 
which  completely  baffle  an  audit  of  its  wood  accounts.  These  adjunct 
companies  are:  St.  Maurice  Lumber  Company,  Champlain  Eealty 
Company,  Michigan  Pulp  Wood  Company,  American  Realty  Com- 
pany, and  Miramichi  Lumber  Company. 

In  shipping  pulp  wood  from  Canada  it  has  not  had  any  incentive 
to  undervalue  the  export  because  there  was  no  duty  upon  it.  For 
years  the  International  Paper  Company  has  been  certifying  to  the 
Canadian  government  that  the  pulp  wood  shipped  by  it  from  Canada 
to  the  United  States  was  valued  at  less  than  $5  per  cord.  The  values 
fixed  by  paper  makers  upon  all  the  pulp  wood  send  out  from  Canada 
have  been  as  follows: 

Per  cord. 

1905 $4.  38 

1906 4.  31 . 

1907 4.  37 

These  figures,  which  show  an  actual  reduction  in  value  in  1907  as 
compared  with  1905,  throw  doubt  and  suspicion  upon  that  company's 
figures  of  cost  and  profit,  and  suggest  an  inquiry  into  the  relations  of 
the  subsidiary  company  to  the  parent  concern.  Indeed,  they  may 
affect  its  cost  figures  at  some  mills  to  the  extent  of  $3  per  ton,  and 
disprove  the  claim  of  increased  cost  of  wood.  I  am  unable  to  fathom 
the  purposes  of  a  management  which  pays  high  prices  to  outsiders 
for  its  wood  supply  while  refusing  to  cut  timber  from  its  own  cheap 
lands,  which  are  inventoried  at  less  than  $1.70  per  acre.  Neither  can 
I  understand  the  craze  for  woodlands  which  it  developed  in  the  year 
1907,  because  in  fourteen  months  prior  to  January  1.  1908,  it  acquired 
2,000  square-  miles  of  additional  acreage.  Altogether,  the  Interna- 
tional Paper  Company  had  cut  6,418,512  cords  from  timber  lands  in 
Canada  to  January  1,  1908. 

In  the  State  of  New  York  the  International  Paper  Company  has  400 
square  miles  of  spruce,  of  which  100  square  miles  is  virgin  timber. 
In  Vermont  it  has  121  square  miles,  and  in  New  Hampshire  200 
square  miles  of  which  80  square  miles  is  virgin  timber.  For  some 


5906  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

extraordinary  and  unexplained  reason  the  International  Paper  Com- 
pany is  allowing  that  virgin  timber  to  remain  uncut.  A  virgin 
forest  never  grows.  Every  dictate  of  good  forestry  would  suggest 
the  propriety  of  cutting  out  the  mature  timber  and  thereby  gaining 
4  or  5  per  cent  per  annum  from  the  growth  of  that  which  is  allowed 
to  remain.  The  policy  of  the  International  Paper  Company  in  these 
matters  is  beyond  explanation.  Certainly,  the  users  of  paper  are 
made  to  suffer  by  reason  of  the  withdrawal  of  these  vast  areas  from 
the  market  and  the  inevitable  increase  in  the  cost  of  stumpage.  The 
officers  of  the  paper  company  comfort  themselves  with  the  reflection 
that  lands  which  were  reported  to  be  worth  $10  per  acre  ten  years 
ago  are  now  worth  $27.50  to  $30  per  acre,  but  those  valuations  are 
purely  fanciful  and  are  the  results  of  the  artificial  stimulation  which 
pulp  manufacturers  have  given  to  values.  Eight  or  ten  paper 
makers  own  over  1,140  square  miles  of  spruce  forests  in  the  Adiron- 
dacks. 

The  International  Paper  Company  has  400  square  miles;  Finch, 
Pruyn  &  Co.  (affiliated  with  the  International  Paper  Company), 
220;  Gould  Paper  Company,  170;  St.  Regis  Paper  Company,  100; 
Racquette  River  Company,  140;  Schroon  River  Paper  Company,  16; 
J.  &  J.  Rogers  Paper  Company,  47;  Dexter  Sulphite  Company,  47; 
hunting  preserves  for  individuals,  1,500 ;  New  York  State  Forest  Re- 
serve, 2,700 ;  a  total  of  4,340. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  prohibition  of  the  export  of  pulp  wood  from 
Canada  would  mean  the  prompt  destruction,  not  of  2  or  3  per  cent  of 
our  forests,  as  paper  makers  would  have  us  believe,  but  of  25  per  cent, 
or  1,100  square  miles,  of  the  Adirondacks. 

Mr.  Pinchot  estimates  that  the  available  supply  of  pulp-wood  tim- 
ber in  the  United  States  will  last  as  follows:  New  York,  eight  and 
one-half  years;  Pennsylvania,  nine  years;  Minnesota,  nine  years; 
Vermont,  eleven  years;  New  Hampshire,  twenty-five  years;  Maine, 
twenty-eight  and  one-half  years. 

I  am  not  authorized  to  say  what  the  Mann  committee  found  when 
it  undertook  to  ascertain  the  possibilities  of  reforestation.  I  know 
it  went  to  the  West,  where  the  supply  from  Ontario  had  already  been 
stopped  and  where  sawmills  had  been  abandoned  because  owners 
found  the  Ontario  law  made  relocation  necessary  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Georgian  Bay.  Practically  all  spruce  in  Wisconsin  has  been 
cut  out.  In  Minnesota  the  spruce  was  found  to  be  exceedingly  small 
in  size  and  requiring  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  years  to  reach  maturity  and  a  diameter  of  10  inches,  whereas  in 
the  State  of  Maine  the  pulp  men  say  they  dp  not  cut  anything  less 
than  14  inches.  A  visit  to  paper  mills  in  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota 
disclosed  a  ridiculous  aspect  to  their  pulp  supply.  In  many  cases  they 
are  adjuncts  of  lumbering  operations,  as  shown  by  Mr.  Weyerha3user's 
investment  at  Cloquet  and  the  W^ker-Nelson  investment  at  Little 
Falls.  Disks  cut  from  pulp  wood  in  Minnesota  mills  showed  that  the 
6-inch  pulp  wood  counted  65  rings.  Much  of  the  wood  was  less  than 
that  diameter,  and  Mr.  Mann  brought  back  from  Cloquet  a  specimen 
piece  of  pulp  wood  no  larger  than  a  baseball  bat,  which  had  been  pre- 
pared for  the  pulp  grinder.  To  reach  bodies  of  spruce  that  would 
average  10  inches  the  committee  passed  through  miles  upon  miles  of 
burned  forests,  some  burned  in  the  spring  of  1908,  some  in  the  fall  of 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER JOHN   NORRIS.  5907 

1907,  and  some  in  the  spring  of  1907.  It  was  admitted  by  the  lumber 
cruisers  who  accompanied  the  committee  that  the  fire  in  the  spring  of 
1907  had  been  started  by  the  lumber  men  to  burn  up  their  slashings 
and  had  become  too  much  for  them. 

When  Mr.  Weyerhaeuser,  of  St.  Paul,  the  largest  lumber  operator  in 
the  country,  was  asked  about  the  possibilities  of  reforestization,  he 
said  that  it  was  impossible  for  individuals  because  of  the  constantly 
recurring  forest  fires  and  because  of  the  time  required  to  mature  the 
trees,  and  because  of  the  taxes  on  standing  timber  which  would  eat 
up  the  principal  before  the  new  growth  could  reach  maturity. 

Forester  Pinchot  submitted  to  the  Mann  committee  tables  based 
on  actual  measurements  of  timber  in  different  parts  of  the  United 
States  to  establish  the  fact  that  from  twenty-five  to  forty  years  must 
elapse  before  a  second  crop  of  spruce  timber  could  be  obtained,  and 
that  period  was  dependent  upon  the  observance  of  forestry  condi- 
tions and  a  restriction  of  cutting  to  10  inches  minimum.  To  obtain 
spruce  from  seeds  planted  in  the  forests  would  require  between  sev- 
enty-five and  one  hundred  years.  Mr.  Pinchot  stated  that  the  cutting 
of  pulp  wood  in  the  United  States  was  destructive  rather  than  con- 
servative because  large  and  small  timber  is  taken  and  little  is  left  for 
a  future  crop.  Testimony  given  to  the  Mann  committee  showed  that 
in  the  West  lumbermen  cut  everything  clean,  leaving  nothing  to 
grow  for  the  second  crop.  Many  States  are  putting  a  premium  upon 
the  destruction  of  their  forests  by  taxing  the  standing  timber.  In 
Montana,  it  was  stated  the  Government  had  adopted  regulations 
which  promoted  this  butchery.  It  will  be  necessary  to  move  paper 
mills  across  the  border  or  to  the  Pacific  coast  where  there  are  supplies 
of  spruce,  if  policies  advocated  by  paper  men  inviting  the  prohibi- 
tion of  pulp  wood  from  Canada  are  adopted. 

In  estimating  the  Canadian  supply  upon  admittedly  indefinite 
data  of  the  two  countries,  Mr.  Pinchot  calculated  that  Canada  had 
from  two  to  three  times  the  amount  of  spruce  pulp  wood  that  we 
have  in  this  country  (p.  1357).  Canadian  pulp-wood  estimates  vary. 
Broadly  speaking,  it  has  been  claimed  that  there  are  spruce  forests 
extending  from  Cape  Hamilton,  in  Labrador,  to  the  Yukon,  and 
from  the  St.  Lawrence  north  to  Hudson  Bay;  that  if  the  United 
States  did  not  cut  another  stick  of  pulp  wood  for  200  years,  and  the 
Canadian  trees  should  stop  growing  and  remain  in  their  present  con- 
dition, there  would  be  enough  pulp  wood  available  to  keep  us  going 
for  more  than  200  years.  Dr.  Robert  Bell,  of  the  geological  survey 
of  Canada,  says  the  forest  areas  of  Canada  measure  2,600,000  square 
miles,  of  which  half  are  in  pulp  wood.  This  area  computed  on  the 
basis  of  four  cords  of  pulp  wood  to  an  acre  would  yield  six  and  one- 
half  billion  cords,  which  \yould  be  enough  to  last  the  United  States 
for  1,500  years  on  the  basis  of  present  consumption. 

E-.  H.  Campbell,  superintendent  of  forestry  of  the  Dominion  gov- 
ernment, calculated  the  forest  area  of  the  Dominion  at  840,000  square 
miles,  divided  as  follows: 

Acres. 

British    Columbia 182,  000,  000 

Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  Alberta,  and  unorganized  territories 180,  000,  000 

Ontario 40,  000,  000 

Quebec 120,  000,  000 

New  Brunswick 7,  500,  000 

Nora  Scotia 6,  000,  000 


5908  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Consul  Worman,  of  Three  Rivers,  said  there  were  745,000,000 
cords  of  pulp  wood  in  the  Province  of  Quebec  alone.  Americans 
were  the  first  to  organize  milling  companies  to  build  sawmills  in  that 
consular  district.  Their  operations  have  continued  to  this  day,  and 
with  three  exceptions,  the  lumber  industry  of  Three  Rivers  may  be 
said  to  be  in  the  hands  of  Americans  or  controlled  by  American  capi- 
tal. Besides  the  mills  in  Three  Rivers,  there  are  ten  or  more  large 
mills  along  the  north  and  south  shores,  many  of  which  are  controlled 
by  American  capital,  and  exporting  their  products  to  the  United 
States  principally.  American  paper  companies  own  more  than 
12,000  square  miles  in  the  Province  of  Quebec  and  in  the  list  may  be 
included  the  following: 

Square  miles. 

International  Paper  Company  (in  one  of  four  land  offices) 2,597 

Berlin  Mills 2,  462 

Union  Bag  and  Paper  Company 2,200 

W.  &  M.  J.  Clarke,  of  New  York 762 

Sagueuay  Lumber  Company -       407 

Bayless  Pulp  and  Paper  Company 475 

In  addition  to  timber  holdings,  Americans  are  interested  in  water 
powers  on  the  Miramichi,  Jacques  Cartier,  and  St.  Maurice  rivers. 

Consul  Smith,  of  Victoria,  says  American  syndicates  seem  to  be 
successful  in  securing  the  bulk  of  the  standing  timber  in  British 
Columbia  in  spite  of  the  keen  rivalry  of  eastern  Canadians.  He  said : 
"  It  is  noteworthy  that  most  of  the  large  investments  by  Americans 
in  British  Columbia  timber  lands  have  been  made  by  wealthy  lumber 
men  who  now  own  or  have  made  their  money  in  large  manufacturing 
enterprises  in  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States.  They  have  literally 
poured  their  money  into  British  Columbia,  because,  as  several  have 
declared  to  the  writer,  they  regard  the  timber  lands  in  this  Province 
as  the  last  that  can  be  secured  at  nominal  rates  on  this  continent. 
As  Wisconsin  and  Michigan  forests  were  forty  years  ago  so  are  the 
timber  lands  of  British  Columbia  to-day."  There  is  an  item  in  the 
Daily  Consular  and  Trade  Reports,  issued  by  the  Bureau  of  Manufac- 
tures, for  Monday,  September  9,  1907,  headed  "  Lumber  in  British 
Columbia,"  which  seems  to  me  incredible,  because  of  the  vast  area 
to  which  it  refers.  It  states  on  the  authority  of  Consul  L.  E.  Dud- 
ley, of  Vancouver,  British  Columbia,  that  "  a  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  com- 
pany (presumably  Weyerhaeuser)  purchased  261,000  square  miles 
of  timber  lands,  partly  on  Vancouver  Island,  the  remainder  upon  the 
mainland,  paying  about  $5,000,000  for  the  same,  and  proposes  build- 
ing six  large  sawmills  at  once.  One  American  is  said  to  have  realized 
more  than  $1,000,000  profit  upon  his  holdings  acquired  in  the  last 
few  years.  The  provincial  lands  are  not  sold,  and  all  logs  cut  upon 
such  lands  must  be  manufactured  within  the  Province.  The  lands 
now  changing  hands  by  sale  and  purchase  came  into  private  hands 
before  the  enactment  of  the  law  now  in  force." 

Consul  Shott,  of  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie  district,  reported  that  nine  of 
eleven  large  sawmills  in  his  district  were  owned  by  Americans  and 
that  fully  85  per  cent  of  all  the  forest  product  of  that  district  was 
manufactured  by  Americans. 

At  the  annual  convention  of  the  Canadian  Manufacturers'  Associa- 
tion held  in  September,  its  president,  Hon.  J.  D.  Rolland,  affirmed  the 
accuracy  of  the  estimates  of  the  Dominion  superintendent  of  forestry 


PULP,   AND  PRINT  PAPER JOHN   NORRIS.  5909 

and  said  the  total  was  enough  to  keep  Canadian  mills  going  three 
hundred  and  eighty-one  years.  He  said  that  if  the  United  States 
were  compelled  to  build  mills  in  Canada  or  to  buy  paper  there,  it 
would  represent  over  $500,000,000  additional  capital  in  Canada.  At 
that  meeting  the  following  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  association: 

Tlie  pulp  and  paper  section  of  the  Canadian  Manufacturers'  Association  beg 
to  report  that  at  the  various  meetings  of  this  section  held  since  last  autumn 
the  members  have  been  unanimous  in  the  opinion  that  the  government  of  Can- 
ada be  requested  to  preserve  the  forests  and  conserve  the  pulp  wood  of  this 
country  by  prohibiting  the  exportation  from  Canada  of  pulp  wood,  and  they  ask 
the  earnest  assistance  of  the  association  in  their  behalf. 

The  data  here  given  covering  comparisons  of  timber  supply  and 
the  menace  to  American  interests  should  impel  the  American  Con- 
gress, solely  upon  considerations  of  enlightened  self-interest,  to  ar- 
range promptly  with  Canada  for  terms  that  would  be  mutually 
advantageous. 

I  now  come  to  the  section  devoted  to  the  tariff. 

TARIFF. 

The  paper  makers  and  Congress  have  publicly  declared  that  the 
Dingley  law  did  not  increase  the  duty  on  paper.  I  propose  to  show 
that  the  duty  on  paper  was  increased  in  1897,  the  date  of  the  passage 
of  the  Dingley  bill,  from  $4.11  per  ton  on  a  basis  of  15  per  cent  ad 
valorem,  to  $6  per  ton  specific,  an  increase  of  $1.89  per  ton,  or  46 
per  cent,  and  that  the  duty  in  the  year  1907  would  have  been  $5.40 
on  the  ad  valorem  basis  if  the  previous  law  had  prevailed,  an  increase 
of  54  cents  per  ton,  or  12  per  cent.  Also  that  the  duty  on  mechanic- 
ally ground  wood  was  increased  from  an  ad  valorem  basis  of  10  per 
cent,  or  $1.15  per  ton,  to  a  specific  duty  of  $1.67  per  ton,  or  45  per 
cent  increase. 

Unbleached  pulp  was  increased  from  10  per  cent  ad  valorem  to 
$3.33  per  ton  specific;  bleached  pulp  was  changed  from  10  per  cent 
ad  valorem  to  $5  specific. 

The  paper  makers  had  failed  to  point  out  to  you  that  the  duty 
was  based,  not  upon  the  price  of  the  paper  delivered  at  destination, 
but  upon  the  selling  price  at  point  of  shipment.  When  Mr.  William 
A.  Russell  appeared  before  your  committee  on  December  31,  1896, 
the  price  of  news-print  paper  was  $35  per  ton  delivered  in  New  York, 
or  $30.40  per  ton  f.  o.  b.  mill,  which  at  15  per  cent  ad  valorem  would 
then  have  fixed  a  duty  of  $4.56  per  ton.  The  paper  makers  then 
asked  you  to  raise  it  to  a  specific  duty  of  $6  per  ton. 

I  will  repeat  that  for  the  benefit  of  the  Chairman,  merely  because 
it  may  recall  a  personal  experience.  When  Mr.  William  A.  Russell 
appeared  before  your  committee  on  December  31,  1896,  the  price  of 
news-print  paper  was  $35  per  ton  delivered  in  New  York,  or  $30.40 
per  ton  f.  o.  b.  mill,  which,  at  15  per  cent  ad  valorem,  would  then 
have  fixed  a  duty  of  $4.56  per  ton.  The  paper  makers  then  asked  you 
to  raise  it  to  a  specific  duty  of  $6  per  ton. 

In  July,  1897,  within  a  few  days  of  the  date  of  the  passage  of  the 
law,  I  bought  3,000  tons  of  news-print  paper  from  the  Hudson  River 
mill  at  a  price  of  $32  per  ton,  delivered  in  New  York,  or  $27.40  f .  o.  b. 
mill,  which  at  15  per  cent  ad  valorem  would  have  required  a  duty 


5910  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

of  $4.11  per  ton,  and  you  fixed  a  specific  duty  of  $6  per  ton,  an 
increase  of  $1.89  per  ton,  or  46  per  cent. 

I  understand  that  no  one  denies  that  the  duty  on  mechanically 
ground  wood  or  unbleached  pulp  was  raised.  However,  it  might  be 
well  to  refer  to  the  report  of  the  Treasury  Department,  which  proves 
that  the  mechanically  ground  wood  imported  in  1897  was  valued  at 
$11.55  per  ton,  thereby  establishing  the  point  that  the  ad  valorem  duty 
at  10  per  cent  in  1897  was  $1.15,  and  that  it  was  raised  at  that  time  to 
a  specific  duty  of  $1.67  per  ton. 

The  duty  on  print  paper  did  not  produce  any  material  revenue  to 
the  Government,  the  average  collection  of  duties  on  news-print  paper 
for  ten  years,  since  the  passage  of  the  Dingley  bill,  having  been 
$9,365  per  annum.  The  importations  for  each  year  were  (see  p.  880) 
as  follows:  1898,  no  paper  imported;  1899,  no  paper  imported;  1900, 
86  tons;  1901,  18  tons;  1902,  49  tons;  1903,  20  tons;  1904,  1,890  tons; 
1905,  3.316  tons;  1906,  1,788  tons;  1907,  8,733  tons. 

In  six  of  the  ten  years  it  may  fairly  be  claimed  that  news-print 
paper  was  not  imported;  and  it  is  obvious  that  under  such  circum- 
stances the  duty  on  news  print  can  not  be  regarded  as  a  revenue  tax. 
Practically  no  news-print  paper  has  been  imported  into  the  United 
States  except  on  emergency  consignments. 

Mechanically  ground  wood  for  the  five  years  reported  by  the 
Treasury  Department  (p.  866)  averaged  67,846  tons  per  annum, 
yielding  an  average  revenue  of  $117,508  per  annum. 

Chemically  bleached  pulp  was  not  imported  (see  p.  866).  The  im- 
portations 01  unbleached  pulp  for  five  of  the  ten  years  of  which  the 
Treasury  Department  furnishes  a  record  averaged  31,000  tons,  yield- 
ing an  average  revenue  of  $108.000  per  annum.  This  importation 
of  unbleached  pulp  carries  with  it  a  startling  story  of  tariff  demor- 
alization. 

Every  result  that  was  aimed  at  in  the  paper  and  pulp  schedule,  so 
far  as  it  applies  to  the  news-print  business,  has  been  reversed.  The 
importations  of  mechanical  pulp  at  the  end  of  ten  years  are  seven 
times  as  great  as  they  were  in  1898  (see  p.  866),  and  our  exports  of 
news-print  paper  have  diminished.  The  table  furnished  by  the  head 
of  the  export  department  of  the  International  Paper  Company 
(p.  1165)  reveals  a  complete  collapse  of  its  foreign  business  because 
of  conditions  it  had  fostered  at  home.  When  you  considered  this 
paper  schedule  in  December,  1896,  Mr.  Warner  Miller  told  your  com- 
mittee that  the  primary  purpose  of  any  consolidation  would  be  the  ex- 
ploitation of  foreign  trade.  Subsequently,  when  the  International 
Paper  Company  was  formally  organized,  in  January,  1898,  Mr.  Hugh 
J.  Chisholm  painted  for  the  American  Paper  and  Pulp  Association  a 
beautiful  word  picture  of  a  proposed  invasion  of  the  world's  markets. 
He  counted  $61,000,000  worth  of  paper  business  awaiting  the  Ameri- 
can touch.  He  pictured  the  genius  of  our  manufacturers,  and  he  pro- 
posed to  tap  the  golden  hoard;  but  we  find  to-day  that  the  Interna- 
tional Paper  Company  has  abandoned  all  the  trade  which  years  of 
effort  had  accumulated,  and  we  are  no  nearer  the  foreign  goal  to-day 
on  news-print  paper  than  we  were  ten  years  ago.  Our  export  trade 
of  wood  pulp  has  dwindled  to  half  of  what  it  was  ten  years  ago ;  and 
a  great  part  of  that  news-print  paper  export  which  now  appears  in 
the  Treasury  records  represents,  not  a  business  based  on  the  sound 


PULP,  AND   PRINT  PAPER JOHN   NORRIS.  5911 

principles  of  growth,  but  a  purely  artificial  propagation,  fostered  by 
drawbacks  and  paid  by  the  United  States  Government  to  the  Inter- 
national Paper  Company  upon  wood  pulp  brought  into  the  United 
States  and  Canada  and  converted  into  news-print  paper  for  export, 
with  comparatively  small  advantage  to  American  labor.  The  head 
of  the  foreign  department  of  the  International  Paper  Company  esti- 
mated these  exports  at  17,000  tons,  though  the  Treasury  figures  (see 
pp.  693  and  1005)  failed  to  reveal  that  quantity.  Those  drawbacks 
for  exportations  were  particularly  grievous  under  the  circumstances, 
because  the  company  was  taxing  local  consumers  heavily  for  the  paper 
it  sold  to  them  under  the  plea  that  it  did  not  have  enough  paper  to 
go  around.  To  that  extent  the  Government  was  placing  a  premium 
upon  the  paper  famine,  though  a  New  York  speculator  was  the  prin- 
cipal doer  01  harm  in  that  direction. 

Turning  to  the  study  of  the  cost  of  production,  we  find  a  variety 
of  material  on  which  to  base  a  comparison.  On  February  18,  1907, 
Mr.  J.  R.  Booth,  of  Ottawa,  sold  paper  to  the  International  Paper 
Company  at  $33  per  ton  (p.  1157).  The  Laurentide  Paper  mill  made 
apparent  profits  of  $500.286.97  during  that  year  on  all  its  business, 
but  this  included  lumber.  Other  Canadian  mills  sold  at  $35  per  ton 
f.  o.  b.  mill. 

In  the  summer  of  1897,  shortly  before  I  had  bought  3,000  tons,  to 
which  I  have  referred  in  computing  the  raise  of  46  per  cent  on  duty,  I 
bought  from  the  Glens  Falls  mill,  New  York,  40,000  tons  of  news- 
print paper  for  the  New  York  World  at  $33  per  ton,  delivered  in 
press  room,  New  York,  or  $28.40  f.  o.  b.  mill,  which  figure  included 
mill  profit.  The  fact  that  there  were  profits  in  the  operation  of  that 
mill  is  shown  by  the  millions  bequeathed  by  the  men  who  owned  and 
ran  it.  I  then  estimated  that  the  cost  of  production  at  that  mill,  at 
that  time,  was  about  $24  per  ton. 

On  April  14,  1904,  the  International  Paper  Company  sold  900.000 
tons  of  news-print  paper  to  the  Hearst  publications  under  a,  ten-year 
contract  at  a  price  of  $37.60  delivered  in  New  York,  Chicago,  and 
Boston.  This  price  was  equivalent  to  $33  f.  o.  b.  mill,  and  included 
profit  for  the  company. 

In  the  years  1906  and  1907  the  cost  of  production  at  the  Hudson 
River  mill  of  the  International  Paper  Company  was  $27  per  ton 
(p.  705) .  In  studying  cost,  the  point  should  be  noted  that  the  Hudson 
River  mill  supply  of  wood  comes  from  Canada.  It  is  brought  by  rail 
from  preparing  mills  in  the  St.  Maurice  River  at  a  cost  for  trans- 
portation of  $3.50  per  cord  of  wood  or  per  ton  of  paper,  whereas  other 
wood  of  the  same  company  cut  in  the  Adirondacks  is  put  into  the 
Hudson  River  and  is  floated  past  this  mill  to  other  plants  of  the  com- 
pany at  Glens  Falls  and  Fort  Edward  with  very  little  cost  for  trans- 
portation. Then,  too,  wood  has  been  shipped  by  canal  and  Lake 
Champlain  from  Canada  to  those  mills;  but  for  some  unexplained 
reason  it  has  been  sent  entirely  by  rail  to  the  Hudson  River  mill. 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 10 


5912 


SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 


The  annual  reports  of  the  International  Paper  Company  (p.  1211) 
indicate  earnings  as  follows: 


Gross  In- 
come. 

Expense. 

Earnings. 

1898-1899  (17  months)  — 

$20,956,221 

$17,061,046 

$3,895,175 

1899-1900 

18,707,635 

15,581,759 

3,125,876 

1900-1901    —     „  

20,711,902 

16,750,245 

3,961  ,657 

1901-1902—      

19,719,420 

16,818,225 

2,901.195 

1902-1903  

20,142,771 

16,529,310 

3,613  461 

1903-1904  

20,304,514 

17,150,531 

3,153,983 

1904-1905—.     „  

20,908,666 

17,640,198 

3,268,468 

1905-1906  

21,837,816 

18,679,296 

3,158,520 

1906-1907  .. 

21,841,486 

19,000,016 

2,841,470 

1807-1908  _    

20,716,304 

17,878  134 

2  838  170 

Total  for  10  years  and  5  months  .  . 

205,846,735 

173,088,760 

32,757,975 

Average  per  annum  

19,761,287 

16  616,521 

3,144,766 

Improvements  Improperly  charged  to  cost  per  annum 

1,000,000 

Deducted  for  taxes  and  Insurance  

4,144.766 
188,800 

tint  earnings  p«r  annum 

8,955,966 

The  output  for  the  International  Paper  Company  for  ten  years  has 
averaged  less  than  450,000  tons  per  annum.  According  to  President 
Burbank  (p.  716)  the  company  has  been  spending  $1,000.000  per  an- 
num on  "  improvements."  The  company  is  including  that  expendi- 
ture for  improvements  in  its  cost  of  production  total.  After  allow- 
ing for  taxes  and  insurance  as  part  of  the  cost,  we  find  that  the  an- 
nual profit  has  averaged  $8.79  per  ton  on  a  basis  of  450,000  tons  of 
annual  production,  and  that  the  manufacturing  profit  has  been  29 
per  cent  on  cost  f.  o.  b.  mill;  that  the  average  price  for  paper  deliv- 
ered has  been  $43.91  per  ton,  or  $2.19  per  100  pounds,  or  $11.91  in 
excess  of  the  price  at  which  I  bought  paper  when  the  Dingley  bill 
passed.  Further,  that  the  average  cost  of  production  has  been  $35.12 
per  ton  delivered,  or  $30.52  f.  o.  b.  mill.  The  company's  figures  of 
cost  are  based  on  juggled  bookkeeping,  which  added  at  least  $3  per 
ton  for  cost  of  wood  at  many  mills,  and  the  figures  are  also  based  on 
the  production  of  many  mills  which  are  antiquated  and  unfit  for 
news-print  paper  purposes  and  upon  a  costly  method  of  assembling 
raw  material  whereby  7  sulphite  plants  supply  15  news  mills.  A 
properly  balanced  mill  should  have  grinders  and  sulphite  digesters 
and  paper  machinery  concentrated  at  one  place. 

In  ten  years  the  International  Paper  Company  has  shown  a  dis- 
tinct recession  in  its  position.  That  $60,000,000  corporation  has  not 
displayed  intelligence  in  its  management.  It  has  attempted  to  com- 
bat every  law  of  trade  and  it  has  failed.  A  company  whose  business 
is  run  on  the  basis  of  secrecy  and  lying  and  deceiving  its  customers 
is  doomed  to  disaster.  The  day  will  come  when  its  bondholders  will 
change  its  policies  and  methods  and  make  paper  at  less  than  $24  per 
ton  and  meet  all  customers  in  the  markets  of  the  world  on  even  terms 
at  open  prices,  free  of  all  combinations,  doing  business  on  a  cash  basis, 
standardizing  its  output,  selling  its  undeveloped  water  power,  cutting 
wood  from  its  own  lands,  disposing  of  the  acreage  it  does  not  need, 
encouraging  trade  schools,  and  revolutionizing  the  methods  of  its 
selling  department. 


PULP,  AND  PBINT  PAPER JOHN   NORBIS.  5913 

When  the  company  had  an  opportunity  in  1905  to  borrow  $5,000,000 
on  bonds,  it  spent  the  proceeds,  and  it  took  another  plunge  promptly 
into  a  $5,000,000  floating  debt.  Its  managers  had  put  a  premium 
upon  competition  because  of  their  methods.  They  seem  to  be  unable 
to  take  care  of  the  property;  and  they  beg  the  Government  to  help 
them  maintain  its  impossible  policies.  It  is  a  giant  shackled  by  stupid 
servants ;  but  may  it  not  be  that  a  corporation  invites  speculation  with 
its  possessions  when  it  puts  its  officers  in  the  atmosphere  of  Wall 
street  ? 

The  Great  Northern  Paper  Company  is  selling  to  the  New  York 
World  and  to  the  New  York  Herald  at  prices  which,  including  profit, 
net  it  about  $31.40  per  ton  at  the  mill.  I  have  been  credibly  informed 
that  the  Great  Northern  Paper  Company,  even  with  those  low  con- 
tracts on  its  books,  was  making  a  profit  of  $4,000  per  day  on  an  out- 
put of  400  tons  per  day,  or  $10  per  ton  profit.  If  we  assume  an  aver- 
age price  of  2  cents  per  pound,  or  $40  per  ton,  delivered,  on  all  of  its 
contracts,  and  a  cost  of  23  cents  per  100  pounds,  or  $4.60  per  ton,  for 
marketing  its  paper,  we  will  find  a  production  cost  of  $25  per  ton. 

American  news-print  paper  sold  in  Sheffield,  England,  last  year 
(p.  2020) ,  on  a  basis  of  $39  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds,  f.  o.  b.  New  York, 
while  selling  to  New  York  customers  at  $50  per  ton.  In  April,  1904, 
we  called  the  attention  of  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  House  to 
the  action  of  the  International  Paper  Company  in  selling  paper  for 
London  on  a  basis  of  $35  per  ton  f.  o.  b.  New  York  while  charging 
local  customers  $45  per  ton;  and  when  I  told  the  Mann  committee 
that  that  same  corporation  had  been  selling  abroad  at  lower  prices 
than  it  had  sold  to  domestic  customers,  it  cunningly  evaded  the  point 
by  furnishing,  not  its  actual  prices  for  special  markets  abroad  at 
particular  periods,  but  it  gave  an  average  price  for  each  year  (p. 
1980) .  Even  upon  that  table  it  admitted  that  in  two  years,  1903  and 
1904,  it  obtained  a  lower  price  for  foreign  business  than  for  domestic 
supply. 

I  have  eminent  authority  for  the  statement  that  American  mills  can 
make  paper  cheaper  than  Canadian  mills.  I  refer  to  Sir  William 
Van  Horne,  the  president  of  the  Laurentide  Paper  Company,  of  Can- 
ada, which  produces  160  tons  of  news-print  paper  per  day,  or  double 
the  quantity  that  all  Canada  uses.  He  said  the  advantage  of  the 
American  mills  over  the  Canadian  mills  was  as  follows :  A  supply  of 
skilled  labor,  cheaper  coal,  adequate  home  market,  cheaper  mill  sup- 
plies, cheaper  first  cost  of  machinery,  cheaper  repairs  and  mainte- 
nance, lower  ocean  rates  for  export,  lower  marine  insurance  on  ex- 
ports. 

He  omitted,  however,  the  most  important  advantage  which  the 
American  mills  have.  Canada  is  handicapped  by  excessively  cold 
winters.  In  the  north  country  it  costs  25  per  cent  more  to  operate  in 
winter  than  in  other  seasons. 

The  head  of  the  export  department  of  the  International  Paper 
Company,  Mr.  Chable  (p.  433),  is  authority  for  the  statement  that 
Scandinavia,  Finland,  Canada,  and  the  United  States  are  the  only 
countries  that  can  make  news-print  paper  profitably.  American  paper 
will  command  an  advance  of  from  7|  to  10  per  cent  over  the  European 
make.  Sir  William  Van  Horne  furnishes  an  explanation  for  that 
difference  in  quality  in  describing  the  fiber  of  the  Baltic  product  as 
"  silvery  and  not  making  a  feathery  pulp  like  the  American  product." 


5914        SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  American  paper  maker  is  protected  against  the 
Baltic  paper  maker  by  the  cost  of  transportation  and  by  a  difference 
of  $1.50  or  $2  per  ton  in  quality,  by  better  and  therefore  cheaper  labor, 
and  by  many  of  the  things  in  our  favor  enumerated  by  Sir  William 
Van  Home.  The  one  striking  fact  which  stands  out  as  the  primary 
and  conclusive  evidence  of  the  inability  of  the  Scandinavian  news- 
print paper  maker  to  enter  this  market  is  the  point  that  in  all  the 
periods  of  high  prices  in  the  United  States  not  a  pound  of  British  or 
Baltic  or  German  news-print  paper  has  ever  been  brought  into  the 
United  States. 

The  mills  at  St.  Croix,  Millinocket,  and  Berlin,  which  are  modern 
plants,  can  compete  successfully  with  Canada  or  any  other  mills,  and 
can  make  cheaper  paper.  This  fact  is  just  as  true  to-day  as  it  was 
about  the  year  1897,  when  Mr.  Hugh  J.  Chisholm  sold  paper  in 
Toronto  at  an  invoice  price  of  $25  f.  o.  b.  Otis  Falls.  Mr.  Ballou,  of 
Menasha,  Wis.,  who  buys  pulp  wood  for  16  Wisconsin  mills,  indi- 
cated to  the  Mann  committee  (p.  2131)  that  America  can  manufac- 
ture news-print  paper  as  cheaply  or  cheaper  than  Canada.  It  was 
the  action  of  this  single  buyer  in  going  1,500  miles  away  from  his 
western  mills  to  purchase  50,000  cords  of  pulp  wood  that  precipitated 
the  hysterical  performance  in  paper  prices  in  1907,  though  the  most 
serious  work  of  price-raising  was  done  by  a  New  York  speculator. 

The  western  mills  had  been  suffering  from  the  results  of  the  impo- 
sition of  the  countervailing  duty  on  paper.  Their  natural  source  of 
supply  is  Ontario ;  and  when  that  Province  prohibited  export  of  pulp 
wood,  you  increased  the  cost  of  the  raw  material  of  those  mills.  The 
statement  by  him  that  American  mills,  presumably  Wisconsin  mills, 
can  make  cheaper  paper  than  Canadian  mills,  has  additional  force 
because  of  this  extra  cost  of  wood.  There  is  another  disadvantage 
which  the  western  mills  overcame.  The  wood  pulp  furnished  to  them 
is  small  in  diameter.  Much  of  it  is  unfit  for  any  other  purpose.  The 
spruce  tree  in  that  section  does  not  grow  much  beyond  10  inches  in 
diameter,  and  the  material  used  for  pulp  grinding  will  not  average  6 
inches.  Some  of  it  is  less  than  3  inches  in  diameter,  and  makes  extra 
waste  and  loss  in  barking  the  wood  for  the  grinder  (p.  2108).  Some 
of  the  western  mills  are  adjuncts  of  lumber  establishments,  and  must 
take  the  leavings.  Many  of  them  are  one-machine  plants  which  can 
take  only  a  proportion  of  the  sizes  which  may  be  offered  to  them,  and 
which  lose  a  percentage  of  their  production  when  they  are  unable  to 
fully  cover  the  wires  of  their  paper  machines.  Notwithstanding  this 
difficulty,  the  western  mills  have  made  money  on  prices  of  which  they 
have  complained.  It  required  a  corkscrew  to  extract  from  them 
any  admission  of  financial  gains.  So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to 
gather,  the  Mann  committee  has  not  been  able  to  obtain  the  bona  fide 
production  cost  of  modern  news-print  mills ;  but  I  anticipate  that  the 
tariff  committee  of  the  American  Paper  and  Pulp  Association  will 
deluge  you  and  it  with  cost  figures  of  machines  that  should  have  been 
consigned  to  the  scrap  heap,  or  turned  to  uses  other  than  the  manu- 
facture of  news-print  paper  in  competition  with  the  fast-running  and 
finely  appointed  paper  machines  of  recent  construction. 

It  has  been  announced  that  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means 
is  to  ascertain  the  comparative  cost  of  production  here  and  abroad. 
We  are  told  that  the  American  Paper  and  Pulp  Association  would 
submit  such  figures.  May  I  deferentially  ask  how  such  figures  can 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER — JOHN  NORRIS.  5915 

be  ascertained?  What  type  of  mill  shall  be  taken?  The  antiquated 
type  or  the  modern  mill — the  two-tour  or  the  three-tour  system — the 
mill  that  makes  its  own  ground-wood  and  sulphite  pulp  or  the  mill 
that  makes  neither — the  mill  that  speculates  in  timber  tracts  or  the 
mill  that  buys  pulp  wood  at  the  market,  owning  no  timber  tracts — 
the  machine  mill  that  rents  its  power  or  the  mill  that  owns  its  water 
rights — the  mill  that  can  take  only  particular  sizes  that  fit  an  un- 
usual width  or  mills  with  enough  machines  to  carry  any  sizes  or 
orders?  Shall  we  compare  with  Canadian  mills  or  with  British 
mills  or  with  German  mills?  How  shall  the  basis  of  comparison 
be  established,  and  who  shall  establish  it?  Will  you  select  a  mill 
that  is  run  as  a  news-print  paper  mill  or  one  that  is  a  by-product 
of  a  lumber  proposition  or  one  that  is  a  consolidation  of  a  number 
of  antiquated  plants  half  of  which  should  be  in  the  scrap  heap  ? 

Few  of  the  western  mills  own  any  timber  tracts.  The  Northern 
Paper  Company,  representing  a  pool  of  four  mills,  owns  40,000 
acres  in  Wisconsin;  the  Kimberly  Clark  Company,  producing  240 
tons  of  paper  per  day,  owns  30,000  acres;  the  Consolidated  Com- 
pany, of  Grand  Rapids,  owns  20,000  acres.  All  the  21  mills  sched- 
uled to  participate  in  the  western  merger  owned  73,000  acres  of 
timber  land.  These  figures  are  in  striking  contrast  with  the  4,000,000 
acres  which  the  International  Paper  Company  acquired  with  bor- 
rowed money.  The  western  mills  have  managed  to  prosper  in  dis- 
regard of  the  assertion  of  President  Cowles,  of  the  American  Paper 
and  Pulp  Association,  that  "  nobody  would  go  into  the  business  to- 
day, build  a  new  mill,  who  could  not  first  secure  an  adequate  amount 
of  timber  lands  to  supply  the  mill  permanently  with  wood." 

Of  news-print  paper  mills  in  this  country,  50  have  no  sulphite 
adjuncts.  Included  in  that  50  are  9  mills  which  have  no  ground- 
wood  attachments. 

TARIFF   KEPT  UP   AMERICAN   PRICES. 

Because  of  the  tariff  tax  of  $6  per  ton  we  have  not  been  able  to  buy 
for  domestic  use  that  Canadian  paper  which  has  been  offered  exten- 
sively at  $1.75  f.  o.  b.  mill  within  the  last  four  months.  The  gentle- 
man's agreement  or  combination  which  has  controlled  the  American 
news-print  paper  market  has  maintained  the  domestic  price  at  a 
figure  just  below  the  importing  point,  which  was  $2.05  f.  o.  b.  mill. 
It  did  not  seem  right  in  July,  1908,  a  normal  season,  when  there  was 
no  drought  and  no  strike,  that  Canadian  paper  should  be  sent  to  Lon- 
don for  sale  at  a  price  which  was  $5  cheaper  than  American  news- 
papers could  buy  from  American  mills  that  had  shut  down  parts  of 
their  plants  and  discharged  their  American  labor  rather  than  cut 
"  agreed  prices."  The  driving  out,  by  threats,  of  10,000  tons  of 
Canadian  paper  which  had  been  bought  for  this  market  by  S.  A. 
Cook,  of  Neenah,  Wis.,  is  conclusive  evidence  of  the  abuse  of  the 
tariff  benefaction  by  American  paper  makers. 

During  the  ten  years  which  have  passed  since  the  passage  of  the 
Dingley  bill  there  have  been  many  periods  when  the  tariff  has  forced 
an  increase  in  the  paper  price.  I  calculate  that  in  1898,  during  the 
Spanish-American  war,  newspapers  had  been  taxed  fully  $6  per  ton 
because  of  the  tariff ;  that  in  four  years,  from  1901  to  1904,  inclusive, 


5916  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

the  tax  enabled  local  mills  to  add  from  $2  to  $6  per  ton  to  the  cost  of 
paper ;  and  that  in  1907  and  1908  the  import  duty  has  added  from  $5 
to  $6  per  ton  to  the  cost  of  paper. 

When  the  Mann  committee  visited  Grand  Rapids,  Wis.,  Mr.  G.  F. 
Steele,  the  general  manager  of  the  Nelsoosa-Edwards  Paper  Com- 
pany, compared  the  conditions  of  American  and  German  mills.  He 
said  the  paper  makers  of  America  were  slow  to  take  advantage  of 
possibilities  in  the  manufacture  of  paper — that  in  some  respects  they 
showed  the  traits  of  the  day  laborer — that  the  paper  business  is 
primitive  in  many  places  and  shows  a  lack  of  technical  knowledge. 
The  Germans  have  visited  the  United  States.  They  have  appropri- 
ated its  ideas  and  have  developed  new  methods  because  of  their  supe- 
rior technical  knowledge.  In  this  respect  the  forces  employed  in 
American  mills  are  lacking. 

I  commend  to  the  earnest  study  of  this  committee  the  statement 
which  appears  at  the  end  of  report  29  of  the  Mann  committee, 
wherein  Mr.  Steele  describes  with  some  elaboration  the  primitive 
character  of  the  American  mills  as  compared  with  the  German  mills ; 
and  that  becomes  quite  important  in  connection  with  the  matter  of 
the  raising  of  the  duty  on  sulphite  pulp. 

In  placing  an  import  duty  upon  pulp  and  paper  you  have  put  a 
premium  upon  inertia.  You  have  given  the  paper  makers  a  false 
sense  of  security  which  has  destroyed  their  initiative.  You  have 
unintentionally  induced  them  to  form  pools  and  to  arbitrarily  raise 
prices  and  to  open  up  the  American  market  to  an  invasion  which  has 
put  at  least  one  branch  of  the  business — that  of  sulphite  pulp — in 
desperate  straits.  Germans  obtained  their  help  from  the  technical 
schools;  and  they  have  not  only  driven  us  out  of  foreign  markets, 
but  have  undersold  the  American  manufacturers  in  the  home  markets, 
and  have  displaced  57  per  cent  of  the  sulphite  in  the  United  States. 

The  paper  makers  who  are  asking  for  protection  have  been  buying 
sulphite  pulp  from  the  foreigner  in  preference  to  buying  it  from  the 
domestic  producer,  and  doing  so  to  the  extent  of  57  per  cent  of  the 
total  consumption  of  sulphite  pulp. 

The  men  who  have  been  trying  for  more  than  five  years  to  hold  up 
and  tax  every  user  of  sulphite  pulp  and  of  paper,  have  wrought  their 
own  undoing.  They  now  come  to  you  and  impudently  ask  you  to 
increase  the  import  duty  in  order  that  they  may  increase  their  exac- 
tions; that  they  may  have  a  new  license  to  despoil  their  customers, 
and  that  they  may  continue  trade  policies  which  are  impossible — in 
short,  that  they  may  push  water  up  hill.  Visit  the  paper  mills,  as  the 
Mann  committee  has  done,  and  you  will  find  some  methods  which  are 
said  to  be  traceable  to  the  twelfth  century.  Our  paper  makers  have 
gone  to  sleep.  Imagine  a  sulphite  mill  without  a  trained  chemist! 
And  yet  there  are  very  few  sulphite  mills  in  America  employing 
chemists.  Out  of  22  mills  of  all  sorts  which  the  Mann  committee  vis- 
ited, only  4  may  be  said  to  be  approximately  up  to  date.  The  bene- 
ficiaries of  your  tariff  favor  have  allowed  the  world's  market  to  slip 
away  from  them. 

Paper  can  be  made  more  cheaply  in  America  than  elsewhere.  It  is 
possible  to  capture  the  markets  of  the  world.  We  have  the  materials 
and  we  have  the  opportunity;  but  we  can  only  do  it  by  putting  the 
American  manufacturer  on  his  own  resources,  and  by  withholding 
from  him  those  tariff  favors  which  have  been  an  incentive  to  indo- 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER — JOHN   NORRIS.  5917 

lence.  (I  refer  now  to  the  paper  business.)  Withdraw  your  premium 
upon  stupidity  and  ignorance,  and  the  world  is  ours  for  the  paper 
makers  and  the  paper  user.  Put  the  spur  of  necessity  upon  American 
talent,  and  it  will  win  its  way ;  coddle  it,  and  you  weaken  it. 

A  removal  of  the  duty  on  news-print  paper  would  make  impossible 
any  combination  to  raise  price.  It  would  place  an  automatic  check 
upon  monopoly.  It  would  nullify  the  plan  by  which  the  International 
Paper  Company  and  others  have  expended  millions  to  acquire  unde- 
veloped water  powers  and  desirable  timber  tracts,  and  to  shut  out 
competition.  Free  paper  would  steady  prices  rather  than  lower  them. 
It  would  modernize  the  business,  giving  consumers  the  benefits  of  the 
latest  methods  and  machinery.  Existing  duties  have  raised  the  price 
of  paper  and  pulp  by  giving  to  the  paper  manufacturers  a  shelter 
behind  which  they  could  organize  combinations.  While  the  tariff 
does  not  account  for  the  full  advance  in  price,  the  tariff  plus  the 
tariff-engendered  combinations  do  account  for  all  of  it. 

Now  I  reach  the  last  of  my  sections — combinations. 

COMBINATIONS  AND   OTHER  ILLEGALITIES. 

A  delegation  of  paper  makers,  headed  by  Mr.  William  A.  Russell, 
appeared  before  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  on  December  31, 
1896,  and  urged  the  framing  of  the  paper  schedule  to  suit  the  pur- 
poses of  a  number  of  mill  men  who  were  then  organizing  the  indus- 
try so  that  they  might  control  prices.  I  appeared  before  the  Ways 
and  Means  Committee  at  that  time  and  charged  that  these  gentlemen 
were  then  planning  to  form  a  combination  of  mills  and  to  raise  the 
price  of  news-print  paper  to  2^  cents  per  pound,  or  $50  per  ton.  On 
page  1760  of  the  report  of  that  proceeding  you  will  find  that  Mr. 
Russell  said: 

I  deny  both  that  there  is  a  combination  formed,  or  practically  formed,  or  that 
any  combination  or  any  consideration  of  this  matter  by  the  paper  manufacturers 
which  contemplates  raising  the  price  of  paper  at  all. 

Within  seven  months  after  the  passage  of  the  so-called  "  Dingley 
bill "  the  International  Paper  Company  was  formed  from  a  consoli- 
dation of  about  30  paper  mills,  and  immediate  steps  were  taken  to 
mark  up  prices.  We  call  your  attention  to  this  matter  to  show  you 
that  at  that  time  the  paper  makers  misled  and  deceived  Congress. 

Combinations  to  restrict  production  and  to  fix  prices  have  been  made 
in  almost  every  one  of  the  divisions  of  the  American  Paper  and 
Pulp  Association,  as  follows:  News-print  papery  book  paper,  fiber 
and  manila,  box  board,  sulphite  pulp,  tissue,  writing,  blotting  paper, 
soda  pulp. 

Information  relating  to  all  these  combinations  was  submitted  to  the 
Attorney-General  in  October,  1907,  and  was  subsequently  embodied 
in  a  formal  letter  to  him  under  date  of  February  10,  1908.  We  gave 
to  him  data  covering — 

Dates  of  meetings,  allotments  of  output,  fixing  of  prices,  restricting 
of  production,  pool  profits  and  payments,  paying  mills  to  shut  down, 
refusal  of  quotations  to  particular  brokers,  limitation  of  periods  of 
contracts,  limitations  upon  jobbers,  instructions  to  counsel  to  find  a 
plan  for  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  association  in  such  manner  as 
would  defeat  any  attack  upon  it  by  Federal  or  State  Government  (I 
do  not  mean  the  American  Paper  and  Pulp  Association,  but  one  of 


5918  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

these  subsidiary  associations),  permission  to  members  to  bid  on  a 
prospective  contract  in  competition  with  outsiders. 

Up  to  date,  the  General  Paper  Company  has  been  dissolved,  and 
the  Fiber  and  Manila  Association  has  been  indicted  and  punished. 
The  Box  Board  Pool  collapsed  on  April  1,  1908.  The  Sulphite  Pulp 
Association  dissolved  and  reorganized  in  December,  1907,  as  a  Bureau 
of  Statistics.  The  president  of  the  American  Paper  and  Pulp  Asso- 
ciation, David  S.  Cowles,  resigned  September  24,  1908,  to  make  way 
for  Arthur  C.  Hastings,  of  Buffalo,  who  has  been  employed  to  organ- 
ize a  so-called  "  Bureau  of  Statistics  "  for  the  paper  trade. 

The  trade  disturbances  and  price  fluctuations  in  news-print  paper, 
due  to  unlawful  combinations,  have  been  continuous  since  the  passage 
of  the  Dingley  bill.  The  creation  of  the  General  Paper  Company  in 
the  West  merged  the  news-print  output  of  about  19  mills,  and  when 
the  Federal  Government  dissolved  it  at  the  instance  of  newspaper 
publishers,  one  of  its  officers  threatened  publishers  with  the  ven- 
geance of  higher  prices,  apparently  ignoring  the  fact  that  the  asso- 
ciation had  already  helped  to  add  $10  per  ton  to  the  cost  of  news- 
print paper. 

On  December  1,  1906,  21  western  mills  signed  a  tentative  agree- 
ment to  merge  (p.  1999)  into  a  corporation  with  $18,000,000  of  stock 
and  $15.000,000  in  bonds,  and  additional  bonds  for  73,000  acres  of 
timber  owned  by  the  mills.  A  syndicate  was  also  planned  to  "  pro- 
tect the  value  of  said  bonds  against  the  effect  of  injudicious  and  pre- 
mature sales,  and  the  ultimate  realization  of  their  full  worth."  I 
quote  the  phraseology  of  the  proposition.  The  participants  in  that 
deal  declined  to  testify  on  that  subject  before  the  congressional  com-" 
mittee,  one  witness  explaining  that  while  the  committee  might  grant 
immunity  against  prosecution  under  federal  laws,  it  could  not  pro- 
tect him  against  the  application  of  Wisconsin  laws  (pp.  2128  and 
2133). 

Mr.  John  A.  Davis,  who  had  been  manager  of  the  General  Paper 
Company  until  its  dissolution  and  who  had  been  largely  responsible 
for  the  methods  which  ultimately  wrought  its  ruin,  joined  the  firm 
of  H.  G.  Craig  &  Co.,  of  261  Broadway,  Xew  York,  February  1,  1907. 
His  new  venture  was  attended  with  the  prompt  acquirement  of  the 
selling  agency  of  a  number  of  mills  which  theretofore  had  been  acting 
independently.  He  controlled  an  output  of  about  750  tons  daily  from 
the  following  mills : 

St.  Kegis  Paper  Company,  St.  Croix  Paper  Company,  Gould  Paper 
Company,  Taggarts  Paper  Company,  West  End  Paper  Company, 
Malone  Paper  Company,  Le  Ray  Paper  Company,  De  Grasse  Paper 
Company. 

Incidentally  he  also  sold  paper  for  mills  like  the  Cliff.  At  a 
period  when  prices  were  hardening  from  some  cause,  Mr.  Davis  tied 
•up  over  a  million  dollars  in  paper,  representing  more  than  20.000  tons, 
so  that  when  publishers  applied  to  the  International  and  Great  North- 
ern Paper  companies  they  were  informed  that  no  paper  was  to  be  had 
from  them,  but  suggested  that  a  call  be  made  on  Mr.  Davis.  Within 
fifteen  minutes,  in  one  instance,  Mr.  Davis  called  on  the  long  distance 
telephone  and  arranged  to  ship  paper  at  a  price  of  $2.65,  equaling  $53 
per  ton.  The  representatives  of  the  large  paper  companies  instead  of 
exposing  this  manipulation  of  the  market  to  the  publishers  and  the 


PULP,  AND  PEINT  PAPER — JOHN  NORBIS.        5919 

authorities,  steered  purchasers  to  him,  and  they  were  equally  guilty. 
Mr.  Da  vis's  action  explains  the  so-called  paper  famine  of  1907.  The 
testimony  of  Mr.  H.  J.  Brown,  of  the  Berlin  Mills,  indicates  another 
phase  of  Mr.  Davis's  operations  in  paper  (p.  1387).  Again,  in 
March,  1908,  when  the  Belgo-Canadian  Mill,  of  Shawinigan  Falls, 
sold  10,000  tons  of  news-print  paper  to  an  American  purchaser,  Mr. 
S.  A.  Cook,  of  Neenah,  Wis.,  president  of  the  Alexandria  Pulp  and 
Paper  Company,  of  Indiana,  he  was  not  permitted  to  dispose  of  all  of 
it  in  this  market  and  2,500  tons  were  sold  to  Lloyd,  London,  and 
another  slice  went  to  England,  the  purchaser  paying  the  difference  in 
cost.  Some  of  the  mills  had  apparently  planned  in  August,  1908,  to 
create  a  paper  panic  by  writing  to  applicants  that  the  entire  output 
for  next  year  had  been  sold  out,  all  of  which  was  untrue,  because  in 
other  places  its  output  was  for  sale. 

At  present,  with  pulp  wood  a  drug  in  the  market,  many  of  the  mills 
being  loaded  up  with  more  than  a  year's  supply  in  stock,  and  with 
wages  and  supplies  reduced  in  cost  and  with  capacity  nearly  1,200 
tons  per  day  in  excess  of  demand,  the  paper  mills  are  holding  out  for 
what  seem  to  be  agreed  prices  for  future  delivery. 

They  seem  to  have  formed  that  kind  of  a  gentleman's  agreement 
which  the  Paper  Trade  Journal  declared  "  would  avoid  legal  pit- 
falls." Incidentally  it  may  be  noted  that  the  minutes  of  the  Parks 
Pool  disclosed  the  fact  that  the  paper-trade  publications  had  been 
urged  to  a  "  conservative  "  policy. 

At  all  times  the  methods  of  the  paper  makers  have  promoted 
secrecy  and  favoritism  in  prices.  The  International  Paper  Company 
in  1907  quoted  a  price  of  $52  per  ton  to  Mr.  Bass,  of  the  Bangor 
(Me.)  Commercial,  who  was  within  7  miles  of  its  paper  mill,  and  it 
quoted  $50  per  ton  to  papers  in  Atlanta  and  St.  Louis  (p.  1178). 
In  one  town  where  three  publishers  of  equal  merit  were  buying 
paper,  one  paid  $35  per  ton  and  another  paid  $55  per  ton  to  the 
same  manufacturer  for  identically  the  same  article.  The  testimony 
before  the  Mann  committee  showed  that  in  the  year  1908  a  price  of 
$37.60  was  paid  by  the  Hearst  papers,  against  a  price  of  $50  by  other 
papers  in  the  same  cities  to  the  same  company.  The  paper  makers 
have  arrayed  themselves  against  open  prices  and  against  open  deal- 
ing. They  have  preferred  to  keep  their  mills  idle  and  their  labor 
unemployed  and  to  allow  Canada  to  sell  paper  here,  to  the  advantage 
of  Canadian  labor  and  the  disadvantage  of  their  own  labor,  rather 
than  sell  paper  f .  o.  b.  mill.  When  I  applied  to  the  Remington-Martin 
Company  for  100  tons  of  paper  Avhich  it  wanted  to  sell  it  refused  to 
let  me  have  it  because  I  refused  to  tell  the  name  of  the  buyer,  the 
place  to  which  it  was  to  be  shipped,  and  the  contract  relations  of 
the  purchaser  to  other  companies.  I  applied  to  every  considerable 
news-print  paper  mill  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  for  paper  on 
terms  which  insured  cash  in  advance  for  the  paper  delivered  on  car 
at  the  mill,  and  I  was  not  able  to  buy  from  more  than  two  out  of 
fifty  mills.  Many  of  them  needed  orders.  Their  labor  was  working 
part  time;  but  they  preferred  to  respect  a  "  gentleman's  agreement  " 
and  starve  the  market  to  maintain  a  price.  Recently  I  applied  for  a 
price  for  paper  to  be  furnished  to  a  western  publication,  and  I  then 
discovered  that  the  paper  makers  not  only  interchanged  information, 
but  apparently  kept  an  index  of  the  expiration  of  each  paper  con- 
tract. Cases  have  been  brought  to  my  notice  of  applicants  for  paper 


5920  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPEKS,  AND  BOOKS. 

quotations  who  would  be  seated  in  one  room  while  a  clerk  would 
call  up  someone  to  ascertain  the  status  of  the  applicant.  Almost 
invariably  prohibitory  prices  were  quoted  under  such  conditions. 
Scores  upon  scores  of  publishers  have  complained  that  in  some  unac- 
countable way  they  had  been  apportioned  to  a  particular  mill  at  a 
given  price  and  that  all  the  results  of  a  paper  pool  were  accomplished, 
notwithstanding  the  denials  of  the  news-print  paper  makers.  What 
right  has  the  farmer  to  say  who  shall  make  into  bread  the  wheat 
that  he  sells?  Yet  these  favored  paper  makers  undertake  to  follow 
their  paper  into  our  press  rooms  and  to  dictate  what  publications 
shall  be  printed  upon  it.  When  the  selling  department  of  any  cor- 
poration makes  contracts  in  secret  and  makes  discriminating  rates 
to  publishers  and  favors  some  and  oppresses  others,  I  say  that  the 
concern  is  unsound  at  its  core  and  that  its  methods  are  a  crime 
against  the  stockholders  of  that  corporation. 

Upon  our  application  to  Congress  for  relief  a  year  ago  we  were 
told  that  our  remedy  was  through  the  executive  department  and 
the  courts.  We  furnished  to  the  Department  of  Justice  the  data 
by  which  the  Fiber  and  Manila  Association,  the  Box  Board  Pool, 
and  the  Sulphite  Pulp  Association  could  be  reached.  We  fur- 
nished evidence  against  other  groups  of  paper  makers.  We  fur- 
nished the  data  which  resulted  in  the  dissolution  of  the  General  Paper 
Company  and  in  the  issue  of  a  permanent  injunction  against  its  mem- 
bers, prohibiting  them  from  acting  in  concert.  Subsequent  to  the 
issue  of  that  injunction  many  of  them  cooperated  with  the  Parks  Pool 
in  Fibers  and  Manilas.  One  of  their  number,  the  Petoskey  Fiber 
Company,  of  Michigan,  openly  associated  itself  with  that  pool. 
Twenty-two  members  pleaded  guilty  to  violation  of  law.  They  had 
robbed  paper  users  of  an  average  of  $2,000,000  per  annum  by  arbi- 
trarily raising  prices  $16  per  ton,  and  by  closing  mills  and  by  re- 
stricting production  and  by  depriving  labor  of  its  just  rewards, 
because  the  tariff  kept  out  foreign  competition.  A  federal  judge, 
upon  the  recommendation  of  the  United  States  district  attorney,  let 
them  off  with  a  fine  of  $2,000  each,  or  $48,000  in  all.  I  hold  that 
indulgence  of  that  sort  was  not  a  punishment.  It  amounted  to  a 
license  to  break  the  law.  If  the  records  of  the  meetings  of  the  Fiber 
and  Manila  Association  are  examined,  I  am  confident  it  will  be  found 
that  many  of  its  members  are  breaking  the  law  to-day,  and  that  they 
are  meeting  regularly  to  fix  prices.  As  a  specimen  of  the  flagrant 
disregard  of  law  which  the  Fiber  and  Manila  men  show,  I  exhibit  to 
you  the  first  page  of  the  Paper  Trade  Journal  of  November  12,  giving 
the  details  of  a  uniform  price  list  which  they  had  adopted  as  of 
November  5,  1908,  advancing  prices  $3  per  ton. 

Against  the  Box  Board  Pool  which  invoiced  goods  exceeding 
$32,000,000  in  value,  at  a  pool  profit  of  $4,835,652  on  853,677  tons, 
and  against  the  Sulphite  Pulp  Association,  the  records  of  which  are 
in  possession  of  the  authorities,  not  one  step  of  which  we  are  aware 
has  been  taken. 

I  noticed  that  Mr.  Sidney  Mitchell  was  on  the  list  to  address  you 
on  the  matter  of  box  boards.  It  is  unfortunate  that  Mr.  Mitchell  did 
not  appear,  because  Mr.  Mitchell  was  head  and  front  of  the  box- 
board  pool  and  the  prime  factor  in  the  wreck  of  the  United  States 
Box  Board  Company. 


PULP,  AND  PKINT  PAPER JOHN   NORRIS.  5921 

The  Petoskey  company,  which  was  guilty  of  contempt  of  court  in 
openly  disregarding  the  writ  of  prohibition  of  the  court,  has  appar- 
ently escaped  all  penalties.  To  whom  shall  we  look  for  a  stoppage 
of  such  lawbreaking?  Do  you  propose  to  continue  to  show  favor  to 
these  transgressors  and  to  saddle  upon  the  paper  consumers  the  bur- 
dens of  their  misdoings?  All  respect  for  courts  and  for  laws  is 
destroyed  when  such  things  are  possible. 

Carrying  our  complaints  to  the  Mann  committee,  and  telling  our 
story  to  that  body,  we  encountered  perjury  and  lying  in  every  aspect. 
We  had  charged  that  the  International  Paper  Company  was  produc- 
ing 63,000  tons  of  manilas  annually  in  four  of  its  mills  and  was  selling 
that  output  through  the  Continental  Paper  Bag  Company,  its  exclu- 
sive selling  agent.  We  charged  that  the  International  Paper  Com- 
pany, through  the  Continental  Paper  Bag  Company,  whose  stock  it 
controlled,  was  participating  in  that  pool.  Mr.  Waller,  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  International  Paper  Company,  appeared  before  the  Mann 
committee  on  May  18,  1908,  and  unqualifiedly  denied  any  participa- 
tion or  any  interest  in  any  combination  or  any  pool  of  any  sort, 
either  directly  or  through  selling  agents,  and  this  applied  to  "  any 
grade  of  paper."  Yet  within  thirty-two  days  after  that  testimony 
was  given,  that  is,  on  June  19,  1908,  the  Continental  Paper  Bag 
Company  pleaded  guilty  to  participation  in  the  fiber  and  manila 
pool.  The  Continental  Paper  Bag  .Company  hid  its  identity  in 
the  records  of  the  association  by  appearing  on  the  minutes  as  John 
Smith.  And  the  indictment  shows  that  that  association  voted  (see 
folio  55  of  indictment,  a  copy  of  which  I  have  here)  to  send  its  uni- 
form price  list  to  Mr.  Sparks,  of  the  Union  Bag  and  Paper  Company, 
and  "  one  to  Mr.  Waller,  of  the  International  Paper  Company,  for 
their  guidance." 

Mr.  G.  H.  P.  Gould  also  appeared  before  the  Mann  committee  on 
May  16,  1908,  and  denied  all  knowledge  of  or  participation  in  any 
combination.  On  June  19,  1908,  that  is,  thirty- four  days  thereafter, 
the  corporation  of  which  he  was  and  is  president  pleaded  guilty  to 
participation  in  the  fiber  and  manila  pool. 

Officers  operating  western  fiber  and  manila  mills  appeared  before 
the  Mann  committee  and  testified  that  they  knew  of  no  arrangements 
for  restricting  output  or  fixing  prices,  yet  they  did  meet.  They  did 
agree  to  close  their  mills  for  a  period.  They  did  close  their  mills, 
and  they  did  so  in  disregard  of  the  prohibition  of  the  United  States 
court  dated  June  18,  1906. 

Practically  all  of  the  mills  of  Wisconsin  which  were  participants  in 
the  General  Paper  Company  have  united  in  the  creation  of  a  traffic 
bureau  which  concentrates  the  routing  and  handling  of  one  and  one- 
half  million  tons  of  incoming  and  outgoing  traffic  for  them.  The 
same  mills  have  common  buyers  who  purchase  all  of  their  pulp  wood. 
For  a  time  all  of  them  had  auditors  inspecting  their  books  and 
gauging  their  business  assumedly  for  Dean  and  Shibley.  In  view 
of  the  fact  that  these  mills  quote  what  seem  to  be  agreed  prices  and 
accuse  each  other  occasionally  of  cutting  prices,  I  can  not  conceive 
of  any  machinery  more  complete  for  a  combination  in  restraint  of 
trade. 

The  Fiber  and  Manila  Association  and  the  Sulphite  Pulp  Associa- 
tion affect  the  news-print  paper  situation.  When  mills  which  can 
be  changed  to  make  news-print  paper  with  slight  cost  are  made  exces- 


5922  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

sively  profitable  in  other  directions  by  these  pooling  arrangements 
(see  p.  226),  then  their  equipment  is  kept  out  of  news-print  paper 
production,  and  a  news-print  paper  famine  is  promoted. 

RESTRICTION   OF   OUTPUT. 

When  the  International  Paper  Company  was  organized,  it  absorbed 
111  machines  making  news-print  paper,  with  an  assumed  capacity  of 
1,600  tons  per  day.  Three  of  the  machines  were  sold.  Fifteen  were 
discontinued,  5  were  leased,  and  15  were  diverted  to  other  uses.  Only 
2  machines  for  making  news  print  have  been  added  to  the  equip- 
ment, and  that  was  not  done  until  after  the  lapse  of  nine  and  one- 
half  years.  To-day  it  has  67  news-print  machines  with  a  capacity  of 
1,416  tons  per  day,  but  as  the  International  Paper  Company  had 
diverted  125  tons  of  its  product  from  domestic  to  foreign  service,  the 
supply  to  its  American  customers  was  1,291  tons  per  day,  or  309  tons 
per  day  less  than  its  rated  capacity  for  news-print  production  in 
1898.  If  it  enjoyed  your  tariff  benefaction  it  should  have  taken  care 
of  the  domestic  supply,  and  the  responsibility  for  a  paper  famine 
rests  largely  on  it.  We  also  call  attention  to  the  testimony  of  the 
manager  of  the  Combined  Locks  Mill  (p.  2102),  who  shut  down 
his  mill  and  discharged  his  help  rather  than  solicit  orders. 

On  November  25,  1903,  all  the  news-print  mills  agreed  to  close 
down  for  one  week  and  to  reduce  the  quantity  of  paper  on  hand. 
Notices  of  the  shut  down  were  circulated  and  printed  in  the  trade 
press.  As  a  result  of  that  performance  there  was  a  paper  famine  and 
prices  bounded  to  $50  per  ton.  Then  the  Publishers'  Association 
appointed  a  committee  which  visited  Washington  in  April,  1904,  and 
appeared  before  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  House  in  an  effort 
to  compel  the  paper  makers  to  keep  within  the  law.  Ordinarily  a 
paper  mill  might  shut  down  when  its  output  exceeded  the  demand. 
But  when  that  shutting  down  is  part  of  an  agreement  between  mills 
to  starve  the  market  and  to  extort  excessive  profits  from  buyers  and 
to  throw  thousands  of  workingmen  into  idleness,  then  that  arrange- 
ment assumes  another  aspect. 

THE  SULPHITE  POOL. 

For  more  than  five  years  the  members  of  the  Sulphite  Pulp  Pool 
have  been  attending  monthly  meetings  to  hold  up  the  market  by  its 
boot  straps.  They  were  continuously  embarrassed  by  the  refusal  of 
Theodore  Burgess,  of  the  Burgess  Sulphite  Company,  of  Berlin, 
N.  H.,  producing  340  tons  of  sulphite  pulp  per  day,  to  restrict  his 
tonnage.  Finally,  he  was  bought  out  by  Mr.  W.  W.  Brown,  of  the 
Berlin  Mills,  who  cut  its  production  to  90  tons  per  day,  and  a  shout 
of  great  joy  went  up  over  the  elimination  of  this  disturber.  The  poo] 
members  had  not  reckoned  that  the  paper  makers  would  desert  them. 
They  had  a  rude  awakening,  however,  when  they  discovered  that  the 
purchasers  of  sulphite  pulp,  like  George  A.  Whiting,  of  Menasha, 
Wis.,  were  buying  sulphite  pulp  where  they  could  buy  it  cheapest 
(see  p.  2066).  Other  mill  men,  including  John  Strange  (see  p. 
2086)  said  they  bought  foreign  sulphite  because  it  was  superior  to 
the  American  product.  The  Germans  had  devoted  great  study  and 
energy  to  the  promotion  of  the  sulphite  manufacture  and  had  made 
many  improvements  while"  the  American  makers  were  content  to  run 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER JOHN   NORKIS.  5923 

along  on  primitive  methods.  The  high  prices  which  the  American 
producers  had  fixed,  and  to  maintain  which  they  had  restricted  their 
output,  invited  large  importations  of  foreign  pulp,  so  that  in  the  first, 
seven  months  of  the  year  1908  the  foreign  makers  furnished  57  per 
cent  of  all  the  sulphite  used  in  the  United  States.  Twenty-eight  thou- 
sand tons  came  from  Europe,  11,000  tons  from  Canada,  and  33,000  tons 
from  American  mills.  In  June,  1908,  prices  for  sulphite  dropped  to 
a  lower  level  than  they  had  reached  in  eight  years.  The  Sulphite 
men  professedly  changed  their  organization  on  December  19,  1907,  to 
one  of  statistics,  in  an  effort  to  evade  the  federal  statute.  They  now 
ask  that  Congress  tax  all  paper  users  for  their  benefit  by  raising  the 
duties  on  bleached  and  unbleached  pulp. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  is  not  necessary  to  read  that  portion;  just  skip 
the  part  in  reference  to  the  newspapers. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  Very  well. 
*     The  part  referred  to  is  as  follows : 

I  submit  a  schedule  of  references  to  testimony  of  42  newspapers,  on  uniform 
bids;  of  54  newspapers,  about  refusal  of  mills  to  quote  prices  or  to  make  con- 
tracts ;  of  13  newspapers,  on  lack  of  competition ;  of  18  newspapers,  on  limita- 
tion of  contracts  to  one  year ;  of  159  newspapers,  on  prophecies  by  paper  mill 
representatives  of  coming  advances  in  prices  and  of  a  paper  famine;  of  7 
newspapers,  on  interchange  of  information  by  mills ;  of  8  newspapers,  on  simul- 
taneous advances  in  prices  by  paper  mills ;  of  26  newspapers,  on  the  allotment 
of  consumers  to  particular  mills ;  of  6  newspapers,  about  quotations  made  sub- 
ject to  change  without  notice  or  for  twenty-four  hours  only ;  of  11  newspapers, 
on  threats  or  scores  by  paper  makers;  of  99  newspapers,  action  by  mills  in  fixing 
prices,  including  dates  of  meetings. 

NO  FEAR  OF  COMBINATIONS. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  We  have  no  fear  of  a  trade  combination  as  such.  When 
it  attempts  to  combat  natural  laws  of  trade  it  invites  failure.  It 
1897  a  new  production  of  500  tons  of  news-print  paper  resulted  from 
the  mere  discussion  of  the  scheme  to  consolidate  30  mills.  The 
actual  merge  of  those  mills  in  1898  induced  the  building  of  the  Great 
Northern  mill  and  of  similar  plants.  The  proposition  to  consolidate 
20  Western  mills  into  the  General  Paper  Company  also  increased  the 
Western  capacity  for  paper,  and  periods  of  reaction  and  demoraliza- 
tion followed  the  seasons  of  artificial  stimulation.  The  combinations 
of  paper  mills  induced  combinations  of  supply  men,  and  of  dealers 
in  wild  lands,  all  of  whom  marked  up  their  prices,  thereby  appro- 
priating much  of  the  additional  profits  which  the  consolidators 
sought  to  obtain.  The  newspapers,  however,  carried  everybody's 
load.  What  we  object  to  are  the  methods  of  the  dark  lantern  and  of 
the  sandbag. 

The  following  extracts  were  submitted  by  Mr.  Norris : 

BOOK  MEN  MEET. 

THEY  DISCUSS  THE  UNSATISFACTORY  CONDITIONS  NOW  PREVAILING — AFTEB  THE 
MEETING  OF  THE  MANUFACTURERS  IT  IS  REPORTED  THAT  LEADING  WESTERN  JOB- 
BERS HELD  A  LITTLE  MEETING  OF  THEIR  OWN — A  CONSOLIDATION  OF  WESfERN  BOOK 
JOBBING  HOUSES. 

[From  our  regular  correspondent.] 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  November  2,  1908. — The  majority  of  the  western  manufacturers 
of  book  and  coated  papers,  together  with  a  small  representation  of  eastern 
manufacturers  of  the  same  grades  of  paper,  met  at  the  Auditorium,  in  Chicago, 
last  week.  No  public  announcement  was  made  of  the  business  transacted. 


5924  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

It  Is  reported  that  preceding  the  meeting  there  was  a  love  feaet,  and  that 
much  of  the  misunderstanding  and  hard  feeling  prevailing  since  the  summer 
meeting,  which  culminated  in  a  cut  of  prices,  was  amicably  settled.  General 
conditions  were  discussed.  Most  of  the  manufacturers  reported  a  substantial 
increase  of  orders,  but  that  present  low  prices  hardly  covered  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction. Fears  were  expressed  that  the  supply  of  pulp  would  be  short  this  year 
because  of  the  drought.  While  it  was  the  consensus  of  opinion  that  conditions 
warranted  higher  prices  for  book  paper,  no  immediate  advance  was  predicted. 

Before  leaving  Chicago  several  of  the  manufacturers  were  very  active  in 
soliciting  orders  at  present  prevailing  prices,  and  in  doing  so  hinted  of  possible 
future  advances  in  price.  One  large  Ohio  manufacturer  was  reported  not  repre- 
sented at  the  meeting. 

Immediately  after  the  book-paper  manufacturers  had  left  Chicago  the  sales 
manager  of  the  Ohio  mill  arrived  in  town,  and  coincidently  representative 
paper  jobbers  from  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul,  Louisville,  St.  Louis,  and  Kansas 
City.  A  meeting  of  the  jobbers  was  held  Saturday,  and  the  Ohio  sales  manager 
was  much  in  evidence.  Chicago  jobbers  were  not  represented  at  the  meeting. 
The  representative  of  The  Paper  Trade  Journal  was  told  that  no  report  ol 
the  meeting  would  be  given  to  the  public.  The  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul 
jobbers  stated  that  they  were  in  Chicago  to  see  the  Minnesota  boys  do  up  the 
Chicago  University  football  players,  but  this  did  not  explain  the  presence  of 
the  jobbers  from  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City,  and  Louisville.  The  Ohio  sales  man- 
ager hinted  that  it  was  a  birthday  party.  At  any  rate,  some  sort  of  a  confer- 
ence was  held,  and  in  all  probability  it  was  in  reference  to  the  book-paper 
situation. 

The  presence  at  the  meeting  of  Judge  Moore,  counsel  for  the  West  Virginia 
Pulp  and  Paper  Company,  was  also  reported.  It  leaked  out  that  there  was 
a  scheme  of  consolidation  of  ten  of  the  large  Western  paper  jobbing  houses  in 
contemplation.  What  advantages  of  consolidating  were  offered  are  not  known 
to  the  public.  The  proposition  was  such  a  strange  one  that  it  is  causing  con- 
siderable talk  in  the  trade.  It  seems  that  the  gathering  was  not  instigated 
by  the  jobbers,  but  by  the  manufacturers.  It  is  reported  that  only  one  Chicago 
house  was  invited  to  attend  the  conference.  Nothing  definite  was  transacted, 
as  all  of  the  jobbers  attending  the  conference  were  not  in  accord  with  the 
movement,  whatever  it  was.  One  jobber  dropped  the  remark  that  it  would 
take  more  money  than  they  had  to  buy  them  out,  and  that  as  far  as  his  house 
was  concerned  he  was  not  interested. 

Later  developments  are  awaited  with  interest  by  the  trade,  but,  like  other 
schemes  which  look  well  on  paper,  may  never  be  realized. — The  Paper  Trade 
Journal,  November  5,  1908. 


WRAPPINGS  ADVANCED. 

WESTERN  M.  &  F.  MEN  ADOPT  NEW  UNIFORM  PRICES  ON  MANILAS  AND  FIBERS — 
FIBER  PAPERS  AND  NO.  2  MANILAS  ADVANCED  ABOUT  $3  PER  TON,  BUT  NO  INCREASE 
IS  ANNOUNCED  ON  NO.  1  MANILAS — COST  OF  PRODUCTION  HIGHER  BECAUSE  OF 

SHORTAGE  OF  PULP. 

The  western  manufacturers  of  manila  and  fiber  papers  have  adopted  a  new 
uniform  list  of  prices  covering  the  various  grades  of  manila  and  fiber  papers. 
The  list,  which  became  effective  on  Thursday  of  last  week,  reads  as  follows : 

Screenings $2. 15 

White  manila,  30  to  35  pound 2.60 

Butchers'  fiber: 

50  to  65  pound 2.80 

Heavy  weights 2.  90 

No.  1  water  finish   (white  or  drab)  : 

40  pound  and  heavier 3.05 

35   pound 3.20 

30  pound 3.  60 

Black  pattern  paper,  35  to  50  pound 3.15 

No.  1  colors: 

40  pound  and  heavier 3.30 

35  pound 8. 45 

80  pound 8.  85 


PULP,  AND   PRINT   PAPER.  5925 

No.  1  manila: 

35  pounds  and  heavier $2.85 

30  pound 3.  00 

25   pound 3.  25 

Butchers'  mauila,  50  pound  and  heavier 2.50 

No.  2  mnnila : 

35  pound  and  heavier 2.60 

30  pound 2.  70 

No.  1  water  finish  (all  sulphite)  : 

40  pound  and  heavier " 3. 15 

35  pound 3.  30 

30  pound 3.  70 

Green  pattern  paper,  35  to  50  pound - 3.  30 

No.  1  dry  finish : 

35  pound  and  heavier > •  8. 15 

30  pound 3.  30 

25  pound 3.  70 

The  above  prices  are  all  delivered  on  a  20-cent  freight  rate  or  under.  For  all 
other  places  the  excess  freight  must  be  added.  On  local  shipments  the  prices 
would  be  the  prices  quoted  above  less  10  cents  f.  o.  b.  mill. 

Sizes  under  150  square  inches,  10  cents  extra. 

Frames,  10  cents  per  100  extra. 

Tight  frames,  20  cents  per  100  extra. 

Cases  not  less  than  400  pounds  to  the  case,  25  cents  per  100  extra. 

Rolls  under  6  inches  wide,  25  cents  per  100  extra. 

Rolls  under  9  inches  in  diameter,  25  cents  per  100  extra. 

Blasting  rolls,  one-quarter  of  a  cent  extra  for  5-pound  rolls,  10  cents  per  100 
extra  for  each  pound  less  in  weight. 

Reams  less  than  480  sheets  count,  $2  per  ton  extra. 

Ream  wrapping,  20  cents  per  100  extra. 

Wood  cores  to  be  weighed  in  and  not  returnable. 

The  Eastern  manufacturers  are  expected  to  adopt  a  similar  price  list  within  a 
short  time. — The  Paper  Trade  Journal,  November  12,  1908. 


STATEMENT  OF  FRANK  J.  KELLY,  REPRESENTING  THE  INTER- 
NATIONAL PHOTO-ENGRAVERS'  UNION  OF  NORTH  AMERICA, 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

SATURDAY,  November  81,  1908. 

Mr.  KELLY.  The  International  Photo-Engravers  Union  of  North 
America  asks  the  abolition  of  the  duty  on  white  paper  and  wood 
pulp,  believing  that  the  present  duty  limits  the  employment  of  mem- 
bers of  our  organization. 

The  enforced  reduction  in  the  size  of  plates  made  by  our  members 
owing  to  the  increased  cost  of  news-print  paper  has  resulted  in  the 
loss  of  employment  by  many  of  our  members. 

Furthermore,  practically  every  demand  made  for  increased  wages 
by  our  members  on  newspapers  in  the  last  three  years  has  been  con- 
tested on  the  ground  that  the  increased  cost  of  white  paper  has  made 
it  impossible  to  meet  such  demands. 


STATEMENT  OF  PATRICK  J.  McMULLEN,  REPRESENTING  THE 
INTERNATIONAL  PRINTING  PRESSMEN  AND  ASSISTANTS' 
UNION  OF  NORTH  AMERICA,  CINCINNATI,  OHIO. 

SATURDAY,  November  81,  1908. 

Mr.  McMuLLEN.  I  simply  want  to  verify  the  facts  contained  in 
the  resolutions  passed  and  adopted  by  our  convention. 


5926        SCHEDULE  M PULP,  PAPEKS,  AND  BOOKS. 

STATEMENT  MADE  BY  JAMES  J.  FREEL,  REPRESENTING  THE 
INTERNATIONAL  STEREOTYPERS  AND  ELECTROTYPERS' 
UNION,  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  FREEL.  I  want  to  say  that  I  represent  the  International  Stereo- 
typers and  Electrotypers'  Union,  the  members  of  which  are  employed 
on  the  newspapers.  I  would  like  to  read  this  resolution,  which  is  a 
short  one,  for  the  purpose  of  placing  our  organization  and  the  other 
organizations  on  record. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Proceed. 

Mr.  FREEL  (reads)  : 

Resolutions  adopted  by  the  joint  conference  board  of  the  Allied  Printing 
Trades,  composed  of  delegates  representing  the  International  Typographical 
Union,  International  Printing  Pressmen  and  Assistants'  Union,  International 
Stereotypers  and  Electrotypers'  Union,  International  Photo-Engravers'  Union, 
and  the  International  Brotherhood  of  Bookbinders » 

Whereas  we,  the  workers  employed  in  the  various  departments  of  newspaper 
and  commercial  printing  offices  throughout  the  United  States,  i.  e.,  compositors, 
pressmen,  stereotypers  and  electrotypers,  photo-engravers,  and  bookbinders,  to 
the  number  of  over  100,000,  feel  that  any  combination  which  produces  an 
artificial  scarcity  of  news-print  paper,  and  which  unduly  stimulates  the  price 
of  product,  is  an  oppression  that  affects  alike  the  employee  as  well  as  the 
employer ;  and 

Whereas  the  almost  prohibitive  and  ruinous  price  of  such  paper  has  curtailed 
to  an  alarming  extent  the  number  of  workers  employed  in  the  printing  industry, 
and  has  further  acted  as  a  preventive  to  the  printing  trades  artisans  from 
securing  higher  compensation  for  their  services,  to  which  they  are  justly 
entitled :  Therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  joint  conference  board,  in  session  at  Indianapolis,  Iiid., 
December  17,  1907,  submit  a  memorial  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  and 
the  Congress,  and  appeal  for  the  abolition  of  the  duty  on  white  paper,  wood 
pulp,  and  the  materials  which  are  used  in  the  manufacture  thereof. 

Resolved,  That  all  local  unions  affiliated  with  our  various  international 
organizations  are  requested  to  indorse  these  resolutions  and  forward  copies  to 
their  Representatives  and  United  States  Senators. 

I  would  like  to  say  that  that  was  the  position  of  the  organization 
that  I  represent  in  December,  1907,  and  that  is  their  position  to-day, 
and  we  respectfully  ask  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  to  abolish 
the  tariff  on  wood  pulp  and  news-print  paper. 


STATEMENT    OF   J.    W.    HAYS,    FIRST   VICE-PRESIDENT    INTER- 
NATIONAL TYPOGRAPHICAL  UNION,  MINNEAPOLIS,  MINN. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  HAYS.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee,  representing  the  International  Typographical  Union, 
the  largest  organization  which  has  to  deal  with  the  American  News- 
paper Publishers'  Association,  and,  perhaps,  the  organization  more 
closely  associated  with  the  management  in  relation  to  the  papers 
they  print,  and  being  better  informed  as  to  the  reasons  why  the  size 
of  papers  is  at  this  time  reduced  and  the  reasons  why  fewer  members 
of  that  organization  are  employed  by  that  association,  I  desire  to  say 
that  our  organization  thinks  it  would  be  to  the  interests  of  its  mem- 
bers and  to  the  interests  of  125,000  members  associated  with  the  allied 
printing  trades  that  the  duty  on  pulp  and  print  paper  be  abolished. 


PULP,  AND  PRINT   PAPER.  5927 

The  positions  which  we  hold  in  the  newspaper  offices  are  such  that 
we  receive  direct  illustration  at  times  that  sizes  of  papers  are  reduced 
or  at  times  that  the  papers  might  be  larger  than  they  are  and  more  of 
our  members  employed  were  it  not  for  certain  things.  We  find  from 
experience  that  the  sizes  of  the  papers  are  frequently  reduced  because 
of  the  fact  that  paper  is  scarce.  We  know  from  experience  that 
these  publishers  hold  the  papers  down  to  as  small  a  size  as  possible 
ostensibly  for  the  reason  that  the  price  of  paper  is  so  high.  We 
believe  that  the  ostensible  reason  is  practical  and  true. 

We  also  believe  that  were  it  not  for  this  duty  on  wood  pulp  and  print 
paper  that  there  would  be  a  much  larger  number  of  men  employed 
in  the  paper  mills.  We  believe  that  the  tariff  now  existing  on  wood 
pulp  and  paper  does  not  redound  to  any  extent  to  the  benefit  of  the 
people  who  are  employed  in  those  mills,  and  that  without  this  tariff 
the  demand  for  white  paper  would  be  so  much  larger  and  the  demand 
for  print  paper  would  pe  so  much  larger  that  the  benefit  would  accrue 
to  the  entire  community  by  reason  of  the  employment  of  a  larger 
number  of  people  in  those  industries.  We  believe  that  with  the 
larger  number  of  people  employed  in  those  industries  we,  work- 
ing under  agreement,  will  get  large  wages  as  compared  with  the 
wages  paid  in  the  paper  mills  and  that  it  would  also  result  in  the 
employment  of  a  greater  number  of  our  members  and  in  increasing 
our  membership  at  the  same  time. 

Therefore  we  believe  that,  while  the  tariff  now  existing  does  not 
increase  in  any  way  the  wages  of  the  people  who  work  in  the  paper 
mills,  it  does  decrease  the  opportunity  to  work  in  the  newspapers 
throughout  the  country.  Therefore  we  believe  that  large  numbers 
of  the  working  people  throughout  this  country  would  be  materially 
benefited  by  taking  off  the  duty  on  paper. 

I  thank  you  very  much. 


STATEMENT  OF  ARTHUR  C.  HASTINGS,  PRESIDENT  OF  AMERICAN 
PAPER  AND  PULP  ASSOCIATION,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

SATURDAY,  November  $1,  1908. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  intend,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  take  any  of  your 
time  this  evening,  as  I  understand  the  paper  which  I  am  going  to 
submit  will  be  printed  in  the  minutes,  and  that  will  give  more  time 
to  others  who  wish  to  be  heard. 

I  have  nothing  to  say,  except  in  a  general  way,  and  I  think  you 
gentlemen  can  read  the  brief  to  better  advantage  than  to  have  me 
read  it  from  here.  I  do  put  myself  on  record — representing  some  150 
members  of  the  American  Paper  and  Pulp  Association— as  being 
in  favor  of  the  retention  of  the  duties  on  paper  and  pulp,  and  I 
have  no  doubt,  although  I  can  not  speak  for  them,  that  all  the  manu- 
facturers of  paper  practically  feel  the  same  way. 

I  also  desire  to  say  that  I  have  been  listening  this  afternoon  to  the 
paper  by  Mr.  Nprris.  I  never  did  like  that  paper,  and  this  is  the 
third  or  fourth  time  I  have  heard  the  most  of  it. 

I  also  desire  to  file  with  the  committee  a  statement  from  the  Box 
Board  Manufacturers,  who  were  not  present  when  their  names  were 
called  by  the  chairman. 

75941— II.  Doc.  1505.  60-2— Vol  6 11 


5928  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

(The  statement  referred  to  by  Mr.  Hastings  follows:) 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee: 

Representing  the  box-board  industry  in  the  United  States,  we  submit  the  fol- 
lowing reasons  for  our  request  that  the  present  tariff  on  box  boards  be  main- 
tained: 

The  capital  Invested  In  the  box-board  Industry  is  approximately  $33,000,000. 
There  are  126  box-board  mills  with  an  annual  capacity  of  970,000  tons,  valued 
at  about  $30,000,000,  employing  approximately  6,300  wage-earners  who  receive 
about  $4,000,000  in  wages  per  annum,  besides  salaries  of  officials,  clerks,  etc., 
of  about  $800,000  per  annum. 

The  freight  paid  railroads  on  box  boards  is  more  than  $2,000,000  annually, 
besides  freight  paid  on  products  coming  into  the  mills.  Approximately  3,000,000 
tons  of  material  are  purchased  and  consumed  per  year  in  the  manufacture  of 
box  board. 

The  industry  Is  increasing  largely.  According  to  United  States  census  re- 
ports the  box-board  tonnage  in  1900  was  365,000  tons,  at  a  value  of  over  $10,- 
000,000 ;  in  1905,  520,000  tons,  at  a  value  of  over  $16,000,000,  and  we  figure  the 
present  capacity  970,000  tons,  at  a  value  of  $30,000,000,  or  an  increase  of  200 
per  cent  in  eight  years.  Raw  material  and  labor  are  considerably  lower  abroad 
than  in  the  United  States. 

Notwithstanding  the  duty  of  25  per  cent  on  boards,  large  quantities  are  im- 
ported in  increasing  volume  each  year. 

Box  board  is  mostly  manufactured  from  waste  material,  namely,  straw  and 
waste  paper,  for  which  the  box-board  mills  pay  annually  over  $14,000,000.  This 
material  would  necessarily  be  burned  or  otherwise  destroyed  if  not  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  box  board.  The  freight  rate  on  straw  board  from  the  mills 
to  eastern  manufacturing  centers  averages  about  $4  per  ton,  while  the  rate  to 
same  points  from  foreign  countries  is  about  $2  per  ton. 

Owing  to  cheapness  of  labor,  waste  paper  is  purchased  In  England,  shipped 
to  Holland  and  Germany,  manufactured  into  box  board,  and  sold  in  New  York 
and  Philadelphia.  We  are  informed  that  several  board  machines  have  recently 
been  purchased  for  shipment  to  Japan.  These  will  undoubtedly  be  user]  to  sup- 
ply boards  to  our  Pacific  coast. 

For  the  above  reasons  we  believe  that  our  industry  is  at  least  entitled  to  the 
protection  afforded  by  the  present  tariff. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

(Signed)  CHAS.  E.  WILLIAMS. 

SIDNEY  MITCHELL. 
WM.  R.  SHAFFER. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  is  the  association  which  you  represent? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  The  American  Paper  and  Pulp  Association. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  is  that  association  composed  of? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Manufacturers  of  paper  and  pulp  in  all  lines,  writ- 
ing paper,  box,  newspaper,  wood  pulp,  sulphite,  etc. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  is  the  purpose  of  the  association? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Originally  the  purpose  was  supposed  to  be  to  look 
out  for  their  interests  in  the  matter  of  legislation  or  state  matters,  so 
that  they  could  take  up  as  an  association  matters  which  the  indi- 
viduals could  not  take  up.  Finally,  it  got  to  be  a  social  organization 
with  a  meeting  once  a  year,  a  dinner,  and  a  general  good  time. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  They  do  not  hear  from  one  another  during  the  year  ? 

Mr.  HASTiNGSi  They  have  not  until  the  last  year.  We  have  been 
quite  active  with  a  view  to  trying  to  get  them  interested  in  the  tariff 
matters. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Is  there  anyone  here  to  speak  for  them  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  That  is  naturally  my  business.  I  am  the  president 
of  the  association. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  heard  Mr.  Norris's  paper.  It  was  your  asso- 
ciation he  referred  to  as  controlling  the  prices  of  wood  pulp  and 
paper  ? 


PULP,  AND  PEINT  PAPER — ARTHUR  C.   HASTINGS.  5929 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  heard  a  great  deal  that  Mr.  Norris  said. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  have  you  to  say  as  to  that  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  say  it  is  absolutely  false,  without  any  foundation 
of  fact. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  There  is  no  combination  in  your  association  to 
control  the  price? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  There  is  absolutely  none. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Or  to  control  the  market  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Does  your  association  in  any  way  divide  the 
market  that  your  mills  shall  supply  paper  to? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Is  there  any  understanding  that  you  shall  main- 
tain the  same  price  during  the  year  or  a  relative  price? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Is  it  a  fact  that  the  price  of  newspaper,  white 
paper,  is  about  the  same  at  all  times? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  It  is  not  a  fact. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  all  have  selling  agents  who  control  your 
product  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir.  Some  sell  more  or  less  direct  by  corre- 
spondence. I  am  the  treasurer  and  manager  of  the  Cliff  Paper  Com- 
pany, of  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.  We  make  practically  40  tons  of  paper 
a  day.  All  that  paper  is  sold  practically  by  correspondence  and 
some  through  jobbers,  all  the  way  from  California  to  Australia. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  amount  of  white  paper  the  news- 
papers consume  in  the  United  States? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Roughly,  probably  3,500  tons  a  day. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  much  of  that  is  produced  in  the  United 
States? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  3,500  tons. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  present  duty,  then,  is  prohibitive? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir;  it  is  not. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  There  are  no  importations? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  To  what  extent? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Last  year  about  25,000  tons  were  imported,  as  I 
understand. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  percentage  of  importations  to  the 
amount  of  production  in  the  United  States? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Some  years  there  is  none  imported.  Other  years, 
due  to  abnormal  conditions  as  to  extra  demand  or  as  to  short  produc- 
tion through  water  conditions,  there  might  be  any  percentage  up  to 
2  or  3  per  cent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  it  on  the  average? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  should  not  say  that  there  were  over  ten  or  fifteen 
thousand  tons  on  an  average  imported. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  that  percentage  as  compared  with  the 
amount  of  production  in  this  country? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  That  would  not  be  over  about  1  per  cent  or  2  per 
cent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  the  present  duty  is  practically  prohibitive 
in  so  far  as  its  result  on  the  market  is  concerned  2 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Not  if  the  prices  warrant. 


5930  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  mean  at  the  existing  prices.  Of  course,  I  recog- 
nize that  the  prices  can  go  up  and  bring  in  a  great  deal  of  paper.  I 
mean  considering  the  question  from  what  the  normal  prices  have 
been  in  the  past  and  the  normal  importations  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No;  I  do  not  think  it  is  prohibitive.  I  consider 
an  overproduction  in  another  country  that  wanted  to  sell  at  a  dump- 
ing price  can  come  in,  and  does. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  But  the  normal  condition  of  the  market,  with  the 
present  duty,  is  not  inviting  to  the  shipment  of  paper  into  this 
country  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Not  at  the  market  price,  no;  but  there  is  paper 
which  might  come  in  under  a  clause  which  would  not  forbid  dumping. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Of  course,  we  are  considering  the  proposition 
from  what  actually  is  taking  place,  not  from  what  might  happen. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Has  it  ever  happened? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  It  has  happened? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  broke  the  price  of  paper  over  here  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  There  would  not  be  enough  to  come  in  to  break  the 
price,  but  we  paper  manufacturers  believe  that  to  let  down  the  bars 
so  any  country  that  is  better  situated  through  natural  conditions  to 
compete  with  us,  and  with  the  cheaper  labor,  that  it  would  not  be 
many  years  before  the  business  would  increase  so  that  you  would 
practically  put  the  mills  of  this  country  out  of  business. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Where  are  the  importations  from? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Canada,  Norway,  and  Sweden. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  There  is  no  cheaper  labor  in  Canada  ? 

Mr.  BLASTINGS.  Yes,  sir;  a  little  cheaper  labor. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  One  of  the  mill  men  here  swore  that  they  had  higher 
labor? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  did  not  hear  that  statement,  but  we  have  a  report 
from  the  select  committee. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  said  "  swore ;  "  I  meant,  stated  the  fact. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  If  he  was  a  paper  manufacturer,  it  would  not  have 
made  any  difference  between  swore  and  stated. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  just  wanted  to  keep  the  record  straight,  that  is  all. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  have  an  idea  that  a  paper  manufacturer  is  more 
likely  to  tell  the  truth  than  other  people? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir;  not  necessarily. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Your  remark,  then,  was  supposed  to  be  humorous? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Are  you  one  of  the  24  men  who  were  fined  $2,000  each? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Who  were  those  gentlemen? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  know. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  undertake  to  tell  this  committee  that  you  do 
not  know  the  men  who  were  prosecuted  and  fined  $2,000  apiece  by 
the  court? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  certainly  do.  I  might  tell  you  an  individual  here 
and  there. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  were  they  fined  for? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  They  were  accused  of  some  kind  of  collusion. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Collusion  about  what? 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER — ARTHUR   C.   HASTINGS.  5931 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  As  to  selling  or  controlling  the  price,  or  something 
of  that  kind.  I  do  not  know  what. 

Mr.  CLARK.  They  were  prosecuted  under  the  antitrust  law.  Is 
that  true  or  not  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  tell  you  I  do  not  know.  As  an  association  they 
have  no  membership  in  our  association.  There  may  have  been  indi- 
viduals who  belonged. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Any  of  them  here? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  know. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  has  become  of  the  International  Paper  Com- 
pany ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  It  is  still  in  existence. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  undertake  to  say  that  they  do  not  control  or 
fix  the  price  of  paper  in  the  United  States? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  certainly  do. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  is  paper  selling  for  now  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Whose  paper? 

Mr.  CLARK.  Anybody's  paper. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  My  paper  is  selling  for  2.65,  2.75,  and  3  cents. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  is  that  a  ton  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Anywhere  from  $50  to  $60  a  ton. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  was  it  selling  for  when  the  Dingley  bill 
was  passed? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  In  what  year  ? 

Mr.  CLARK.  In  1897. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  know  that  some  paper  sold  as  low  as  1.50  and  1.60 
cents. 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  effect  of  the  Dingley  bill  has  been  to  put  the  price 
up  from  $32  or  $33  to  $55  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  consider  it  did ;  no,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  It  went  up  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir ;  so  did  wheat. 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  time  it  went  up  coincides  with  the  life  of  the 
Dingley  bill? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Very  well. 

Mr.  CLARK.  There  was  no  earthly  connection  with  the  two? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Not  necessarily. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  did  put  it  up  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  The  law  of  supply  and  demand. 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  law  of  supply  and  demand  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  made  you  shut  down  your  factories  and  create  a 
paper  famine? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  did  not. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Did  anybody? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  know. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  did  you  say  put  the  price  of  paper  up  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  The  law  of  supply  and  demand. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  does  it  happen  that  you  sell  your  paper  $10  a 
ton  less  abroad  than  you  sell  it  to  the  paper  men  in  the  United  States? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Does  anybody  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Not  that  I  know  of. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  it  being  done? 


5932  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  export  paper? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Not  this  year. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Who  does  export  paper? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  presume  the  International  Paper  Company  and 
probably  the  W.  H.  Parsons  Company. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Are  you  a  part  of  the  International  Paper  Company  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  am  not. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Did  the  International  Paper  Company  pick  you  to 
represent  them? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir.  I  represent  the  American  Paper  and  Pulp 
Association. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Is  it  true  that  these  paper  concerns  pay  lower  wages 
than  the  laboring  men  of  like  class  receive  in  other  occupations  in  the 
United  States. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  think  it  is.  I  think  that  that  statement  is 
incorrect  for  a  similar  class  of  labor. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  revenue  does  the  paper  business  bring  into 
the  United  States  Treasury? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  In  1907  it  brought  in  something  like  $15,000,000  or 
$17,000,000;  but  I  do  not  mean  that  that  was  the  amount  of  paper 
imported. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  revenue? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  It  is  roughly,  perhaps,  15  per  cent  of  that. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Is  not  that  rate  about  prohibitive  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  all  the  schedules,  Mr.  Hastings,  brought  in  as  little 
revenue  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  business,  then  the  United 
States  Government  would  have  to  look  to  some  other  source  of  reve- 
nue besides  the  tariff  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  know.  I  am  not  a  tariff  expert.  I  can  not 
tell  what  the  income  is. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  know  the  Government  spends  about  a  billion 
dollars  a  year? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  know  they  spend  a  lot  of  money. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  not  know  they  spend  about  a  billion  dollars  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  have  seen  it  stated  as  something  like  a  billion 
dollars. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  do  not  take  any  interest  in  that? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  think  you  are  better  informed  than  you  seem  to  be. 
The  question  is,  if  all  the  other  industries  in  the  United  States 
brought  as  little  revenue  to  the  Federal  Government  as  the  paper 
business  does,  in  proportion  to  the  volume  of  business,  then  the  reve- 
nue derived  from  the  tariff  would  be  infinitesimal,  almost;  it  would 
hardly  be  worth  considering? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  How  about  the  things  we  import  that  go  into 
paper  ? 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  just  it.  Is  there  a  prohibitive  tariff  on  what 
you  use? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Prohibitive  as  far  as  we  are  concerned. 

Mr.  CLARK.  There  is  no  revenue  hardly  comes  into  the  Government 
from  the  paper  business? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  There  seems  to  be. 


PULP,  AND   PRINT  PAPER ARTHUR   C.    HASTINGS.  5933 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  how  much? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Fifteen  per  cent  or  20  per  cent  on  practically 
$20,000,000  of  imports  during  the  year  1907. 

Mr.  CLARK.  There  was  $20,000,000  of  paper  imported  that  year; 
how  much  last  year? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  That  is  the  year  ending  June  30,  1907;  I  have  no 
figures  after  that. 

Mr.  CLARK.  It  amounted  to  about  $196,000. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  The  income  to  the  Government? 

Mr.  CLARK.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  It  must  have  been  over  that. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  not  think  that  you  could  stand  a  shaving  down 
of  one-half  of  this  tariff  so  that  the  Government  could  get  some 
revenue  out  of  this  business? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  everybody  else  reasoned  that  way  where  would  the 
Government  get  its  revenue? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  From  some  of  the  luxuries,  I  imagine. 

Mr.  CLARK.  On  luxuries.  If  we  put  the  price  up  on  luxuries 
so  we  keep  them  out  we  would  not  get  any  revenue  on  luxuries  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  They  are  pretty  well  up. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  are  a  man  a  good  deal  above  the  average  of 
intelligence 

Mr.  HASTINGS  (interrupting).  I  thank  you. 

Mr.  CLARK  (continuing).  And  you  have  a  packed  audience  who 
laugh  at  anything  you  say. 

If  the  rate  is  so  high  that  it  shuts  out  the  stuff,  the  Government 
does  not  get  any  revenue? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Certainly  not. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  if  all  these  other  tariff  schedules  were  as  high  in 
proportion  as  this  one  is  the  Government  could  not  get  enough  reve- 
nue out  of  the  whole  tariff  system  to  run  for  a  month  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  You  make  the  statement  and  I  am  not  going  over 
your  figures. 

I  wish  to  say  that  I  am  the  representative  of  a  lot  of  manufacturers. 
You  speak  of  a  "  packed  audience."  There  are  a  number  of  other 
manufacturers  here.  I  understand  Mr.  Norris  represents  all  the 
publishers  in  the  United  States. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Mr.  Norris  happens  to  be  one  man  as  against  the 
crowd  here. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  He  has  the  combination  of  newspapers  back  of  him. 

Mr.  CLARK.  They  do  not  happen  to  be  here. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  They  are  represented  by  one  man. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  think  that  the  uniform  price  of  paper  in  the 
United  States  is  an  accidental  occurrence? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  There  is  no  uniformity  of  price,  as  far  as  I  know. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  not  know  that  that  is  practically  the  case? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir ;  I  do  not  know  that  that  is  practically  the 
case. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  all.  I  can  not  hope  to  get  much  information 
from  you. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  am  ready  to  answer  any  questions,  Mr.  Clark. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  How  much  does  it  cost  to  make  this  news  print 
paper  ? 


5934  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  The  cost  is  different  at  different  mills. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  How  much  does  it  cost  in  the  mills  you  operate  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  can  not  tell  you  offhand  to  the  cent,  but  I  refer 
you  to  my  testimony  before  the  select  committee  which  is  printed 
where  the  cost  per  pound  is  given  by  decimals. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  I  care  nothing  about  the  decimals,  I  want  to  get  at 
the  facts.  How  much  does  it  cost  on  an  average  to  make  news  print 
paper  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Perhaps  at  this  time — it  depends  upon  whether  a 
man  has  his  own  wood  or  has  to  buy  his  wood  pulp. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Do  you  really  want  to  tell  me  the  cost  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  would  like  to  know  when  you  want  the  cost. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  If  you  were  to  sell  paper  at  so  much  f.  o.  b.  mills, 
what  would  be  the  average  price  of  that  paper  now? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  To-day? 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  At  my  mill  it  would  probably  cost  2£  cents.  At 
another  mill  it  might  cost  more  than  that. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  A  little  over  $40  a  ton  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  That  is  the  paper  you  sell  for  $55  or  $60  a  ton  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  And  the  cost  you  named  to  me  is  all  the  expense, 
and  the  balance  would  be  profit  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  That  is  not  so.  Do  you  want  to  know  what  we 
figure  the  cost  of  paper,  what  we  figure  for  depreciation  on  the  plant 
and  the  interest  we  have  invested  ? 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Not  counting  any  depreciation  on  the  plant. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  How  are  you  going  to  arrive  at  the  cost?  Who  is 
going  to  pay  for  the  depreciation? 

Mr.  RANDELL.  What  I  want  to  get  at  is  the  difference  in  the  cost  of 
manufacture,  the  daily  or  monthly  output,  and  the  price  that  you  get 
for  the  product. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  think  that  is  a  fair  question  because  what 
we  get  to-day  might  be  an  entirely  different  proposition  next  month. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Outside  of  the  depreciation  and  value  of  your  plant, 
would  the  $40  a  ton  represent  what  that  paper  cost  you  now,  the 
paper  which  you  sell  for  $55  or  $60  a  ton  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Less  the  freight  and  cartage. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  There  is  no  freight  about  it,  it  is  delivered  f .  o.  b.  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  was  not  giving  you  the  price  delivered  on  board. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  I  said  f.  o.  b.? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  You  are  coupling  the  cost  price  with  the  delivery 
price,  without  making  any  allowance  for  freight. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  did  not  give  the  price 
at  the  mill? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  The  price  at  the  mill  and  also  the  price  delivered, 
but  where  is  the  freight  coming  in  ? 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Did  you  not  say  that  the  price  that  the  paper  cost 
you  f.  o.  b.  at  mill  was  2.2  cents? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.    Two  and  one-eighth  cents. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Did  you  not  state  that  it  was  all  profit,  except  what 
would  be  the  deterioration  in  the  value  of  the  plant?  You  did  not 
say  anything  about  freight? 


PULP,  AND   PRINT  PAPER ARTHUR   C.    HASTINGS.  5935 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  You  did  not  say  anything  about  the  selling  price. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  You  would  have  no  freight  to  pay  if  this  was  f .  o.  b.  I 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Then  we  did  not  get  $55. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  How  much  did  you  get  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Probably  $50. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  What  is  the  price? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Fifty  dollars. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  That  would  make  a  difference  of  about  $15? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir;  $7  or  $8. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  What  was  the  price  a  year  ago  or  fifteen  months 


Mr.  HASTINGS.  The  price  was  about  the  same,  a  little  less,  if  any- 
thing, but  in  the  interim  it  was  lower. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  It  is  higher  now  than  before  the  panic? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  It  is  about  the  same,  a  little  higher,  if  anything, 
than  before  the  panic. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  What  caused  it  to  go  up  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  The  law  of  supply  and  demand. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  What  caused  it  to  go  down  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  The  same  reason. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  There  was  no  demand  for  it? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Exactly. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  I  thought  that  the  newspaper  people  were  complain- 
ing that  they  could  not  get  paper  unless  they  paid  $10  a  ton  more 
for  it.  Was  it  the  great  demand  that  made  it  go  up  $10  a  ton  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir;  certainly. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Where  was  that  demand,  in  the  United  States? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Was  that  a  sudden  demand  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  It  was  a  gradual,  growing  demand. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Was  there  anything  extra  in  the  cost  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  The  cost  went  up  somewhat. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  What  was  there  in  the  cost  of  production  that  made 
the  price  of  your  paper  go  up  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Labor  particularly. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  How  much  higher  is  your  labor  now  than  fifteen 
months  ago? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  will  not  say  that  there  is  very  much  difference  in 
the  cost  of  labor,  but  when  we  went  from  the  two-tour  to  the  three- 
tour  system  then  our  labor  cost  went  up. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  When  was  that  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  In  January,  1907. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  You  say  that  there  is  no  understanding  throughout 
the  United  States  or  among  any  of  the  mills  that  you  know  about  or 
in  the  association  which  you  are  president  of — that  there  is  no  under- 
standing to  keep  up  the  price. and  to  have  a  uniformity  of  price? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Or  any  division  of  territory  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Do  I  understand  that  you  do  not  know  of  any  such 
thing  or  that  it  does  not  exist? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  believe  it  exists.  Our  association  has 
nothing  to  do  with  it  in  any  event.  All  the  men  who  make  paper  do 
not  belong  to  our  association. 


5936  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPEKS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Do  you  think  there  is  any  chance  for  competition  to 
come  in,  any  reasonable  business  chance,  which  would  reduce  the  price 
of  this  paper  that  you  say  the  demand  caused  to  rise,  if  the  tariff 
remains  as  it  is  now  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir;  it  has  in  the  past. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Where? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  There  is  one  mill  in  construction  in  Minnesota  with 
a  capacity  of  200  tons  a  day  with  a  promise  to  the  prospective  buyers 
of  bonds  and  stocks  that  they  can  within  six  months  or  a  year  double 
the  capacity.  That  is  in  the  United  States  under  the  protective  tariff. 
I  do  not  believe  that  they  could  sell  the  stocks  and  bonds  if  you  took 
the  tariff  off. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  How  did  you  find  that  out? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  That  is  public  property ;  it  has  been  in  the  papers. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Has  it  any  connection  with  your  mills  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  That  would  be  an  increase  of  400  pounds  as  against 
3,500  pounds  a  day  now  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir;  practically  10  per  cent. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Will  that,  in  your  opinion,  cause  the  price  to  go 
down? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  It  has  always  had  a  lowering  effect. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Do  you  think  that  when  that  mill  goes  into  operation 
the  effect  will  be  to  reduce  the  price  $10  a  ton  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  It  will  have  a  lowering  effect.  I  will  not  state  any 
amount,  because  I  do  not  know.  It  depends  on  whether  the  market 
absorbs  the  product. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Does  it  cost  more  to  make  the  paper  now  1 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Why? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  have  tried  to  explain  that. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Is  the  stumpage  higher  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  We  have  not  any  stumpage. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Have  you  any  timber  lands  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir.  We  buy  the  wood.  We  have  a  small  mill 
compared  with  some  of  the  other  mills. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  You  represent  this  association,  but  you  only  have  a 
few  mills  yourself  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Only  one  mill. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Do  you  think  that  if  the  revenue  was  increased  by 
lowering  this  tariff  that  it  would  injure  your  business  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir;  it  would. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Suppose  we  cut  the  tariff  in  two,  what  effect  would 
that  have? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Three  dollars  a  ton  is  more  than  a  mill  of  our  class 
has  made  on  an  average  in  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  years. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Are  you  a  practical  paper  manufacturer  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir ;  I  think  I  am,  sometimes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  claim  that  a  duty  equivalent  to  about  15  per 
cent  is  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  American  manufacturer  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir;  I  do. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  want  you  to  give  me  the  facts,  showing  why  that 
duty  is  necessary. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  In  written  shape,  you  mean  ? 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER — ARTHUR   C.   HASTINGS.  5937 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  would  like  to  have  them  "right  off  the  bat" 
and  now. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  would  rather  give  you  that  data  a  little  later  than 
to  give  it  in  such  shape  that  I  might  be  picked  to  pieces  here. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  are  not  prepared  to  give  it  now  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  would  rather  not.  I  would  rather  submit  it  to 
the  committee. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Have  you  that  information  in  written  shape  now  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  will  put  it  in  a  brief  and  file  it  with  the 
committee  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  am  more  interested  in 
that  question  than  any  other.  I  want  to  know  why  the  protection  is 
necessary. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  will  be  very  glad  to  give  you  that  information. 
In  a  general  way  I  have  stated  that  in  this  brief  which  I  will  file, 
but  if  we  are  going  to  get  into  a  tariff  argument  I  do  not  want  to 
stand  up  here  and  be  picked  to  pieces  by  gentlemen  who  know  more 
about  it  than  I  do. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  really  think  that  there  is  anybody  in  this  room 
who  knows  more  about  the  paper  business  than  you  do  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  think  you  know  more  about  the  tariff. 

Mr.  CLARK.  In  a  general  way  that  may  be,  but  you  have  a  par- 
ticular part  of  the  tariff  to  talk  about  that  you  know  more  about  than 
I  do. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Is  there  anyone  here  to  give  that  information  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir;  a  gentlemen  will  follow  me  who  can  give 
that  information. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  The  importations  of  print  paper  last  year  are  given 
21,123,254  pounds,  value,  $596,819,  and  the  duty  paid  $96,000. 
The  exportations,  you  understand,  which  we  have  been  discussing 
here,  .were  120,090,056  pounds,  with  a  value  of  $3,514,281.  Will  you 
tell  me  why  it  is  that  we  are  able  to  export  in  competition  with 
the  foreign  concerns  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Is  that  pounds  ? 

Mr.  CLARK.  Dollars. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Under  what  heading  is  that? 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  "  Exportations  of  printing  paper." 

Mr.  CLARK.  It  is  a  government  document. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  know  that  I  have  never  run  across  such  figures 
and  such  a  discrepancy ;  I  do  not  understand  it. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  can  not  explain  that  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  We  sent  48,000,000  pounds  to  the  United  Kingdom; 
18,000,000  pounds  to  Japan ;  12,000,000  pounds  to  Argentina ;  6,000,000 
pounds  to  Canada,  the  place  you  seem  to  be  so  much  afraid  of; 
8,000,000  pounds  to  Australia,  Tasmania,  and  New  Zealand ;  6,000,000 
to  Chile ;  7,000,000  to  Cuba,  and  more  than  a  million  pounds  to  Uru- 
guay and  Mexico  each.  Do  you  not  think  that  pretty  well  covers  the 
world  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir.  I  think  we  would  cover  the  whole  world 
if  you  would  give  us  more  protection. 


5938  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPEBS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Do  you  not  think  that  you  have  covered  it  pretty  well 
now? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  We  are  doing  very  well,  but  we  could  do  better. 
We  have  lots  of  nerve ;  the  trouble  is  we  have  not  enough  money. 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  chairman  asked  you  about  the  various  items  that 
made  up  this  cost  so  that  you  required  this  15  per  cent  duty  to  enable 
you  to  come  out  as  you  have  come  out;  whether  that  is  in  the  hole 
or  not,  I  will  not  undertake  to  say  now.  That  is  one  phase  of  this 
matter.  Another  one  is  that  the  Treasury  is  running  behind  at  the 
rate  of  about  $12,000,000  a  month 

The  CHAIRMAN  (interrupting).  You  have  not  the  latest  informa- 
tion. The  condition  has  improved. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  it  has  improved,  I  am  glad  of  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Business  is  improving. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Business  has  not  improved  except  in  the  newspapers. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  will  soon  have  a  surplus. 

Mr.  CLARK.  There  is  a  large  deficiency  in  the  revenues;  whether  it 
is  as  large  as  I  stated  or  as  little  as  the  chairman  makes  it,  does  not 
make  any  difference.  We  have  got  to  make  up  that  deficiency  some- 
where. That  is  one  of  the  functions  of  this  committee.  Do  you  not 
think  that  the  paper  manufacturers  in  the  United  States  ought  to  be 
willing  to  stand  their  part  of  whatever  hardship  it  is  to  raise  this 
deficiency  in  the  revenues  like  everybody  else  has  to  stand  their  part  ? 
What  do  you  say,  as  an  American  citizen  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  say  that  we  are  paying  our  part. 

Mr.  CLARK.  But  you  are  not  doing  anything,  according  to  these 
figures  that  Mr.  Griggs  has  just  read  to  you,  because  there  has  only 
been  contributed  $196,000. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  understand  that.  In  the  first  place,  if  we 
import  $20,000,000  worth  of  paper  on  a  basis  of  15  per  cent,  I  do  not 
understand  why  it  would  not  be  over  $196,000. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  it  is  over  $300,000,  that  is  a  small  amount.  You  are 
not  willing  to  stand  any  reduction  in  the  tariff,  according  to  your 
present  attitude. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  We  say  that  we  are  standing  something  now ;  we  are 
standing  it  on  the  materials  that  go  into  the  manufacture  of  paper. 

'Mr.  CLARK.  What  is  the  difference  between  the  American  price  of 
your  paper  and  the  foreign  price — $10  a  ton? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir ;  I  do  not  think  it  is. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  not  sell  the  same  paper  which  you  sell  to  the 
American  consumer  at  $55  and  $60  a  ton  in  Europe  at  $45  and  $50 
a  ton? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Now,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  do  you  export  paper? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  have  in  the  past,  but  not  of  late  years. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  is  the  difference  between  the  selling  price  in 
Europe  of  American  news  paper  and  the  selling  price  in  America  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  think  there  is  any  difference. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  want  to  stand  on  that  question  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do,  as  far  as  the  American  paper  is  concerned. 

Mr.  CLARK.  According  to  your  figures,  you  make  a  net  profit  of 
$8  on  every  ton  of  paper  you  manufacture? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  We  do  to-day,  but  not  yesterday. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  are  making  more  than  a  year  ago  ? 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER — ARTHUR   C.   HASTINGS.  5939 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Then  the  panic  has  not  hurt  you  a  particle  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  know  how  you  can  say  that. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  you  are  making  as  much  profit  now  as  then  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  How  about  six  months  ago;  you  make  a  big 
jump  in  a  year? 

Mr.  CLARK.  We  have  been  measuring  things  here  by  common  con- 
sent by  the  year. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  But  the  question  has  been  put  to  me  what  it  was 
to-day  and  nothing  was  said  about  what  it  was  six  months  ago. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  profit  were  you  making  on  a  ton  of  paper  a 
year  ago? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  About  the  same  amount. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  how  much  about  six  months  ago? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  We  were  selling  paper  six  months  ago  at  2£  cents. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  is  that  a  ton? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Forty-five  dollars. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  it  was  $55  a  year  ago? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Fifty  dollars  to  $55.  Of  course  there  are  different 
grades. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  know. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  The  price  is  $2.50,  or  $50  a  ton,  for  something  that 
Mr.  Norris  might  use  in  the  Times  and  $55  for  the  same  paper  to 
some  little  fellow  out  in  Squeedunk,  the  difference  in  the  price  being 
the  actual  difference  in  the  cost. 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  fellow  out  in  Squeedunk  would  be  considered  a 
retail  buyer? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  It  costs  us  more  to  produce  the  paper  and  put  it  up 
in  bundles  and  wrap  it. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  practically  the  retail  trade ;  that  would  not  be 
the  case  with  Mr.  Norris  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  If  Mr.  Norris  was  to  say  that  he  wanted  his  paper 
all  in  sheets  and  bundles  we  would  charge  him  $5  more. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  am  trying  to  get  some  information,  although  it  is 
pretty  hard  to  do. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  want  to  set  myself  right.  I  am  perfectly  willing 
to  answer  all  the  questions  I  can,  Mr.  Clark. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  got  $55  a  ton  practically  a  year  ago  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  you  got  $45  six  months  ago  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir ;  and  it  has  gone  up  to  $55  again. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  made  it  go  up? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  The  law  of  supply  and  demand. 

Mr.  CLARK.  There  is  not  any  more  demand  for  news  paper  now  than 
six  months  ago? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  There  is  less  being  made. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  did  that  happen  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  God  shut  off  the  rain  in  most  parts  of  the  country. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  did  not  have  any  drought  in  the  East. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir ;  a  very  serious  one. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Your  mill  is  located  at  Niagara  Falls? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Was  there  any  scarcity  of  water  at  Niagara  Falls  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  That  is  the  reason  we  are  making  a  little  profit. 


5940  SCHEDULE  M — PTJLP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  get  $8  profit,  according  to  your  own  statement  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Roughly ;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  often  do  you  turn  your  money  over  in  this  busi- 
ness; every  twelve  months? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  In  a  year  and  a  half  on  the  average. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  turn  it  over  once  in  a  year  and  a  half  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  is  your  company  capitalized  for?  You 
do  not  need  to  answer  that  question  if  you  do  not  care  to. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  have  no  hesitancy  about  answering  the  question ; 
$100,000. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  of  that  is  money  paid  in  and  how  much  of 
it  is  water? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  One  hundred  thousand  dollars  paid  in,  good,  hard 
cash. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  stock  issued  for  the  $100,000? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  One  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  of  a  dividend  do  you  pay? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  We  paid  one  year  as  high  as  24  per  cent  dividend. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  a  pretty  fair  profit? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir.  We  have  more  money  invested  than 
$100,000.  You  did  not  ask  me  about  that. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  what  I  want  to  get  at.  How  much  money  have 
you  got  invested? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  We  have  between  $400,000  and  $500,000. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  you  make  24  per  cent? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  One  year  we  did. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  would  tide  you  over  two  or  three  bad  years? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  On  $500,000  it  is  less  than  5  per  cent. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  dividend  was  24  per  cent? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  On  what  amount? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  One  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  dividend  was  24  per  cent  on  $100,000? 

Mr.  BLASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  have  vou  invested? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Nearly  $500,000. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  is  it  invested  in? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Buildings  and  machinery. 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  whole  thing? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  do  not  own  any  timber  lands? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Why  did  you  capitalize  the  company  at  $100,000  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  It  is  a  sort  of  a  closed  corporation.  A  few  people 
put  up  the  original  $100,000  invested.  Then  we  went  on  and  doubled 
the  plant  and  paid  for  that  out  of  our  own  pockets,  paid  ourselves 
back,  and  we  still  have  $100,000  left, 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  really  acquired  this  additional  surplus  out 
of  your  earnings? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  in  twenty  years  or  more. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  did  get  it  out  of  the  earnings  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  We  have.  But  there  were  a  good  many  years  that 
we  did  not  pay  a  dividend. 


PULP,  AND  FEINT  PAPER — ARTHUR   C.   HASTINGS.  5941 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  had  some  misunderstanding  about  what  the  basis 
is.  As  the  basis  of  profit  you  ought  to  take  the  amount  of  money  you 
paid  in,  ought  you  not? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Then  you  ought  to  mark  off,  if  that  is  the  proper  term, 
whatever  depreciation  there  is  on  your  plant? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  then  you  ought  to  add  the  labor  cost,  and  the 
cost  of  material,  and  the  transportation  charges,  so  as  to  get  it  f.  o.  b., 
and  then  you  ought  to  subtract  what  that  would  cost  you  from  what 
you  get  out  of  the  stuff  ultimately,  and  that  is  what  you  calculated  or 
declared  a  dividend  on? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  follow  your  bookkeeping  exactly,  but  in  a 
general  way  I  think  you  have  g_ot  it  all  in.  [Laughter.]  In  a  gen- 
eral way  we  charge  off  everything,  and  if  there  is  anything  left  we 
call  it  a  dividend. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  do  not  lay  aside  any  property  for  the  surplus 
fund? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  In  answer  to  the  question,  it  is  merely  a  question  of 
so  much  money  that  we  have  got  invested  in  that  mill  that  we  did 
not  take  out  in  profits,  some  that  we  were  entitled  to  take  out;  and 
we  were  surely  entitled  to  profits  at  some  time. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  said  you  took  out  $24,000. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes;  in  one  year. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  in  addition  to  the  profits  you  have  taken  out  as 
dividends  you  have  a  surplus  of  $400,000  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes;  but  that  is  the  aggregate  of  a  number  of 
years.  That  is  not  for  one  year.  We  did  not  accumulate  that  in  one 
year. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  am  not  as  big  a  fool  as  I  look  like. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  did  not  take  you  to  be  one.     [Laughter.] 

Mr.  CLARK.  Have  you  any  data  as  to  any  manufacturing  concern 
in  the  United  States  engaged  in  any  sort  of  business  that  is  making 
more  than  5  per  cent? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  would  like  to  know  where  it  is. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  live  in  Niagara  Falls  part  of  the  time  and  part  of 
the  time  in  New  York.  We  have  at  Niagara  Falls  the  Shredded 
Wheat  Company.  We  make  these  hay  biscuits  [laughter],  and  I 
was  fortunate  enough  to  save  a  little  money  at  one  time,  and  I  have 
got  some  stock  in  that,  and  I  know  we  pay  that.  That  is  one  concern 
that  I  know  of. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  have  been  diligently  searching  among  all  these  fel- 
lows that  have  come  here  to  find  one  fellow  who  has  made  a  reason- 
able profit. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  think  the  manufacturers  of  paper  are  entitled,  as 
other  manufacturers  are,  to  a  reasonable  profit. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  know,  but  I  have  been  searching,  I  tell  yon,  since 
these  hearings  began  to  find  some  one  who  was  making  a  reasonable 
profit. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Did  you  say  you  make  $8  a  ton  profit? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  To-day  from  $8  to  $9. 


5942  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  And  you  make  40  tons  a  day.  That  would  be  over 
10,000  tons  a  year,  or  $80,000  profit  a  year,  and  at  that  you  would  be 
making  20  per  cent  profit. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No;  you  are  taking  one  period  and  then  jumping 
a  number  of  months  out  of  that  period. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  If  you  were  in  the  same  condition  as  a  year  ago,  my 
figures  would  be  correct. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  In  two  months  from  now  the  condition  might  be 
entirely  different,  possibly.  The  price  of  wheat  to-day  and  the  price 
six  months  ago  and  the  price  six  months  from  now  may  be  different 
you  know. 

Mr.  EANDELL.  Were  the  conditions  favorable  in  1906  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  How  much  less  did  you  make  then  ?  Did  you  make 
$7.50  or  $8.50? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Six  dollars  and  fifty  cents? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Five  dollars? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  think  so.  I  think  my  report,  however, 
shows  exactly  what  we  did  make,  which  was  proven  by  figures. 
There  are  no  secrets  about  it.  If  you  gentlemen,  as  I  suppose  you 
will,  are  going  to  run  over  these  figures  which  are  given  from  time 
to  time  in  the  different  investigations  of  the  select  committee,  you 
will  get  information  that  I  swear  we  did  not  know  ourselves  about 
our  neighbors. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  do  not  intend  to  confine  you  to  a  day  or  an  hour  or 
a  week  or  a  particular  month.  How  long  have  you  been  in  the  paper 
business  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  About  twenty  years. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  you  have  made  in  twenty  years  $400,000  surplus. 
That  makes  $20,000  a  year  on  $100,000.  That  is  20  per  cent,  because 
you  must  admit  that  that  is  property,  is  it  not? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir.     It  is  on  leased  ground,  this  plant  is. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  But  it  is  worth  that  to  you? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  say  you  have  $400,000  or  more  invested? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes.     It  may  be  permanent,  and- 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  It  is  hi  there? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes;  it  is  in  there,  but  we  could  not  get  it  out.  I 
would  say  frankly  to  you  we  are  on  leased  ground.  It  is  on  one  of 
the  great  power  companies  there.  It  is  on  a  very  low-priced  water 
power — lower  than  we  could  get  it  ourselves.  Otherwise  we  are 
handicapped  there  by  being  away  from  the  forest,  and  as  a  matter  of 
fact  it  is  doubtful  at  the  end  of  a  ten  or  fifteen  year  lease  what  shape 
it  will  be  in. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  When  is  your  lease  up? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  In  1926.     It  is  not  very  far  off. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Whether  you  have  gotten  your  money  out  or  not,  you 
have  made  that  money  and  put  it  in  it  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes ;  but  we  have  not  got  it  out. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  That  is  a  question  of  business  judgment,  not  of  tariff. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  know  about  that.  We  would  not  have 
accumulated  that  if  we  had  not  had  a  tariff. 


PULP,  AND   PRINT  PAPER ARTHUR   C.    HASTINGS.  5943 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  you  accumulated,  in  addition  to  that,  as  I  believe 
you  told  Mr.  Randell,  an  average  of  5  per  cent? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No.  I  do  not  think  I  said  that.  I  said  I  did  not 
think  we  have  made  an  average  of  5  per  cent. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  did  not  mean  what  you  have  made,  but  what  you 
had  paid  in  dividends. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  said  in  answer  to  Mr.  Clark  that  it  was  less  than 
5  per  cent  of  the  money  we  have  invested. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  are  not  counting  the  $20,000  you  made  every  year 
and  put  in  this,  which  in  itself  is  20  per  cent.  Then  in  answer  to 
Mr.  Clark  you  said  you  have  made  5  per  cent — "  probably  5  per  cent," 
to  use  your  exact  language — on  the  money  you  had  invested,  which 
was  $500,000. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  That  was  the  year  we  paid  that  dividend. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  is  your  average  on  your  investment? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  could  not  tell  you  offhand.  I  have  brought  my 
books  down  here  and  given  them  a  transcript  from  them. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  put  a  little  in  that  Havenner  Biscuit  Company, 
did  you  not? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir.  I  got  out  of  that  and  put  it  into  the 
shredded  wheat.  I  am  county  treasurer  up  in  that  county. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  How  many  paper  mills,  Mr.  Hastings,  are  there  in 
the  country,  altogether? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  There  are,  roughly,  of  all  classes  something  like  600. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  How  many  of  these  are  in  the  organization  of  which 
you  are  president? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  think  the  last  report  I  had  was  157  mills  and 
individuals. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  So  that  there  are  443  mills  or  manufacturers  that  are 
not  in  the  association? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Of  these  443,  are  any  of  them  in  any  other  asso- 
ciation ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  There  is  no  other  paper  association  except  this, 
except  that  of  the  stationers. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  How  is  it  as  to  the  International  Paper  Company 
and  the  American? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  They  have  one  membership  in  it,  just  as  I  might 
have. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  They  are  one  of  the  443  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir ;  they  are  one  of  the  157.  They  are  members 
of  this  association. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  You  have  given  the  entire  domestic  production  of 
paper.  Can  you  tell  by  a  proportion  of  the  paper  output  how  many 
of  these  mills  own  their  own  lands  from  which  they  get  their 
materials? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  I  could  not.    They  make  no  report. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Do  you  know  if  that  appears  in  any  of  these  papers  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  believe  the  paper  that  will  be  read  by  Mr.  Lyman, 
who  replies  for  the  International  Paper  Company,  will  have  a  lot 
of  information  in  it  that  I  have  not  got,  but  of  course  they  own  a 
good  many  mills  and  woodlands. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  You  have  to  go  into  the  market  to  buy  your  pulp 
wood  and  your  wood  pulp  ? 

75941— H.  Doe.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 12 


5944  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEKS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  You  do  not  know  how  many  mills  are  in  that 
position  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  You  do  not  know  what  proportion  it  may  be  by 
ratio  of  output? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No,  sir.  Most  of  the  mills  up  near  Watertown 
own  their  own  timber  lands,  whereas  at  Niagara  Falls  there  is  no 
timber  land  within  easy  reach,  and  we  could  not  operate  to  advantage 
with  the  small  amount  of  wood  that  we  would  get,  and  therefore  it 
is  cheaper  for  us  to  buy  in  the  open  market. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  What  I  hope  will  be  brought  out  in  this  hearing  is 
the  ratio  between  the  paper  output  and  the  ownership  of  stumpage. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  If  anybody  could  answer  that,  Mr.  Lyman  could, 
who  will  follow  me. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Do  you  know  how  many  of  these  paper  mills  there 
are  in  Canada  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Roughly,  I  know  of  the  news  end  of  it,  because 
that  has  always  been  my  business,  and  I  understand  it  is  something 
like  450  tons  of  news  paper  produced  there  under  normal  conditions, 
of  which  the  home  market  of  Canada  used  90  tons  and  the  other  is 
360  tons  of  export  news  out  of  the  country,  and  that  is  practically  all 
the  amount  that  is  raised.  There  may  be  other  grades  used  at  home 
in  Canada,  like  wrapping  paper  and  board  and  things  of  that  kind. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  So  that  with  the  falling  off  of  supplies  in  this  coun- 
try there  will  be  an  increased  demand  in  this  country,  or  if  we  repeal 
this  duty  the  natural  source  of  supply  of  the  United  States  would  be 
Canada  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  There  is  no  question  about  it. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  When  we  repeal  this  duty  on  pulp  or  paper 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  When  you  do  repeal  it  [laughter]— 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Put  it  that  way.  When  we  do,  or  if  we  do ;  suppos- 
ing that  the  duty  be  repealed  on  the  paper  or  the  pulp,  would  we 
receive  importations  from  any  other  country  than  Canada  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir ;  you  would.  You  would  receive  shipments 
from  Norway  and  Sweden,  and  inside  of  three  years  you  would  re- 
ceive shipments  from  the  Baltic,  in  Russia,  where  at  present  they  are 
building  sulphite  mills  to  use  their  immense  forests  with  pauper 
labor. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  In  direct  competition  with  the  paper  of  Canada  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  On  that  line  I  would  like  to  ask  you  a  question. 
A  while  ago  you  answered  that  if  the  price  of  paper  to-day  was  $55  a 
ton 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Of  course,  a  great  deal  of  paper  is  being  sold  for 
less  than  that  on  contract. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Across  the  line,  what  is  the  same  kind  of  paper 
selling  for  in  Canada? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  know.  Mr.  Marcuse  may  tell  you.  Some 
Canadians  bought  some  of  us  at  auction.  I  think  they  got  $2.25  for 
it.  That  is  $45  per  ton. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  There  is  a  difference  in  the  price  of  paper  to-day 
or  any  other  day  of  from  $10  to  $25  a  ton.  If  the  duty  was  removed 


PULP,  AND  PEINT  PAPER — ARTHUR   C.   HASTINGS/  5945 

on  manufactured  wood  pulp  and  news  paper,  to  what  extent  would  it 
reduce  the  price  in  this  country? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  believe  it  would  reduce  the  price  pretty  nearly  the 
amount  of  the  tariff ;  perhaps  half.  I  say  "  half  "  because  I  happen 
to  know  that  in  the  last  year,  when  the  price  of  paper  went  up  here 
through  natural  causes,  the  Canadians  thought  that  the  American 
market  was  just  ripe  for  their  plucking  and  they  came  over  here  and 
made  contracts  for  several  United  States  papers;  but  in  the  con- 
tracts it  was  expressly  stipulated  that  if  the  duty  was  taken  off  by 
the  United  States  the  Canadian  was  to  have  half  and  the  American 
publisher  was  to  have  half.  In  other  words,  he  proposed  to  divide  if 
the  duty  was  taken  off.  That  is  provided  in  the  contract. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  With  paper  selling  at  $45  in  Canada  to-day,  if 
the  duty  on  wood  pulp  was  all  taken  off  at  this  moment,  what  would 
you  say  would  be  the  price  in  this  country  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  It  would  be  the  same.    There  is  no  surplus  there. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  price  of  paper  then  to-day  would  be  $55  in 
this  country? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  would  it  be  $55  in  America  or  in  the  United 
States  and  $45  in  Canada? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  For  the  reason  that  the  market  price  is  there.  Most 
of  their  paper  is  bought  on  contract,  and  the  market  here  for  what 
little  I  might  have  to  sell  would  be  $55.  It  would  not  be  within  $4 
or  $5  a  ton  less. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  As  the  head  of  this  association,  I  would  like  to 
have  you  answer  a  question.  I  do  not  care  whether  you  take  to-day  to 
do  it,  or  to-morrow,  or  any  particular  time,  but  I  want  to  find  out  what 
you  think  would  be  the  general  effect  of  the  reduction  of  this  tariff. 
Take  any  day  and  fix  the  price  of  paper  of  to-day,  with  the  duty  on, 
and  tell  me  what  in  your  judgment  the  price  would  be  with  the  duty 
off? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  That,  as  I  gather,  was  about  what  the  chairman 
wanted  me  to  do. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  give  the  reasons. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Can  you  tell  me  what  would  be  the  difference  in 
price  with  the  duty  off  in  this  country  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  say  to-day  I  do  not  think  there  would  be  any  dif- 
ference, because  there  is  not  any  paper  to  come  in. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  If  we  repealed  all  duty  to-day,  the  price  would 
be  the  same? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes;  but  what  it  would  be  six  weeks  or  a  month 
from  now  I  could  not  say. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  While  you  said  the  general  conditions  of  the  trade 
are  there,  dp  you  feel  that  the  repeal  of  this  duty  would  lessen  the 
price  of  paper  in  this  country  or  not? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  believe  it  would. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  To  what  extent? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Practically,  as  I  said  a  few  moments  before,  half 
of  the  duty,  or  about  $3  a  ton,  because  the  Canadian  demands  half 
of  it  in  the  contracts  which  he  did  make  last  year  in  this  country. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  if  paper  under  the  duty  was  selling  at' $55, 
it  would  sell  for  $51.50  with  the  duty  off  2 


5946  *       SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  It  would  be  $52.50.  That  is,  on  your  basis  of  fig- 
uring. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  think  it  would  sell  on  the  basis  of  $52.50  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes.  But  as  I  say,  I  would  not  go  into  a  tariff 
discussion  here  on  that,  but  I  will  be  glad  to  submit  something  at 
the  chairman's  suggestion. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Does  the  price  in  Canada  go  down  in  Canada  when 
it  goes  down  here  ?  When  it  was  $45  a  ton  six  months  ago  here  was 
it  then  $45  a  ton  in  Canada  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  do  not  know.  Eeally  it  does  not  come  into  this 
market. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  They  export  to  England  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  They  can  get  in  there  without  a  tariff.  But  take 
off  the  tariff  wall  here — and  we  are  right  across  the  border  from 
Canada — next  door — and  we  will  get  it  on  account  of  the  freight 
rates. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  If  we  take  off  this  duty  would  your  mill  be  for  sale  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes.  It  is  for  sale  now  if  anybody  wants  it.  In 
reply  to  the  publishers'  accusation,  I  must  say  they  are  utterly  foolish, 
if  they  have  the  money  that  they  are  reputed  to  have  made  in  their 
own  business,  in  not  having  gone  into  the  paper  business.  They 
ought  to  build  mills.  What  is  the  use  of  getting  out  in  the  middle 
of  the  road  and  hallooing  when  they  have  a  chance  to  remedy  their 
own  condition? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  freight  rates  are  heavy  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  advantage  has  the  American  mill  over  the 
Canadian  mill  in  the  matter  of  freight  rates? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Very  little. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Is  not  the  American  mill  nearer  to  the  Canadian 
market  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Very  little  nearer.  I  have  in  my  brief  here  the 
different  freight  rates  from  Canadian  mills  and  from  several  Ameri- 
can mills.  You  can  judge  for  yourselves. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  would  you  estimate  the  difference  to  be? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  should  say  not  over  2  per  cent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Figure  that  in  tons. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  From  my  mill  to  New  York  or  to  Boston  it  would 
be  15  cents.  That  is  an  even  figure.  From  Chisholm,  Me.,  to  Bos- 
ton it  is  17  cents.  They  do  not  give  the  rate  from  the  Canadian 
mills  to  Boston,  but  here  is  New  York,  18  cents.  That  would  be  a 
dollar  a  ton,  roughly,  on  that  one  shipment  from  Grand  Mere,  one 
of  the  large  mills  in  Canada,  to  New  York. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  In  favor  of  the  American  manufacturer? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  In  favor  of  the  American  manufacturer. 

Mr.  HILL.  Right  on  that  subject,  would  you  not  have  the  disad- 
vantage of  having  to  pay  more  freight  on  your  pulp  wood  than  the 
Canadian  mill  would  in  bringing  your  supplies  to  you? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  How  would  the  two  things  offset  each  other  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  The  Grand  Mere  mill  absolutely  has  no  freight 
rate.  The  river  brings  its  supply  to  its  door. 

Mr.  HILL.  What  is  your  freight  rate? 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER — ARTHUR   C.   HASTINGS.  5947 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Ours  is  on  the  average  $4  a  cord  from  the  average 
shipping  point,  if  we  get  it  in  Canada. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  do  not  buy  it  in  Canada? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  We  buy  a  good  deal  in  the  United  States,  and  some 
in  Canada. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  western  paper  mills  are  very  much  nearer 
the  western  markets  for  the  sale  of  their  paper  than  the  Canadian 
mills  are,  are  they  not? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  differential  in  their  favor  on  freight 
rates  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  could  not  answer  that,  because  I  do  not  know. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  It  would  be  considerably  smaller  than  the  dif- 
ferential you  figured  a  moment  ago? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  think  it  would. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  If  the  tariff  was  taken  off  everything  else,  would  you 
be  willing  to  have  it  taken  off  paper  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes ;  I  should  say  I  would,  because  as  a  general  plea 
that  might  answer.  But  I  would  not  vote  for  such  a  proposition, 
and  I  am  not  a  tariff  shark,  either. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  proportion  of  the  print  paper  does  the  Inter- 
national Paper  Company  make  in  the  United  States  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Forty-three  per  cent,  according  to  the  last  statement 
I  saw. 

Mr.  GAINES.  That  is  less  than  half. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  That  is  less  than  half. 

Mr.  GAINES.  You  were  asked  about  contributing  to  the  tariff  du- 
ties or  revenues  of  the  Government.  I  see  that  we  imported  of  wood 
pulp,  mechanically  ground  and  chemically  unground  and  chemically 
bleached,  477,000,000  pounds,  on  which  a  duty  was  paid  of  $678,000, 
in  round  numbers. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  understood  from  Mr.  Clark  that  we  had  only  paid 
$200,000. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  was  on  paper. 

Mr.  GAINES.  On  paper,  $96,000. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  On  page  561  it  is  $96,000  as  duties  on  paper. 

Mr.  GAINES.  The  duties  on  wood  pulp  were  $678,000  and  some- 
thing? 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  page  is  that? 

Mr.  GAINES.  Page  558.  Adding  to  that  $96,000  on  print  paper,  it 
would  make,  in  round  numbers,  $770,000  of  tariff.  You  import  your 
wood  pulp,  do  you  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  We  manufacture  our  own  mechanical  pulp  and  buy 
our  sulphite  pulp. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Under  what  rate  does  that  come? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Chemical  pulp. 

Mr.  GAINES.  How  much  do  you  import  in  a  year? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  We  are  not  importing  much  of  it.  We  are  getting 
some  now  from  Canada,  because  of  the  shortage  some  time  ago,  on 
contracts.  Our  aim  is  to  buy  American  pulp. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  is  the  present  price  of  print  paper  in  New 
York? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Do  you  mean  if  a  man  wants  a  carload  and  wants 
it  bad — right  away? 


5948  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  GAINES.  For  one  of  the  big  New  York  dailies,  for  example  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Their  prices  are  $45  a  ton,  I  understand. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Do  you  know  how  much  that  would  be  on  one  single 
paper  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  On  a  paper  the  size  of  a  New  York  paper,  perhaps 
the  Globe-sized  page,  or  the  Staats-Zeitung  size,  it  would  be  about  two 
and  one-half  mills.  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  GAINES.  I  do  not  happen  to  know  those  papers.  Say  the  New 
York  Sun  size? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  That  is  practically  the  same  size — an  eight-page 
paper. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Suppose  the  whole  amount  of  tariff  was  added  to  the 
price  of  print  paper.  How  much  would  that  increase  the  cost  of  a 
single  copy  of  a  paper?  Assuming  that  the  tariff  increases  the  cost 
of  a  paper  about  the  whole  amount  of  the  tariff,  how  much,  then, 
would  it  increase  on  that  assumption  the  price  of  a  single  paper  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Thirty-seven  one-hundredths  of  a  mill.     [Laughter.] 

Mr.  GAINES.  Then  Mr.  Norris  was  right  in  saying  that  they  prob- 
ably could  not  pass  it  on  to  the  ultimate  consumer. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  I  am  afraid  they  could  not. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Now  take  the  small  country  daily.  You  spoke  a 
while  ago  about  wrapping  up  bundles  for  the  small  papers.  At  the 
present  price  of  paper  to  those  concerns,  what  would  it  amount  to  on 
a  single  paper? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  It  would  be  so  small  that  it  would  be  quite  difficult 
to  figure  it. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Would  it  not  be  the  same  as  any  eight-page  paper  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  No.  They  are  generally  smaller,  and  the  country 
paper  is  usually  printed  once  a  week.  It  would  be  the  same  if  the 
paper  was  the  same  size,  a  weekly  paper  with  a  thousand  circulation, 
2  reams  of  paper  weighing  100  pounds.  To  the  publisher  of  such  a 
paper  it  would  amount  to  $15  a  year  for  his  whole  paper  bill,  a  thou- 
sand copies  a  week,  52  times  a  year.  It  would  make  a  difference  of 
about  $15  a  year  if  the  purchaser  paid  the  whole  duty,  that  is  the 
publisher ;  and  to  the  consumer  it  would  amount  to — 

Mr.  GAINES.  It  would  amount  to  that  to  the  publisher  for  all  these 
papers  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  if  he  paid  the  duty.  The  cost  of  the  New 
York  paper  was  a  quarter  of  a  cent,  two  and  one-half  mills,  for  the 
paper. 

Mr.  GAINES.  I  am  trying  to  get  at  that  country  newspaper  cost  if 
I  can. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  takes  about  two  reams  for  the  country  news- 
paper with  a  thousand  circulation. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  That  is  just  what  I  said. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  much  does  that  weigh? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  About  50  pounds  to  the  ream. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  A  country  newspaper  man  told  me  it  was  30 
pounds.  Some  is  heavier  than  others,  I  suppose  ? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Fifty  pounds  to  the  ream — that  would  be  100 
pounds  to  an  edition,  would  it  not? 

Mr.  GAINES.  You  will  get  me  mixed  up  in  my  calculations,  which 
will  confuse  Mr.  Hastings.  [Laughter.] 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER — ARTHUR   C.   HASTINGS.  5949 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  hope  to  hear  some  witnesses  on  the  vital  facts  of 
the  case. 

Mr.  GAINES.  How  much  did  you  say,  Mr.  Hastings,  that  that  would 
amount  to  on  a  single  paper? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  On  a  single  paper  it  would  amount  to  thirty-seven 
one-hundredths  of  a  mill,  the  duty.  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  It  is  three-tenths  of  a  cent  a  pound,  is  it  not? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  .Yes. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  It  would  take  about  six  of  those  papers  to  weigh 
a  pound? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  More  than  that. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Will  you  make  a  calculation  and  file  it,  showing  ex- 
actly what  the  increased  cost  of  a  single  paper  would  be  of  the  sort 
we  are  talking  about,  on  the  assumption  that  the  entire  duty  is  added 
to  the  cost  of  the  home  product? 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  would  take  a  little  less  than  $10  a  year.  That 
is  what  it  would  be. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  On  a  50-pound  paper  it  would  be  $15  a  year. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  would  be  5,200  pounds  a  year.  That  would 
be  $2.50,  and  the  whole  duty  would  be  $15. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  are  taking  the  smallest  paper  you  can  find,  printed 
on  the  flimsiest  kind  of  paper. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Are  you  speaking  of  the  published  circulation  or 
the  actual  circulation?  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  CLARK.  About  the  actual  circulation.  I  used  to  be  in  the  news- 
paper business  myself. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Then  I  will  not  argue  with  you.     [Laughter.] 

Mr.  CLARK.  Instead  of  the  average  country  weekly  having  but  4 
pages,  it  has  8  pages,  and  frequently  12  pages,  since  they  have  got 
to  running  the  patent  insides  and  supplements  and  all  that. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  And  in  that  case,  Mr.  Clark,  it  would  not  cost  the 
publisher  $15  more.  The  additional  cost  would  be  on  the  man  who 
gets  out  the  patent  inside. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  But  he  has  to  pay  for  the  paper. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  Then  it  would  not  make  any  difference  to  the  con- 
sumer, the  country  publisher. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  understood  from  what  you  said  a  while  ago  that  your 
immense  profits  are  made  by  adding  together  all  these  small  things. 

Mr.  HASTINGS.  We  have  no  immense  profits. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  do  not  think  that  has  any  effect  whatever.  We 
would  like  to  get  at  the  practical  facts  of  the  case. 


ARTHUR  C.  HASTINGS,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  SUBMITS  BRIEF  OF 
THE  AMERICAN  PAPER  AND  PULP  ASSOCIATION  ASKING  RE- 
TENTION OF  DUTIES  ON  PAPER  AND  PULP. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  &/, 1908. 

COMMHTTE  ON   WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  As  president  of  the  American  Paper  and  Pulp  Asso- 
ciation I  have  been  delegated  to  present  briefly  the  contentions  of 
manufacturers  in  paper  and  pulp  as  to  the  retention  of  the  present 


5950        SCHEDULE  M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

duties  in  most  instances  and  in  a  general  way,  an  argument  as  to  why 
they  should  be  increased  in  some  specific  cases. 

We  understand  the  revision  of  the  tariff  is  to  be  undertaken  on  the 
basis  that — 

"  Such  duties  as  will  equal  the  difference  between  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction at  home  and  abroad,  together  with  a  reasonable  profit  to 
American  industries." 

We  believe  the  paper  industry,  as  a  whole,  will'be  satisfied  with 
such  a  revision  and  asks  for  itself  only  the  same  consideration  as  to 
protection  as  is  applied  to  other  industries. 

Importations  of  paper  and  pulp  during  the  last  few  years  should 
be  considered,  and  if  there  were  some  kinds  extensively  imported 
that  are,  or  might  be  made  in  this  country,  the  corresponding  duties 
should  be  increased,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  the  manufacturer,  but 
to  build  up  the  manufacturing  industries  of  this  country. 

We  ask  only  enough  protection  to  enable  us  to  meet  such  conditions 
as  are  imposed  on  our  industry  by  nature  or  law,  as  we  can  not  over- 
come by  capital  or  energy  the  natural  conditions  existing  in  other 
countries  due  to  cheap  labor  and  more  abundant  nature. 

We  believe  that  when  business  is  normal  and  the  demand  equal  to 
the  supply  the  tariff  has  little  or  no  direct  influence  on  prices.  Dur- 
ing times  of  depression  it  is  a  protection  to  the  home  manufacturer, 
but  with  the  present  tariff,  under  any  conditions,  the  rate  is  not  so 
high  but  what  foreign  paper  or  pulp  can  be  imported  into  this 
country  to  supply  the  demand  without  particular  hardship  to  the 
consumer. 

During  the  past  year  many  thousand  tons  of  the  different  grades 
of  paper  and  pulp  were  imported  into  the  United  States  and  at  a 
time  when  the  consumption  of  this  country  demanded  it.  Since 
January,  1908,  at  a  time  of  general  depression  in  all  manufacturing 
lines,  the  paper  business  was  no  exception  in  its  experience,  with  an 
apparent  overproduction.  Prices  were  very  materially  reduced  over 
what  they  had  been  the  previous  year,  due  entirely  to  the  law  of 
suppty  and  demand. 

The  duties  on  paper  and  pulp  are  much  lower  than  the  general 
average  on  all  other  lines.  The  duty  on  ground  wood  pulp,  on  an 
ad  valorem  basis,  amounts  to  about  8J  per  cent,  according  to  the 
market  price  in  vogue;  on  chemical  pulp,  about  the  same;  on  news- 
paper, 15  per  cent;  on  book  paper,  from  15  to  20  per  cent,  according 
to  grade ;  on  writing  paper,  25  to  35  per  cent,  according  to  weight  and 
quality.  Some  few  high-grade  papers  and  specialties  take  a  still 
higher  duty,  but  the  average  duty  on  an  ad  valorem  basis  on  all 
imports  of  paper  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1907,  was  only  about 
27£  per  cent,  whereas  for  all  merchandise  imported  under  other 
schedules  it  was  over  40  per  cent. 

Manufactures  of  paper  imported  in  1898  were  something  like 
$2,840,000,  which  increased  in  1907  to  $10,728,000.  During  these 
same  periods  pulp  increased  from  $600,000  to  $6,348,000. 

The  Treasury  Department  is  unable  to  give  the  actual  amounts 
collected  on  the  different  grades  of  paper  and  pulp  imported  during 
any  period?  but  there  is  no  question  that  if  the  duty  was  increased 
upon  the  higher  grades  of  chemical  pulp  the  imports  would  decrease 
and  this  same  quantity  be  manufactured  in  the  United  States;  in 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER — ARTHUR   C.   HASTINGS.  5951 

other  words,  the  domestic  article  would  displace  the  foreign  pulps 
now  imported. 

This  argument  will  be  taken  up  by  one  of  the  members  of  pur 
association  who  is  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  conditions  as  relating 
to  the  higher  grades  of  pulp  and  the  probable  results  if  the  duty 
should  be  increased  to  a  point  where  we  could  compete  with  the  for- 
eign article.  When  it  is  known  that  there  are  some  $300,000,000  in- 
vested in  the  paper  and  pulp  industry,  with  an  annual  business  of 
over  $200,000,000,  showing  that  it  takes  a  year  and  a  half  to  turn 
over  the  capital,  and  in  some  grades  nearly  three  years,  it  will  readily 
be  seen  that  this  business,  as  compared  with  many  other  manu- 
facturing lines,  requires  more  capital  for  its  annual  business  and 
therefore  needs  more  profit  in  the  way  of  returns  on  the  manufactured 
article. 

A  portion  of  the  press  of  the  United  States  to  the  contrary,  no 
manufacturers  of  paper  in  this  country  have  made  exorbitant  profits, 
and  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  have  not  received  an  adequate  return  on 
the  capital  invested  as  compared  with  any  of  the  staple  industries 
of  this  country.  While  the  industry  has  grown  enormously,  it  is 
due  to  the  energy  of  the  American  manufacturer  and  to  the  protec- 
tion afforded  the  industry  by  this  Government  in  the  shape  of  a 
tariff.  Should  the  tariff  be  reduced,  it  would  strike  a  blow  that  would 
be  most  serious  to  this  industry  and  lead  to  the  abandonment  of  many 
mills  and  the  ceasing  of  operations  in  the  way  of  building  new  mills. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  building  a  new  mill  for  the  production 
of  news  paper,  with  a  capacity  of  200  tons  per  day,  which  will  be 
doubled  as  soon  as  the  demand  warrants.  This  mill  is  in  the  Middle 
West,  with  an  unlimited  supply  of  raw  material,  but  with  the  tariff 
reduced  it  is  very  doubtful  if  capital  could  be  interested  in  such  an 
enterprise. 

The  attempt  of  part  of  the  American  publishers  to  have  the  duty 
taken  off  of  paper  and  pulp  during  the  last  session  of  Congress  was 
a  very  selfish  movement  on  their  part,  when  it  is  known  that  in  the 
last  twenty  years  the  price  of  news  paper  has  been  reduced  through 
competition  and  improved  methods  of  manufacture  over  30  per  cent, 
and  that  where,  in  the  same  period  of  time,  the  quantity  produced 
per  year  has  increased  over  75  per  cent,  it  will  readily  be  seen  what 
a  protective  tariff  has  done  for  the  consumer. 

Under  the  present  wise  policy  of  this  Government  this  industry  can 
and  will  maintain  the  same  rapid  rate  of  growth  and  improvement 
in  methods  if  protection  is  not  withdrawn.  There  are  abundant 
water  powers,  ample  supplies  of  suitable  wood  and  other  material  to 
increase  the  production  thousands  of  tons  annually,  particularly  in 
the  South,  where  there  are  many  undeveloped  water  powers,  large 
supplies  of  suitable  wood  for  the  manufacture  of  paper  and  pulp,  in 
addition  to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  tons  of  other  materials  which 
are  now  going  to  waste,  such  as  cotton-plant  stalks  and  seed  delint, 
flax,  cornstalks,  and  many  other  fibrous  plants. 

At  the  present  time  the  Government  is  making  in  this  city  ex- 
periments with  cornstalks  and  from  the  printed  reports  so  far  they 
promise  results  that  will  cheapen  some  grades  of  paper  over  the  pres- 
ent method  of  using  wood  fiber.  It  is  estimated  there  are  150,000,000 
tons  available  for  this  purpose,  or  40  times  as  much  as  the  annual 
amount  of  paper  of  all  grades  turned  out,  so  that  it  would  seem  as 


5952  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

though  we  still  had  raw  material  at  our  doors  for  several  years  to 
come. 

We  beg  to  call  your  attention  to  the  very  exhaustive  statement  of 
Arthur  D.  Little,  official  chemist  of  the  American  Paper  and  Pulp 
Association,  read  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  association  in  Febru- 
ary, 1908,  a  copy  of  which  we  beg  leave  to  file  with  the  committee. 

You  will  see  that  the  paper  manufacturers  are  fully  alive  to  the 
important  question  of  raw  material  supply  and  are  looking  and 
working  with  a  view  of  obtaining  some  material  which  might  dis- 
place wood  eventually  through  using  some  material  which  can  be 
gotten  from  an  annual  crop. 

In  addition  to  the  work  which  Mr.  Little  is  doing,  the  Govern- 
ment is  also  fully  alive  to  the  possibilities  of  some  other  material. 
The  insular  service,  through  Col.  Clarence  R.  Edwards,  is  much 
interested  in  the  question  of  bamboo  as  a  raw  material,  which  grows 
luxuriantly  in  the  Philippines  and  is  an  annual  crop. 

The  earliest  record  we  have  of  paper  is  from  the  Egyptians,  who 
used  papyrus.  Since  then  many  different  materials  have  been  used, 
as  the  necessity  of  the  increasing  population  of  the  world  needed 
paper  as  they  became  educated,  it  being  truly  said  that  "  the  consump- 
tion of  paper  is  the  measure  of  the  people's  culture." 

After  the  Egyptian  raw  material  probably  came  the  use  of  old 
rags.  As  the  people  became  more  civilized  they  wore  clothes,  and 
these  old  clothes  were  made  to  do  their  duty  in  the  shape  of  new 
paper.  Not  many  years  ago  the  supply  of  rags  became  inadequate 
to  supply  the  demand  for  paper,  then  came  in  straw  pulp,  made  from 
wheat  and  rye  straw;  then  came  the  invention  of  the  present  raw 
material  in  the  shape  of  mechanical  wood  pulp,  which  is  so  much 
cheaper  than  the  straw  pulp  that  that  process  was  abandoned.  Now 
there  is  great  fear  on  the  part  of  a  few  of  the  newspaper  publishers 
particularly  that  the  supply  of  wood  is  inadequate  and  that  paper 
and  pulp  should  be  put  on  the  free  list,  so  that  the  markets  of  the 
world  shall  be  thrown  open  as  far  as  the  American  manufacturer  is 
concerned. 

The  history  of  the  paper  business  shows  that  the  American  people 
are  well  able  to  cope  with  any  conditions  which  may  confront  them, 
and  we  firmly  believe  that  before  the  question  of  raw  material  shall 
become  acute  other  materials  will  be  found  to  take  the  place  of  pulp 
wood.  There  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  tons  of  material  going 
to  waste  to-day  which  may  become  a  good  paper  making  material  as 
soon  as  a  process  is  discovered  for  handling  the  material  cheaply,  and 
this  process  is  sure  to  come,  as  all  the  others  have  before. 

The  price  of  paper  has  been  steadily  decreasing  for  years,  and 
to-day,  although  the  price  is  higher  than  it  was  two  or  three  years 
ago,  the  actual  figures  show  that  this  increase  comes  from  an  advance 
in  wages  particularly,  and  material  used  about  a  paper  mill ;  not  only 
the  raw  material,  but  everything  that  is  used  in  a  mechanical  way  to 
run  a  manufacturing  plant. 

To-day  one  of  the  most  successful  mills  in  the  United  States  is 
equipping  a  department  to  use  esparto  grass,  which  is  to  be  brought 
into  this  country  in  shiploads  from  Algiers  and  made  into  pulp  and 
paper  in  this  country.  This  is  almost  a  case  of  history  repeating 
itself  and  going  back  to  the  Egyptian  times,  but  it  only  goes  to  show 
that  the  American  manufacturer  is  quite  alive  to  all  conditions  and 
possibilities. 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER — ARTHUR   C.   HASTINGS.  5953 

With  something  like  four  million  tons  of  annual  product,  the  paper 
industry  furnishes  to  the  railroads  in  the  way  of  freight  and  raw 
materials  upward  of  20,000,000  tons  of  freight  annually.  They  con- 
sume 3,000,000  tons  of  coal,  all  from  our  domestic  mines.  They 
sustain  a  large  number  of  establishments  which  supply  them  with 
machinery  and  supplies  used  only  in  paper  mills.  They  furnish 
employment  directly  to  over  75,000  men  in  their  plants,  and  probably 
40.000  men  in  getting  out  the  raw  material  in  the  woods  and  mines, 
besides  indirectly  supporting  an  army  of  men  engaged  in  supplying 
them  with  the  material  which  they  use  in  their  manufacturing 
departments. 

For  every  dollar  which  the  consumer  pays  for  paper  it  is  estimated 
that  nearly  70  cents  goes  to  the  wage  fund  of  the  country.  In  many 
sections  of  the  country  they  have  been  the  pioneers,  building  villages, 
developing  power,  moving  in  population  to  places  that  have  hereto- 
fore been  waste,  necessitating  the  building  of  railroads  for  carrying 
material  and  supplies. 

From  Bulletin  88,  issued  by  the  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor,  Bureau  of  the  Census,  of  1905,  we  find  total  water  power  used 
in  all  industries  was,  roughly,  1,648,000  horsepower,  of  which  the 
paper  and  pulp  manufacturers  used  718,000,  or  something  like  43 
per  cent  of  the  total  amount  developed  at  that  period. 

The  protective  tariff  that  we  have  been  working  under  has  stimu- 
lated the  building  of  paper  and  pulp  mills  to  an  enormous  extent. 
Instead  of  increasing  the  price  to  the  consumer,  it  has  stimulated 
overproduction.  The  price  has  steadily  gone  down  in  twenty  years 
under  a  protective  tariff  from  3£  cents  a  pound  down  to  less  than 
$2  per  hundredweight. 

During  the  last  year  the  cost  to  manufacture  has  increased  con- 
siderably both  as  to  labor  and  as  to  every  article  which  goes  into  the 
manufacture  of  paper  or  into  the  maintenance  of  the  plant. 

The  contention  of  the  consumer  that  the  manufacturers  are  reaping 
an  undue  profit  was  thoroughly  refuted  at  the  hearings  •  before  the 
select  committee  in  Washington  during  the  last  session  of  Congress, 
when  full  reports  were  made  by  the  paper  manufacturers  of  their  in- 
creased cost  of  production.  It  was  shown  by  tabulating  the  results 
of  the  news  mills  reporting  that  the  increased  cost  of  production  in 
the  last  six  years  was  about  35  per  cent. 

We  desire  to  file  with  this  statement  of  facts  information  as  to 
the  relative  wages  paid  employees  in  paper  mills  in  foreign  countries 
as  compared  with  men  in  the  American  mills,  filling  the  same  po- 
sitions and  doing  the  same  work,  under  not  as  good  manufacturing 
conditions  as  are  found  in  the  paper  mills  of  this  country.  All  the 
mills  in  the  United  States  having  practically  been  built  during  a 
period  covered  by  a  protective  tariff. 

The  capital  invested  in  the  plants  of  course  is  much  greater  from 
the  fact  that  everything  that  has  gone  into  these  plants  was  protected, 
and  it  would  be  very  unfair  to  put  a  tax  upon  the  manufacturer  for 
every  one  article  which  he  uses,  and  then  throw  his  product  open  to 
the  manufacturers  of  the  world  to  compete  with,  with  their  cheap 
labor  and  material. 

In  going  over  the  schedule  of  the  Dingley  tariff,  there  is  no  one 
article  in  the  free  list  which  goes  into  the  manufacture  of  paper  or 
pulp,  or  among  the  articles  specified  in  the  reciprocity  act  of  1897 


5954  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

except  the  raw  material;  many  of  the  articles  are  highly  protected, 
for  instance: 

Per  cent 

Wool  felts 100 

Cotton  felts 45 

Hemp  twines 100 

Alum 30 

Soda  ash 25 

Wire  cloth 35 

In  addition  to  a  heavy  duty  on  machinery,  castings,  and  many  other 
articles  used  directly  and  indirectly  in  the  manufacture  of  paper. 

In  addition  to  Canada  a  menace  is  the  older  countries,  who  are 
endeavoring  to  keep  their  laborers  at  home  by  going  into  the  manu- 
facturing business  on  a  scale  never  before  attempted  in  those  coun- 
tries. Norway  and  Sweden  are  not  only  able  to  produce  more 
cheaply  on  account  of  labor  conditions,  but  they  have  ample  raw 
material  right  at  their  doors.  Russia  with  her  pauper  labor  and 
endless  forests  is  going  into  the  manufacture  of  sulphite  pulp  on  a 
large  scale.  How  long  would  it  be.  with  the  American  market  thrown 
open,  before  she  would  also  make  and  send  the  finished  paper  in  here  ? 

To-day  the  foreign  pulps  have  taken  the  place  of  our  own  to  an 
extent  that  is  keenly  felt  by  our  own  manufacturers  and  has  thrown 
many  men  out  of  steady  employment. 

Some  of  the  lower  grades  of  paper — for  instance,  building  or  sat- 
urating paper — are  made  from  the  lowest  grade  of  rags.  The  domes- 
tic collections  do  not  supply  the  American  mills  and  large  portions 
are  imported  from  the  poorer  foreign  countries.  These  rags  come 
in  without  duty,  but  should  the  tariff  be  taken  off  this  particular 
grade  of  paper — it  being  now  only  10  per  cent  ad  valorem — these 
manufacturers  would  be  forced  to  discontinue  the  manufacture  of 
this  grade  of  paper,  and  as  their  mills  are  not  capable  of  making 
any  other  grade  with  profit  it  would  mean  their  extinction,  throw- 
ing out  of  employment  thousands  of  men,  not  only  those  actually  en- 
gaged in  the  paper  mills,  but  an  army  of  the  poorer  class  of  people 
in  all  the  large  cities  who  collect  this  lower  grade  of  material,  and 
for  which  this  is  the  only  use.  In  many  cities  these  refuse  rags  are 
gathered  by  the  municipality  in  sorting  plants,  and  in  this  way  it 
gives  employment  to  a  great  many  poor  people  who  sort  them, 
thereby  giving  employment  to  an  almost  helpless  class  of  citizens  to 
earn  a  small  living. 

There  should  be  in  force  an  antidumping  law  to  protect  the  Ameri- 
can manufacturer,  the  same  as  other  countries  have. 

To-day  much  of  the  pulp,  principally  sulphite  class,  is  being  put 
in  here  at  probably  lower  figures  tnan  it  can  be  made  for  at  home, 
so  low  that  the  American  manufacturers  can  not  compete. 

It  would  be  impracticable  to  admit  print  paper  and  wood  pulp 
free  of  duty,  or  even  wood  pulp,  without  disturbing  the  whole  paper- 
making  industry. 

Raw  material  in  the  shape  of  wood  comes  in  free  of  duty.  Pulp 
made  from  this  is  a  large  component  part  of  paper.  The  pulp-mak- 
ing industry  has  a  large  capital  investment  and  employs  thousands 
of  men  and  is  entitled  to  protection  in  the  same  ratio  as  paper,  as  it 
is  not  raw  material. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  newspapers  have  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent the  ear  of  the  American  people  and  they  have  emphasized  un- 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAP?R — ARTHUR   C.   HASTINGS.  5955 

duly  the  quantity  of  wood  being  used  for  paper  and  pulp,  and  with- 
out investigating  the  matter  or  taking  steps  to  enlighten  himself  on 
the  subject  the  average  reader  supposes  that  we  are  the  ones  who 
are  devastating  the  forests  of  this  country.  By  referring  to  the 
Forest  Service  and  reports  of  1906  it  is  shown  that  less  than  2  per 
cent  of  the  annual  consumption  of  all  kinds  of  wood  is  used  for 
pulp,  and  that  a  large  percentage  of  that  was  unsalable  for  any  other 
purpose  than  pulp  on  account  of  the  size  and  its  being  limbs  and  tops 
of  tree,  so  it  is  fair  to  suppose  that  less  than  1  per  cent  really  of  the 
annual  consumption  is  actually  used  for  pulp  and  paper  and  much 
of  it  would  be  wasted  entirely  if  it  were  not  used  for  this  purpose. 

This  same  service  shows  that  wood  other  than  spruce  is  increasing 
in  use  very  rapidly  and  that  spruce  is  really  being  relatively  less 
used  than  it  has  been,  which  confirms  our  contention  that  the  manu- 
facturer will  use  what  is  cheapest  and  most  necessary  for  the  suc- 
cessful operation  of  his  plant. 

Keports  made  by  this  bureau  estimate  ^that  we  export  from  this 
country  to  foreign  countries  5  per  cent  of  the  total  consumption, 
while  paper-pulp  manufacturers  use  less  than  2  per  cent.  In  other 
words,  if  we  should  stop  the  exportation  of  lumber,  it  would  more 
than  make  up  for  the  amount  used  in  pulp. 

There  is  cut  for  railroad  ties  something  like  7  per  cent  of  the  total 
cut  of  lumber.  It  is  estimated  that  fire  wood  for  domestic  service 
amounts  to  twenty-five  times  as  much  as  is  used  for  pulp.  So  taking 
these  figures,  even  if  they  are  estimates,  they  show  that  the  paper 
man  has  been  criticised  for  something  he  is  not  responsible  for. 
While  many  of  these  figures  are  estimates,  the  quantities  used  by  the 
pulp  man  can  be  better  checked  as  to  quantity  than  any  other  use, 
as  it  is  pretty  well  known  how  much  wood  it  takes  to  make  a  ton  of 
pulp  or  paper  and  how  much  of  these  two  commodities  are  used  per 
year. 

The  value  on  the  importation  of  wood  into  this  country  on  a  cer- 
tain valuation  in  1907  was,  roughly,  $2,800,000.  The  exports  of 
forest  products  for  the  same  period  was  $33,000,000. 

The  average  freight  rate  from  Canadian  mills  to  the  markets  of 
the  United  States  is  about  the  same  as  it  is  from  the  shipping  points 
of  the  American  mills  to  the  same  markets,  thus  showing  that  with 
no  duty  to  pay  they  would  be  practically  on  the  same  basis  as  to  cost 
of  delivery. 

In  1907  there  appears  to  have  been  a  concerted  movement  on  the 
part  of  many  Canadians  to  prohibit  by  law  the  exportation  of  any 
wood  for  pulp  purposes  from  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  The  inter- 
views, as  printed  by  the  Globe,  of  Toronto,  from  time  to  time  do  not 
show  that  all  producers  of  lumber  were  in  favor  of  this  action,  and 
we  quote  from  an  interview  with  the  Hon.  Senator  Edwards,  head  of 
the  W.  C.  Edwards  &  Co.  (Limited),  manufacturers  of  lumber,  who 
have  immense  establishments  at  Ottawa  and  Eockland,  as  follows : 

The  senator  favored  a  policy  of  making  all  the  forest  lands  available  for 
operation,  and  their  Intelligent  working  under  proper  regulations  and  super- 
vision, as  distinct  from  the  idea  of  some  people  that  the  plan  to  be  adopted 
was  the  clearing  off  of  the  forests  as  rapidly  as  possible,  with  a  view  to  making 
room  for  settlement.  There  was  no  reason  why,  under  an  intelligent  system, 
the  forest  crop  of  Canada,  as  it  might  be  called,  should  not  be  everlasting. 
His  company,  he  said,  was  going  to  build  in  the  Gaspe  district  of  the  St 
Lawrence  a  pulp  mill  and  lumbering  establishment  where  these  Ideas  would 


6956  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

be  carried  out  to  a  still  more  scientific  extent  than  was  now  the  case  on  their 
limits.  Under  the  direction  of  a  forester  of  standing  and  experience  it  was 
intended  to  show  that  it  would  be  practicable  to  keep  the  establishment  going 
by  simply  cutting  the  annual  forest  growth. 

On  the  other  hand,  Sir  William  Van  Home,  largely  interested  in 
the  largest  paper-making  plant  in  Canada,  at  Grand  Mere,  Quebec, 
takes  the  other  side  of  the  question,  and  we  quote  from  his  remarks 
as  follows: 

Another  important  American  holding  in  Canada  is  that  of  the  Burgess  Sul- 
phite and  Fiber  Company  and  the  Berlin  Mills  Company,  of  Berlin,  N.  H.  I  do 
not  know  the  extent  of  the  timber  limits  belonging  to  these  companies,  but  it  is 
large,  and  they  have  acquired  the  Lachute  water  power,  on  the  St.  Maurice 
River,  for  the  purpose  of  a  "  rossing  mill  "  for  barking  pulp  wood  to  be  shipped 
to  the  New  Hampshire  mills,  the  barking  being  done  to  save  the  freight  charges. 
The  Battle  Island  Sulphite  and  Fiber  Company,  of  Oswego,  N.  Y.,  also  holds 
limits  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  extent  of  which  I  do  not  know.  Many  paper 
concerns  in  the  United  States,  besides  those  I  have  mentioned,  are  buying 
Canadian  pulp  wood,  ground  pulp,  and  sulphite  fiber  to  eke  out  their  supply. 
Without  the  Canadian  supply  of  pulps  and  pulp  wood  many  of  the  American 
mills  would  have  to  shut  down  very  soon.  If  they  can  not  get  our  pulps  or 
pulp  wood  they  must  eventually  come  to  Canada  to  make  paper,  and  every 
paper  mill  established  in  Canada  means  a  town  of  from  5,000  to  15,000  people, 
and  a  great  addition  to  the  wealth  of  the  country. 

******* 

I  should  not  dare  to  estimate  the  value  of  Canada's  spruce  timber  ten  years 
hence  if  some  policy  were  adopted  by  the  dominion  or  the  provincial  govern- 
ments which  would,  directly  or  indirectly,  prevent  the  export  of  raw  wood. 
The  American  owners  of  Canadian  limits  estimate  the  possibilities  as  highly  as 
I  do.  They  do  not  hesitate  to  buy  Canadian  timber  limits,  because  they  know 
that  in  the  event  of  the  adoption  in  Canada  generally  of  a  policy  like  that  of 
Mr.  Hardy's  in  Ontario,  they  would  profit  immensely  from  their  timber  holdings. 
I  hold  that  this  tremendously  valuable  asset  should  be  preserved  in  every  pos- 
sible way;  that  the  Provinces  having  timber  should  regard  it  as  a  permanent 
crop  and  apply  well-considered  regulations  to  the  cutting  from  crown  lands, 
with  a  view  to  promoting  the  growth  of  the  young  timber  and  to  the  prevention 
of  forest  fires,  and  that  the  areas  reserved  for  the  growth  of  timber  should  be 
carefully  marked  out  and  withdrawn  from  settlement.  This  would  leave  an 
abundance  of  land  available  for  settlement  for  a  long  time  to  come  in  all  of 
the  timbered  districts,  for  there  are  everywhere  areas  which  have  been  either 
burnt  over  or  cut  so  clean  as  to  leave  no  hope  of  a  new  growth. 

In  the  Province  of  Quebec,  and  perhaps  this  is  true  of  other  Provinces,  a 
real  or  pretending  settler  may  take  up  land  for  farming  purposes  in  any  timber 
limit,  and  in  such  a  case  the  owner  of  the  license  is  given  one  year  within 
which  to  cut  such  timber  as  the  law  permits  to  be  cut  from  crown  lands,  after 
which  the  settler  may  cut  the  rest.  There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  in  the 
Province  of  Quebec,  if  not  elsewhere,  lands  have  been  so  taken  by  pretending 
settlers  at  the  instance  of  jobbers  in  logs  or  pulp  wood,  the  settler  abandoning 
the  land  as  soon  as  he  has  cut  all  that  he  finds  worth  cutting. 

I  do  not  think  there  would  be  any  danger  of  retaliation  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  in  the  event  of  some  such  policy  as  I  have  outlined  being  carried 
out.  I  can  see  no  possible  ground  for  retaliation  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States  In  view  of  the  precedents  which  they  have  themselves  established,  and 
I  can  think  of  no  form  of  retaliation  that  would  not  be  much  more  damaging  to 
themselves  than  to  us,  and  they  are  not  given  to  foolishness  of  that  kind.  So 
far  as  tariffs  go,  I  do  not  see  that  they  could  make  them  worse,  for  the  Dingley 
tariff,  which  is  still  in  force,  was  framed  for  the  purpose  of  excluding  every- 
thing from  Canada  which  the  United  States  did  not  need,  such  as  timber,  pulp 
wood,  ground  and  sulphite  pulp,  etc. 

We  do  not  agree  fully  with  Sir  William,  but  the  fact  of  free  paper 
and  pulp  would  mean  the  building  of  large  plants  in  Canada,  which, 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  would  put  the  American  manufacturer 
out  of  business  through  overproduction  and  their  inability  to  manu- 
facture cheaper. 


PULP,    AND   PRINT  PAPER ARTHUR   C.    HASTINGS.  5957 

The  manufacturers  of  paper  and  pulp  believe  that  justice  will  be 
done  to  the  industry  by  your  committee.  We  believe  the  facts 
brought  out  by  the  so-called  "  Mann  Investigating  Committee  "  will 
be  of  very  great  service  to  your  committee  in  arriving  at  a  conclusion 
as  to  what  is  due  to  the  industry  in  the  United  States  as  a  whole.  We 
desire  to  furnish  your  committee  with  any  information  in  our  power 
that  you  may  wish,  and  shall  hold  ourselves  in  readiness  at  any  time 
to  respond  to  any  inquiry  you  may  make,  either  by  letter  or  in  person. 

AMERICAN  PAPER  AND  PULP  ASSOCIATION, 
By  ARTHUR  C.  HASTINGS,  President. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

MEMBERS   OF    THE    AMERICAN    PAPER   AND    PULP    ASSOCIATION. 

American  Writing  Paper  Company Holyoke,  Mass. 

Ancram  Paper  Company New  York  City. 

Bardeen  Paper  Company Otsego,  Mich. 

Bare,  D.  M.,  &  Co Roaring  Spring,  Pa. 

Battle  Island  Paper  Company Fulton,  N.  Y. 

Bedford  Pulp  and  Paper  Company Richmond,  Va. 

Beckett  Paper  Company Hamilton,  Ohio. 

Bergstrom  Paper  Company Neenah,  Wis. 

Bryant  Paper  Company Kalamazoo,  Mich. 

Berlin  Mills  Company Berlin,  N.  H. 

Brown,  L.  L.,  Paper  Company Adams,  Mass. 

Brownville  Board  Company Brownville,  N.  Y. 

Brownville  Paper  Company Brownville,  N.  Y. 

Burgess  Sulphite  Fiber  Company Boston,  Mass. 

Carew  Manufacturing  Company South   Hadley    Falls, 

Mass. 

Carthage  Sulphite  Fiber  Company Carthage,  N.  Y. 

Carthage  Tissue-Paper  Mills Carthage,  N.  Y. 

Central  Paper  Company Muskegon,  Mich. 

Champion  Coated  Paper  Company Hamilton,  Ohio. 

Champion-International  Company Lawrence,  Mass. 

Cheboygan  Paper  Company Cheboygan,  Mich. 

Chemical  Paper  Company Holyoke,  Mass. 

Cherry  River  Paper  Company Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Cleveland-Akron  Bag  Company Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Cleveland  Paper  Manufacturing  Company Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Cliff  Paper  Company Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y. 

Columbian  Paper  Company Buena  Vista,  Va. 

Combined  Locks  Paper  Company Appleton,  Wis. 

Consolidated  Water  Power  and  Paper  Company Grand  Rapids,  Wis. 

Continental  Paper  Bag  Company New  York  City. 

Crane,  Z.  &  W.  M Dalton,  Mass. 

Crane  Bros Westfield,  Mass. 

Crane  &  Co Dalton,  Mass. 

Crivitz  Pulp  and  Paper  Company Crivitz,  Wis. 

Crocker-Burbank  Company Fitchburg,  Mass. 

Crocker-McElwain  Company Holyoke,  Mass. 

De  Grasse  Paper  Company Carthage,  N.  Y. 

Dells  Paper  and  Pulp  Company Eau  Claire,  Wis. 

Dexter,  C.  H.,  &  Sons Windsor  Locks,  Conn. 

Dexter  Sulphite  Pulp  and  Paper  Company Dexter,  N.  Y. 

Diamond  State  Fiber  Company Bridgeport,  Pa. 

Diana  Paper  Company Harrisville,  N.  Y. 

Dill  &  Collins  Company Philadelphia,  Pa. 


5958  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

District  of  Columbia  Paper  Manufacturing  Company Washington,  D.  C. 

Eastern  Manufacturing  Company Bangor,  Me. 

Eaton-Dikeman  Company Lee,  Mass. 

Edwards  Manufacturing  Company,  The  John Port  Edwards,  Wis. 

Emerson  Paper  Company Wendell,  N.  H. 

Esleeck  Manufacturing  Company Turners  Falls,  M;iss. 

Everett  Pulp  and  Paper  Company Everett,  Wash. 

Falls  Manufacturing  Company Oconto  Falls,  Wis. 

Finch,  Pruyn  &  Co Glens  Falls,  N.  Y. 

Flambeau  Paper  Company Park  Falls,  Wis. 

Fletcher  Paper  Company Alpena,  Mich. 

Flint,  Wyman,  &  Sons  Company Bellows  Falls,  Vt. 

Fox  River  Paper  Company Appleton,  Wis. 

Garrett,  C.  S.,  &  Son  Company Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Gilbert,  Frank,  Paper  Company Waterford,  N.  Y. 

Grandfather  Falls  Company Merrill,  Wis. 

Hamilton  &  Sons,  W.  C Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Hammermill  Paper  Company Erie,  Pa. 

Hampshire  Paper  Company South  Hadley  Falls, 

Mass. 

Hartje  Paper  Manufacturing  Company Steubenville,  Ohio. 

Hennepin  Paper  Company Minneapolis,  Minn. 

Hinckley  Fiber  Company Hinckley,  N.  Y. 

Hollingsworth  &  Whitney  Company Boston,  Mass. 

Hubbard,  A.  H.,  &  Co Norwich,  Conn. 

Ingalls  &  Co Castleton,  N.  Y. 

Interlake  Pulp  and  Paper  Company New  York  City. 

International  Paper  Company New  York  City. 

Itasca  Paper  Company Grand  Rapids,  Minn. 

Jessup  &  Moore  Paper  Company Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Kalamazoo  Paper  Company Kalamazoo,  Mich. 

Katahdin  Pulp  and  Paper  Company Lincoln,  Me. 

Keith  Paper  Company Turners  Falls,  Mass. 

Kimberly-Clark  Company Neenah,  Wis. 

King  Paper  Company Kalamazoo,  Mich. 

Knowlton  Brothers Watertown,  N.  Y. 

Lang,  John,  Paper  Company Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Lewis,  J.  P.,  Company Beaver  Falls,  N.  Y. 

Linddaues  Pulp  Company Kaukauna,  Wis. 

McEwan  Brothers Whippany,  N.  J. 

Mead  Pulp  and  Paper  Company Dayton,  Ohio. 

Marinette  and  Menominee  Paper  Company Menominee,  Mich. 

Megargee  Paper  Mills Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Menasha  Paper  Company Menasha,  Wis. 

Michigan  Paper  Company,  The Plainwell,  Mich. 

Michigan   Sulphite   Fiber   Company Port  Huron,  Mich. 

Mittineague  Paper  Company Mittineague,  Mass. 

Monadnock  Paper  Mills Bennington,  N.  H. 

Monarch  Paper  Company Kalamazoo,  Mich. 

Moorehouse,  R.  T Bridesburg,  Philadel- 
phia, Pa. 

Mount  Tom  Sulphite  Pulp  Company Mount  Tom,  Mass. 

Munising  Paper  Company Munising,  Mich. 

Nashua  River  Paper  Company East  Pepperell,  Mass 

Nekoosa-Edwards  Company Port  Edwards,  Wis. 

New  Haven  Pulp  and  Board  Company New  Haven,  Conn. 

Newton  Falls  Paper  Company Watertown,  N.  Y. 

New  York  and  Pennsylvania  Company New  York  City. 

Niagara  Paper  Mills Lockport,  N.  Y. 

Nixon,  M.  &  W.  H.,  Paper  Company Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Northern  Paper  Mills  Company Green  Bay,  Wis. 

Northwest  Paper  Company Cloquet,  Minn. 

Odell  Manufacturing  Company Boston,  Mass. 

Orono  Pulp  and  Paper  Company Bangor,  Me. 

Oswego  Falls  Pulp  and  Paper  Company Fulton,  N.  Y. 

Oxford  Paper  Company Portland,  Me. 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPEE CHESTER  W.   LYMAN.  5959 

Parson  Pulp  and  Paper  Company Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Parsons,  W.  H.,  &  Co New  York  City. 

Patten  Paper  Company Appleton,  Wis. 

Peninsular  Paper  Company Ypsilanti,  Mich. 

Penobscot  Chemical  Fiber  Company Boston,  Mass. 

Pettebon-Cataract    Company Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y. 

Plover  Paper  Company Stevens  Point,  Wis. 

Port  Edwards  Fiber  Company Port  Edwards,  Wis. 

Poland  Paper  Company Mechanic  Falls,  Me. 

Progressive  Pulp  and  Paper  Company Plattsburg,  N.  Y. 

Rnquette  River  Paper  Company Potsdam,  N.  Y. 

Rnymondville  Paper  Company Watertown,  N.  Y. 

Reading  Paper  Mills Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Rhinelander  Paper  Company Rhinelander,  Wis. 

Richmond  Paper  Manufacturing  Company Richmond,  Va. 

Rising,  B.  D.,  Paper  Company Housatonic,  Mass. 

Riverside  Fiber  and  Paper  Company ,  — Appleton,  Wis. 

Robertson  Brothers Hinsdale,  N.  H. 

Rogers,  J.  &  J.,  Company Ausable  Forks,  N.  Y. 

Rogers  Paper  Manufacturing  Company  ( Incorporated) ,The_  South       Manchester, 

Conn. 

St.  Croix  Paper  Company Woodland,  Me. 

St.  Regis  Paper  Company Watertown,  N.  Y. 

Shawmut  Manufacturing  Company New  York  City. 

Smith  Paper  Company Lee,  Mass. 

Strange  Paper  Company,  The  John Menasha,  Wis. 

Taggart  Brothers  Company Watertown,  N.  Y. 

Taylor-Burt  Company,  The Holyoke,  Mass. 

Thilmany  Pulp  and  Paper  Company Kaukauna,  Wis. 

Ticonderoga  Pulp  Paper  Company New  York  City. 

Tileston  &  Hollingsworth  Company Boston,  Mass. 

Traders'  Paper  Board  Company Bogota,  N.  Y. 

U^ion  Bag  and  Paper  Company New  York  City. 

United  Box  Board  and  Paper  Company New  York  City. 

Victoria  Paper  Mills  Company Fulton,  N.  Y. 

Wanaque  River  Paper  Company Wanaque,  N.  J. 

Warren  Manufacturing  Company New  York  City. 

Watab  Pulp  and  Paper  Company Sartell,  Minn. 

Wausau  Paper  Mills  Company Brokaw,  Wis. 

Weeks,  F.  G Skaneateles,  N.  Y. 

West  End  Paper  Company Carthage,  N.  Y. 

Weston,  Bryon  Company Dalton,  Mass. 

West  Virginia  Pulp  and  Paper  Company New  York  City. 

Wheelwright,  Geo.  W.f  Paper  Company Boston,  Mass. 

Weeks,  Charles  G Skaneateles,  N.  Y. 

Willamette  Pulp  and  Paper  Company Oregon  City,  Oreg. 

Wisconsin  River  Pulp  and  Paper  Company Stevens  Point,  WTis. 

Wisconsin  Tissue  Paper  Company Appleton,  Wis. 

Woronoco  Paper  Company Woronoco,  Mass. 

Worthy  Paper  Company Mittineague,  Mass. 

York  Haven  Paper  Company,  The New  York  City. 

75941—11.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 13 


5960  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

EXHIBIT  B. 

Rates  of  wages  in  foreign  and  United  States  mills  making  high-grade  sulphite 

pulp. 

[The  wages  per  week  have  all  been  figured  on  the  same  number  of  hours  per  week.     In 
some  instances  the  wages  for  Europe  have  increased  somewhat,  these  men  inform  us.] 


Name. 

Present  position. 

Wages 
per 
week. 

European  position. 

Wages 
per 
week. 

Per  cent  of 
American 
wages. 

Albert  Engler  

Machinist  

316.50 

Machinist  

$7.50 

0  45 

Chas.  Hel  wig  

Machine  tender  .  . 

14.40 

Machine  tender  .  . 

7.50 

.62 

Frank  Kabolnick  

Cook  

16.80 

Cook  

5.04 

80 

Otto  Richert 

Reel  tender 

11.40 

Beater  man 

2  52 

22 

Jake  Glombowski  

Jos  Glombowski 

Bin  trimmer  
Cook's  helper 

9.60 
10.60 

do  

Rag  cutter 

2.52 
2  60 

.26 

25 

Martin  Zellan  '.  

Barker  

9.60 

Straw  cooker. 

3  60 

38 

M.  Minkowski  

Screen  helper  

11.40 

Watchman  

3.00 

.26 

John  Feidler  

Cook's  helper  

10.80 

Bleach  man 

2  70 

25 

Albert  Seig 

Laborer 

9.00 

Laborer    * 

3  78 

42 

Michial  Kern  

Digester  man  

12.00 

Fireman      

5  04 

42 

John  Ordowski  

Laborer  

9.00 

Laborer  

3.75 

.42 

EXHIBIT  C. 

Scotch  mill  as  compared  with  Mechanicsville  mills. 
[Average  pay  per  two  weeks  (twelve  days).] 


Scotch 
mill. 

Mechan- 
icsville 
mill. 

Scotch 
mill. 

Mechan- 
icsville 
mill. 

Beater  men 

820.00 

8  16.  08 

Good  journeymen  

$15.00 

$36.00 

First  assistant 

12  50 

22.20 

Apprentices  

6  00 

34  20 

Second  assistant 

8.75 

22.20 

Head  firemen  

17.50 

42  00 

24  00 

56  16 

First  assistant 

11  25 

28  80 

First  assistant 

12.75 

30.24 

Head  finisher  

20.00 

49.20 

Second  assistant 

8  50 

27.36 

Finishing  girls 

8  00 

15  00 

Grass  boiler  man 

17.50 

28.80 

Tyers  up  

10  00 

Assistant 

10  00 

21  00 

Outside  labor 

9  00 

18  00 

Cutter  men  .                     ... 

18.75 

40.20 

Supercalender  man  

17.50 

29  04 

Assistant 

7  50 

19  20 

Helper    .. 

8  00 

21  00 

Cutter  boys 

4.00 

15  00 

Stp«.m  Ang-inpprs 

20.00 

33  00 

Head  machinist  

30.00 

45.00 

EXHIBIT  D. 

REPORT  OF  ABTHUB  D.  LITTLE,  OFFICIAL  CHEMIST  OF  THE  AMEBICAN  PULP  AND 

PAPEB  ASSOCIATION. 

Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  American  Paper  and  Pulp  Association: 

The  year  just  ended  has  been  an  uneventful  one  in  the  chemical  technology 
of  pulp  and  paper  making  and  has  been  unmarked  by  the  appearance  of  any 
new  chemical  process  or  method  of  the  first  importance.  The  following  mat- 
ters, however,  deserve  brief  mention  : 

The  year  has  shown  an  increasing  tendency  in  the  sulphite  process  toward 
the  use  of  stronger  liquors,  particularly  in  Sweden,  where  liquors  carrying  5 
per  cent  or  more  of  total  sulphurous  acid  are  being  employed  to  advantage  in 
respect  of  improved  quality  of  product  and  a  better  recovery  of  gas. 

Concurrently  with  the  foregoing  there  has  developed  a  tendency  toward 
shorter  cooks  and  there  is  no  longer  any  doubt  that  pulp  of  first-rate  quality 
can  be  produced  in  a  cook  of  seven  hours'  total  duration  or  even  less.  This 
means,  of  course,  considerably  increased  output  from  the  same  plant. 

The  year  has  also  witnessed  the  rapid  introduction  of  new  types  of  sulphur 
burners  of  large  capacity.  These  are  either  of  the  rotary  or  agitating  types, 
and  by  their  better  control  of  the  air  supply  permit  the  workmen  to  maintain 
a  much  higher  content  of  sulphurous  acid  in  the  burner  gas.  Gases  containing 
16  per  cent  of  sulphurous  acid  are  now  not  uncommon. 


PULP,   AND  PRINT  PAPER — ARTHUR  C.   HASTINGS.  5961 

With  the  more  general  recognition  of  the  necessity  for  better  control  of  fur- 
nace gas  and  the  advantages  derived  from  a  higher  content  of  sulphurous  acid, 
there  have  come  from  Europe  proposals  to  utili,  »•>  the  sulphurous  acid  in  the 
absorption  system  under  a  considerable  pressure.  Harpf  points  out  that  under 
60  pounds  pressure  it  is  easy  to  dissolve  8.14  per  cent  of  sulphurous  acid  in 
water  even  when  no  lime  is  .present  as  against  1.63  per  cent  for  water  under 
the  ordinary  atmospheric  pressure. 

An  important  new  departure  in  the  sulphite  process  is  the  employment  of 
superheated  steam  in  cooking.  This  is  coming  into  extensive  use  in  Germany 
and  Sweden  and  offers  a  number  of  important  advantages.  It  saves  steam, 
prevents  the  undue  dilution  of  cooking  liquors,  enables  the  cook  to  be  made  in 
shorter  time,  and  permits  the  use  of  weaker  liquors  than  usual  in  the  summer 
time  when  it  is  ordinarily  difficult  to  keep  the  liquors  up  to  strength.  There 
has  been  nothing  whatsoever  to  show  that  either  the  strength  of  the  fiber  or  its 
bleaching  quality  are  influenced  at  all  adversely. 

The  year  has  seen  some  measure  of  success  in  the  difficult  problem  of  utilizing 
the  waste  sulphite  liquor.  Some  inconclusive  experiments  have  been  made 
looking  to  the  employment  of  the  waste  liquor  for  keeping  down  dust  on  roads. 
Considerable  progress  is  to  be  recorded  in  the  utilization  of  the  concentrated 
liquor  as  a  binding  material,  as,  for  example,  for  molder's  sand,  and  there  is 
also  good  promise  of  the  successful  utilization  of  the  waste  liquors  as  a  supple- 
mentary tanning  agent. 

Perhaps  the  most  significant  development  of  the  year  has  been  the  introduc- 
tion to  this  country  through  importation  of  considerable  quantities  of  kraft 
paper.  The  manufacture  of  this  paper  has  been  very  recently  worked  out  in 
Sweden  through  the  use  of  pulp  prepared  from  coniferous  woods  by  a  modi- 
fication of  the  sulphate  process.  The  wood  is  somewhat  undercooked  in  a 
liquor  which  contains  from  one-fourth  to  one-third  black  liquor  from  a  pre- 
vious cook.  The  resultant  pulp  has  a  dark  but  pleasing  and  characteristic 
brown  color  and  is  used  for  making  paper  immediately  after  washing  and  with- 
out admixture  of  other  stock.  As  its  name  implies,  the  striking  quality  of 
kraft  paper  is  its  great  strength,  which  renders  it  available  for  many  special 
uses  of  importance.  The  strength  ratio  of  kraft  paper  as  shown  by  our  tests 
is  about  1.15  as  contrasted  with  about  0.85  for  a  good  quality  all-sulphite  paper. 

The  special  significance  and  technical  importance  of  kraft  paper  is  found  in 
the  direct  evidence  it  furnishes  that  the  possibilities  of  all-wood  papers  have 
not  yet  begun  to  be  appreciated.  Another  cellulose  industry,  that  of  fine  cotton 
textiles,  has  within  the  last  few  years  been  revolutionized  as  the  result  of  the 
recognition  and  utilization  of  the  properties  of  the  cotton  fiber  substance  during 
treatment  with  strong  caustic  soda.  I  refer,  of  course,  to  the  process  of  mer- 
cerization  as  now  generally  applied  to  the  production  of  cotton  yarns,  exhibit- 
ing a  splendid  silky  luster.  The  general  trend  of  development  in  paper  making 
indicates  that  it  is  well  within  the  range  of  probabilities  that  an  analogous 
revolution  may  be  impending  in  the  treatment  and  utilization  of  chemical  wood 
fiber.  The  production  of  kraft  papers  has  shown  that  a  profound  variation  in 
the  properties  of  the  fiber  and  a  variation  along  new  lines  may  be  established  by 
a  minor  change  in  the  conditions  of  the  cooking  process.  Other  variations  quite 
as  profound  are  now  known  to  be  set  up  by  the  hydration  of  the  fiber  substance 
brought  about  by  beating  under  stone  rolls,  as  exemplified  in  the  production  of 
the  transparent  pergamyn  and  glassine  papers.  This  hydration  effect,  for  in- 
stance, is  unquestionably  susceptible  of  a  much  wider  range  of  application  than 
it  has  yet  received  even  in  Germany,  while  in  this  country  it  is  scarcely  utilized 
at  all.  The  same  effect,  although  brought  about  by  different  methods,  appears  in 
the  curiously  parchment-like  papers  recently  produced  from  the  pith  cells  of 
both  the  cornstalk  and  the  waste  sugar-cane  chips  known  as  "  bagasse."  In 
these  cases  the  walls  of  the  pith  cells  are  of  such  delicacy  that  the  cellulose  is 
hydrated  during  the  purification  process  of  boiling  with  caustic  alkali,  and  the 
cell  walls  are  therefore  superficially  fused  together  during  the  process  of  making 
and  drying  the  paper.  This  explains  the  curious  result  that  a  paper  of  remark- 
able strength  and  toughness  may  be  prepared  from  cells  so  short  and  wide  that 
they  can  not  properly  be  regarded  as  fibers  at  all.  To  this  hydration  effect  upon 
the  pith  cells  must  mainly  also  be  ascribed  the  remarkable  qualities  of  the 
bagasse  boards  now  being  manufactured  in  Louisiana  by  the  Lee  process,  in 
which  the  bagasse  chips  are  undercooked  in  a  liquor  prepared  from  saccharate 
of  lime  made  by  mixing  lime  and  molasses  with  water. 


5962  SCHEDULE  M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

As  bearing  directly  upon  the  development  in  this  country  of  new  types  of 
paper  I  may  be  permitted  to  point  out  the  desirability  of  a  better  recognition 
here  of  the  merits  of  stone-roll  beating  engines  and  the  edge  runner  or  koller- 
gang  for  working  up  undercooked  pulps  for  the  production  of  papers  of  ex- 
ceptional strength. 

The  constantly  rising  price  of  wood  and  the  growing  scarcity  of  hard-fiber 
wastes  available  for  paper  making  have  led  during  the  year  to  a  continued  and 
persistent  search  for  new  fiber  and  new  sources  of  supply.  Excellent  papers 
standing  midway  in  properties  between  rag  and  wood  papers  have  been  pre- 
pared from  corn  stalk  by  cutting  out  the  nodes  and  slicing  off  the  outer  shell 
to  separate  the  region  carrying  the  fiber  from  the  pith.  The  shell  is  reduced 
to  fiber  by  boiling  with  caustic  soda.  The  pith,  if  cooked  by  itself,  yields  the 
parchment-like  paper  previously  referred  to,  while  the  entire  stalk,  except  the 
nodes,  yields  a  rather  hard  paper  of  intermediate  quality.  Papers  of  gen- 
erally similar  character  have  been  made  from  bagasse. 

The  immense  quantity  of  cotton  stalks  annually  available  in  the  South,  where, 
on  the  average,  22,750,000  tons  are  each  year  burned  or  plowed  under  or  other- 
wise wasted,  has  caused  this  material  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  possible  source  of 
stock  for  the  lower  grades  of  paper.  Several  processes  for  reducing  the  stalks 
have  been  proposed,  and  attempts  to  treat  the  stalks  by  the  sulphite  process  are 
now  under  way  in  the  government  laboratory  at  South  Boston.  The  subject  has 
an  especial  economic  interest  in  view  of  the  extensive  ravages  of  the  cotton 
boll  weevil,  the  damage  from  which  last  year  is  estimated  at  $25,000,000.  Any 
method  of  utilization  which  would  put  a  value  on  the  stalks  sufficient  to  cause 
the  farmers  to  cut  and  remove  them  from  the  fields  would  go  very  far  toward 
checking  the  depredations  of  this  insect,  and  thus  save  a  large  proportion  of  the 
great  sum  now  lost. 

Projects  for  utilizing  peat  as  paper  stock  come  up  perennially,  and  during  the 
past  year  an  unsuccessful  attempt  has  been  made  at  Celbridge,  Ireland,  to 
manufacture  paper  from  this  material.  I  believe  it  may  fairly  be  said  that  on 
account  of  the  shortness  and  lack  of  strength  and  chemical  condition  of  the 
fibers  which  have  survived  decay  in  peat  it  is  hopeless  to  expect  to  make  a  use- 
ful paper  from  peat  without  a  very  large  admixture  of  other  stock.  Upon  the 
other  hand,  it  does  seem  to  be  well  adapted  to  the  manufacture  of  boards  of 
excellent  quality,  and  this  manufacture  has  recently  been  established  In 
Michigan. 

Actuated  by  a  desire  to  open  up  new  agricultural  possibilities  for  its  colonies, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  supply  British  paper  makers  with  cheaper  raw  ma- 
terial, the  British  Government  commissioned  the  English  paper  expert,  Mr. 
R.  W.  Sindall,  to  make  a  study  of  the  subject  in  India  and  other  colonies.  In 
his  recent  report  Mr.  Sindall  urges  the  utilization  of  bamboo  and  rice  straw. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  many  years  ago  Mr.  Thomas  Routledge,  to  whom 
the  introduction  of  esparto  was  due,  brought  out  a  monograph  on  bamboo  as  a 
paper  stock,  and  printed  the  pamphlet  on  an  excellent  quality  of  paper  made 
wholly  from  bamboo.  It  should  be  pointed  out,  however,  that  the  length  and 
character  of  fiber  in  both  bamboo  and  rice  straw  are  such  as  to  preclude  the 
use  of  these  materials  as  substitutes  for  the  wood  of  the  cone-bearing  tree  for 
pulp  making. 

An  important  step  in  the  interests  of  American  paper  makers  has  been  taken 
during  the  year  by  the  United  States  Government  in  establishing  under  the 
auspices  of  the  United  States  Forest  Service  a  model  sulphite  pulp  mill  and 
testing  laboratory  at  South  Boston,  Mass.  This  laboratory  will  be  quite  fully 
described  by  Dr.  Arthur  L.  Dean,  of  the  Forest  Service,  in  the  convention  num- 
ber of  the  Paper  Trade  Journal,  and  I  need  therefore  only  say  that  there  is 
every  prospect  that  the  work  of  the  laboratory  will  extend  the  range  of  useful- 
ness of  the  wood  fibers  by  demonstrating  that  many  woods  besides  those  now 
utilized  are  immediately  available  for  paper  making  and  will  yield  pulps  vary- 
ing so  much  among  themselves  in  character  as  to  permit  their  advantageous  use 
In  many  different  sorts  of  paper. 

In  1884,  when  the  sulphite  process  was  first  put  in  commercial  operation  in 
the  country,  in  the  mill  of  the  Richmond  Paper  Company,  large  quantities  of 
poplar  were  reduced  to  pulp  by  the  sulphite  process.  Sulphite  poplar  has 
properties  which  make  it  an  especially  desirable  stock,  and  the  market  would 
undoubtedly  take  a  considerable  quantity  of  this  pulp  if  sulphite-pulp  makers 
did  not  so  universally  confine  their  output  to  the  fiber  of  coniferous  trees.  It 
is  beginning  to  be  recognized  that  the  southern  gum  wood*  and  the  tupelo  are 


PULP,   AND  PRINT  PAPER ARTHUR  C.    HASTINGS.  5963 

admirably  adapted  for  the  production  of  sulphite  fibers  of  the  general  char- 
acter of  sulphite  poplar,  while  the  woods  themselves  are  so  cheap  and  available 
In  such  great  quantity  that  it  is  practically  certain  that  sulphite  pulp  made  from 
them  will,  before  long,  be  a  factor  in  the  industry. 

In  Germany  a  new  brown  pulp  has  appeared,  which  stands  between  steamed 
ground  wood  and  sulphite  in  its  paper-nftking  qualities.  It  is  made  at  the 
plant  of  Prince  Donnersmarck,  at  Krappitz,  by  grinding  bolts  of  wood  which 
have  been  cooked  with  waste  soda  liquor. 

There  has  been,  during  the  year,  a  greatly  increased  use  of  special  rosin  sizes 
manufactured  outside  the  mill,  and  these  sizes  are  made  by  methods  which 
insure  a  much  higher  content  of  free  rosin  than  the  usual  mill  size.  This 
increase  in  free  rosin  is  unquestionably  an  advantage,  particularly  in  most 
cases  where  snap  and  rattle  are  desired  in  a  paper,  and  it  permits  a  substantial 
reduction  in  the  amount  of  alum  used.  The  steady  rise  in  the  price  of  rosin 
itself  has  led  to  the  devising  of  new  methods  of  extraction  from  stumps  and 
wood  previously  wasted,  and  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  considerable 
quantities  of  rosin  will  be  available  from  these  hitherto  neglected  sources. 

The  year  has  seen  some  notable  addition  to  the  literature  of  cellulose,  and 
among  the  publications  in  English  should  be  mentioned  "Chapters  on  Paper 
Making "  by  Clayton  Beadle,  "  Paper  Technology,"  by  R.  W.  Sindall,  and 
"Researches  in  Cellulose  1900-1905,"  by  Cross  and  Bevan.  The  two  former 
books  will  be  found  helpful  by  any  paper  maker.  The  one  last  mentioned, 
while  lacking  the  same  general  interest,  is  of  the  first  importance  to  cellulose 
chemists  and  is  particularly  noteworthy  for  the  radical  changes  in  the  theory 
of  cellulose  and  the  method  of  attack  of  cellulose  problems  now  laid  down 
by  these  distinguished  chemists,  who  have  done  so  much  to  establish  the  chem- 
istry of  cellulose  as  it  is  known  to-day.  They  now  take  a  distinctly  agnostic 
position  which  involves  the  recognition  of  current  views  of  the  constitution 
of  cellulose  as  inadequate,  and  they  lay  particular  stress  at  this  time  upon  the 
colloidal  character  of  cellulose  as  influencing  its  chemical  properties. 

It  is  appropriate  at  this  point  to  mention  the  newly  organized  Verein  der 
Zellstoff  und  Papier  Chemiker,  of  which  your  chemist  has  the  honor  to  be  a 
member.  Although  the  society  has  its  headquarters  at  Berlin,  it  is  cosmo- 
politan in  its  membership  and  should  prove  an  efficient  agent  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  chemical  technology  of  pulp  and  paper  making.  Another  influence 
in  the  same  direction  should  come  from  the  new  journal,  Chemical  Abstracts, 
published  by  the  American  Chemical  Society,  and  which  will  contain,  grouped 
under  their  appropriate  subjects,  abstracts  of  all  chemical  articles  containing 
new  matter  wherever  published.  The  subject  of  cellulose  and  paper  making 
has  been  assigned  to  the  reporter. 

Considerable  work  has  been  carried  on  during  the  year  in  paper  testing  and 
the  study  of  special  problems  in  paper  making  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of 
Standards  and  the  recently  established  Paper  and  Leather  Laboratory  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  The  work  will  undoubtedly  lead  to 
greater  definiteness  and  rigidity  in  the  government  specifications  for  supplies 
of  paper.  No  report  on  the  results  obtained  has  yet  been  issued  by  either 
bureau. 

It  becomes  increasingly  evident  that  German  paper-testing  methods,  although 
essential  for  purposes  of  research,  are  not  well  adapted  to  the  requirements 
of  commercial  practice  in  this  country.  Testing  methods  and  machines  to  be 
generally  useful  here  must  yield  their  results  quickly  and  with  a  minimum  of 
effort,  and  for  most  purposes  a  reasonably  approximate  figure  which  can  be 
secured  almost  at  once  is  more  useful  than  extreme  accuracy  obtained  at  the 
expense  of  a  disproportionate  expenditure  of  time  and  labor.  In  place  of  the 
German  "  breaking  length "  as  a  measure  of  the  strength  of  papers,  I  have 
therefore  been  led  to  propose  and  would  urge  you  to  adopt  what  I  have  called 
the  "  strength  ratio  "  of  paper — that  is,  the  quotient  obtained  by  dividing  the 
figure  for  strength  in  pounds  per  square  inch  as  registered  by  the  Mullen  tester 
by  the  thickness  in  ten-thousandths  of  an  inch,  as  given  by  a  micrometer. 
For  example,  a  paper  testing  36  pounds  on  the  Mullen  machine  and  which  had 
a  thickness  of  thirty-six  ten-thousandths  of  an  inch  would  have  strength  ratio 
of  1,000.  A  paper  of  the  same  thickness  testing  18  pounds,  would  have  a 
strength  ratio  of  0.500,  and  so  on.  The  advantage  of  this  way  of  stating  re- 
sults is  that  these  ratios  are  fairly  constant  for  papers  of  the  same  quality, 
and  are  easily  remembered,  whereas  it  is  almost  impossible  to  keep  in  mind  th« 
present  figures  for  the  strength  tests  of  the  many  different  thicknesses  of  er«n 


5964  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

one  quality  of  paper.    As  indicating  the  general  order  of  these  ratios,  the  fol- 
lowing tabulation  of  our  results  to  date  may  be  of  interest : 

Strength.  Ratio. 

News  and  cheap  books,  run  from 0.20  to  0.40 

Better  grades  of  book ^ 0.40  to  0.75 

Flats 0.70  to  0.90 

Cheaper  bond  papers 0.65  to  1.00 

Better  grades  of  bond 1.00  to  2.00 

Ledger   papers 1.00  to  2.00 

Good  grades  of  mauilu 1.00  to  1.25 

Different  weights  of  papers  of  the  same  grade  approximate  closely  to  the 
same  strength  ratio.  For  example,  in  case  of  a  bond  paper  made  in  a  number 
of  different  weights  the  ratios  for  13,  14,  16,  20,  and  24  pound  folios,  were, 
respectively,  1.05,  1.00,  1.07,  0.98,  and  1.03. 

In  concluding  this  report  I  desire  to  say  that  I  will  be  glad  to  receive  the 
authorization  of  the  association  to  conduct  during  the  ensuing  year  on  its  behalf 
a  comparative  study  of  the  various  methods  of  sampling  wood  pulp  employed  in 
the  different  mills  in  this  country  and  abroad.  To  this  end  I  have  collected  dur- 
ing the  past  year  a  considerable  amount  of  data  on  these  different  methods  and 
this  has  served  to  bring  out  in  a  striking  way  the  utter  lack  of  uniformity  in 
this  important  work.  Some  of  the  methods  in  vogue  are  unquestionably  sub- 
ject to  grave  error  and  the  establishment  of  a  uniform  official  method  would 
remove  much  friction  between  buyer  and  seller.  At  present  we  have  the  strip 
method,  the  quarter  sheet  method,  the  whole  sheet  method,  the  whole  bale 
method,  the  wedge  method,  the  punch  method,  and  the  disk  method,  not  to  men- 
tion the  numerous  variations  of  each  general  method.  In  some  cases  it  is  the 
practice  to  sample  1  bale  in  10,  in  others  1  in  20,  1  in  25,  and  even  1  in  50,  as 
now  rather  generally  obtains  in  Europe.  To  secure  the  data  necessary  to  a 
proper  presentation  of  the  whole  matter  and  afford  a  basis  for  recommendations 
looking  to  the  adoption  of  an  official  method,  it  would  seem  desirable  that  your 
chemist  be  authorized  to  send  out  blanks  in  his  official  capacity  to  importers, 
makers,  and  buyers  of  the  various  grades  of  pulp,  requesting  complete  and  de- 
tailed statements  as  to  the  methods  employed  by  them  or  their  agents  in  sam- 
pling the  pulp  they  ship  or  receive.  The  more  promising  of  these  methods 
should  then  be  made  the  subject  of  comparative  tests  to  determine  their  relative 
accuracy.  A  number  of  such  tests  have  already  been  carried  out  during  the 
past  year  in  my  laboratory,  but  in  order  to  avoid  premature  conclusions  I  re- 
frain from  reporting  on  them  at  this  time. 


EXHIBIT  E. 

COPY  OF  A  BESOLTTTION  PASSED  AT  THE  MEETING  OF  FEBEUAEY  7,  1907. 

In  accordance  with  the  suggestions  made  in  the  last  paragraph  of  Mr.  Little's 
report,  the  following  resolution  was  passed  at  this  meeting : 

"Resolved,  That  the  official  chemist  of  the  association  be,  and  he  hereby  is, 
instructed  and  empowered  to  make  during  the  ensuing  year  a  comparative  study 
of  the  various  methods  of  sampling  and  testing  wood  pulp  and  fiber  and  to 
request  of  buyers  and  sellers  of  pulp  and  fiber  such  information  as  they  may 
be  willing  to  furnish  as  to  their  methods,  with  a  view  to  recommending  at  the 
next  meeting  of  the  association  a  method  for  adoption  as  the  official  method  for 
such  sampling  and  testing." 


PULP,   AND   PRINT  PAPEB. 


5965 


EXHIBIT  F. 
Freight  rates. 


From— 

To— 

Niagara 
Falls. 

Chisholm, 
Me. 

Hudson 
Kiver. 

Water- 
town. 

Grand 
Mere, 
Quebec, 
Canada. 

New  York  

Cents. 
13 

Cents. 
17 

Cents. 
13 

Cents. 
13 

Cents. 
18 

Boston  

15 

10J 

15 

15i 

None. 

Philadelphia.             ... 

13 

16 

15 

17 

22 

Baltimore  

13 

18 

17 

17 

22 

Pittsburg  

10 

19 

15 

15 

17 

Cleveland                  

8i 

17 

17 

15 

17 

Cincinnati  

13 

15i 

16 

16 

15| 

Chicago  

15 

18 

18 

18 

18 

Detroit  

10 

17i 

15 

15 

16 

Memphis  

32 

34 

82 

32 

32 

Houston  . 

91 

New  Orleans  

31 

37i 

36 

35 

None. 

Atlanta  

40 

45J 

40 

40 

43i 

St.  Lonis  

18| 

21 

21 

21 

21i 

Omaha  

33i 

36 

36 

36 

None. 

Buffalo  

15 

STATEMENT  OF  CHESTER  W.  LYMAN,  OF  NEW  YORK,  REPRE- 
SENTING THE  INTERNATIONAL  PAPER  COMPANY. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  I 
have  prepared  a  paper  which  I  will  read  and  a  copy  of  which  I  will 
place  in  your  hands. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  His  speech  is  so  prepared  that  we  can  read  it. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  have  come  here  voluntarily,  and  I  would  very  much 
prefer  to  present  our  case  as  we  have  prepared  it,  and  if  you  wish 
afterwards  to  ask  any  questions  I  would  be  happy  to  answer  them  if 
I  can.  But  I  have  put  some  thought  on  this  matter  and  formulated 
our  ideas  into  as  brief  a  form  as  possible,  and  it  is  only  a  matter  of 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  reading  it  to  you,  and  I  think  it  touches 
pretty  much  everv  side  of  the  question,  and  when  I  get  through  you 
will  have  a  good  idea  of  what  the  International  Paper  Company  is. 
With  your  permission  I  will  read. 

(Mr.  Lyman  read  the  following  document:) 

The  International  Paper  Company  was  incorporated  under  the 
laws  of  New  York  State  on  January  31,  1898.  It  took  over  by  pur- 
chase a  number  of  paper,  sulphite,  and  ground-wood  mills,  also 
timber  lands  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  and  developed  and 
undeveloped  water  powers  in  the  United  States.  In  its  organization 
no  stock  was  put  on  the  market  and  no  commissions  were  paid  to 
anyone  in  connection  with  the  organization.  The  vendors  received 
stock  and  bonds  of  the  new  company. 

The  company  in  1907  was  operating  the  following-named  plants 
in  the  United  States  at  the  locations  indicated,  the  year  1907  being 
specified  because  during  1908  operations  were  interrupted  by  the 
general  business  depression  and  a  strike : 

Glens  Falls  Mill Glens  Falls,  N.  Y. 

Fort  Edward  Mill Fort  Edward,  N.  Y. 


5966  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEBS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Hudson  River  Mill Palmer,  N.  Y. 

Otis    Mill Chisholm,   Me. 

Glen  Mill Berlin,  N.  H. 

Niagara  Falls  Mill .Niagara   Falls,   N.   Y. 

Rumford   Falls   Mill Rumford  Falls,  Me. 

Falrnouth  Mill Jay,  Me. 

Webster    Mill Orono,  Me. 

Winnipiseogee  Mill Franklin,  N.  H. 

Livermore  Mill Livermore  Falls,  Me. 

Montague  Mill Turners  Falls,  Mass. 

Lake  George  Mill Ticonderoga,  N.  Y. 

Fall  Mountain  Mill Bellows  Falls,  Vt 

Ontario  Mill Watertown,  N.  Y. 

Piercefield  Mill Piercefleld,  N.  Y. 

Solon  Mill Solon,   Me. 

Umbagog  Mill Livermore   Falls,   Me. 

Cadyville  Mill Cadyville,  N.  Y. 

Riley  Mill Riley,  Me. 

Wilder  Mill Wilder,  Vt. 

Gardiner  Mill South  Gardiner,  Me. 

West  Enfield  Mill West  Enfield,  Me. 

Milton  Mill Milton,  Vt 

Watertown  Mill Watertovra,  N.  Y. 

Woods  Falls  Mill Watertown,  N.  Y. 

Underwood  Mill Faust,  N.  Y. 

Harrisville  Mill Harrisville,  N.  Y. 

Ammonoosuc  Mill WTest  Milan,  N.  H. 

Bemis  Mill Bemis,  Me. 

Eighteen  paper  mills,  8  separate  pulp  mills,  and  4  wood-preparing 
mills. 

In  each  of  these  places  the  company's  mill  is  an  important  factor 
in  the  maintenance  of  the  community  and  in  many  of  them  it  is  the 
only  productive  agency,  besides  indirectly  furnishing  a  market  for 
the  outlying  farm  districts.  The  company  employs  normally  about 
7,000  persons  at  its  mills,  besides  its  operations  in  the  woods  in  the 
United  States,  which  are  estimated  to  employ  8,500  persons.  There 
are  thus  directly  and  wholly  dependent  upon  the  wages  paid  by  the 
company,  estimating  five  persons  to  a  wage-earner,  77,500  people, 
besides  to  a  less  extent  farmers,  storekeepers,  manufacturers  of  sup- 
plies, and  transportation  companies. 

Except  for  its  wood  operations  in  Canada,  almost  every  dollar  it 
receives  is  expended  in  the  United  States.  The  following  are  some 
of  the  principal  items  of  home  production  consumed  annually  by  this 
company : 

Coal tons__         400,000 

Sulphur  do 18,  500 

Lime  and  limestone do 18,  000 

Chemicals   , do 27,  000 

Construction   and   repair   materials $1,  500,  000 

Paper  and  pulp  machine  supplies $900,  000 

Domestic  pulp  wood $5,  570,  000 

It  is  estimated  that  it  furnishes  annually  2,500,000  tons  of  freight 
to  the  common  carriers  of  the  country. 

The  capital  employed  is  represented  by  $22,406,700  preferred  stock, 
$17,442,800  common  stock,  and  $17,560,000  bonds.  The  stock  is  held 
by  about  4,200  individuals,  about  one-third  of  whom  are  women.  The 
average  holding  of  preferred  stock  is  70  shares  per  capita  and  of 
common  stock  170  shares  per  capita,  or  at  the  market  price  of  the 
stocks  about  $400  and  $170,  respectively. 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER CHESTER  W.  LYMAN.  5967 

Including  operatives,  stockholders,  bondholders,  and  those  immedi- 
ately dependent  upon  them,  there  are  probably  not  less  than  100,000 
persons  financially  interested  in  the  prosperity  of  the  company,  besides 
the  communities  and  other  industries  which  it  helps  support.  On 
the  other  hand,  its  customers  number  only  about  500.  Most  of  these 
are  conducting  a  very  profitable  business  and  only  a  very  few  are 
on  record  as  asking  for  a  reduction  in  the  tariff. 

In  the  first  year  of  the  company's  existence  the  common  stock  paid 
three  dividends  of  1  per  cent  each.  It  has  paid  none  since.  The  pre- 
ferred stock  paid  6  per  cent  annually  until  April,  1908,  the  April 
dividend  and  the  following  one  in  July  being  on  the  basis  of  4  per 
cent  per  annum.  In  October,  1908,  the  dividend  was  put  on  the  basis 
of  only  2  per  cent  per  annum. 

In  ten  years  its  gross  business  has  amounted  to  over  $200,000,000, 
while  it  has  paid  out  in  dividends  only  $13,951,222.50,  and  has  in- 
creased its  bonded  indebtedness  by  $6,000,000.  The  earnings  of  the 
company  in  excess  of  cftvidends  in  ten  years  have  amounted  to  $7,381,- 
083.14,  an  average  of  about  $700,000  per  annum,  which  is  only  1.8 
per  cent  upon  the  capital  stock  of  the  company.  These  surplus  earn- 
ings, together  with  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  $6,000,000  bonds,  have 
been  used  mostly  in  the  improvement  of  its  plants  in  order  to  keep 
the  cost  of  production  at  the  lowest  possible  point. 

It  was  stated  in  an  affidavit  submitted  by  the  company  to  the 
"  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  "  last  spring  (and 
corroborative  testimony  was  introduced)  that  the  assets  of  the  com- 
pany, less  current  liabilities,  are  conservatively  worth  $70,421,688,  or 
an  excess  over  both  preferred  and  common  stocks  and  bonds  outstand- 
ing of  $13,012,188. 

The  company  owns  or  controls  about  900,000  acres  of  timber  lands 
in  the  United  States  and  3,100,000  acres  in  Canada.  It  is  operating 
upon  these  lands  in  the  United  States  in  the  most  conservative  manner 
possible,  in  all  cases  leaving  the  small  growth  for  the  future  and 
avoiding  all  the  waste  possible,  felling  trees  with  the  saw  instead  of 
the  ax,  as  formerly,  and  using  the  tops  of  the  trees  to  the  fullest 
extent  possible.  At  some  points  in  New  England  it  has  bought  aban- 
doned farms  having  a  young  growth  of  spruce  on  them,  and  is  hold- 
ing them  for  its  future  needs.  It  is  also  making  some  experiments 
in  replanting.  It  is  holding  its  lands  in  the  United  States,  in  so  far 
as  practicable  and  economical,  for  future  use.  It  may  be  added  that 
its  operations  in  Canada  are  also  as  conservative  as  conditions  will 
allow. 

It  is  using  approximately  10  per  cent  of  all  the  water  power  devel- 
oped in  the  United  States,  according  to  the  government  census  of 
1905,  while  millions  of  horsepower  are  constantly  going  to  waste 
in  the  rivers  of  this  country  because  our  industries  have  not  developed 
sufficiently  to  utilize  more  than  a  small  part  of  this  natural  resource, 
which  is  an  almost  unused  asset. 

In  1899,  its  first  full  year,  the  company  made  380,000  tons  of 
paper.  In  1907  it  made  495,000  tons,  an  increase  of  30  per  cent  It 
makes  all  the  pulp  required  for  this  quantity  of  paper,  and  is  thus  not 
dependent  upon  any  other  company  or  any  other  country  for  any  of 
its  requirements  of  pulp.  It  does,  however,  get  from  Canada  about 
35  per  cent  of  the  pulp  wood  required,  mostly  from  its  own  lands, 


5968  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

this  coming  in  free  of  duty.  For  the  handling  and  transportation  of 
this  wood  a  large  amount  of  money  has  been  permanently  invested, 
so  that  it  may  be  laid  down  at  the  mills  at  the  lowest  possible  cost. 

In  1907,  83  per  cent  of  its  output  was  news  paper,  the  balance  being 
wrapping  and  miscellaneous  grades.  The  company  produces  a  neg- 
ligible proportion  of  the  wrapping  and  miscellaneous  grades  produced 
in  the  country.  The  estimated  production  of  news  paper  in  the 
United  States  in  1907  was  1,200,000  tons.  This  company's  propor- 
tion, therefore,  was  but  34  per  cent.  In  1900  the  percentage  of  the 
news  paper  output  of  the  United  States  produced  by  the  company  is 
estimated  to  have  been  65  per  cent.  It  is  thus  seen  that  although  the 
company  has  increased  its  output  of  news  paper  about  12  per  cent, 
its  proportion  of  the  total  output  of  the  country  has  fallen  from  about 
two-thirds  to  one-third,  due  to  the  policy  of  devoting  its  energies  to 
the  production  of  paper  at  the  lowest  possible  cost  rather  than  to 
reaching  out  for  a  control  of  the  productive  capacity  of  the  country 
or  its  markets.  Considering  the  total  value  of  all  kinds  of  paper  and 
pulp  produced  in  the  United  States  in  1905,  the  company  produced 
but  10  per  cent,  and  operated  but  19  out  of  about  760  paper  mills  in 
the  country. 

Before  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  it 
was  shown  that  although  the  rate  of  wages  paid  had  increased  on  an 
average  66  per  cent  since  the  company  started  and  the  cost  of 
wood  had  increased  100  per  cent,  and  many  other  items  beyond  its 
control  had  likewise  increased  in  cost  substantially,  yet  the  total  cost 
of  production  in  1907  had  increased  only  14  per  cent  over  1900,  thus 
demonstrating  the  improvement  in  the  efficiency  of  the  management 
and  plants  of  the  company. 

A  compilation  just  made  by  the  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor  from  typical  pay-roll  sheets  of  this  company  indicates  that  the 
average  hourly  rate  of  wages  in  the  mills  making  news  paper  in  1907 
was  94  per  cent  higher  than  in  1900  and  the  hours  of  service  per  day 
were  22.7  per  cent  lower  per  wage-earner. 

The  following  table  shows  the  wages  paid  in  February,  1908,  in  a 
similar  Canadian  mill  which  makes  news  paper,  compared  with  the 
wages  paid  by  this  company,  showing  an  excess  in  our  mills  over  the 
Canadian  mill  of  about  50  per  cent : 


Interna- 
tional 
Paper 
Company. 

Canada. 

$0.50 

$0.3542 

Second  hand.  .  ..        

.33 

.25 

Third  hand  

.25 

.1666 

Fourth  hand                                    

.2234 

.1458 

Fifth  hand  and  common  laborer  

.2234 

.125 

Average  

.3035 

.2083 

Based  upon  the  above  rates  the  cost  of  labor  per  ton  of  paper  in 
each  country  is  as  follows: 

International  Paper  Company $8. 00 

Canada    5. 46 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER CHESTER   W.   LYMAN.  5969 

The  Canadian  mill  thus  has  an  advantage  of  about  $2.50  per  ton 
of  paper. 

All  the  mills  of  this  company  run  on  the  three-shift,  or  eight-hour 
day  basis,  whereas  all  Canadian  mills,  as  we  understand,  are  run  on 
the  two-shift-per-twenty-four-hours  basis,  except  in  the  paper  ma- 
chine department  of  three  mills. 

Canadian  mills  likewise  have  an  advantage  in  the  cost  of  the  raw 
material.  The  stumpage  of  pulp  wood  in  Canada,  in  the  Province  of 
Quebec,  ranges  from  $1.10  per  cord  to  $1.75  and  in  New  Brunswick 
from  $1.25  to  $2,  whereas  in  Maine  and  New  York  stumpage  ranges 
from  $2.50  to  $3.60.  This  is  an  average  4or  Canadian  wood  of  $1.50 
and  for  domestic  wood  of  $3  per  cord,  an  advantage  of  $1.50  per  cord 
in  favor  of  Canadian  stumpage. 

The  labor  in  the  woods  is  also  about  33  per  cent  cheaper  in  Canada 
than  in  the  United  States,  as  was  shown  before  the  Select  Committee, 
pages  1041  to  1045. 

To  the  extent  to  which  we  use  Canadian  wood,  we,  of  course,  share 
these  advantages  of  stumpage  and  labor,  but  we  are  at  a  disadvantage 
again  when  it  comes  to  transportation. 

The  cost  of  pulp  wood  delivered  at  Canadian  mills  does  not  exceed 
$6,  which  was  the  average  quotation  in  1907  for  rough  wood  ready 
for  shipment  to  the  United  States.  The  average  cost  of  transporta- 
tion of  Canadian  wood  to  the  mills  of  this  company  in  1907  was  about 
$3.25  per  cord.  As  it  takes  approximately  1^  cords  of  wood  to  make 
a  ton  of  paper,  this  is  an  advantage  of  nearly  $5  which  the  Canadian 
mill  has  in  the  item  of  pulp  wood  per  ton  of  paper.  In  addition,  such 
wood  as  we  buy  from  Quebec  has  to  pay  an  extra  stumpage  to  the 
government  of  25  cents  per  cord,  equal  to  37^  cents  per  ton  of  paper. 
This  comparison  is  borne  out  by  the  prevailing  price  of  domestic 
pulp  wood,  which  in  1907  was  about  $9  per  cord  in  Maine  and  New 
York,  as  against  $6  paid  by  Canadian  mills. 

In  labor  and  wood,  which  are  over  50  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  a  ton 
of  paper,  the  average  Canadian  mill  has  an  advantage  over  us  of 
$7.50,  so  that  they  are  able  to  pay  the  duty  of  $6  and  still  make  a 
profit. 

The  following  table  shows  the  wagpes  in  several  European  countries 
compared  with  those  paid  by  this  company : 


5970 


SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 


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5971 


Approved:  BUREAU  OP  STATISTICS.  JESSE  L.  PLASS, 
BUREAU  OF  STATISTICS,  May  15,  1908.  Chief  Clerk,  Bureau  of  Statistics. 

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5972  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Based  on  these  rates,  the  cost  of  labor  per  ton  of  paper  would  be 
in  each  country  as  follows: 

International  Paper  Company $8.00 

England   3. 29 

Germany    _ 2.  48 

Sweden 2. 22 

Norway 2.  22 

Austria 2. 09 

Thus  some  European  countries  have  an  advantage  on  labor  solely 
almost  equal  to  the  whole  duty  of  $6. 

While  at  present  no  news  paper  comes  into  the  United  States  from 
European  countries,  we  believe  that  if  the  duty  were  removed  im- 
portations would  follow  from  Scandinavia,  Finland,  and  Germany. 
In  Germany  prices  are  sustained  in  the  home  market  by  a  combina- 
tion sanctioned  by  the  Government  and  the  surplus  is  gold  for  export 
to  the  highest  bidder,  regardless  of  cost,  special  rates  of  freight  being 
given  by  government  railroads;  and  the  German  manufacturers  are 
thus  able  to  hold  important  markets  in  England  and  in  South 
America  and  to  compete  with  Canadian  and  United  States  paper  in 
Australia  and  at  other  points. 

We  have  no  exact  figures  for  the  cost  of  production  in  Finland, 
but  it  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  that  wages  there  are  but  a 
fractional  part  of  what  we  pay  and  that  wood  is  extremely  cheap. 
The  industry  is  growing  rapidly  there.  Finland  pays  our  duty  upon 
sulphite  pulp  and  reaches  the  interior  of  the  United  States,  under- 
selling western  pulp  mills  at  their  very  doors. 

In  Scandinavia  labor  and  wood  are  both  very  much  cheaper  than 
in  the  United  States,  and  their  surplus  pulp  and  paper  could  be  profit- 
ably marketed  in  this  country  if  there  were  no  duty. 

Importations  of  print  paper  from  Canada  amounted  in  1907  to 
13,248  tons,  and  have  continued  at  an  equal  rate  through  1908,  and 
the  business  of  this  company  has  suffered  considerable  inroads  from 
this  quarter.  We  were  obliged  to  curtail  production,  beginning  the 
latter  part  of  1907,  because  we  could  not  place  our  normal  product  at 
a  price  sufficiently  remunerative  to  enable  us  to  pay  dividends  and  the 
scale  of  wages  in  vogue.  Starting  with  the  executive  department,  a 
system  of  rigid  economy  and  retrenchment  was  inaugurated,  followed 
by  the  reductions  in  dividends  above  referred  to,  which  were  equiva- 
lent to  a  reduction  of  15  per  cent  on  our  normal  pay  roll. 

It  became  apparent  in  July  of  this  year  that  a  temporary  reduction 
would  have  to  be  made  in  wages.  The  salaries  of  superintendents 
and  other  mill  officials  were  first  readjusted.  The  reduction  in  wages 
of  some  of  the  foremen  belonging  to  the  union  which  controlled  the 
machine  tenders  precipitated  a  strike.  The  members  of  the  pulp 
makers'  union,  however,  and  the  firemen's  union  were  desirous  of 
continuing  work  and  of  helping  the  company  meet  a  critical  situation, 
and  consented  to  a  reduction  of  about  5  per  cent  in  wages.  The  strike 
lasted  three  months  and  has  finally  been  broken,  the  men  of  the  paper 
makers'  organization  returning  individually  and  accepting  a  reduc- 
tion of  about  5  per  cent. 

The  average  price  at  which  the  product  of  the  company  was  mar- 
keted in  1900  was  $43.64  per  ton,  delivered  to  the  consumer,  and  in 
1907  it  was  $42.83,  a  decrease  of  about  2  per  cent,  notwithstanding 
the  increase  in  rate  of  wages  of  66  per  cent  and  in  cost  of  wood  of 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER CHESTER   W.   LYMAN.  5973 

100  per  cent.  This  decrease  is  in  marked  contrast  with  the  advance 
in  price  of  other  grades  of  paper,  and  particularly  with  the  general 
increase  in  the  price  of  all  kinds  of  commodities  during  the  same 
period. 

Our  paper  is  manufactured  and  sold  absolutely  independently  of 
other  companies  manufacturing  news  paper,  which  number  52  separate 
concerns.  We  make  our  prices  absolutely  independently,  considering 
only  the  cost  of  production  and  a  fair  profit  necessary  to  pay  reason- 
able dividends  and  maintain  the  efficiency  of  our  property. 

The  International  Paper  Company  has  made,  up  to  June  1,  1908, 
4,621,283  tons  of  paper,  and,  as  stated,  has  declared  dividends  aggre- 
gating $13,950,000.  This  is  an  average  profit  to  stockholders  of  only 
$3.02  per  ton,  so  that  the  duty  of  $6  per  ton  has  not,  as  has  been 
alleged,  been  a  "  shelter  for  extortion." 

We  believe  this  mere  recital  of  facts  relating  to  the  International 
Paper  Company  is  conclusive  evidence  that  it  is  in  no  sense  monopo- 
listic, and  it  therefore  should  not  be  deprived  of  the  protection 
intended  to  be  accorded  to  all  legitimate  industries  under  the  tariff 
policy  of  the  Government. 

Neither  conditions  precedent  to  nor  the  usual  results  attendant 
upon  a  monopoly  exist  in  this  case.  The  company  does  not  dominate 
the  production  or  price  of  the  line  of  goods  which  it  manufactures. 
It  is  not  overcapitalized,  and  its  profits  are  not  only  not  exorbitant, 
but  are  not  a  fair  return  upon  the  investment.  It  violates  no  statute 
aimed  at  restraint  of  trade,  nor  any  other.  The  wage-earner  has 
profited  under  its  management.  Its  competitors  have  not  complained 
against  it.  Its  customers  acknowledge  that  its  service  and  the  quality 
of  its  output  have  improved  since  the  company  was  formed,  and  that 
they  are  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  those  of  any  of  its  competitors.  Its 
stockholders  have  never  charged  it  with  dishonest  or  inefficient  man- 
agement, and,  in  general,  none  of  the  grievances  exist  which  are 
supposed  to  be  engendered  by  so-called  "  trusts,"  with  the  sole  excep- 
tion that  some  few  publishers  have  charged  extortion  and  various 
malevolent  acts,  which  they  have  repeatedly  failed  to  prove. 

If  any  discrimination  is  to  be  made  between  large  industrial  cor- 
porations which  conduct  their  business  in  a  legitimate  manner  and 
those  which  do  not,  the  International  Paper  Company  claims  that  it 
is  entitled  to  commendation  rather  than  condemnation,  and  in  the 
formulation  of  the  Government's  tariff  policy  that  it  should  receive  on 
its  own  account  fair  and  reasonable  protection,  and  that  no  policy 
should  be  adopted  which  would  injure  it  or  the  industry  of  which  it 
is  but  a  small  part. 

Keferring  to  paragraph  393  of  Schedule  M,  we  are  opposed  to  any 
reduction  whatever  in  the  duties  therein  specified  for  pulp.  The 
duty  on  mechanically  ground  wood  pulp  of  one-twelfth  cent  per 
pound  is  equivalent  to  not  more  than  10  per  cent  on  the  average  price. 

Next  to  the  raw  material,  wood,  the  most  important  factor  in  the 
manufacture  of  ground  wood  pulp  is  water  power  for  reducing  the 
wood  to  pulp.  This  company  not  only  produces  all  the  ground 
wood  that  it  requires,  but  has  ample  undeveloped  water  power  in 
reserve  for  its  future  requirements  when,  and  if,  the  condition  of  the 
market  warrants  a  further  increase  in  its  output  in  this  country. 
The  making  of  ground  wood  pulp  constitutes  one  of  the  most  impor- 


6974  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

tant  steps  in  the  process  of  making  paper,  and  involves  a  large  out- 
lay of  capital  and  the  employment  of  a  large  amount  of  labor.  We 
do  not  believe  that  our  paper  should  be  brought  in  competition  with 
paper  made  from  foreign  pulp  having  free  entry  into  this  country, 
since  the  wages  in  foreign  mills  are  so  much  less  than  in  our  own. 
Yet  in  1907,  138,000  tons,  valued  at  nearly  $2,000,000,  came  in  from 
Canada. 

The  duty  on  chemical  wood  pulp  of  one-sixth  cent  per  pound 
amounts  to  not  more  than  9  per  cent  upon  the  average  price  of  un- 
bleached sulphite  pulp,  which  is  the  only  kind  of  chemical  pulp  that 
we  use  to  any  considerable  extent.  We  make  all  the  sulphite  pulp 
that  we  require  and  have  ample  facilities  for  increasing  our  output 
as  fast  as  conditions  warrant.  If  the  duty  were  taken  off  from  sul- 
phite, or  substantially  reduced,  this  market  would  be  flooded  not  only 
with  sulphite  pulp  from  Canada,  but  from  European  countries, 
particularly  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Germany,  where,  as  already 
shown,  labor  costs  not  more  than  26  per  cent  of  what  we  pay;  as  well 
as  Finland,  where  wages  are  still  lower. 

We  do  not  believe  the  capital  and  labor  involved  in  this  branch 
of  our  business  should  be  subjected  to  unrestricted  competition  with 
foreign  pulp,  which  may  be,  and  is,  sold  in  this  market  in  spite  of 
the  existing  duty.  In  1907,  50,000  tons  came  from  Canada  and 
more  than  40,000  tons  from  Europe. 

We  will  subsequently  discuss  the  so-called  "  countervailing  duty" 
clause  contained  in  this  paragraph  and  paragraph  No.  396. 

Referring  to  paragraph  No.  396,  we  are  most  emphatically  opposed 
to  any  reduction  in  the  duty  on  print  paper  in  so  far  as  it  applies 
to  news  paper.  The  duty  of  three-tenths  cent  per  pound  on  paper 
valued  at  not  above  2  cents  per  pound  is  practically  about  15  per 
cent  upon  the  price  at  Canadian  mills.  This  is  a  much  lower  duty 
than  almost  any  other  commodity  enjoys,  and  is  substantially  the 
same  as  under  the  so-called  "  Wilson  tariff."  It  is  not  adequate  to 
prevent  extensive  importations  of  news  paper  from  Canada,  as  al- 
ready shown,  and  any  reduction  would  mean  an  increase  in  importa- 
tions and  a  loss  of  business  for  us.  It  would  check  the  growth  of 
our  production,  and  the  removal  of  the  duty  would  close  up  a  num- 
ber of  our  mills.  We  believe  that  under  any  conditions  the  free 
admission  of  paper  would  compel  us  to  abandon  many  of  our  plants 
and  either  drive  us  out  of  business  or  compel  us  to  build  mills  in 
Canada. 

We  believe  that  great  as  is  the  stake  which  our  stockholders  have 
in  this  issue  it  would  be  as  nothing  compared  with  the  disastrous 
effect  upon  our  employees  and  the  communities  where  our  mills  are 
located.  We  believe  that  an  industrial  concern  of  the  magnitude  of 
the  International  Paper  Company  can  not  be  crippled  or  crushed  out 
without  serious  detriment  to  the  welfare  of  the  country. 

The  normal  capacity  of  the  International  Paper  Company  exceeds 
the  present  consumption  of  its  customers,  and  yet  7,000  tons  of  print 
paper  were  imported  into  this  country  during  the  first  half  of  1908, 
depriving  the  employees  of  our  own  and  other  mills  of  employment. 

If  the  duty  on  paper  were  removed  or  substantially  lowered,  and 
if  this  resulted  in  reducing  the  price,  as  claimed  by  some  publishers, 
this  company,  having  no  sufficient  margin  of  profit  to  enable  it  to 
resist  foreign  competition  without  loss,  would  be  forced,  in  an  effort 


PTJLP,  AND  PRINT  PAPEB CHESTER  W.   LYMAN.  5975 

at  self-preservation,  to  accomplish  retrenchment  both  by  cutting  down 
wages  and  abandoning  conservative  and  comparatively  expensive 
methods  of  lumbering  on  its  timber-land  holdings  in  this  country; 
instead  of  leaving  small  wood  for  future  growth,  it  would  have  to 
strip  the  lands  of  every  available  stick  of  pulp  wood  and  would  very 
likely  be  forced  to  realize  further  by  marketing  all  the  hard  wood 
thereon.  It  would  aim  to  keep  going  long  enough  to  get  all  it  could 
out  of  its  timber  lands,  mills,  and  water  powers  before  abandoning 
them. 

We  firmly  believe  that  removing  the  duty  from  paper  would  not 
only  not  be  in  the  interest  of  forest  preservation  in  this  country,  but 
would  lead  to  the  immediate  destruction  of  the  timber  on  the 
5,000,000  acres  held  by  paper  manufacturers,  and  as  much  more  as 
they  could  get  hold  of. 

We  know  of  no  way  by  which  this  result  can  be  avoided  if  we  are 
brought  into  competition  with  free  paper,  which  is  what  Canada 
seeks.  We  believe  that  the  movement  in  Canada  in  favor  of  putting 
an  export  duty  on  pulp  wood,  or  prohibiting  its  exportation,  is  not 
likely  to  be  successful,  because  it  is  not  founded  on  any  sound  or  just 
principles;  and  we  further  believe  that  if  it  should  be  successful  it 
would  result  in  such  great  injury  to  Canada  that  such  a  policy  would 
be  short  lived. 

One  of  Canada's  greatest  assets  is  her  forests,  but  they  are  only 
profitable  to  her  in  so  far  as  they  are  productive.  We  sympathize 
with  any  bona  fide  desire  on  her  part  to  perpetuate  her  forests  and 
are  willing  to  submit  to  any  reasonable  restrictions  in  our  operations 
in  the  Canadian  woods  which  have  that  end  in  view,  buf  Canada  has 
a  very  great  area  of  timber  lands,  and  they  can  produce  a  large 
annual  yield  without  impairing  them — all  that  her  mills  and  ours  will 
want  for  generations  to  come. 

Canada  is  exporting  $33,500,000  worth  of  forest  products  a  year, 
and  is  doubtless  eager  to  increase  her  markets  for  lumber,  etc.,  and 
her  exports  thereof.  Her  exports  of  pulp  wood  in  1907  amounted  to 
about  $5,000,000.  It  looks  inconsistent,  to  say  the  least,  for  her  to 
seek  to  increase  her  exports  of  lumber  generally  and  to  check  the 
exports  of  one  particular  variety,  especially  as  pulp  wood  is  very  gen- 
erally distributed  throughout  the  Dominion.  The  consumption  by 
the  United  States  is  insignificant  compared  with  Canada's  extensive 
supply. 

We  are  therefore  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  opposition  to 
exporting  pulp  wood  is  not  based  on  any  genuine  apprehension  on 
behalf  of  forest  preservation.  On  the  contrary,  we  have  conclusive 
evidence  in  published  statements  of  the  exponents  of  this  policy  that 
the  real  motive  is  to  hamper  the  industry  in  the  United  States  in 
order  to  build  it  up  in  Canada.  The  movement  is  supported  by  the 
Canadian  paper  and  pulp  manufacturers,  who  desire  to  increase  their 
output  and  to  secure  a  market  for  it  in  the  United  States.  In  other 
words,  they  wish  to  withhold  from  us  the  raw  material  which  we 
desire  and  force  us  to  take  the  manufactured  product. 

This  attitude  is  inconsistent  with  their  own  general  tariff  policy, 
which  admits  our  raw  material  free  and  raises  a  high  barrier  against 
manufactured  products.  For  example,  Canada  imported  free  of 
duty  in  1907  from  the  United  States  about  $8,000,000  worth  of  raw 
cotton,  but  our  own  manufactured  cotton  goods  going  into  Canada 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 14 


5976  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

have  to  pay  duties  ranging  from  20  to  35  per  cent.  In  addition, 
Canada  gives  to  England  a  preference  of  33£  per  cent  on  cotton 
goods,  also  made  from  the  raw  cotton  which  we  furnish.  Canada 
is  also  taking  from  us  annually  about  $28.000,000  worth  of  coal  and 
coke  (all  free  of  duty  except  50  cents  per  ton  on  bituminous  coal)  to 
run  her  mills  to  make  goods  which  the  United  States  could  furnish 
her  if  it  were  not  for  her  tariff. 

Although  the  Province  of  Ontario  has  actually  prohibited  the 
export  of  pulp  wood  cut  from  crown  lands,  and  the  Province  of 
Quebec  discriminates  against  us  by  charging  25  cents  more  per  cord 
for  stumpage  on  pulp  wood  if  it  goes  to  the  United  States  than  if 
manufactured  in  the  Dominion,  it  seems  improbable  that  either  the 
Canadian  people  or  the  government  will  ever  sanction  so  unfriendly 
and  unusual  an  act  as  placing  a  general  prohibition  or  embargo  upon 
the  exporting  of  pulp  wood. 

It  would  seem,  however,  to  be  only  the  part  of  prudence  for  this 
country  to  prepare  itself  should  such  hostile  action  be  taken.  We 
advocate,  therefore,  that  the  countervailing  duties  provided  for  in 
sections  393  and  396  should  be  remodeled  so  as  to  make  their  appli- 
cation more  sweeping  in  case  Canada  assumes  an  aggressive  attitude. 
Should  your  committee  desire  our  views  more  in  detail  as  to  how  this 
should  be  done,  we  shall  be  glad  to  submit  them. 

So  far  as  this  company  therefore  is  concerned,  it  is  content  to  have 
the  tariff  remain  as  it  is,  with  the  exception  of  the  countervailing 
clause  and  the  possible  addition  to  the  administrative  act  of  the  tariff 
of  a  provision  which  will  prevent  foreign  manufacturers  from  selling 
their  output  in  this  country  at  lower  prices  than  prevail  in  their 
home  markets. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  see  that  most  of  your  factories  are  located  in 
New  York,  Maine,  and  Vermont.  What  percentage  of  the  output 
of  paper  do  your  factories  represent  north  of  the  Potomac  River  and 
east  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  should  say  about  60  per  cent,  as  a  rough  calculation. 

[NOTE. — In  1905,  according  to  the  census,  it  was  54  per  cent;  in 
1907,  estimated,  47  per  cent,] 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Being  a  large  producer  of  the  paper  that  is  manu- 
factured within  that  territory,  I  presume  that  you  ship  your  paper 
from  the  nearest  mill  to  the  market  that  demands  that  supply,  do 
you  not;  in  other  words,  if  you  were  shipping  to  Boston  you  would 
send  from  the  mill  nearest  Boston? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  If  the  sizes  suit  our  machines,  and  if  the  quality  suits 
the  customers. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  As  a  rule  you  have  your  mills  built  for  that  pur- 
pose, do  you  not  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  We  do  not  have  them  built  for  any  particular  locality ; 
that  is,  we  do  not  build  them  for  a  market  that  is  nearest  at  hand. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  manufacture  for  the  market  nearest  at  hand, 
don't  you. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  We  manufacture  for  the  country.  In  the  case  of 
New  York  City,  where  there  is  such  a  great  permanent  demand,  if 
we  put  up  a  mill  that  was  favorably  situated  to  supply  that  market 
we  would  undoubtedly  consider  the  sizes  of  the  rolls  used  in  the  New 
York  market,  but  there  would  be  no  guarantee  that  they  would  be 
permanent. 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER CHESTER   W.   LYMAN".  5977 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Does  the  paper  that  you  ship  to  the  Boston 
market  come  from  mills  more  contiguous  to  the  Boston  market  than 
from  your  other  mills? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes,  naturally,  in  so  far  as  we  can  we  try  to  have  the 
average  freight  rate  a  minimum. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Under  those  circumstances,  what  is  your  average 
freight  rate  in  covering  the  product  to  the  Boston  market  from  the 
mills  that  are  contiguous? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  can  only  say  from  general  knowledge.  We  have 
departments  that  have  their  specialties,  and  no  one  person  in  our 
company  knows  all  the  details  of  all  our  departments;  but  I  should 
say  that  probably  10  cents  a  hundred  is  the  minimum  rate. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Long  tons  or  short  tons  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Ten  cents  a  hundred  pounds. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  would  be  $2  a  ton. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Two  dollars  a  short  ton. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Well,  as  to  the  New  York  market,  what  would  the 
freight  rate  come  to  in  the  delivery  of  your  product? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  That  will  average  probably  15  cents,  or  $3  a  ton. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  distance  of  the  contiguous  mills  of 
your  company  to  the  Boston  market? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  The  nearest  mill  that  makes  newspaper  is  the  distance 
from  the  Connecticut  River  at  Bellows  Falls  to  Boston,  which  I  do 
not  know. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Estimate  what  it  is. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  understand  it  is  116  miles. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  distance  from  your  contiguous  mills 
to  New  York? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  From  50  miles  above  Albany,  and  as  Albany  is  about 
145  miles,  that  would  make  it  about  200  miles. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  nearest  distance  to  Boston  from  the 
nearest  Canadian  mill? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  The  nearest  Canadian  mill  that  I  know  of,  and  that  I 
have  in  mind,  is  at  Ottawa,  which  is  distant  about  300  miles  from 
Boston. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  distance  to  New  York  from  the 
nearest  Canadian  mill? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Well,  I  think  it  would  be  the  same  as  from  Ottawa, 
although  I  think  Boston  must  be  a  little  farther  from  Ottawa  than 
New  York,  but  probably  about  the  same  distance. 

AUDITOR.  It  would  be  400  miles  from  New  York. 

.  Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Now,  what  would  it  cost  for  the  transportation 
of  a  ton  of  paper  from  the  Canadian  mill  that  is  situated  300  miles 
from  Boston  to  Boston?  You  stated  that  the  cost  from  your  mill 
to  Boston  would  be  about  $2  for  116  miles.  What  would  be  the 
freight  rate  from  the  Canadian  mill  to  Boston? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Well,  I  should  say  that  would  be  probably  15  cents  a 
hundred. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  would  be  about'  $4.50. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Excuse  me,  but  it  strikes  me  that  it  is  futile  to  have 
these  guesses  and  then  try  to  form  conclusions  based  upon  those, 
when,  if  you  wish,  I  will  put  in  a  table  of  the  exact  figures ;  in  fact, 
that  has  all  been  submitted  to  the  Select  Committee,  and  therefore 
I  did  not  attempt  to  burden  ourselves  with  memoranda  of  those 
details. 


5978  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPEBS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  I  wanted  was  this:  As  I  read  your  state- 
ment through,  you  did  not  deal  in  the  freight  rate.  I  desired  to  as- 
certain those  facts,  but  if  you  prefer  to  put  that  in  in  a  supplemental 
paper,  very  well. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  will  say  that  the  reason  why  I  did  not  take  up  the 
freight  rates  was  that  I  think  you  can  eliminate  them  on  both  sides 
of  the  equation ;  that  they  do  not  cut  much  of  a  figure  one  way  or  the 
other,  except  that  we  have  to  consider  freight  on  our  wood ;  but  as 
for  the  freight  on  the  paper,  there  are  some  portions  of  the  United 
States  which  some  Canadian  mills  can  reach  for  less  than  some  of  the 
American  mills,  and  some  points  which  some  of  the  American  mills 
can  reach,  naturally,  cheaper  than  the  Canadian  mills. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  took  it  that  this  shipment  of  paper  was  a  good 
deal  like  a  shipment  of  coal  or  lumber;  that  the  freight  rate  was  a 
very  material  factor  in  reaching  the  market,  and  that  when  your  mills 
went  southward,  going  away  from  the  Canadian  market,  you  have 
the  advantage  of  the  difference  in  distance.  Are  not  the  western 
mills  located  very  much  nearer  the  market  in  which  they  sell  their 
products  than  the  Canadian  mills? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  My  impression  is  that  the  difference  diminishes  the 
farther  away  you  go ;  that  is,  as  you  go  farther  away  from  the  mills 
the  rates  draw  nearer  together.  Is  that  not  so,  Mr.  Chable  ? 

Mr.  CHABLE.  The  rates  from  Canadian  mills  te  western  points  are 
exactly  the  same  as  from  places  like  Otis,  Me.,  or  Berlin,  N.  H.  They 
take  what  is  known  as  the  Berlin  rate. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  The  Canadian  railroads  fix  that  up  so  as  to  put  the 
Canadian  mill  on  an  equality  with  the  United  States  mill. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  There  are  a  good  many  mills  located  in  the  West, 
which  are  doing  a  paper  business,  are  there  not? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  they  are  a  good  many  hundred  miles  nearer 
the  markets  in  St.  Louis  and  Kansas  City  and  New  Orleans  than  the 
Canadian  mills,  are  they  not? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Not  a  good  many  hundred  miles,  I  do  not  think. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  far  south  is  the  farthest  paper  mill  located 
in  the  United  States;  South  or  West? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  You  are  speaking  of  news  paper? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  mills  in  your  business,  yes. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  The  farthest  south  is  at  Turners  Falls,  in  the  East; 
and  in  the  West  I  should  say  that  was  at  Appleton,  Wis.,  so  far  as  I 
know.  At  Kansas  City  there  is  a  paper  machine  started  by  a  news- 
paper publisher,  and  I  would  hardly  put  that  in  the  category  of  a 
mill.  It  has  never  been  a  success,  and  it  does  not  make  its  own  pulp. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  According  to  that,  Wisconsin  is  then  your  farthest 
southern  mill,  and  the  Canadian  mills  that  manufacture  paper  are 
largely  in  eastern  Canada,  and  not  in  western  Canada? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Mostly  in  Quebec,  yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  So  that  for  the  western  and  southwestern  market, 
the  mills  located  in  Wisconsin  are  very  much  nearer  that  market  than 
the  Canadian  mills,  are  they  not? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Well,  that  is  a  question.  That  hinges  on  one's  knowl- 
edge of  the  relative  distances  geographically.  [Appleton,  Wis.,  to 
New.  Orleans,  about  1,000  miles.  Ottawa  to  New  Orleans,  about 
1,300  miles.] 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER CHESTER   W.   LYMAN.  5979 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  judged  they  were,  and  I  wondered  if  there 
was  any  reason  in  freight  rates  or  otherwise  that  you  knew  of,  and 
if  so,  I  would  like  to  have  you  state  it. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  would  consider  that  there  was — as  I  understand  it, 
the  freight  rates  from  those  Canadian  mills  are  made  equal  to  the 
rates  from  the  Wisconsin  mills  and  the  Minnesota  mills,  to  such 
points  as  those. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  railroads  give  the 
same  rates  now  under  this  new  interstate-commerce  law  from  the 
Canadian  mills  located  at  Quebec,  to  Kansas  City,  that  a  mill  in  Wis- 
consin would  give  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  The  Canadian  roads  can  make  any  rate  they  want, 
which  of  course  is  not  controlled  by  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  understand  that  you  state  that  as  a  fact  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  As  a  general  principle,  the  Canadian  roads  make  very 
low  rates  to  help  out  the  Canadian  industries. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Can  you  state  it  as  a  fact  that  the  rate  is  the 
same;  that  there  is  no  advantage  to  the  Wisconsin  mill  over  the 
Canadian  mill  in  freight  rate  going  to  St.  Louis  or  Kansas  City  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  am  not  stating  that  as  a  fact,  unless  it  can  be 
corroborated  by  some  gentleman  here.  I  think  it  is  a  little  higher. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  you  know  how  much  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  do  not;  and  moreover  we  have  no  mills  in  Wisconsin. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  am  talking  about  the  general  paper  business. 
I  knew  from  your  statement  that  you  have  no  mills  there.  The 
freight  rate  differential  in  favor  of  the  American  mill  must  be  a 
dollar  or  two  a  ton  on  paper,  is  it  not  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  In  some  instances  it  is  a  dollar  or  two  in  favor  of 
the  Canadian  mill,  as  I  have  stated.  Now,  it  will  all  come  to  this, 
that  in  my  opinion  the  freight  rates  are  practically  the  same,  and  the 
differences  are  obscured  by  other  more  important  factors  of  cost. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  notice  that  your  capital  stock  amounts  to  some- 
thing like — I  believe  you  have  22  millions  of  common  stock,  17  mil- 
lions of  preferred,  and  17  millions  of  bonds. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  You  have  those  figures  reversed  as  to  the  stock.  We 
have  22  millions  of  preferred  and  17  millions  of  common. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Does  that  represent  an  actual  investment,  or  was 
that  stock  issued  at  a  valuation  in  putting  it  into  the  new  company? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  The  properties  that  were  taken  in  were  taken  at  an 
appraised  value,  and  what  they  actually  cost  nobody  knows  but  the 
people  who  were  connected  with  them  before  the  International  Paper 
Company  was  formed.  They  were  taken  in  at  what  was  considered 
to  be  a  fair  value,  and  most  of  those  who  were  to  take  part  in  the 
formation  of  the  International  Company  were  anxious  to  have  every 
other  person's  property  put  in  at  the  minimum  price  so  that  their 
own  valuation  would  not  be  diluted. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  do  not  know  whether  that  represented  the 
actual  cost,  the  original  cost  of  the  plants,  or  not? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Nobody  knows  that.  Their  appraised  value  was  had 
at  a  time  of  very  great  depression  and  very  small  earnings ;  and  if  the 
formation  of  the  company  had  been  postponed  a  few  years,  until  there 
was  general  prosperity,  I  presume  that  they  would  have  been  ap- 
praised at  a  very  much  larger  figure;  that  is,  the  owners  would  not 


5980  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEBS,  AND  BOOKS. 

have  been  willing  to  part  with  them  at  such  figures  as  they  were 
taken  in  at  in  1897. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  In  1897  the  prices  had  not  gone  up  very  exten- 
sively ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Gone  up  from  when  ? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Had  not  advanced  as  they  had  up  to  1907. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  In  1897  they  had  not  advanced  from  when  ? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  They  were  not  nearly  as  high  as  they  were  in 
1907,  ten  years  later — the  general  prices? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Well,  our  first  business  year  was  1898,  and  I  have 
given  our  prices  for  1900.  My  impression  is  that  the  prices  for  1898 
was  about  the  same  as  1900,  and  that  the  prices  in  1897  were— 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  do  not  think  you  understand  the  question  that 
I  asked  you.  You  say  that  you  put  this  property  in  at  a  low  valua- 
tion, that  you  considered  it  a  low  valuation,  but  that  had  it  been  put 
in  a  few  years  later  it  would  have  gone  in  at  a  much  higher  price. 
You  put  it  in  in  1897  or  1898— 

Mr.  LYMAN.  It  was  appraised  in  1897,  and  the  company  started 
in  1898. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Since  that  time,  according  to  your  statement 
here,  you  have  not  been  able  to  pay  any  dividends  on  the  common 
stock? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Only  three  small  dividends. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  stated  that  if  this  property  had  been  put 
in  a  few  years  later  it  would  have  been  put  in  at  a  very  much  higher 
figure.  There  is  nothing  here  in  the  earning  capacity  of  the  com- 
pany to  warrant  that  statement — that  you  could  have  put  it  in  at  a 
higher  figure? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  There  was  a  time  during  the  Spanish  war  when  paper 
became  very  scarce  and  independent  mills  asked  a  good  deal  more 
for  their  paper  than  the  International  Paper  Company  did,  and  it 
was  in  our  power  to  ask  very  much  higher  prices  than  we  did  ask. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  Spanish  war  occurred  at  the  time  you  organ- 
ized, in  1898  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  That  was  our  first  year,  but  the  effect  was  not  felt 
so  much  until  the  latter  part  of  1898  or  1899.  I  think  you  will  find 
that  generally  the  stimulus  of  the  Spanish  war — I  do  not  remember 
when  the  Boer  war  occurred — but  I  know  that  the  effect  of  those 
occurrences  was  not  felt  for  a  year  or  so  commercially. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  If  your  statement  as  to  the  earning  capacity  of 
the  company  is  correct,  there  is  nothing  in  your  earning  capacity  to 
demonstrate  that  the  property  was  worth  what  you  put  it  in  the 
company  for,  is  there  ?  It  has  only  paid  a  dividend  on  two  occasions, 
on  the  bonds  and  preferred  stock.  In  1901  net  earnings  were  6  per 
cent  on  $50,000,000,  or  on  $10,000,000  more  than  outstanding  stock. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  The  value  of  a  property  is  not  wholly  determined  by 
what  it  will  earn;  if  it  were,  stock  watering,  of  course,  would  be 
justified. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then,  this  stock  really  has  some  speculative  value ; 
that  is,  it  is  speculative  value  that  they  have  put  in  here  and  not  an 
actual  value? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  That  is  a  thing  that  can  not  be  positively  said  by 
anybody,  because  the  matter  of  valuation  is  uncertain,  and  one  person 
may  say  that  a  thing  is  worth  so  much,  and  another  so  much ;  and  if 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER — CHESTEE  W.  LYMAN.  5981 

the  man  who  sold  that  property  had  said  that  his  property  was  worth 
so  much  in  common  stock  and  so  much  in  preferred  stock,  there  is 
nobody  who  could  prove  but  that  it  was  right. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  But  really,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  great  per- 
centage of  the  value  of  this  company  is  upon  a  speculative  estimate 
as  to  the  value  of  your  water  power  and  your  wood  holdings — land 
holdings — and  not  as  to  the  buildings  and  plants.  Is  not  that  so? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  The  plants  are  a  large  element.  That  is  all  shown  in 
a  statement  to  the  Select  Committee  showing  just  how  we  make 
that  up. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Now,  it  was  stated  to-day  by  the  gentleman  who 
preceded  you  on  the  other  side  that  your  mills  were  old  and  not  up 
to  date,  and  that  no  improvements  were  put  into  them.  Is  that  so  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  It  is  wholly  misleading.  It  is  a  statement  that 
he  has  harped  on  for  ten  or  twelve  years,  ever  since  the  hearings, 
in  1896,  when  it  was  stated  that  they  were  dilapidated  and  old  then. 
It  is  perfectly  absurd. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  If  that  statement  is  untrue,  then  to  what  extent 
have  you  improved  your  mills  and  developed  them  since  that  time; 
since  your  organization? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  The  extent  to  which  we  could  with  the  outlay  of  the 
proceeds  of  $6,000,000  bonds  and  what  surplus  earnings  we  could 
make  to  keep  them  up. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  much  did  it  amount  to? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Eoughly  speaking,  $12,000.000  or  $13,000,000,  perhaps— 
$10,000,000  I  would  say,  because  some  of  these  earnings  we  appro- 
priated in  other  ways ;  they  were  absorbed  in  working  capital — that  is, 
the  working  capital  increased. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  I  understand  you  to  say  that  you  have  im- 
proved these  plants  to  the  extent  of  10  millions  of  dollars  in  addition 
to  6  millions  of  bonds? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  No;  including. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Four  millions  of  dollars  in  addition  to  6  millions 
bonds  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  much  have  you  increased  your  working 
capital  since  your  organization? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  That  I  am  unable  to  say  offhand  without  working 
it  out  from  our  statement.  It  fluctuates.  We  have  been  having 
several  bad  years,  and  our  working  capital  has  been  absorbed. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  you  know  what  your  working  capital  was 
when  you  organized  your  company? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Well,  I  did  know,  but  I  don't  recollect  it.  I  should 
say  four  or  five  millions. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  your  working  capital  to-day? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  say,  I  dp  not  know. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Is  it  in  excess  of  what  it  was  when  you  started  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  can  not  say  just  what  the  last  balance  sheet  would 
show  as  free  capital.  I  think  that  when  we  made  up  a  statement  for 
the  Select  Committee  that  it  was  somewhat  less  than  five  millions. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  you  have  not  increased  your  working  capi- 
tal since  you  started  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  That  would  follow  if  those  guesses  are  correct. 


5982  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  But  you  have  added  four  millions  out  of  your 
profits  to  your  improvements? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  To  maintenance. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  thought  you  said  a  while  ago  that  it  was  better- 
ments. Maintenance  would  leave  the  mill  in  the  same  condition,  while 
betterments  would  put  it  in  a  better  condition. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  do  not  think  I  used  the  word  "  betterments ;  "  I  said 
improvements. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  said  the  property  was  in  a  better  condition 
than  when  you  started  out,  and  for  that  reason  the  gentleman's  state- 
ment was  incorrect.  Do  you  take  that  back? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  think  I  stated  that  the  statement  that  they  were  a 
lot  of  dilapidated  mills,  or  ever  had  been  so,  was  grossly  misleading. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Well,  in  view  of  that,  you  said  that  you  had  put 
betterments  on  them  probably  to  the  extent  of  these  earnings,  $6,000,- 
000  out  of  bonds  and  $4,000,000  out  of  profit.  Now,  you  have  been 
running  for  about  ten  years  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  would  represent  an  earning  capacity  in 
addition  to  what  you  paid  on  your  stock  of  about  $400,000  a  year 
profit  that  you  have  made  out  of  the  business  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  have  worked  that  all  out  right  here — $700,000. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  say  that  the  earnings  of  the  company  in  excess 
of  dividends  in  ten  years  amounted  to  $7,381,000,  leaving  the  surplus 
earnings,  together  with  the  proceeds  of  sale  of  $6,000,000  of  bonds,  as 
having  been  used  mostly  in  the  improvement  of  plants,  which  is 
$13,381,000? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes.   • 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  only  used  $10,000,000  of  that? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  say  mostly.  I  did  not  substantiate  that  by  looking 
it  up.  I  know  the  affairs  of  the  company  generally. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  am  not  trying  to  mix  you  up  at  all,  but  to  set  you 
right. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes;  I  do  not  want  to  be  held  down  to  too  great 
exactness  in  making  statements  in  answering  questions  of  this  nature. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Counting  betterments  and  improvements,  you 
have  a  pretty  profitable  concern? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Not  at  all,  sir.  I  do  not  regard  that  as  at  all  an  ade- 
quate profit  for  the  property  that  is  represented. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  effect  do  you  think  it  would  have  on  the 
price  of  paper  if  we  were  to  repeal  all  duties  on  manufactured  wood 
pulp  and  paper? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  On  the  price  of  paper? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  will  put  it  in  this  way :  I  will  not  say  to  remove 
the  duties,  but  if  we  adopted  a  minimum  and  maximum  tariff  bill, 
and  the  executive  department  of  the  Government  should  enter  into  a 
reciprocal  agreement  under  a  minimum  and  maximum  tariff  rate 
with  Canada  that  would  remove  the  duties  from  Canadian  wood  pulp 
and  Canadian  paper — leaving  out  the  balance  of  the  world — I  will 
ask  you  what  effect  that  would  have  on  the  price  of  paper  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  That  would  be  exactly  tantamount  to  removing 
tne 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  would  mean  free  trade  from  Canada  to  this 
country. 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER CHESTER   W.   LYMAN.  5983 

Mr.  LYMAN.  The  effect  would  be  the  same  as  if  you  took  it  off  here, 
unless  it  gives  us  power  to  retaliate  by  going  in  and  getting  the  Cana- 
dian market. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  I  mean  is  this,  to  make  myself  plain:  If 
we  had  free  trade  on  paper  and  wood  pulp  between  this  country  and 
Canada,  leaving  out  the  balance  of  the  world,  leaving  the  duty  on  for 
the  balance  of  the  world,  what  effect  would  that  have  on  the  price  of 
paper  in  the  United  States  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  think  it  would  gradually  lower  the  price,  and  in  the 
course  of  ten  years  you  would  find  that  the  paper  was  being  made  up 
in  Canada,  and  the  mills  here  would  be  abandoned  in  a  very  large 
number ;  but  the  change,  as  I  look  at  it,  would  take  place  gradually. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  To  what  extent  would  it  immediately  lower  the 
price  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  do  not  think  it  would  immediately  lower  it. at  all. 
There  is  great  scarcity  of  paper  at  this  minute.  If  we  should  have 
a  rainy  season  before  things  freeze  up,  the  situation  would  be  relieved. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  At  a  time  when  you  were  able  to  produce  sufficient 
paper  both  in  this  country  and  Canada,  mills  running  under  normal 
capacity,  what  effect  would  it  have  on  the  market  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  If  we  were  running  to  normal  capacity  and  the  con- 
sumption and  production  were  just  about  balanced,  it  would  reduce 
prices  just  as  soon  as  Canada  could  increase  her  output,  which  we 
would  do. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Well,  if  you  can  not  answer  my  question,  all 
right ;  but  I  would  have  liked  to  have  had  from  you  a  statement  of 
facts,  as  you  are  in  the  business,  but  if  you  can  not  make  it,  say  so. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  People  are  very  apt  to  ask  questions  from  practical 
men  and  lead  them  to  make  a  reply  about  something  which  they  do  not 
know  anything  about.  Now,  I  know  just  enough  about  this  to  know 
that  I  can  not  tell  you  just  what  is  going  to  happen,  because  so  many 
things  could  occur  to  interfere  with  that. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  amount  of  the  tariff  on  a  ton  of  Canadian 
paper  coming  into  this  country  is  how  much  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Six  dollars. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Would  it  reduce  the  price  to  the  extent  of  $6  if 
we  took  the  tariff  off? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  believe  it  would  not  at  once.  It  might  have  that 
tendency,  but  before  the  tendency  could  work  out,  some  other  tendency 
and  influence  might  get  to  work  that  would  offset  it. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  you  do  not  think  the  reduction  in  price  in 
this  country  would  amount  to  as  much  as  $6  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Not  immmediately ;  no 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  you  think  it  would  ultimately? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes,  other  things  being  equal,  if  no  other  conditions 
come  in  to  change  it — suppose,  for  instance,  that  all  the  Canadian 
mills  were  unionized,  and  wages  were  raised.  Would  not  that  have  a 
tendency  to  offset  it?  There  are  a  great  many  things  like  that  that 
can  happen. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Who  is  the  author  of  this  brief  that  you  have  pre- 
sented ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  wrote  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  are  the  author  of  it  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes. 


5984  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  state  that  in  1898  the  International  Paper 
Company  took  over  the  property  of  a  number  of  corporations  by  pur- 
chase, as  I  read  it.  What  did  they  do,  buv  out  the  stockholders  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  The  old  companies — for  instance,  the  Glen  Manu- 
facturing Company,  that  had  mills  at  Berlin— sold  all  of  their  prop- 
erty to  the  new  company,  the  International  Paper  Company — as  a 
matter  of  fact,  they  sold  it  to  trustees  who  received  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  do  not  care  how  the  transfer  was  brought  about, 
but  they  sold  it  for  what  consideration,  cash  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Stock  and  bonds  of  the  International  Paper  Company. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  remember  the  amount  of  stock  and  bonds? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Of  that  particular  mill,  or  any  mill  ? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Yes. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  No ;  I  do  not. 

The  .CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  remember  that  of  any  of  them  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  No ;  I  do  not. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  have  figures  to  tell  you  of  each  mill? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  If  it  would  not  be  too  much  trouble,  I  wish  you 
would  produce  a  statement  showing  the  purchase  price  of  each  of 
these  properties,  and  how  paid,  in  cash,  bonds,  or  otherwise. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  We  can  do  that,  and  would  be  glad  to  do  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  And  the  capacity  of  each  mill — the  number  of  tons 
they  made  each  day — at  the  time  of  the  purchase.  Have  you  got 
that  information  here  now  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  No ;  I  have  not,  but  I  will  have  my  secretary  make  a 
memorandum  of  it  and  furnish  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  may  send  it  to  the  committee  to  be  filed. 
Now,  you  make  certain  statements  here  about  the  wages  paid  in  the 
mills,  your  mills,  and  the  foreign  mills;  that  is,  you  make  a  state- 
ment about  one  of  the  Canadian  mills.  What  Canadian  mill  is  that  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  The  first  statement  refers  to  the  J.  R.  Booth  mill  at 
Ottawa. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  And  what  is  the  capacity  of  that  mill  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  It  has  increased  lately.  WTiat  is  the  capacity  of  the 
Ottawa  mill,  Mr.  Chable? 

Mr.  CHABLE.  About  100  tons. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  What  was  it  in  February  ? 

Mr.  CHABLE.  The  same  then. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  And  where  did  you  get  your  information  about 
the  wages? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Mr.  Whitcomb,  the  manager  of  our  manufacturing 
department  at  that  time,  was  at  that  mill,  and  talked  personally  with 
the  laboring  men  in  the  mill ;  got  it  from  the  men  themselves  as  to 
what  they  were  being  paid,  and  made  a  memorandum  of  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  When  did  you  get  that? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  That  was  gotten  in  the  spring  of  this  year. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Did  you  get  information  as  to  the  wages  paid  in 
any  other  Canadian  mill? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  We  did ;  through  the  president  of  one  of  the  labor 
organizations.  He  got  a  partial  list  of  several  mills,  and  one  of  those 
is  incorporated  in  that  statement;  that  is  the  Grand  Mere,  Lauren- 
tide  mill. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  did  not  put  that  in  your  brief? 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER — CHESTER  W.  LYMAN.  5985 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes;  that  is  in  one  of  the  statements.  It  is  rather 
incomplete. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  last  column  in  that  statement? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Does  that  represent  the  wages  in  several  mills  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  That  is  fairly  representative,  I  understand.  We 
haven't  got  it  absolutely  and  completely. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  about  this  mill  of  Sir  William  Van  Home's 
that  we  hear  so  much  about? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  That  is  the  Laurentide  Paper  Company,  at  Grand 
Mere,  on  the  St.  Maurice  River.  It  was  started  originally  by  United 
States  capital,  and  is  the  one  that  General  Alger  had  an  interest  in. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Where  is  it  located? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  At  Grand  Mere,  on  the  St.  Maurice  River. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  part  of  Canada  is  that? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  It  is  in  Quebec,  about  the  central  part. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Sir  William  has  made  some  statement  about  wages 
paid  in  the  mill,  hasn't  he;  or  some  statement  has  been  published 
purporting  to  have  come  from  him  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  There  has  been  a  statement  from  that  mill  as  to  wages, 
but  I  do  not  know  whether  Sir  William  Van  Home  has  ever  made 
any  statement  in  regard  to  wages  or  not. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  And  that  statement  purported  to  show  that  the 
wages  were  greater  in  the  Canadian  mills  than  in  the  American  mills  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  say  I  am  not  aware  of  any  statement  made  by  Sir 
William  Van  Horn. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  said  that  there  was  a  statement  published. 
That  statement  that  you  saw  published  purported  to  show  greater 
wages  paid  in  that  mill  than  in  the  American  mills,  did  it  not? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  do  not  think  it  made  any  comparison. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  noticed  something  in  Mr.  Norris's  brief  about  it, 
some  general  statement,  and  I  would  like  to  know  the  facts  about  it. 

Mr.  LYMAN.'  We  have  no  very  good  data  as  to  the  wages  paid  in  the 
Canadian  mills.  It  is  not  complete. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  think  you  can  get  those  figures  for  me  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  We  will  make  another  effort.  We  have  tried  to  get 
them,  but  have  not  succeeded  in  getting  the  information  completely ; 
but  we  will  make  it  a  point  to  do  so  if  we  can. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Have  you  stated  in  your  brief  all  the  differences 
that  occur  to  you  in  favor  of  the  Canadian  mills  lowering  the  cost  of 
production  below  that  of  the  American  mill  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  do  not  think  I  understand  that  question. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  have  stated  in  your  brief  the  differences  in 
cost  of  labor,  cost  of  stumpage,  etc.  Have  you  stated  all  those  dif- 
ferences that  have  occurred  to  you  in  favor  of  the  Canadian  mill? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  did  not  attempt  to  go  into  the  small  ones.  I 
thought  the  larger  factors  were  enough  to  be  determinative. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Are  there  no  other  differences? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  There  are  differences  one  way  or  another,  some 
against  us  and  some  in  favor  of  us,  and  quite  different  at  different 
mills,  the  different  mills  in  our  company,  and  the  different  mills  in 
Canada. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  do  not  go  into  the  difference  in  freight? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Freight  on  paper? 


1986  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  freight  on  pulp  wood  or  freight  on  anything. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Enough  to  satisfy  myself  that  it  was  almost  neg- 
ligible ;  that  is,  the  difference  in  the  freight  upon  the  finished  product 
from  the  Canadian  mills  and  the  American  mills. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  could  not  give  us  the  average  freight  paid 
per  ton  on  pulp  wood,  bringing  it  to  your  mill  and  bringing  it  to 
the  Canadian  mill,  and  the  average  amount  per  ton  paid  on  the 
products  of  the  two  mills  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  attempted  to  give  the  averages — I  did  give  the 
average  rates  of  freight  paid  on  our  wood  of  $3.25,  but  you  might  say 
that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  "  average  freight "  to  the  Canadian 
mills,  and  you  would  have  to  have  a  complete  statement  in  order  to 
get  a  true  average. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  they  haven't  any  average 
freight  rate  from  the  Canadian  mills  to  New  York  or  Boston  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Quebec  is  a  pretty  big  province,  and  they  have  pulp- 
wood  mills  that  are  away  up  at  Lake  St.  John,  north  of  Quebec,  and 
away  out  West  in  the  western  part  of  Ontario ;  but  I  can  get  rates  that 
are  typical. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  With  their  mills  located  in  those  places  so  far 
away  from  the  market,  you  would  not  have  much  competition  any- 
way ;  they  would  rather  sell  nearest  home. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Oh,  no. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Where  do  they  sell? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  They  sell  in  Europe,  in  Australia,  and  some  of  it 
here. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  they  sell  it  in  the  United  States?  • 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Some  of  it  here.  I  gave  the  amounts  that  they  sell 
here. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  Do  you  sell  paper  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  No ;  we  do  not  get  out  as  far  as  that. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  How  far  West  do  you  go? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  No  farther  than  St.  Louis,  I  think.  We  have  had 
some  orders  out  there,  but  we  lost  them  in  competition. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  What  price  do  you  sell  No.  2  print  paper  for  as 
far  west  as  St.  Louis? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  We  only  have  one  grade,  and  the  price  in  St.  Louis 
to-day  would  be  based  probably  on  about  2£  cents  New  York  delivery, 
plus  the  freight  to  St.  Louis.  That  is  my  general  impression.  I  am 
not  connected  with  the  sales  department. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  Do  you  know  the  Carpenter  Paper  Company,  of 
Chicago  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes ;  of  Omaha  ?    They  used  to  be  in  Omaha. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  Do  you  come  in  competition  with  that  company 
anywhere  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  do  not  know  whether  they  would  get  east  as  far  as 
we  get  west  or  not.  I  do  not  think  they  come  far  enough  east  to 
reach  us.  They  are  jobbers. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  Would  you  sell  paper  in  500-ton  lots  as  low  as 
$2.08? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Where?    Out  there? 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  In  St.  Louis. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  No. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  Or  Kansas  City? 


PULP,  AND  PBINT  PAPEK — CHESTER   W.   LYMAN.  5987 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Not  to-day. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  Or  Chicago? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Not  to-day.  I  do  not  think  anybody  could  get  it  to- 
day for  that.  We  could  not  afford  to. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  The  Carpenter  Paper  Company  made  a  contract 
for  500  tons  with  one  paper  in  my  State  at  $2.08  a  hundred  recently. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  It  probably  came  from  a  western  mill,  did  it  not,  con- 
siderably nearer  than  we  are  to  them?  The  rate  becomes  prohibitive 
when  you  get  out  that  far. 

Mr.  CALDERH-EAD.  Is  there  any  print  paper  selling  at  that  price 
anywhere  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States  2 

Mr.  LYMAN.  $2.08? 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  Yes. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  do  not  think  there  are  any  quotations  being  made 
now  as  low  as  that.  There  was  some  paper  sold  at  auction  at  $2.05 
and  $2.06,  and  thereabouts,  f.  o.  b.  mill.  If  anybody  bought  it  at  the 
mill  and  wanted  to  use  it  right  there  at  hand,  it  would  not  cost  them 
more  than  $2.08. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  A  year  ago  quite  a  number  of  newspaper  people 
had  contracts  that  ran  from  three  to  five  years  at  a  low  rate,  did  they 
not,  and  they  expired? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  So  there  was  quite  a  difference  in  the  price  of 
paper? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes,  mostly. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  For  instance,  the  New  York  Times  and  the  Staats 
Zeitung  had  old  contracts  that  expired.  They  expired,  I  believe,  last 
spring,  did  they  not? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  believe  the  Staats-Zeitung  has  been  making  yearly 
contracts;  I  think  so. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  And  after  that  the  price  was  higher  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes.  They  had  had  pretty  low  contracts.  They 
probably  made  their  contracts  at  the  very  most  favorable  time. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  A  gentleman  connected  with  one  of  those  papers 
told  me  last  summer  that  he  had  lower  rates  than  even  some  of  the 
paper  publishers  mentioned  in  Mr.  North's  reports ;  he  got  the  paper 
lower  still.  However,  I  want  to  ask  you  this  question :  Can  you  tell 
us  what  proportion  of  the  entire  amount  of  timber  cut  in  the  United 
States  is  turned  into  paper? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  As  I  have  figured  it  out  from  government  reports, 
it  is  less  than  1.6  per  cent. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Js  that  a  conservative  figure  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  It  is  conservative  if  the  government  figures  are  con- 
servative. It  is  based  purely  on  official  figures.  It  is  simply  a 
matter  of  arithmetic. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Are  there  any  statistics  that  show  that? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Published  by  the  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  There  is  one  pamphlet  published  by  the  Forestry 
Service  called  "The  Drain  on  the  Forests,"  I  think,  in  which  they 
give  what  the  total  consumption  of  wood  is  in  the  United  States. 
They  figure  it  at  about  100  billion  feet;  and  the  domestic  pulp- wood 
consumption  for  the  same  year  was  about  1,500,000,000. 


5988  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPEKS,  AND  BOOKS. 

The  .CHAIRMAN.  That  is  where  you  get  the  ratio  of  1.6  per  cent? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  all. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  Another  question.  At  the  same  time  that  this 
contract  was  made  for  500  tons  of  paper  at  $2.08  contracts  were  made 
by  another  paper  company  for  the  supply  of  paper  for  the  next 
year — this  coming  year — at  $2.14;  and  in  another  newspaper  office 
in  my  State,  when  I  made  that  statement,  they  showed  me  corre- 
spondence in  which  they  were  tendering  them  paper  at  $2.85  for 
Chicago  paper  and  $2.87  for  paper  from  Buffalo,  and  contended  that 
that  was  the  lowest  rate  that  they  could  make.  How  does  it  come  that 
there  is  such  a  wide  range  in  prices  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  How  recently  was  the  last  quotation  ?  What  was  the 
difference  in  the  period? 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  The  last  week  in  October. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Ajad  were  they  both  made  at  the  same  time,  or  prac- 
tically the  same  time,  or  was  there  a  period  of  six  months  in  between  ? 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  Oh,  no ;  the  other  one  was  made  the  second  week 
in  August.  The  contract  for  $2.14  was  made  the  second  week  in 
August.  The  contract  at  $2.08  was  made  between  that  time  and  the 
last  week  in  October;  and  the  offer  of  paper  at  $2.85  and  $2.87  was  in 
the  last  week  in  October.  It  all  occurred  within  that  short  time. 
How  did  it  come  that  there  was  such  a  wide  range  in  the  prices  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  There  has  been  a  very  great  curtailment  of  production 
during  the  last  three  or  four  months. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  But  how  did  it  come  that  in  sixty  days  there  was 
such  a  wide  range  in  prices  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  It  may  be  that  they  had  not  felt  the  effect  of  the 
drought  in  this  particular  mill  by  August;  they  may  have  had  a 
surplus  and  not  known  how  long  the  drought  was  going  to  continue. 
They  may  not  have  realized  that  it  was  going  to  be  phenomenal,  and 
may  have  made  a  low  price  accordingly.  By  the  time  they  got  to 
October 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  Do  not  misunderstand  me.  The  price  of  $2.14 
was  made  the  second  week  in  August,  and  the  price  of  $2.08  was 
made  sometime  about  the  1st  of  October. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  thought  you  were  talking  about  a  price  of  $2.85,  or 
something  like  that. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  And  the  price  of  $2.85  .was  made  the  last  week 
in  October. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  explanation  is  perfectly 
simple  to  anybody  who  knows  the  facts;  but  I  do  not  know  why  it 
was.  I  do  not  think  I  am  qualified  to  guess  about  a  situation  when 
I  know  so  little  about  it. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  If  there  could  be  such  a  range  within  sixty  days 
on  a  staple  article  of  that  kind,  what  good  does  the  tariff  do  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Of  course  it  goes  without  saying  that  the  tariff  hav- 
ing remained  the  same,  there  could  be  no  effect  of  the  tariff  on  that. 
That  is  perfectly  patent. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  The  exportations  of  paper  were,  in  quantity,  120,- 
090,000  pounds,  valued  at  $3,514,281  in  the  last  year— the  year  to 
which  this  book  refers. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  The  exportations  of  paper  ? 


PULP,  AND  PEINT  PAPER CHESTER  W.   LYMAN.  5989 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Yes.    Can  you  explain  to  me  how  they  could  do  that? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Foreign  business  is  generally  based  on  pretty  long 
contracts;  and  the  conditions  that  prevail  when  you  make  your  con- 
tracts for  shipment  to  Australia,  for  instance,  may  be  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  the  conditions  which  prevail  when  you  are  making  your 
final  deliveries. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  In  round  numbers,  49,000,000  pounds  were  exported 
to  Canada. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Exported  to  Canada? 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Yes. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  No ;  not  from  the  United  States. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  48,810,734  pounds. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Of  paper  exported  to  Canada? 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Yes,  sir;  printing  paper  at  that. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  do  not  think  that  is  accurate.  Forty-nine  million 
pounds  is  25,000  tons ;  and  if  it  is  printing  paper  it  is  not  news  paper. 
There  is  no  news  paper  exported  to  Canada. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  It  is  a  printing  paper,  which  includes  news  paper, 
magazine,  book,  plate,  lithograph,  music,  and  other  kinds  of  paper. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  It  may  be  some  of  those  things — hanging  paper,  or 
lithograph  paper,  or  something  of  that  kind. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  It  does  not  include  that. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  But  it  is  not  news  paper.  I  do  not  think  there  has 
been  any  news  paper  sent  to  Canada  at  all.  They  have  a  duty  of  15 
per  cent  against  us. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  think  you  can  not  compete  with  them,  now,  with 
that  duty? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  I  know  that  when  we  fear  their  competition  here,  we 
are  not  likely  to  be  in  a  position  to  go  over  there  with  our  paper. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Do  you  not  think  you  are  a  little  too  much  afraid  of 
each  other  on  each  side  of  the  line?  I  know  that  when  I  go  over  to 
Canada  they  are  very  much  afraid  of  the  Yankees. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Yes. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  when  I  talk  to  a  Yankee  down  here,  he  is  very 
much  afraid  of  the  Canadians.  Can  not  you  and  I  agree  on  that? 
Let  us  agree  on  one  thing  to-night. 

Mr.  LYMAN.  If  you  and  I  should  fix  up  anything,  it  would  have 
to  be  in  the  nature  of  a  compromise.  I  do  not  think  that  our  appre- 
hension is  ungrounded.  We  have  a  great  deal  at  stake. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Do  you  think  their  apprehensions  ungrounded  ? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Oh,  if  you  took  the  duty  off  there,  there  would  be  no 
paper  going  up  there  except  through  a  deliberate  move  to  kill  thorn, 
which  other  countries  used  to  do  to  us  on  certain  commodities  before 
we  had  duties  on  them. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Suppose  we  took  the  duty  off  here — there  would  be 
nothing  coming  here  except  through  a  deliberate  move  to  kill  us, 
would  there?  The  reverse  is  true,  is  it  not? 

Mr.  LYMAN.  Oh,  no.  They  are  making  a  surplus,  a  great  deal  more 
than  they  require,  over  there ;  and  they  have  got  to  place  it  over  here. 


5990  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

STATEMENT  OF  DAVID  S.  COWLES,  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY,  WHO 
THINKS  THAT  THE  PRESENT  DUTIES  ON  PAPER  AND  PULP 
SHOULD  BE  RETAINED. 

SATURDAY,  November  81,  1908. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  is  your  residence? 

Mr.  COWLES.  New  York,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Proceed,  Mr.  Cowles. 

Mr.  COWLES.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  what  I  have  to  say 
will  not  take  more  than  about  five  minutes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  can  not  always  tell  about  that. 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  feel  that  the  amount  of  data  that  the  special  investi- 
gating committee  has  collected  covers  practically  all  the  points  that 
this  committee  may  require,  so  far  as  statistics  are  concerned.  But 
there  are  a  few  questions  of  general  policy  which^I  think  enter  into 
this  whole  question  even  more,  perhaps,  than  statistics  do,  and  with 
your  consent  I  should  like  to  suggest  one  or  two  of  them. 

The  tariff  laws  of  the  United  States  are  framed  to  provide  revenue 
for  the  Government  and  to  protect,  and  thereby  develop,  the  industries 
of  the  country  and  give  constant  and  profitable  employment  to  both 
capital  and  labor.  The  Republican  party  has  pledged  itself  to  a 
revision  of  the  tariff  along  these  lines,  but  not  in  any  way  in  departure 
from  them.  It  does  not  stand  for  free  trade  or  for  a  tariff  for  revenue 
only.  Excessive  rates  should  undoubtedly  be  reduced  if  it  be  proven 
that  such  rates  exist,  but  no  industry  should  be  singled  out  for  de- 
struction at  the  demand  of  some  other  interest,  no  matter  how  power- 
ful and  influential  that  interest  may  be.  The  present  tariff  rates  on 
pulp  and  paper  are  equivalent  to  10  per  cent  on  ground  wood  pulp 
and  15  per  cent  on  news-print  paper.  If  the  entire  tariff  were  framed 
for  revenue  only,  and  the  protective  feature  were  eliminated,  the  rates 
on  pulp  and  paper  could  not  be  lower.  The  demand  for  free  pulp 
and  paper  was  and  is  made  upon  the  charge  that  there  is  an  illegal 
combination  in  restraint  of  trade  among  manufacturers  of  pulp  and 
news  print  in  this  country,  and  added  to  that  the  unsubstantiated 
argument  that  the  country  must  have  free  pulp  and  paper  in  order 
to  preserve  the  American  forests.  A  most  searching  investigation  by 
a  special  committee  of  Congress  developed  that  the  first  charge  was 
false  and  the  other  erroneous.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  manu- 
facture of  wood  pulp  and  news-print  paper  has  not  in  the  past,  and 
does  not  now  return  5  per  cent  per  annum  upon  the  capital  invested 
in  the  industry.  A  removal  of  the  present  duty  would  result  in  the 
rapid  liquidation  of  the  industry,  destruction  of  the  forest  lands 
owned  in  the  United  States  by  the  manufacturers  of  news  print,  a 
great  loss  of  invested  capital,  labor  thrown  out  of  employment,  and 
numerous  towns  and  villages  which  have  grown  up  around  paper- 
making  centers  and  dependent  upon  them  being  wiped  out. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  manufacture  of  news  print  is  based 
upon  water  power,  and  the  proximity  of  such  powers  to  spruce  forests. 
These  conditions  are  found  back  in  the  woods,  so  to  speak,  and 
where  these  manufacturing  plants  have  been  developed  communities 
have  grown  up  around  them  and  are  dependent  upon  them.  It  is 
not  only  the  capital  invested  in  the  industry  which  would  be  destroyed 
and  the  labor  employed  thrown  out  of  employment,  but  the  value  of 
real  estate  in  lands  and  houses  and  the  business  of  the  storekeepers 
and  merchants  would  be  depreciated,  and  ruin  to  many  the  inevitable 
consequence. 


PULP,  AND  PEINT  PAPER DAVID  S.  COWLES.  5991 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  reiterate  the  details  of  facts  and  figures 
which  are  furnished  in  the  statement  of  Mr.  Chester  W.  Lyman,  of 
the  International  Paper  Company,  further  than  to  say  that  my  knowl- 
edge of  conditions,  and  familiarity  with  the  paper-making  industry, 
leads  me  to  indorse  fully  what  he  has  stated,  with  one  exception,  that 
my  companies  make  better  paper  than  his  do,  and  where  he  gets  2£ 
cents  we  should  receive  2.35. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  do  not  indorse  that  statement? 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  say  I  do  not  indorse  the  statement  that  his  paper  is 
superior. 

I  wish  to  bring  prominently  to  your  attention  that  the  danger  to 
the  paper-making  industry  in  this  country  is  not  alone  from  cheaper 
wood  in  Canada  and  cheaper  wood  and  low-paid  labor  in  Europe, 
but  from  English  and  European  capital,  which  is  satisfied  with  a 
return  upon  its  investment  on  which  we  in  America  can  not  live.  It 
is  a  well-known  fact  that  in  the  old  countries  capital  has  been  accumu- 
lating for  hundreds  of  years,  and  a  return  of  3  per  cent  per  annum,  or 
4  per  cent  at  most,  is  considered  a  satisfactory  return.  Where  capital 
can  be  commanded  for  manufacturing  and  trading  purposes  at  such 
rates,  the  wages  of  labor  fall  to  the  starvation  point.  This  may  seem 
an  extraordinary  statement  to  many,  but  it  is  a  fact,  notwithstanding. 
When  invested  capital  is  insufficiently  remunerative,  it  inevitably 
leads  to  a  readjustment  of  wages  and  other  costs  of  production. 
Capital  and  labor  go  up  and  down  together.  If  the  employment  of 
capital  secures  an  adequate  return,  capital  does  not  begrudge  high  pay 
to  labor.  If  capital  is  pinched  and  reduced  in  earning  capacity,  the 
corners  are  cut,  further  development  ceases,  strict  economies  of  all 
kinds  are  enforced,  and  wages  and  hours  quickly  feel  the  depressing 
influence.  We  can  not  stand  in  this  country  low  and  inadequate  re- 
turns on  capital  any  more  than  we  can  stand  low  wages  and  long 
hours  of  labor.  The  two  go  together.  It  is  a  law  of  trade  that  capital 
and  labor  prosper  or  suffer  together.  The  cheap  capital  of  Europe 
invested  outside  of  the  United  States,  if  its  product  is  admitted  free, 
is  as  fatal  to  American  industries  and  American  labor  as  the  cheap 
labor  of  China.  If,  therefore,  the  small  tariff  protection  which  the 
American  paper  maker  has  should  be  taken  from  him,  the  conse- 
quence would  be  that  the  cheap  capital  of  Europe  would  destroy 
both  the  capital  and  labor  invested  in  the  paper-making  industry  in 
America. 

It  has  been  charged  that  paper  making  is  destructive  of  the  forests. 
My  companies  are  owners  of  large  tracts  of  timber  lands.  These 
lands  are  the  basis  of  all  of  our  operations.  They  are  our  raw 
material,  and  upon  their  preservation  depends  our  position  in  the 
industry  and  the  earnings  of  our  capital.  They  are  cut  strictly 
according  to  the  best  known  forestry  methods  practicable  in  this 
country  at  the  present  time,  under  the  supervision  of  an  educated 
forester,  and  are  cut  so  as  to  not  only  secure  a  supply  of  pulp  wood, 
but  so  as  to  facilitate  and  increase  the  growth  of  the  forest.  In 
cutting  for  pulp  wood  not  less  than  25  per  cent  more  wood  is  utilized 
on  the  average  from  each  tree  than  is  the  case  where  the  same  forest 
is  cut  for  lumber  purposes,  because  the  log  is  brought  out  up  to  a 
5-inch,  and  in  some  cases  4-inch  top,  as  against  an  8-inch  top  for 
sawing  lumber. 

What  is  true  of  our  operations  is  in  the  main  true  of  the  industry 
at  large  where  interested  in  timber  lands.  The  present  tariff  rates 

75941—11.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 15 


5992 


SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 


have  been  in  existence  for  many  years.  They  have  worked  no  in- 
justice to  anyone.  They  are  about  the  lowest  in  the  whole  list,  have 
been  used  for  no  improper  purpose,  to  remove  them  or  lessen  them 
would  be  an  unwarranted  injustice  and  bring  ruin  to  a  great  industry, 
If,  by  any  chance,  the  great  paper-making  industry  should  be  trans- 
ferred to  Canada,  or  other  foreign  land,  I  would  remind  the  news- 
paper publishers  who  are  urging  free  pulp  and  free  paper  that  under 
the  British  flag  the  Sherman  antitrust  laws  do  not  run,  and  that 
combinations  to  advance  the  price  of  commodities  exported  to  foreign 
lands  are  both  approved  and  encouraged. 

Attached  to  this  memorandum  is  a  detailed  statement  showing  the 
percentage  of  increase  in  wages  which  my  own  mills  are  now  paying 
as  compared  with  the  wages  paid  in  1898. 

Scale  of  wages,  Lisbon  Falls  Fiber  Company  and  Pejepscot  Paper  Company, 

pulp  and  paper  mills. 


1898.  • 

1900. 

1903. 

1908.* 

$3.00-3.25 

$3.50 

$3.75 

$3.75 

1.75 

2.00 

2.50 

2.50 

1.35 

1.50 

1.76 

1.75 

1.5C 

1.50 

1.50 

Fifth  hands                                                                  

1.50 

1  50 

2.00 

2.25 

2.2;'. 

2.25 

1.50-1.35 

1.50-1.35 

1.50 

1.50 

2.50 

2.50 

3.00 

Assistant  engineers             -  

2.25 

2.50 

2.50 

Firemen      -  

1.75 

1.90 

2.50-2.25 

Finishers: 

2.00 

2.25-2.00 

2.25-2  00 

3  00  2  50 

Helpers            -  -- 

1.50 

1.50 

1.50 

1.65 

1  50 

1.60 

1.50 

1  65 

1  50 

1.50 

1  50 

1  60 

1.25 

1.25 

1.50 

1  50 

Repair  men  

Boss           -  -    

•2.50 

2.75 

3.00 

3  00 

Machinists            -  

2  25 

2.26 

2  50 

3  00 

Carpenters                -             

2.00 

1.75-2  25 

2  00-2  -'5 

2  95 

Acid  maker  . 

2.00 

2.00 

2  25 

2  ''5 

Cookers    -  

2  00 

2  25 

2  50 

2  50 

"Two  turns.  *  Three  turns. 

July  1, 1901.  paper  mills  on  sixty-five  hours  week;  April  1,  1907,  paper  mills  went  on  three  tour*. 

Scale  of  wages,  Lisbon  Falls  Fiber  Company  and  Pejepscot  Paper  Company, 
pulp  and  paper  mills,  on  twelve-hour,  ten-hour,  and  eight-hour  basis. 


1898. 

1900. 

1903. 

1908. 

Increase. 

Machine  tenders  

It  hours. 
80.27 

If  hours. 
$0  '29i 

10  hours. 

SO    37  -8n 

8  hours. 
SO  46  9* 

Per  cent. 

Second  hands  

.14ft 

.16| 

.25 

*).«£, 

114  04 

Third  hands  

•  111 

.12t 

17  A 

21  K, 

q4  67 

Fourth  hands  

1X1 

25  00 

Fifth  hands  

15 

1X3 

25  00 

Engineer  beaters  

101 

IS} 

22  ^. 

28' 

68  76 

Assistant  beaters  

.11} 

12J 

15 

183 

66  66 

Firemen  

14| 

19 

•)>.•  '. 

93  97 

Grinders  and  screens  .  . 

.121 

124 

15 

2u 

60  00 

Acid  maker  

161 

16* 

22  i 

Vftl 

68  76 

Cookers  

161 

161 

25 

91  1 

»7   *& 

Finishers: 
Boss  

10  hours. 
20 

10  hours. 
20 

20 

31' 

56  25 

Helpers  

15 

15 

15 

90  B 

37  33 

Wood  room  

15 

15 

15 

20 

Outside  

124 

121 

15 

I8i 

50  00 

Boss  

25 

91  A 

30 

37' 

Machinist  

901 

22  i 

25 

071 

66  66 

Carpenters  

20 

994 

99i 

9X1 

40  63 

Steam  engineers  

It  hours. 

It  hours. 

20  8_ 

It  hours. 

20  S. 

12  hours. 
31  ' 

50  24 

Assistant  engi  neers  

lX/_ 

20A 

20  A 

11  23 

PULP,   AND  PRINT  PAPER DAVID   S.    COWLES.  5993 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  referred  to  the  Sherman  antitrust  law  as 
being  injurious  to  your  business.  How  does  that  affect  it? 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  say  that  it  does  not  prevail  in  Canada,  and  that  if 
the  industry  is  wipe*d  out  in  this  country  and  transferred  to  Canada 
the  Canadian  manufacturers  can  make  all  the  combinations  to  ad- 
vance prices  they  please  and  compel  the  publishers  in  this  country  to 
pay  whatever  price  they  choose  to  ask,  because  the  publisher  will 
have  no  relief  from  American  manufacture  after  American  manufac- 
ture has  once  been  terminated  here. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  you  think  that  if  we  had  absolute  free  trade 
on  wood  pulp  and  paper  between  this  country  and  Canada  it  would 
wipe  out  the  International  Paper  Company? 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  think  it  would  very  seriously  jeopardize  its  exist- 
ence ;  yes,  sir — that  is,  its  property.  It  might  go  through  a  reorgani- 
zation or  liquidation  and  get  fresh  capital.  It  would  wipe  out  a  large 
amount  of  its  investment.  There  is  not  any  question  about  that. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Wherein  would  it  need  fresh  capital? 

Mr.  COWLES.  Where  would  it  need  it? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Yes. 

Mr.  COWLES.  To  build  mills  in  Canada,  possibly. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  But  I  am  talking  about  the  International  Paper 
Company  as  run  in  America. 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  think  that  is  a  wise  business  policy.  It  is  our  raw 
material,  and  if  we  are  going  to  stay  in  the  business  we  have  got  to 
have  the  raw  material. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  wanted  your  judgment  on  the  matter.  I  asked 
you  for  your  judgment. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Are  you  not  continually  adding  to  your  forest  hold- 
ings ? 

Mr.  COWLES.  Yes,  sir;  as  much  as  we  can. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Just  as  the  sawmill  men  do — you  buy  all  the  land  you 
can  adjoining  you  ? 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  think  that  is  a  wise  proposition.  It  is  our  raw  ma- 
terial, and  if  we  are  going  to  stay  in  the  business  we  have  got  to  have 
the  raw  material. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Do  you  not  pay  for  that  out  of  the  earnings  of  your 
company? 

Mr.  COWLES.  Sometimes  yes,  and  sometimes  no. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  As  a  general  proposition  ? 

Mr.  COWLES.  We  have  not  had  enough  earnings  recently  to  enable 
us  to  pay  for  very  much  timber  land  out  of  them. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  That  is  simply  last  year;  we  all  understand  that. 

Mr.  COWLES.  Yes ;  but  I  am  speaking  of  a  period  extending  over  the 
last  three  or  four  years.  If  you  go  back  five  years,  or  go  back  ten 
years,  the  industry  has  not  been  a  profitable  industry. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Did  you  not  have  good  times  in  1897,  1896,  1895,  and 
1894? 

Mr.  COWLES.  There  have  been  short  periods  when  we  had  a  fairly 
satisfactory  price;  but  almost  invariably  before  that  condition  came 
about  the  paper  industry  had  put  its  product  under  contract  for  a 
long  term  of  months,  and  did  not  profit  by  it. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  will  put  that  question  in  another  form :  Do  you  not 
put  a  large  part  of  your  earnings  into  the  purchase  of  additional 
land? 


5994  SCHEDUKE   M — PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr  COWLES.  Yes,  sir;  we  do.  I  will  not  say  necessarily  into  the 
purchase  of  land,  either,  but  back  again  into  our  business ;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  you  do  not  count  that  in  your  profits  What 
you  put  back  into  the  business,  you  do  not  count  in  your  profits  at  all 

Mr.  COWLES.  Oh,  yes;  we  do.  It  shows  as  part  of  our  profits:  but 
what  goes  into  increased  real  estate  and  plant  simply  increases  our 
holdings.  ,.  . 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  understand  that:  and  you  only  show  us  your  divi- 
dends? You  only  make  an  exhibit  of  your  dividends? 

Mr.  COWLES.  Oh,  no ;  we  do  not  make  any  exhibit  at  all.  We  are 
not  a  public  corporation.  We  are  a  close  corporation.  We  do  not 
make  any  public  report. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  understand  that  you  make  no  public  report;  but 
presume  you  are  willing  to  reply  to  the  questions  of  the  committee, 
like  the  gentlemen  who  have  preceded  you  ? 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  know  precisely  at  the  end  of  each  month  what  we 
make,  and  at  the  end  of  each  six  months,  and  at  the  end  of  each 
twelve  months. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  If  you  put  a  large  part  of  that  back  into  land  hold- 
ings  

Mr.  COWLES.  It  shows  on  the  balance  sheet ;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS  (continuing).  Then,  out  of  that  part  which  is  left,  you 
determine  what  your  dividends  shall  be,  preserving  the  working  cap* 

ital? 

Mr.  COWLES.  Why,  certainly;  we  determine  what  dividends  we 
shall  pay,  of  course. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  are  worth  that  much  more  every  year,  then,  are 
you  not? 

Mr.  COWLES.  Certainly.    That  is  what  you  call  saving  money. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Then  you  have  made  that  much  more  ? 

Mr.  COWLES.  You  have  made  that  much  money ;  yes.  If  you  have 
reinvested  it  in  the  business  you  have  got  it  at  risk  in  your  business. 
You  have  not  taken  it  out  and  put  it  into  something  else  where  it  is 
not  in  jeopardy,  but  it  has  gone  back  again  into  your  business  and  is 
at  risk. 

Mr.  CLARK.  When  they  talk  about  dividends  here,  they  do  not 
count  the  enhanced  value  of  the  property  in  with  the  dividends  ? 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  do  not  hear  you,  Mr.  Clark. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  say,  when  Mr.  Hastings  and  the  rest  of  them  talk 
about  dividends  they  do  not  count  this  enhanced  value  of  the  prop- 
erty in  with  the  dividends;  so  that  that  answer  is  misleading.  For 
instance,  it  is  said  that  they  only  declared  a  5  per  cent  dividend. 

Mr.  COWLES.  When  I  say  5  per  cent  I  mean  net  earnings.  I  do  not 
mean  a  5  per  cent  dividend. 

Mr.  CLARK.  When  you  talk  about  5  per  cent  net  earnings,  do  you 
count  in  this  increased  value  of  your  property  and  your  increased 
holdings? 

Mr.  COWLES.  Yes,  sir.  If  I  have  $7,000,000  in  my  properties  and  I 
make  $350,000  gross  profit,  I  have  earned  5  per  cent  on  my  $7,000,000. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Yes. 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  might  distribute  half  of  that  as  dividends  and  leave 
the  rest  in  the  business;  but  my  earning  on  my  invested  capital  would 
be  simply  5  per  cent. 


PULP,   AND   PRINT   PAPER DAVID   S.    COWLES.  5995 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  How  long  have  you  been  in  the  paper  business,  Mr. 
Cowles? 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  have  been  in  the  paper  business  for  sixteen  or  seven- 
teen years. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Did  you  have  much  money  when  you  went  into  it? 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  had  more  money  than  I  have  now. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Did  you  lose  it  in  the  paper  business? 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  lost  a  good  deal  of  it ;  yes — all  that  I  lost,  I  did. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  state  that  as  a  fact,  to  go  in  the  record? 

Mr.  COWLES.  Well,  perhaps  that  is  a  little  extreme.  The  first  two 
or  three  years  that  I  was  in  the  paper  business  I  think  it  cost  me  about 
$250,000  or  $300,000. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  are  worth  more  now,  though,  than  you  were  when 
you  started? 

Mr.  COWLES.  Yes;  I  am. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  am  glad  to  hear  that. 

Mr.  COWLES.  Thank  you. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  are  worth  several  million  dollars  more,  are  you 
not? 

Mr.  COWLES.  Well,  I  do  not  think  that  has  any  bearing  on  the 
question  of  the  tariff. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  it  does  have  a  bearing  on  the  question  of  profits, 
and  what  this  committee  is  really  trying  to  do  is  to  get  at  the  facts. 
I  would  not  do  you  an  injustice  a  bit  quicker  than  the  chairman  of 
this  committee  would. 

Mr.  COWLES.  Mr.  Clark,  it  is  a  very  curious  thing,  but  both  before 
the  investigating  committee  and  before  this  committee  there  has  been 
a  wonderful  curiosity  as  to  how  much  the  paper-making  industry 
earns.  I  have  never  heard  the  question  asked  as  to  how  much  the 
newspapers  earn,  and  I  can  tell  you  that  for  every  dollar  that  the 
paper-making  industry  earns  the  newspapers  earn  $1,000. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  I  were  investigating  the  newspapers  on  the  tariff 
question,  if  there  was  any  tariff  that  affected  them,  I  would  go  after 
them  as  I  go  after  you,  or  as  I  tried  to  go  after  Mr.  Hastings.  I  will 
tell  you  how  we  get  to  believe  that  there  are  enormous  profits  made  in 
the  paper  business.  If  you  print  a  thing  often  enough,  people  get 
to  believe  it,  and  one  of  two  things  is  absolutely  true.  Either  you 
have  made  enormous  profits  or  all  of  these  newspaper  men  in  the 
United  States  that  have  been  yelling  around  on  this  subject  are  either 
a  lot  of  imbeciles  or  a  lot  of  liars — one  of  the  two. 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  would  not  call  them  either  thing  myself  [laughter]  ; 
but  I  would  say  this :  The  whole  movement,  from  the  time  it  started 
up  to  the  present  time,  is  nothing  but  a  persistent,  concerted,  delib- 
erate bear  movement  on  the  paper  market.  It  is  to  put  down  the 
price  of  news-print  paper,  and  for  no  other  purpose. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  was  simply  telling  you  how  people  get  the  idea  that 
there  are  these  enormous  profits. 

Mr.  COWLES.  If  the  paper  trade  got  together  in  a  combination  as 
the  newspapers  have,  and  undertook  to  put  up  the  price  of  news 
paper,  you  would  hear  a  howl ;  but  they  can  get  together  to  ruin  our 
properties  and  drive  our  laboring  people  out  of  employment,  and 
they  can  make  our  villages  of  no  utility  or  use,  and  all  that  sort  of 
thing. 


5996  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  We  were  not  appointed  to  investigate  that,  and  do  not 
want  you  to  get  that  idea.  We  were  appointed  to  investigate  the 
tariff. 

Mr.  COWLES.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  you  voluntarily  came  before  us  as  a  witness  to 
offer  some  information  that  you  thought  we  did  not  have.  You 
understand  that,  do  you  not  ? 

Mr.  COWLES.  Yes. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  when  we  inquire  for  that  information  you  ought 
not  to  get  excited. 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  am  not  excited  at  all.     [Laughter.] 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  We  are  simply  making  straightforward,  honest  in- 
quiries. 

Mr.  COWLES.  Yes. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  If  they  may  seem  to  strike  too  deep,  of  course  we  are 
sorry ;  but  we  have  to  know  the  facts,  if  we  can  get  them.  You  are 
the  only  gentleman  here  to-night,  at  least  since  I  came  in,  out  of 
whom  we  have  been  able  to  extract  any  sort  of  information.  I  want 
to  give  you  that  much  of  a  compliment.  [Laughter.] 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Of  course  newspapers  are  absolutely  protected. 
There  is  a  wall  around  the  United  States,  and  you  can  not  get  any 
foreign  papers  in.  It  does  not  require  any  tariff  to  protect  them. 

Mr.  COWLES.  Let  me  say  something  to  you,  Mr.  Payne,  and  per- 
haps it  will  clear  up  that  question  in  a  way.  Paper  making  was  an 
industry  in  the  United  States  long  before  paper  making  was  ever 
thought  of  in  Canada.  There  has  never  been  a  time  to  my  knowledge 
when  there  has  not  been  sufficient  news  paper  produced  in  the  United 
States  to  supply  the  entire  consumption  of  the  newspapers,  except- 
ing, perhaps,  a  little  temporary,  short,  period  when  there  might  be 
a  drought  or  some  strange  and  unusual  condition — a  Spanish  war 
or  a  Boer  war,  or  something  of  that  kind — and  a  temporary  scarcity. 
The  same  thing  might  occur  in  any  market — the  wheat  market,  the 
sugar  market,  the  cotton  market,  or  any  other  market.  There  has 
never  been  a  time  when  the  productive  capacity  of  news  paper  in 
the  United  States  was  not  ample  to  supply  all  of  the  newspapers. 
Now,  why  do  not  the  newspapers  buy  Canadian  paper.  To-day  only 
a  comparatively  small  amount  of  the  product  that  is  made  in  Canada 
is  consumed  there,  and  the  balance  is  exported.  They  do  not  buy 
Canadian  paper  for  the  simple  reason  that  they  can  buy  American 
paper  cheaper.  There  is  no  other  reason. 

Mr.  CLARK.  But  they  have  to  pay  that  $6  tariff  to  get  it  in  here. 

Mr.  COWLES.  No;  they  can  buy  it  cheaper  as  it  stands  to-day. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Follow  up  that  idea  for  a  word  or  two,  please. 

Mr.  COWLES.  They  can  get  their  paper  to-day  cheaper  in  America 
than  they  can  import  the  Canadian  paper. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Why  do  you  need  a  tariff? 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  beg  your  pardon  ? 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Why  do  you  need  the  duty  ? 

Mr.  COWLES.  Because  we  do  not  want  the  Canadian  paper  to  come 
in  and  demoralize  our  market.  It  is  not  a  question,  simply,  of  the 
duty.  Anybody  who  is  familiar  with  markets  knows  perfectly  well 
that  a  small  surplus  of  10  or  15  per  cent  will  knock  the  remaining  90 
per  cent  or  85  per  cent  into  a  cocked  hat.  If  the  duty  was  off  of  the 


PULP,    AND    PRINT    PAPER.  5997 

Canadian  paper  and  the  Canadian  paper  was  brought  into  this 
country,  Mr.  Norris  would  get  his  quotation  from  a  Canadian 
mill,  and  he  would  play  that  against  the  American  mill.  He  would 
get  a  quotation  from  the  American  mill  and  would  go  back  to  the 
Canadian  mill  and  would  play  the  one  against  the  other;  and  he 
would  get  it  down  to  a  point  where  both  of  them  would  be  too  sick 
to  go  any  further,  and  then  he  would  make  his  contract.  That  is  the 
way  those  things  work.  It  is  not  a  question  altogether  of  the  amount 
of  duty. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  That  would  be  competition. 

Mr.  COWLES.  Yes;  destructive  competition. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  want  to  ask  you  one  more  question.  I  do  not  know 
how  much  you  have  studied  about  it;  but  you  know  they  have  to  raise 
so  much  money  out  of  the  tariff  in  order  to  run  the  Government.  Do 
you  think,  in  the  light  of  what  you  have  heard  and  read,  that  the 
paper  industry  pays  its  fair  proportion  of  the  revenues  of  the  Govern- 
ment with  this  $6  tariff  on  it? 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  will  answer  that  in  this  way:  I  think  they  do, 
because  I  do  not  see  any  reason,  when  an  industry  has  grown  up  in  a 
country  and  is  adequate  to  supply  the  market  with  the  material  re- 
quired, why  it  should  be  sacrificed  to  let  a  foreign  product  in  for  the 
purpose  of  creating  an  artificial  revenue  which  does  not  naturally 
and  properly  belong  to  the  Government;  but  if  that  is  going  to  be 
done,  why  not  let  the  newspapers  pay  their  share  ?  There  is  a  grand, 
good  opportunity  for  them  to  contribute  to  the  prosperity  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. They  do  not  pay  any  duty  on  anything.  Let  them  go  and 
buy  some  Canadian  paper  and  bring  it  in. 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  trouble  about  that  is  exactly  what  the  chairman 
suggested.  There  is  no  man  on  earth  that  has  got  sense  enough  to 
get  a  tariff  out  of  newspapers,  because  there  are  no  newspapers 
imported.  We  get  revenue  out  of  the  tariff  system  on  what  comes  in 
and  not  on  what  is  shut  out. 

Mr.  COWLES.  But  we  do  pay  considerable  duty. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Oh,  I  know  you  do. 

Mr.  COWLES.  I  mean  we  buy  and  use  articles  which  enter  into  the 
cost  of  manufacture  and  that  are  a  part  of  the  manufacture,  and  we 
pay  duties  to  the  Government. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  But  you  tax  that  against  the  ultimate  consumer. 

Mr.  COWLES.  Sometimes,  no.  Sometimes  the  consumers  get  their 
paper  for  less  than  it  costs  us  to  make  it. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  But  you  try  to. 

Mr.  COWLES.  We  try  to;  yes. 


STATEMENT  OF  0.  L.  E.  WEBER,  OF  MICHIGAN,  REPRESENTING 
THE  SULPHITE  MANUFACTURING  INTERESTS. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  WEBER.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  we  occupy  the  peculiar 
position,  or  I  do,  of  representing  here  the  small  mill  that  manufac- 
tures a  high  grade  of  Mitscherlich  sulphite  (so-called  after  the  name 
of  the  inventor  of  the  process) ,  but  that  has  little  to  do  with  the  entire 


5998  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEKS,  AND  BOOKS. 

process  as  a  whole.  Our  production  is  comparatively  small,  manu- 
factured in  the  United  States.  In  view  of  the  striking  statement  that 
has  been  made  by  Mr.  Norris,  that  the  European  pulp  can  be  made 
so  advantageously  and  cheaply,  and  that  our  mills  are  not  modern, 
and  that  we  should  look  to  them  for  relief,  I  would  suggest  that  if 
Mr.  Norris  has  any  information  which  he  can  give  to  the  sulphite 
manufacturers  of  this  country  tending  to  cheapen  production,  by 
means  of  their  processes,  I  think  he  would  be  doing  a  great  service 
to  us. 

Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  in  the  brief  that  we  have  here,  I  say: 

We,  the  Michigan  Sulphite  Fiber  Company,  together  with  the 
Great  Northern  Paper  Company,  Madison,  Me.;  the  Dexter  Sul- 
phite Pulp  and  Paper  Company,  Dexter,  N.  Y. ;  the  Interlake  Pulp 
and  Paper  Company,  Interlake,  Wis. ;  the  Detroit  Sulphite  Pulp  and 
Paper  Company,  Detroit,  Mich.;  the  Fletcher  Paper  Company,  Al- 
pena,  Mich.,  from  the  years  1884  to  1889  built  6  mills  for  the  produc- 
tion of  sulphite  by  the  Mitscherlich  process. 

To-day  only  2  of  these  mills  are  making  pulp  for  the  market, 
the  others  having  gone  into  the  manufacture  of  paper,  owing  to 
foreign  competition  under  the  present  duties. 

To  produce  the  high  grades  made  by  these  mills  requires  addi- 
tional labor  for  strength  of  stock  by  reason  of  the  process  employed, 
still  more  labor  to  obtain  uniformity,  and  almost  double  the  labor 
cost  of  ordinary  grades  for  cleanliness,  so  that  the  total  labor  cost  in 
making  the  high-grade  sulphites  amounts  to  at  least  $11  per  ton, 
which  the  European  obtains  at  from  35  per  cent  to  50  per  cent  of 
this  figure  (see  reference  sheet  No.'l),  which  gives  him  an  advantage 
of  from  $5.50  to  $7.25  per  ton  above  the  American  manufacturers  in 
labor  cost  alone. 

The  best  argument  that  it  is  impossible  to  manufacture  these  high- 
grade  sulphites  on  this  side  is  that  practically  none  of  it  is  being 
made  here,  while  the  Europeans  have  built  nineteen  new  mills  in  the 
years  1907  and  1908,  on  which  we  have  reports  (see  reference  sheet 
No.  2),  aggregating  a  yearly  increase  in  production  of  244,000  tons, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  present  mills  which  have  largely  increased  their 
capacities. 

According  to  European  authorities,  such  as  Mr.  Dorenfeldt,  this 
rate  of  increase  is  likely  to  continue  for  some  years  to  come,  or  until 
the  American  market  has  been  absorbed.  (See  reference  sheet  No.  3.) 

This  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  imports  of  unbleached  sulphite 
from  Europe  alone  during  the  year  1906  were  12,922  tons  and  during 
1907  were  50,962  tons,  or  an  increase  of  nearly  400  per  cent. 

In  1908,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  consumers  of  sulphite, 
or  the  paper  mills  of  this  country,  were  shut  down,  due  to  lack  of 
business,  to  about  45  per  cent  of  their  production,  and  American  and 
Canadian  sulphite  mills  were  idle  even  a  greater  proportion  of  time, 
the  imports  of  European  sulphites  showed  no  decrease,  as  is  evidenced 
by  the  importation  of  about  28,000  tons  of  unbleached  sulphite  for 
the  first  seven  months  of  this  year  at  prices  which  American  sulphite 
mills  were  unable  to  compete  with,  although  many  of  them  went  down 
to  costs  in  their  desperate  efforts  to  secure  business  without  avail. 
In  evidence  of  this  we  beg  to  submit  letters  and  prices  under  refer- 
ence sheet  No.  4,  in  which  you  will  note  that  sulphite  is  being  offered 


SULPHITE   PULP 0.   L.   E.    WEBER.  5999 

for  present  delivery  and  1909  delivery  at  from  $1.80  to  $2.08  per  100 
pounds  exdock  New  York  for  the  strongest  grades,  which  is  lower 
than  we  can  possibly  manufacture  for. 

We  are  not  alone  in  our  opinion  of  the  seriousness  of  European 
competition.  Mr.  H.  H.  Everard,  an  expert  in  the  manufacture  of 
sulphite  who  has  recently  made  a  trip  to  Europe  expressly  to  investi- 
gate conditions  on  the  Continent,  in  a  letter  dated  November  14,  1908 
(see  reference  sheet  No.  6),  states  in  part: 

I  was  very  much  surprised  to  find  the  very  best  apparatus,  all  of  the  moderp 
improvements,  and  latest  inventions  quite  generally  in  use.  I  was  informed 
also  that  not  less  than  $20,000,000  in  capital  had  been  invested  during  the  years 
of  1906  and  1907  in  the  building  and  equipping  of  new  sulphite  mills  in  Nor- 
way, Sweden,  and  Finland.  This  capital  is  furnished  very"  largely  by  English 
companies.  The  Germans  are  making  very  large  investments  also  in  Finland. 

It  is  impossible  for  the  mills  of  this  country  to  compete  with  the  foreign 
mills  in  tbe  production  of  the  higher  qualities  of  sulphite  with  our  present  wage 
scale.  Unless  there  is  a  liberal  increase  in  the  present  tariff  we  will  be  forced 
to  abandon  all  efforts  to  produce  the  high-grade,  strong  sulphite.  I  am  confi- 
dent that  an  increase  of  one-sixth  cent  per  pound  duty  on  the  European  sul- 
phite will  not  deter  the  Scandinavian  product  reaching  our  market  at  the  pres- 
ent delivered  prices. 

Mr.  James  E.  Campbell,  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Dexter  Sul- 
phite Pulp  and  Paper  Company,  in  a  letter  under  date  of  November 
16,  1908,  states: 

As  far  as  our  company  is  concerned,  I  wish  to  say  that  the  costs  not  only  of 
labor,  but  also  of  raw  materials,  have  advanced  to  such  an  extent  that  we  are 
powerless  to  meet  the  foreign  competition  on  sulphite.  For  instance,  two  paper 
mills  at  Brownville,  within  8  miles  of  our  mill,  and  one  paper  mill  at  Water- 
town,  within  7  miles  of  our  mill,  have  not  bought  any  of  our  sulphite  for  eight- 
een months.  These  two  accounts  used  to  average  about  $8,000  per  month.  We 
have  done  everything  in  our  power  to  get  these  paper  mills  back  on  our  sul- 
phite, and  they  are  perfectly  willing  to  use  our  product  in  the  same  quantities 
that  they  have  always  used  it,  provided  we  will  meet  the  price  on  the  foreign 
sulphite.  These  mills  that  I  speak  of  are  buying  their  Mitscherlich  sulphite 
from  Germany  and  Norway,  and  we  wish  you  to  fully  appreciate  that  fact — that 
the  prices  which  they  have  had  and  are  having  their  sulphite  delivered  ;it  these 
points  are  below  our  cost  at  the  mill.  (See  letter  in  full  under  reference  sheet 
No.  7.) 

It  is  our  belief  that  the  mills  of  this  country  are  entitled  to  a 
sufficient  protection  against  European  labor  to  enable  them  to  make 
a  reasonable  profit,  and  while  we  are  justly  entitled  to  and  had  in- 
tended to  ask  for  an  increase  in  duty  on  the  higher  grades  of  sul- 
phite, we  find  practical  difficulties  in  differentiating  grades  at  this 
time,  and  would,  therefore,  urgently  request  that  no  changes  be  made 
in  the  direction  of  lowering  duties.  We  have  endeavored  to  bring 
out  only  the  principal  reasons  why  American  mills  are  unable  to  com- 
pete on  high-grade  sulphites  imder  the  present  tariff.  We  shall  be 
very  glad  to  forward  such  additional  information  as  we  may  have  in 
our  possession  on  any  other  phase  of  this  subject  as  you  may  require. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted  by 

THE  MICHIGAN  SULPHITE  FIBER  COMPANY. 


6000  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

EXHIBIT  A. 


Name 

Present  position. 

Wages 
per  week. 

European  position. 

Wages 
per  week. 

Per  cent 
of 
American 
wages. 

$16  50 

Machinist 

$7.50 

45 

14.40 

Machine  tender    

7.50 

52 

Cook 

16  80 

Cook 

6  04 

30 

Otto  Richert 

Reel  tender  

11.40 

Beater  man.    

2.52 

22 

Jake  Glombowski 

Bin  trimmer  

9.60 

do  

2.52 

26 

Cook's  helper 

10.60 

Rag  cutter  

2.60 

25 

Barker            

9.60 

Straw  cooker  

3.60 

38 

M    Minkowsld 

Screen  tender 

11  40 

Watchman 

3.00 

26 

Cook's  helper     .  

10.80 

Bleach  man  

2.70 

25 

Albert  Sieg 

Laborer  

9.00 

Laborer  

3.78 

42 

Digester  man 

12.00 

Fireman  

fi.04 

42 

John  Ordowski 

Laborer  .  .  

9.00 

Laborer  

3.75 

42 

141.10 

49.55 

35 

The  wages  per  week  have  all  been  figured  on  the  same  number  of  hours  per  week. 
In  some  instances  the  wages  for  Europe  have  increased  somewhat,  these  men 
Inform  us. 


EXHIBIT  B. 
Partial  list  of  European  sulphite  mitts  building  and  built  in  years  1907-8. 

RECAPITULATION. 

[See  details  following  pages.]  Tons. 

190,8 .  140,000 

1909 44,  000 

13  new  mills,  at  10,000  tons  each 130,000 

2  increases,  at  3,000  tons  each 6,  000 


420,000 

Average  per  year  rate  of  increase 140,000 

Increase  per  year  for  1907  and  1003 244,000 


SULPHITE   PULP 0.   L.   E.    WEBER. 


6001 


Partial  list  of  European  sulphite  mills  building  and  built  in  years  1907-8 — 

Continued. 


Name  of  mill. 

Location. 

Tonnage 
per  year. 

Year. 

Sulphite  mill 

Svartvik 

(«) 

1907 

Borga  Sulphite  MilL           -    __                     --        --  . 

Finland 

(«) 

1907 

Kissakoski  Sulphate  Pulp  Mill  .      „ 

Kissakoski    - 

(«) 

1907 

Abo  Sulpha'e  Mill 

Finland 

(°) 

1907 

Logo  Sulphite  Mill  _    

Logo  __    

(") 

1907 

Hurinn  Sulphate  Mill 

Sweden 

(0) 

1907 

Salboda  Mill             -    -    -    - 

-do 

(0) 

1907 

Molmbacka-Trysit      -  

-do 

(«) 

1907 

Waldhof  Sulphite  Pulp  Mill  ... 

Waldhof 

(») 

1907 

Gutzeits  Sulphate  Pulp  Mill  

Gutzeits 

(») 

1907 

Aktieselskabet  Greaker  Celluosafabrick 

°18  000 

1908 

Wifstavarfs  Aktiebolog 

men. 

80  000 

1908 

Kellner-Partington  Mill  .    

Borregaard 

20  000 

1908 

Aktieselskabet  Kotka  Celluosafabrick  

Kotka. 

20  000 

1908 

Sanda  Sagverks  Aktiebolog  -    _ 

Dal 

10  000 

1908 

Kemitravorn  Aktiebolog  

Kemi 

13  000 

1908 

Toteu  Sulphite  Pulp  Mill  (Incorporated)  --  „ 

6,000 

1908 

Tofte  Sulphite  Mill  (Incorporated)  

Tofte 

15  000 

1908 

Capt.  Felbenannan  Mill.    

Lahtes 

(a) 

1908 

Skonvik  Aktiebolog  •  

Sweden    .           

(a) 

1908 

Svano  Aktiebolog-  .      _       .            _ 

Svano 

18  000 

1908 

Halla  Sulphate  Pulp  Mill  

Halla 

(6) 

1908 

140,000 

Sulphite  mill  ..       . 

Gulskogen,  Norway 

12,000 

1909 

Bunds  Aktiebolog-      ._  

12,000 

1909 

Consul  weise's  Mill  

Sulphite  Mill  Aktieselskabet  

Frcdrikstad  

Kramfors  .  

20,000 
(°) 

1909 
1909 

Molvens  Celluosafabrick  

Aktiebolaget  Pulp  Mill  .  —  —  -      

Lake  Mjosen  

WillmnnfjtrMnH 

(") 
(a) 

1909 
1909 

44,000 

«  °  New  mills. 

Eight  new  mills  and  2  Increases  In  1907 


*  Increased. 
2  new  mills  and  1  Increase  in  1U08. 


Name  of  mill. 

Location. 

Reference. 

Sulphite  mill               

Svartvik-       

Paper  Mill,  October  31,  1908  (p.  12),  by  M.  Vil- 

Borga  Sulphite  Mill  

Finland    

liers,  British  consul's  annual  report  for  1907. 
British  Paper  Maker,  July  1,  1907  (p.  29). 

Kissakoski  Sulphate  Pulp 

Kissakoski 

British  Paper  Maker,  September,  1907  (p.  303). 

mill. 
Abo  Sulphate  Mill-      

Finland-- 

British Paper  Maker,  July,  1907  (p.  29). 

Logo  Sulphite  Mill  

Hurinn  Sulphate  Mill 

Logo  

S  wcrten 

British  Paper  Maker,  September,  1907  (p.  303). 
British  Paper  Maker,  July,  1907  (p.  27). 

Salboda  Mill 

do    

British  Paper  Maker,  July,  1907  (p.  19). 

Molmbacka-'f  rysit  

.  .  do  

Do. 

Waldhof  Sulphite  Pulp  Mill 

Waldhof 

British  Paper  Maker,  November,  1907  (p.  COS). 

Gutzeits  Sulphite  Pulp  Mill 

Gutzeits 

British  Paper  Maker,  October,  1907  (p.  453). 

Aktieselskabet  Greaker  Cel- 
luosafabrick. 
Wifstavarfs  Aktiebolog 

Greaker   Sta.  on 
the  Glommen. 

British  Paper  Maker,  July,  1908  (p.  5). 
Paper  Mill,  October  31,1908  (p.  12),  by  M.Villiers. 

Kellner-Partington  Mill 

Borregaard 

British  Paper  Maker,  October,  1907,  (p.  443). 

Aktieselskabet   Kotka  Cel- 

Kotka 

Do. 

luosafabrick. 
Sauda  Sagverka  Aktiebolog 

Dal  . 

British  Paper  Maker,  November,  1907  (p.  599). 

Kcmitravorn  Aktiebolog 

Kemi 

British  Paper  Maker,  September,  1907  (p.  303). 

Toten  Sulphite  Pulp  Mill  ... 

British  Paper  Maker,  October,  1907  (p.  443). 

Tofte  Sulphite  Mill 

Tofte 

British  Paper  Maker,  November,  1907  (p.  606). 

Capt.  Felbennan  Mill  _ 

Lahtcs 

Do. 

Skonvik  Aktiebolog 

Paper  Mill    October  31,  1908,  (p.      ). 

Svano  Aktiebolog  

Halla  Sulphate  Pulp  Mill..- 

Svano  

Halla. 

British  Paper  Maker,  June,  1908  (p.  772). 
British  Paper  Maker,  October,  1907  (p.  451). 

Sulphite  mill 

Gulskogcn,    Nor- 

British Paper  Maker,  July,  1906  (p.  5). 

Sunds  Aktiebolog  

way. 

Paper  Mill,  October  31,  1908  (p.  12),  M.  Villien. 

Consulweise's  Mill 

Fredrikstad 

British  Paper  Maker,  October,  1907  (p.  443). 

Aktieselskabet  Molvens  Cel- 
luosafabrick. 
Aktiebolaget  Pulp  MilL  
Sulphite  mill  

Lake  Mjosen  

Willmonstand  
Kramfors  _. 

Do. 

British  Paper  Maker,  November,  1907  (p.  605). 
British  Paper  Maker,  June,  1908  (p.  779). 

6002  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

EXHIBIT  O. 

Mr.  Dorenfeldt,  who  probably  knows  more  about  the  sulphite  trade  in  Europe 
than  any  other  man,  read  the  other  day  before  the  Norwegian  Polytechnic  Asso- 
ciation a  paper  on  the  pyrite  market  and  a  proposed  extraction  works  in 
Norway. 

In  this  paper  he  used  as  one  of  his  arguments  the  following  statement,  which 
we  quote  verbatim  from  his  manuscript : 

"  The  aggregate  annual  production  of  sulphite  cellulose  in  Europe  will  from 
the  end  of  this  year  or  the  beginning  of  next  year  be  about  1,600,000  tons,  of 
which  about  950,000  tons  falls  to  the  part  of  Scandinavia  and  the  Russian 
and  German  Baltic  provinces.  There  has  lately  been  a  very  rapid  increase  in 
the  output  of  sulphite  cellulose  in  all  the  countries  which  border  on  the  Baltic, 
and  this  development  will  probably  continue  in  the  coming  years  for  in  those 
countries  where  the  rivers  flow  to  the  Baltic  there  is  a  better  supply  of  the  raw 
material  for  making  cellulose,  the  white  pine  (Picea  excelsa),  than  in  the  rest  of 
Europe.  In  any  case  there  is,  because  of  the  sparsity  of  the  population,  a  far 
greater  surplus  for  sale,  and  because  the  cellulose  industry  allows  of  the  most 
efficient  utilization  of  small  and  medium  sized  logs,  the  building  of  new  and  the 
exterition  of  old  sulphite  mills  in  the  countries  round  the  Baltic  will  most  prob- 
ably proceed  in  the  future  even  more  rapidly  than  in  the  past. 

"The  Norway  and  the  Baltic  countries:  Sweden,  Finland,  Russia,  and  Ger- 
many so  far  as  Stettin,  will  continue  the  same  increase  of  the  production  as  in 
the  last  three  to  four  years,  say,  an  average  of  100,000  tons  cellulose  annually, 
I  feel  therefore  tolerably  convinced." 

We  have  (says  "Farmand")  asked  Mr.  Dorenfeldt  if  he  could  vouch  for 
these  figures,  which  surprised  us  by  their  magnitude,  as  will  probably  also  be 
the  case  with  many  of  our  readers.  He  assured  us  that  he  was  convinced  that 
the  total  production  was  not  far  from  the  figures  he  had  given,  which  were 
based  on  reliable  sources  of  information. — The  Paper  Maker,  November  1,  1907 
(p.  608). 

The  Aktien-Gesellschaft  fur  Maschinenpapierfabrikation  Aschaffenburg  is 
also  doing  a  splendid  business  in  both  sulphite  pulp  and  paper.  The  big  sul- 
phite pulp  mill  at  Tilsit  has  declared  a  dividend  of  20  per  cent. — The  Paper 
Maker,  November  1,  1907  (p.  608). 

The  official  statement  of  the  Association  of  German  Cell  Stuff  Manufacturers, 
addressed  to  the  Berlin  journal  mentioned,  refers  to  the  fact  that  Germany 
produces  a  good  deal  more  cell  stuff  than  the  country  consumes,  and  is  there- 
fore obliged  to  seek  foreign  outlets  even  (to  some  extent),  at  low  prices.  This 
necessity  is  accentuated  by  the  imports  of  foreign  cell  stuff,  which  supply  part 
of  the  home  demand. — The  Paper  Maker,  August  29,  1908  (p.  22). 

By  Hans  Lagerlof : 

"  It  is  estimated  that  the  production  in  Sweden,  Norway,  and  Finland  dur- 
ing 1907  will  be,  for  sulphite,  540,000  tons,  and  for  sulphate,  100,000  tons.  The 
increase  in  the  output  of  sulphite  will  be  160,000  tons,  and  for  sulphate  de- 
cidedly more,  in  comparison,  being  45,000  tons,  or  45  per  cent. — The  Paper 
Maker,  February  1,  1908  (p.  213). 


EXHIBIT  D. 

LONDON,  E.  C.,  October  10,  1908. 

DEAR  SIRS:  It  being  arranged  with  the  head  office  in  Hamburg  that  all  busi- 
ness in  wood  pulp  to  the  United  States  of  America  has  to  be  made  from  here, 
the  Hamburg  office  has  instructed  me  to  make  you  an  offer,  and  I  hereby  beg  to 
offer  you,  subject  unsold  and  subject  confirmation  on  receipt  of  order,  as 
follows : 

1.  Bleached  sulphite  pulp: 

600  tons  No.  735,  first  quality,  delivery  January-December,  1909,  at  $49.02. 
600  tons  No.  737;  first  quality,  delivery  January-December,  1909,  at  $53.63. 

2.  Easy  bleaching  sulphite  pulp: 

150  tons  No.  590,  first  quality,  delivery  October-December,  1908,  at  $36.90. 
500  tons  No.  590,  first  quality,  delivery  January-December,  1909,  at  $36.90. 
300  tons  No.  706,  first  quality,  delivery  October-December,  190S,  at  $35.07. 
1,200  tons  No.  700,  first  quality,  delivery  January-December,  1909,  at  $35.07. 


SULPHITE  PULP 0.  L.  E.  WEBER.  6003 

?00  tons  No.  610,  first  quality,  delivery  October-December,  1908,  at  $35.94. 
1,600  tons  No.  610,  first  quality,  delivery  May-December,  1909,  at  $35.94. 
800  tors  No.  577,  first  quality,  delivery  May-December,  1909,  at  $36.58. 
800  tons  No.  5300,  second  quality,  delivery  May-December,  1909,  at  $35.63. 
1,200  tons  No.  544,  second  quality,  delivery  May-December,  1909,  at  $33.68. 
150  tons  No.  544,  second  quality,  delivery  October-December,  1908,  at  $33.68. 

2.  Strong  sulphite  pulp: 

400  tons  No.  623,  first  quality,  delivery  October-December,  1908,  at  $32.40. 
800  tons  No.  623,  first  quality,  delivery  May-December,  1909,  at  $32.40. 
400  tons  No.  576,  first  quality,  delivery  October-December,  1908,  at  $32.40. 
1,200  tons  No.  576,  first  quality,  delivery  May-December,  1909,  at  $32.40. 
300  tons  No.  598,  first  quality,  delivery  October-December,  1908,  at  $31.86. 
2,000  tons  No.  598,  first  quality,  delivery  May-December,  1909,  at  $31.86. 
600  tons  No.  5988,  semifirst  quality,  delivery  October-December,  1908,  at 

$30.63. 
120  tons  No.   5289,   second  quality,   delivery   October-December,   1908,   at 

$30.89. 

300  tons  No.  5289,  second  quality,  delivery  May-December,  1909,  at  $30.89. 
400  tons  No.  599,  second  quality,  delivery  October-December,  1908,  at  $30.57. 
1,200  tons  No.  599,  second  quality,  delivery  May-December,  1909,  at  $30.57. 
150  tons  No.  541,  second  quality,  delivery  October-December,  1908,  at  $30.57. 
800  tons  No.  541,  second  quality,  delivery  May-December,  1909,  at  $30.57. 
550  tons  No.  601,  second  irregular  quality,  delivery  October-December,  1908, 

at  $29.50. 
800  tons  No..  601,  second  irregular  quality,  delivery  May-December,  1909, 

at  $29.50. 

3.  Knot  pulp : 

500  tons  No.  602,  irregular  quality,  delivery  October-December,  1908,  at 

$21.46. 
600  tons  No.  602,  irregular  quality,  delivery  May-December,  1909,  at  $21.46. 

4.  Soda  pulp : 

500  tons  No.  638,  first  strong  quality,  delivery  October-December,  1908,  at 

$30.04. 
1,200  tons  No.  638,  first  strong  quality,  delivery  January-December,  1909, 

at  $30.04. 
400  tons  No.  638,  first  strong  quality,  delivery  October-December,  1908,  at 

$32.61. 
2,400  tons  No.  615,  first  strong  quality,  delivery  January-December,  1909, 

at  $32.61. 
400  tons  No.  616,  first  extra  strong  quality,   delivery  October-December, 

1908,  at  $33.68. 

2,400  tons  No.  616,  first  extra  strong  quality,  delivery  January-December, 

1909,  at  $33.68. 

400  tons  No.  614,  "  Kraft "  strong  quality,  delivery  October-December,  1908, 

at  $32.61. 
2,400  tons  No.  614,  "  Kraft "  strong  quality,  delivery  January-December, 

1909,  at  $32.61. 

all  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds  gross  for  net,  cost  of  freight  New  York,  Boston, 
Philadelphia,  Newport  News,  and  (or)  Baltimore.  Payment  in  London  against 
B/Lgd.  by  bankers  three  months'  acceptance,  and  such  payment  to  be  confirmed 
by  the  banker  on  placing  contract. 

The  named  prices  include  no  wrapping  in  hessian,  such  wrapping  being  61 
cents  per  ton  more. 

I  am  at  the  same  time  sending  you  each  one  sample,  and  I  do  hope  that  some 
of  these  qualities  might  suit  you  and  that  you  are  willing  to  place  a  contract 
with  me.  If  you  should  like  to  have  bigger  samples,  please  let  me  know  of 
which  qualities,  and  I  shall  send  some  by  first  mail. 

Please  note  that  if  you  want  delivery  of  the  following  qualities,  Nos.  610, 
577,  5300,  544,  623,  576,  598,  5988,  5289,  599,  541,  601,  and  602  before  May,  1909, 
I  must  have  your  order  latest  end  of  this  month,  as  the  navigation  because 
of  ice  closes  first  part  of  November. 

Hoping  to  be  favored  with  your  good  news,  I  remain,  dear  sirs,  yours, 
faithfully, 

ELOF  HANSSON. 

NOTE. — The  dollar  price  given  for  short  tons  of  2,000  pounds  instead  of  long 
tons  of  2,240  pounds  given  in  pounds  sterling. 


6004  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

EXHIBIT  K. 

MUNISTNG  PAPER  COMPANY  (LIMITED), 

Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  November  14,  1908. 
Mr   O.  L.  E.  WEBER,  General  Manager, 

Michigan  Sulphite  Fiber  Company,  Port  Huron,  Mich. 

My  DEAR  SIR-  Regarding  the  foreign  costs  of  labor  and  materials  entering 
into  the  manufacture  of  sulphite,  I  spent  most  of  my  vacation  during  the  summer 
of  1907  among  the  sulphite  mills  of  Norway  and  Sweden.     As  I  am  quite  1 
interested  in  the  production  of  similar  goods  in  this  country,  I  was  especi 
desirous  of  personally  inspecting  their  methods  and  ascertaining,  if  possible, 
bow  they  are  able  to  sell  the  higher  grades  of  sulphite  in  this  market  at  such 
low  prices     I  was  thoroughly  convinced  before   leaving   Sweden   that  unles 
there  was  an  increase  in  our  tariff,  giving  the  labor  on  this  side  a  greater 
protection,  it  would  be  folly  to  make  any  further  increases  in  the  capacity  of 
our  mills,  and  it  would  be  good  wisdom  for  any  man  interested  in  the  business 
on  this  side  to  refrain  from  making  further  investment,  as  capital  can  not  be 
used  at  a  profit  in  this  industry  in  competition  with  the  lower  wages  paid  in 
Norway,  Sweden,  and  Finland. 

The  wages  paid  to  the  men  in  the  woods  for  gathering  this  spruce  will 
exceed  50  per  cent  of  the  wages  paid  by  Maine,  New  York,  Michigan,  Minnesota, 
or  Canadian  manufacturers.  This  would  be  a  fair  representation  of  the  cost  of 
all  other  labor  that  enters  into  the  manufacture  of  sulphite  in  the  above-named 
countries.  With  this  low  wage  scale,  they  can  well  afford  to  employ  a  greater 
number  of  people  in  their  mills  for  the  purpose  of  sorting  their  wood  and  work- 
ing out  all  defects,  such  as  the  black  knots,  small  particles  of  the  inner  bark, 
discolored  or  decayed  wood.  Following  the  careful  sorting  and  selecting  of  the 
chips,  the  amount  of  work  used  in  their  process  tends  to  produce  a  very  clean, 
high-grade,  strong  sulphite,  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  the  most  inferior  qualities 
turned  out  in  this  country. 

I  was  much  surprised  to  find  the  very  best  apparatus,  all  of  the  modern  im- 
provements and  latest  inventions,  quite  generally  in  use.  I  was  informed  also 
that  not  less  than  $20,000,000  in  capital  had  been  invested  during  the  years 
of  1906  and  1907  in  the  building  and  equipping  of  new  sulphite  mills  in  Nor- 
way, Sweden,  and  Finland.  This  capital  is  furnished  very  largely  by  English 
companies.  The  Germans  are  making  very  large  investments  also  in  Finland. 

It  is  impossible  for  the  mills  of  this  country  to  compete  with  the  foreign 
mills  in  the  production  of  the  higher  qualities  of  sulphite  with  our  present  wage 
scale.  Unless  there  is  a  liberal  increase  in  the  present  tariff  we  will  be  forced 
to  abandon  all  efforts  to  produce  the  high-grade  strong  sulphite.  I  am  con- 
fident that  an  increase  of  one-sixth  cent  per  pound  duty  on  the  European  sul- 
phite will  not  deter  the  Scandinavian  product  reaching  our  market  at  the 
present  delivered  prices. 

I  hope  that  the  committee  who  may  have  charge  of  this  branch  of  the  tariff 
work  will  make  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  conditions  abroad.  I  am  very 
sure  that  they  will  recommend  a  large  increase  in  the  present  tariff  on  the 
higher  grades  of  sulphite. 

Yours,  very  truly,  H.  H.  EVEBABD. 


EXHIBIT  F. 

DEXTER  SULPHITE  PULP  AND  PAPER  COMEANY, 
Dexter,  Jefferson  County,  N.  Y.,  November  16,  1908. 
O.  L.  E.  WEBER,  Esq., 

Michigan  Sulphite  Fiber  Co.,  Port  Huron,  Mich. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  WEBER  :  Your  letter  of  the  14th  at  hand  and  carefully  noted. 
A  most  important  foreign  channel  for  mill  information  has  just  opened 
to  me,  and  taking  advantage  of  my  opportunity  I  have  written  a  letter  to  my 
communicant,  who  is  at  present  in  a  position  as  manager  of  one  of  the  large 
German  mills.  I  have  written  him  for  a  detailed  list  of  the  wages  paid  to  all 
the  operatives,  not  only  in  the  mill  he  is  at  present  managing  but  also  other 
mills  of  which  he  has  had  charge.  It  is  unfortunate  that  this  information  will 
not  be  at  hand  for  the  20th,  and  if  possible  could  you  arrange  with  the  com- 
mittee so  that  this  evidence  can  be  put  in  when  it  arrives? 


SULPHITE  PULP 0.   L.   E.    WEBER.  6005 

As  far  as  otir  company  is  concerned,  I  wish  to  say  that  the  cost  not  only 
of  labor  but  also  of  raw  materials  has  advanced  to  such  an  extent  that  we 
are  powerless  to  meet  the  foreign  competition  on  sulphite.  For  instance :  Two 
paper  mills  at  Browuville,  within  3  miles  of  our  mill,  and  one  paper  mill  at 
Watertown,  within  7  miles  of  our  mill,  have  not  bought  any  of  our  sulphite  for 
eighteen  months.  These  two  accounts  used  to  average  about  $8,000  per  month. 
We  have  done  everything  in  our  power  to  get  these  paper  mills  back  to  our 
sulphite,  and  they  are  perfectly  willing  to  use  our  product  in  the  same  quan- 
tities that  they  have  always  used  it  providing  we  will  meet  the  price  on  the 
foreign  sulphite.  These  mills  that  I  speak  of  are  buying  their  Mitscherlich 
sulphite  from  Germany  and  Norway,  and  we  wish  you  to  fully  appreciate  the 
fact  that  the  prices  which  they  have  had  and  are  having  their  sulphite  delivered 
at  these  points  are  below  our  cost  at  the  mill. 

This  situation  obtains  with  practically  all  of  our  other  customers. 

Our  daily  average  production  at  our  sulphite  mill  for  the  years  1901  to  1906, 
Inclusive,  amounted  to  about  9,100  tons  per  year.  In  1907  this  dropped  to 
6,516,  and  in  1908,  for  the  ten  months  expired,  about  5,000  tons  production. 

This  gives  you  some  idea  of  what  we  have  suffered  as  far  as  production  goes. 
In  other  words,  during  the  years  1901  to  1906  our  daily  production  amounted 
to  34  tons.  It  has  been  reduced  in  1908  to  20  tons. 

Considering  the  item  of  pay  roll,  our  pay  roll  per  ton  of  product  produced  in 
the  years  1901  to  1906,  inclusive,  was  $5.366.  In  1907  our  pay  roll  was  $7.1888; 
in  1908,  $7.28. 

Cost  of  wood. 

1901  to  1906,  per  ton  of  pulp $13.  28 

1907 18.  742 

1908 23. 91 

Answering  your  first  question :  The  only  knowledge  I  have  in  regard  to  the 
building  of  additional  sulphite  mills  in  Europe  is  what  hearsay  evidence  I 
obtain. 

Answering  your  second  question:  If  this  increased  product  is  produced,  the 
foreign  paper  market  never  will  be  able  to  absorb  it,  which  means  that  they  will 
continue  dumping  sulphite  in  this  country  at  prices  which  will  practically  shut 
up  our  mills. 

Answering  your  third  question  :  We  do  not  believe  that  the  depressed  business 
condition  has  had  much  influence  on  the  decline  in  our  sale  of  sulphite.  In 
other  words,  we  believe  that  the  present  ruinous  condition  of  prices  in  the 
snlphite  market  is  due  entirelv  to  foreign  importation. 

Answering  your  fourth  question :  I  received  but  a  short  while  ago  an  offering 
of  foreign  sulphite  continuing  over  the  year  1909  at  a  very  low  price.  At  the 
present  time  I  am  not  sure  of  the  exact  figures,  as  I  sent  the  letter  with  the 
samples  to  Mr.  Barratt,  of  the  Union  Bag  and  Paper  Company,  for  his  perusal. 

Answering  your  fifth  question :  I  do  not  know  what  other  mills  in  the  country 
can  do,  but  I  do  not  know  that  our  mill  can  not  run  at  a  profit  and  meet  the 
present  foreign  competition. 

Have  already  answered  questions  6  and  7. 

Question  8.  I  do  not  know. 

Answering  question  9.  I  certainly  should  differentiate  between  importations 
of  quick  COOK  and  Mitscherlich  sulphites.  The  prevailing  differential  in  this 
country  between  these  two  grades  of  sulphite  has  always  been  about  15  per 
cent,  and  I  think  that  the  duty  should  be  differentiated  on  the  same  basis. 

You  may  use  this  letter  as  you  see  fit,  either  for  evidence  or  not,  and  I  should 
be  very  glad  indeed  if  I  could  encroach  upon  your  courtesy  sufficiently  to  ask 
you  to  represent  our  mill. 

I  would  also  suggest  that  you  have  Mr.  Everard  at  the  hearing  without  fail, 
as  his  trip  to  Europe  a  short  while  since  places  him  in  position  to  throw  con- 
siderable light  on  the  subject. 

With  very  kind  regards,  and  trusting  that  I  may  hear  from  you,  I  beg  to 
remain. 

Yours,  very  truly,  JAMES  E.  CAMPBELL. 


G006  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEKS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  J.  E.  CAMPBELL, 

Dexter  Sulphite  Pulp  and  Paper  Company,  Dexter,  N.  Y. 

DEAR  SIB:  At  the  recent  meeting  of  the  American  Pulp  and  Paper  Associa- 
tion I  stated  that  it  was  the  intention  of  our  company  (The  Michigan  Sulphite 
Fiber  Company)  to  ask  for  an  increase  in  duty  on  European  high-grade  sul- 
phites, for  the  reason  that  the  paper  mill  formerly  using  considerable  quantities 
of  our  best  grades  have  offers  for  immediate  shipments  or  on  contracts  cover- 
ing the  year  1909  for  all  their  requirements,  at  prices  we  could  not  meet  at 
any  reasonable  profit,  quick  cook  or  direct — indirect  being  represented  as 
Mitscherlich,  when  in  fact  we  are  advised  there  are  but  mighty  few  Mitscherlich 
inills  in  Europe,  and  few  of  these  exporting  to  this  country. 

Our  costs  for  wood,  sulphur,  coal,  and  labor  have  increased  during  the  past 
ten  years  about  three  times  as  much  as  the  increase  in  our  selling  price,  and 
as  we  can  figure  out  no  way  to  decrease  these  it  is  our  opinion  that  the  paper 
mills  or  the  trade  using  the  paper  into  which  our  sulphite  enters  will  find  it 
no  great  hardship  to  pay  the  increase  which  a  change  of  duty  will  bring  about, 
i.  e.,  one-sixth  to  one-third  of  a  cent  per  pound  ($3.33  to  $6.66  per  ton)  on  un- 
bleached, and  from  one-fourth  to  five-twelfths  of  a  cent  per  pound  ($5  to  $8.33 
per  ton)  on  unbleached  sulphite  of  the  higher  grades. 

Inasmuch  as  I  have  been  asked  to  appear  at  Washington  on  Friday,  the  20th, 
may  I  ask  you  to  write  meat  the  earliest  date  possible,  addressed  to  Port  Huron, 
Mich.,  what  your  views  on  the  subject  are,  and  if  in  accordance  with  ours,  may 
I  ask  you  to  give  us  all  the  information  you  can,  and  especially  on  the  following 
questions,  giving  references  to  authorities : 

First.  What  knowledge  have  you  on  the  building  of  additional  sulphite  mills 
in  Europe,  the  product  of  which  is  intended  for  this  market? 

Secoud.  What,  in  your  opinion,  will  be  the  effect  on  mills  in  this  country  if 
this  product  is  imported  under  the  present  duties? 

Third.  Have  the  European  importations  affected  your  sales,  or  do  you  at- 
tribute the  present  low  prices  entirely  to  the  business  depression? 

Fourth.  Do  you  know  that  European  sulphite  has  been  offered  in  sufficient 
quantities  on  future  long-time  contracts  to  seriously  affect  your  prices?  (Give 
particulars  if  possible.) 

Fifth.  Can  mills  in  this  country  run  on  a  reasonable  profit  if  obliged  to  meet 
this  competition? 

Sixth.  What  do  you  know  as  to  the  wages  received  by  employees  in  European 
mills  by  day,  or  week,  and  preferably  by  the  ton  of  sulphite  produced? 

Seventh.  Have  you  any  information  as  to  the  cost  of  wood  per  cord,  or  ton 
of  manufactured  product? 

Eighth.  Do  you  know  of  any  cases  where  pulp  has  been  shipped  to  this 
country  as  ballast,  or  on  a  nominal  ocean  freight? 

Ninth.  Would  you  differentiate  between  quick-cook,  direct-indirect,  and 
Mitscherlich  sulphites;  and  if  so,  how?  Or,  on  account  of  practical  diffi- 
culties and  as  a  manufacturer  of  Mitscherlich  pulp,  would  you  have  sulphite 
declared  as  above  on  importing,  and  ask  for  the  increase  in  duty  on  Mitscher- 
lich only  for  the  moral  effect? 

Kindly  give  facts  and  figures  as  fully  as  possible  and  any  other  information 
you  conveniently  can,  so  that  I  may  have  your  letter  by  Tuesday,  as  data  should 
be  prepared  Wednesday,  following  with  any  further  suggestions  you  might 
have  to  make. 

Would  like  to  use  your  letter  as  evidence  if  necessary,  but  will  not  do  so 
If  you  do  not  wish  it,  using  data  only  for  our  information. 

You  understand  that  I  do  not  presume  to  represent  any  of  the  Mitscher- 
lich mills  but  our  own,  although  shall  be  very  glad  to  follow  such  suggestions 
as  you  may  have  to  offer. 

As  Mr.  Everard  is  pretty  well  posted  on  the  European  situation,  I  am  in 
hopes  he  will  consent  to  go  to  Washington  in  my  place. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

MICHIGAN  SULPHITE  FIBRE  Co., 
O.  L.  E.  WEBEB,  Manager. 

November  14,  1908. 

(Exhibit  F  is  in  reply  to  this  letter.) 


SULPHITE   PULP.  6007 

EXHIBIT  G. 

EUROPEAN   LABOR. 

Statements  "by  employees  of  the  Michigan  Sulphite  Fibre  Company. 

I,  Charles  Helwig,  have  worked  in  a  paper  mill  at  Danzig,  Germany,  where 
I  was  a  machine  tender.  The  machine  I  ran  was  about  66  inches  in  width 
and  ran  about  200  feet  per  minute.  I  had  an  oiler  or  back  tender  and  two 
reel  tenders,  same  as  I  have  here.  In  this  mill  there  were  two  men  in  the 
beater  room  tending  nine  beaters,  and  on  the  whole  I  think  that  the  amount 
of  help  around  the  mill  was  about  the  same  as  here. 

CHAS.  HELWIG. 

I,  Michael  Kern,  was  a  fireman  in  the  City  Electric  Power  Plant  in  Vienna, 
Austria,  where  I  tended  one  large  boiler  with  four  furnaces.  The  boiler  was 
about  the  same  size  as  the  No.  5  boiler  in  this  mill,  which  has  four  furnaces 
and  is  tended  by  one  man.  The  work  over  there  was  about  the  same  as  here. 

MICHAEL  KERN. 

I,  John  Feidler,  was  a  bleach  man  in  the  paper  mill  at  Gratwin,  Austria, 
tvhere  I  mixed  all  the  bleach  myself,  sometimes  with  one  helper.  In  this  mill 
they  had  five  upright  quick-cook  digesters,  which  were  tended  by  one  cook  and 
two  helpers,  working  twelve-hour  shifts  same  as  they  do  here.  In  my  opinion 
there  was  about  as  much  help  around  that  mill  as  here. 

JOHN  FEIDLER. 

I,  Martin  Zellan,  worked  as  cook  in  a  mill  at  Gratwin,  Austria,  where  there 
were  seven  straw  cookers.  There  was  one  cook  and  two  helpers  on  each  shift 
of  twelve  hours  each. 

MARTIN  ZELLAN. 

I,  Frank  Kabolnick,  worked  as  a  cook  foreman  in  the  paper  mills  at  Gratwin, 
Austria,  in  the  sulphite  department.  I  have  also  worked  at  the  Kellner-Par- 
tington  mills,  at  Hallein,  Austria.  At  Gratwiu  we  have  five  digesters  which  were 
tended  by  a  cook  and  four  helpers,  who  filled  and  emptied  the  digesters.  Here 
we  have  a  cook  and  second  cook  on  each  shift  and  six  helpers  or  digester  men 
for  emptying  and  filling,  which  is  exactly  the  same  amount  of  help  to  tend  the 
same  number  of  digesters.  In  my  opinion  there  are  about  the  same  number  of 
men  to  do  the  same  amount  of  work  over  there  as  there  are  here. 

FRANK  KABOLNICK. 

I,  Albert  Sieg,  was  a  helper  in  the  sugar  mills  at  Dirschau,  Germany.  I 
found  that  there  was  not  much  difference  in  the  amount  of  work  I  was  required 
to  do  there  than  there  is  here.  I  worked  from  6  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  6 
at  night,  but  had  an  hour  for  noon  and  a  half  hour  in  the  morning  and  in  the 
afternoon  for  lunch,  which  made  eleven  working  hours  in  all. 

ALBERT  SIEG. 

I,  Jacob  Glombowski,  have  worked  in  a  paper  mill  in  Steirmetz,  Germany, 
where  I  was  a  beater  man.  There  were  four  men  on  the  shift  tending  eight 
beaters,  which  we  loaded  and  emptied.  This  was  about  the  same  amount  of 
work  I  have  been  accustomed  to  do  here,  and  I  have  not  noticed  any  difference 
In  the  number  of  men  about  a  mill  in  Europe  or  America  of  the  same  size. 

JACOB  GLOMBOWSKI. 


STATEMENT  OF  GEORGE  F.  STEELE,  OF  PORT  EDWARDS,  WIS., 
RELATIVE  TO  QUICK-COOKED  SULPHITE  PULP. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  STEELE.  Mr.  Weber  has  spoken  for  the  makers  of  Mitscherlich, 
or  slow-cooked,  strong  sulphite  pulp.  The  information  which  he 
has  presented  will  also  serve  in  large  measure  to  inform  you  concern- 
ing the  situation  which  exists  in  the  making  of  quick-cooked  sulphite 

Tr,041— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 16 


6008  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

pulp,  which  constitutes  by  far  the  larger  share  of  the  sulphite  pro- 
duced in  this  country.  I  desire  to  present  some  further  information 
in  regard  to  this  branch  of  the  industry. 

The  total  production  of  sulphite  pulp  in  the  United  States  amounts 
to  4,000  tons  daily,  or  about  1,200,000  tons  annually.  The  capital  em- 
ployed in  the  construction  of  mills,  investments  in  water  powers,  mill 
sites,  and  working  capital  amounts  to  about  $60,000,000.  This  does 
not  include  the  value  of  timber  lands,  which  would  greatly  increase 
the  total  investment.  Excluding  the  investment  in  timber  lands,  the 
capital  is  turned  over  once  in  about  fifteen  months,  but  if  sufficient 
timber  land  were  acquired  to  enable  the  owners  to  practice  reforesta- 
tion the  turnover  would  be  considerably  slower. 

The  industry  employs  from  8,000  to  10,000  men  in  and  around  the 
manufacturing  plants,  and  many  more  in  the  woods  getting  out  the 
timber,  transporting  it  to  the  mills,  and  marketing  the  product. 

The  output  of  the  industry  has  increased  from  200  tons  daily  in 
1890  to  4,000  tons  daily  in  1908.  Of  this  amount,  about  3,000  tons  is 
made  directly  into  paper  by  the  mills  producing  it  and  about  1.000 
tons  per  day  are  put  on  the  market  for  sale  to  paper  mills  which  do 
not  produce  their  own  sulphite. 

To  give  an  instance  of  the  cost  of  establishing  a  sulphite  plant,  we 
will  take  a  mill  producing  60  tons  of  sulphite  pulp  per  day.  Such  a 
mill  would  require  about  40,000  cords  of  spruce  or  hemlock  timber 
annually,  and  in  order  that  the  land  might  reproduce  the  timber  as 
fast  as  it  was  used  there  would  be  needed  theoretically  120,000  acres 
of  land.  This  estimate  is  based  on  spruce  land,  well  timbered  and 
running  heavily  to  spruce,  but  in  practice  the  amount  of  land  required 
would  be  very  much  greater,  owing  to  the  impossibility  of  obtaining 
bodies  of  timber  land  free  from  much  waste  and  barren  land  and 
tracts  covered  with  other  kinds  of  timber.  In  the  most  favored  loca- 
tions this  would  entail  a  permanent  ownership  of  about  150,000  acres 
for  a  60-ton  sulphite  mill.  I  doubt  if  such  a  tract  could  be  obtained 
in  this  country  to-day  at  less  than  $20  per  acre,  equivalent  to  an 
investment  in  land  of  $3,000,000. 

The  cost  of  equipment  of  such  a  sulphite  plant  and  its  working 
capital  would  be  about  $900,000,  so  that  we  would  have  a  total  amount 
of  $3,900,000  invested. 

The  annual  product  of  such  a  mill  at  present  selling  prices  amounts 
to  about  $700,000,  which  shows  a  turnover  of  the  capital  employed  of 
once  in  five  or  six  years.  The  interest  charge  on  so  large  an  invest- 
ment at  6  per  cent  would  be  $234,000,  or  about  $13  per  ton  of  pulp 
produced.  Thus  anything  which  would  affect  the  profits  of  the  sul- 
phite industry  would  seriously  affect  a  large  amount  of  capital. 

Practically  no  sulphite  pulp  is  exported,  as  costs  in  Canada  and 
Europe  are  considerably  below  our  costs.  Owing  to  the  rapid  build- 
ing of  mills  in  this  country  and  abroad  prices  have  been  kept  below  a 
point  affording  a  reasonable  profit.  Owing  to  the  low  European  labor 
cost  the  output  in  this  country,  protected  by  a  duty  amounting  to  only 
8^  per  cent,  has  never  afforded  a  fairly  remunerative  return  on  capi- 
tal, for  the  price  in  this  country  is  fixed  by  the  European  and  Cana- 
dian offerings. 

Owing  to  the  technical  nature  of  the  industry,  and  the  experimental 
character  of  the  business  from  its  inception,  necessitating  frequent 


SULPHITE   PULP GEORGE   F.    STEELE.  6009 

changes  in  equipment,  the  business  has  been  lacking  in  fair  profits. 
The  depreciation  and  upkeep  of  a  sulphite  pulp  mill  is  unusually 
high,  owing  to  the  use  of  destructive  acids  in  the  manufacture  of  the 
product. 

Figures  have  already  been  sumbitted  to  you  showing  the  great  dif- 
ference between  European  labor  costs  in  this  industry  and  those  which 
are  paid  in  this  country.  I  desire  to  submit  herewith  (Exhibit  A) 
the  statement  of  the  wages  paid  in  the  Scandinavian  sulphite  mills. 
This  statement  covers  the  wages  paid  in  the  mills  belonging  to  the 
Scandinavian  Sulphite  Association,  which  includes  practically  all 
the  Swedish  and  Norwegian  sulphite  mills.  I  have  been  informed 
that  this  association  is  recognized  by  the  governments  of  Norway  and 
Sweden,  and  not  only  fixes  uniform  wages  for  employees,  but  also 
fixes  uniform  selling  prices  and  establishes  trade  customs. 

I  also  beg  to  submit  a  statement  (Exhibit  B)  showing  the  com- 
parative wages  paid  in  the  mills  of  the  Scandinavian  Association  and 
in  a  representative  United  States  mill.  This  statement  shows  compar- 
ative wages  of  men  in  similar  positions.  The  general  average  wage 
per  hour  in  the  Scandinavian  mills  amounts  to  10TV  cents  per  hour, 
and  in  the  American  mill  to  26.59  cents  per  hour.  The  American 
wages  average  248  per  cent  higher  than  those  paid  in  the  Scandina- 
vian mills.  The  average  cost  for  labor  in  an  American  quick-cooked 
sulphite  mill  is  about  $5  per  ton.  The  European  wages,  as  shown  by 
the  official  table  of  the  Scandinavian  mills,  average  40  per  cent  of  the 
American  wages,  or  about  $2  per  ton,  leaving  a  difference  between  the 
American  and  Scandinavian  wages  of  $3  per  ton. 

The  duty  on  foreign  sulphite  imported  into  this  country  is  $3.32 
per  ton,  or  about  equal  to  the  difference  in  labor  cost  between  that  paid 
in  Norway  and  Sweden  and  America.  I  understand  that  the  wages 
in  Germany  are  about  the  same  as  in  the  above-mentioned  countries, 
while  the  wages  in  Finland  and  Russia  are  lower.  If  the  low  wages 
of  operatives  engaged  in  cutting  the  pulp  wood  were  taken  into  ac- 
count, the  duty  would  amount  to  considerably  less  than  the  difference 
in  the  total  labor  cost.  There  are  also  other  advantages  which  the 
foreigner  possesses,  which  give  him  still  further  aid  in  underselling 
us  in  our  own  territory. 

I  submit  a  statement  (Exhibit  C)  showing  that  in  the  year  1907 
there  were  110.000  tons  of  foreign  unbleached  sulphite  imported  into 
this  country,  while  American  mills  were  short  of  shipping  up  to  their 
full  capacity  to  the  extent  of  84,000  tons.  During  this  period  the 
foreign  mills  shipped  into  this  market  39  per  cent  of  the  pulp  sold. 

During  the  present  year  the  situation  has  been  much  more  serious 
for  the  domestic  producer,  for  the  recent  tremendous  increase  in  pro- 
duction abroad  has  resulted  in  a  foreign  market,  which  has  been 
badly  congested,  and  has  caused  a  frenzied  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
forgein  producer  to  market  his  surplus  product  in  this  country,  with- 
out much  regard  to  cost.  I  understand  that  the  foreign  associations 
which  govern  the  selling  prices  have  authorized  the  dumping  of  the 
product  of  their  members  at  a  price  ruling  much  below  the  price 
abroad,  and  actually  in  some  cases  below  the  cost  of  production. 
This  leads  to  the  suggestion  that  an  antidumping  law  would  tend  to 
cause  greater  stability  of  prices  and  to  afford  more  adequate  protec- 
tion to  the  American  manufacturer  and  working  man. 


6010  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

This  serious  attack  upon  our  home  business  has  occurred  at  a  time 
when  our  own  business  was  badly  crippled  from  the  effects  of  the  gen- 
eral business  depression.  Some  of  the  American  mills  ran  only  one- 
third  of  the  time  during  the  first  six  months  of  the  year,  and  the  aver- 
age output  of  the  American  mills  was  not  over  50  per  cent  of  their 
normal  productive  capacity. 

The  Swedish  and  Scandinavian  mills  have  advantages  not  pos- 
sessed by  the  American  mills.  Their  cheap  labor,  as  shown  above,  is 
naturally  their  chief  advantage.  But  they  also  have  the  advantage 
of  low  construction  costs  for  their  buildings  and  machinery.  They 
have  large  and  cheap  water  powers,  and  low  transportation  costs, 
owing  to  abundant  inland  waterways.  Their  ocean  freights  are  also 
exceedingly  low,  as  freight  is  often  taken  at  practically  ballast  rates. 
Their  wood  is  also  said  to  be  lower  in  price  than  the  spruce  wood 
largely  used  by  the  American  mills. 

In  view,  therefore,  of  the  magnitude  of  this  industry,  and  the  ad- 
vantages possessed  by  our  foreign  competitors,  we  confidently  look  to 
your  committee  not  to  penalize  an  industry  struggling  against  un- 
equal odds  and  fighting  to  maintain  the  American  home  market 
against  the  onslaughts  of  foreign  competition,  and  earnestly  request 
the  retention  of  the  present  rate  of  duty  on  unbleached  sulphite. 

I  thank  you  for  your  courtesy  and  regret  that  the  illness  of  an 
American  manufacturer,  much  better  equipped  than  I  to  give  infor- 
mation to  your  committee,  necessitated  the  hurried  and  imperfect 
preparation  of  this  statement. 

(The  exhibits  referred  to  by  Mr.  Steele  are  as  follows :) 


SULPHITE   PULP GEORGE  F.   STEELE. 


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SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPER,  AND   BOOKS. 


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SCHEDULE  M PULP,   PAPEB,  AND   BOOKS. 


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SULPHITE   PULP GEORGE   F.   STEELE. 


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6018 


SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEKS,  AND  BOOKS. 


EXHIBIT  B. — Rate  per  hour  from  records  obtained  from  Norwegian  mills  in 
comparison  with  hourly  rates  now  in  force  at  an  American  mill. 


Average  per  hour. 

Per  cent 
American 
to  Scandi- 
navian. 

Scandina- 
vian. 

American. 

Acid                                                        

131 
14} 

Sf 

10* 
10* 
8* 
9 
7A 
10ft 
10ft 

27 
28} 
23J 
234 
33 
26* 
2t>J 
221 
19| 
35| 
29} 

1% 

200 
230 
1% 
324 
257 
2% 
248 
277 
332 
270 

Wood                                                       

Boiler                                                              

Oilers                                                 

Drying  machine  (tenders  and  helpers)  

Ordinary          ,  

Blacksmith  and  helper  

General  averages  

WA 

26.59 

248 

EXHIBIT  C. — Domestic  production,  bleached  and  unbleached,  as  shown  by  Lock- 
wood's  Directory. 


Tons 
daily. 

Tons  per 
year. 

Total  production  capacity  of  sulphite  fiber  In  the  United  States 

4,096 

1,228,800 

Consumed  by  manufacturers  or  associated  companies 

3,056 

916,800 

Balance  available  for  open  market  to  mills  not  manufacturing  pulp 

1,040 

312,000 

The  1,040  tons  daily  capacity  available  for  the  general  market  are  divided  as 
follows : 


Tons 
daily. 

Tons  per 
year. 

Unbleached 

840 

252,000 

Bleached  .       _________         .    .-  .    __ 

200 

60,000 

FOREIGN  IMPORTATIONS. 

Foreign  sulphite  was  imported  during  the  year  1907,  according  to  report  by 
Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  as  follows : 

Tons. 

Unbleached    (approximate) 110,000 

Bleached   (approximate) 43,000 

PROPORTION  OF  ACTUAL  DOMESTIC   SALES   COMPARED  WITH   CAPACITY. 

An  actual  record  of  the  sales  of  all  domestic  mills  compared  with  their  manu- 
facturing capacity  is  not  available,  but  we  have  actual  records  of  13  of  the 
principal  mills,  with  a  daily  capacity  of  539  tons,  or  64  per  cent  of  the  total  840 
tons. 

A  comparison  of  their  actual  sales  and  capacity  is  as  follows : 


Dally 

tons. 

Yearly 
tons. 

Capacity  of  13  mills  _                                                        

539 

161,700 

1907  actual  sales,  13  mills    - 

364 

109,310 

Sales  less  than  capacity  .                 .    

175 

52,390 

Per  cent  of  sales  below  capacity  -.                                       -  .    —  

32 

SULPHITE   PULP GEORGE   F.    STEELE. 


6019 


Assuming  that  the  experience  of  all  domestic  mills  was  no  different  from  that 
of  mills  having  64  per  cent  capacity  of  the  total,  and  whose  records  are  shown 
above,  an  estimate  of  actual  sales  of  all  domestic  mills,  compared  with  capacity, 
Is  as  follows : 


Tons 
daily. 

Tons 
yearly. 

Actual  capacity  ..      

840 

252,000 

Less  estimated  loss  32  per  cent.-    .    -.    

2SS.S 

80,640 

1907  estimated  actual  sales 

571.2 

171,360 

This  record  indicates  that  foreign  unbleached  sulphite  was  imported  to  the 
extent  of  110,000  tons  during  a  period  when  the  sales  of  domestic  mills  were 
short  of  their  capacity  to  furnish  80,640  tons. 


MARKET    CONSUMPTION    IN   THE   UNITED    STATES    OF   FOREIGN    AND   DOMESTIC 

COMBINED. 

From  the  above  records  a  summary  of  bleached  and  unbleached  sulphite  con- 
sumed in  the  United  States  during  the  year  1907,  by  mills  buying  in  the  open 
market,  is  as  follows : 


Total. 

Domestic. 

Per  cent. 

Foreign. 

Per  cent. 

Unbleached  _           

Tons. 
281,360 

Tons. 
171,360 

61 

Tons. 
110,000 

39 

Bleached 

103,000 

60,000 

68 

43,000 

42 

884,360 

231,360 

60 

153,000 

40 

It  will  be  noted  from  the  above  that  foreign  manufacturers  sold  39  per  cent 
of  all  the  unbleached  sold  in  this  country,  and  42  per  cent  of  all  the  bleached, 
and  the  percentage  of  foreign,  as  compared  with  the  percentage  of  domestic  pulp 
sold,  is: 


Per  cent 

foreign 

Domestic. 

Foreign. 

compared 

with  do- 

mestic. 

Tons. 

/ 
Tons. 

Unbleached 

in,  360 

110,000 

64 

Bleached-    -    .                      _.               „_    . 

60,000 

43,000 

72 

COMPARATIVE   VALUE   OF   FOREIGN   AND   DOMESTIC    FIBERS. 

As  regards  foreign  bleached  sulphite,  it  is  admitted  that  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  importations  are  of  a  higher  grade  than  has  heretofore  been  made  in 
this  country,  but  that  this  proportion  of  high-grade  bleached  sulphite  is  not 
large,  and  that  the  large  importations  of  unbleached  fiber  are  not  because 
foreign  unbleached  is  of  a  greater  value  than  the  domestic  unbleached  will  be 
shown  by  valuations  of  imports  given  in  the  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor  reports  for  the  year  1907,  to  which  we  have  added  duty,  estimated 
average  freight  to  mill,  and  total  cost  delivered  mill,  with  comparison  of  the 
average  price  obtained  by  a  representative  American  mill,  as  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing tabulation : 


6020 


SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 


Grade. 

Foreign. 

Domestic. 

Tons  im- 
ported. 

Total 
valuation. 

Average 
value  per 
ton  c.i.f. 
port. 

Duty. 

Esti- 
mated 
average 
freight 
to  mill. 

Total 

cost  de- 
livered. 

Aeerage 
price  de- 
livered 
obtained 
by  B.  S. 
F.  Co. 
year  1907. 

Bleached               ._       -    

43,688 
110,004 

$2,111,574 
3,902,528 

$48.33 
35.48 

$o.OO 
3.33 

$2.50 
2.50 

$55.83 
41.33 

$53.90 
41.04 

In  the  above  tabulation  the  lower  price  of  American  bleached  and  unbleached 
fiber  is  largely  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  these  are  the  average  prices  of  all 
sales  of  fiber,  including  both  No.  1  and  No.  2  grades,  and  with  sales  of  the  best 
grades  considered  separately  would  show  a  price  practically  equal  to  the  selling 
prices  of  the  foreign  product. 


STATEMENT  OF  MORRIS  (HNTZLER,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  RELATIVE 
TO   CHEMICAL  PULP,   BLEACHED   AND   UNBLEACHED. 

SATURDAY,  November  81,  1908. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  On  what  subject  are  you  about  to  address  us? 

Mr.  GINTZLER.  On  the  subject  of  the  duty  on  chemical  pulp, 
bleached  and  unbleached. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  On  what? 

Mr.  GINTZLER.  On  the  subject  of  wood  pulp  made  by  chemical 
process. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Proceed. 

Mr.  GINTZLER.  I  represent  the  importers  of  New  York,  who  have 
been  asked  by  the  manufacturers  of  this  country,  who  have  no  pulp 
mills  of  their  own  and  who  are  dependent  on  the  foreign  supply,  to 
place  before  you  some  particulars  to  induce  you  in  the  revision  of 
this  tariff  to  make  no  change  in  this  schedule.  There  have  been 
stated  at  considerable  length  the  discrepancies  in  labor  as  between 
this  country  and  abroad;  but  it  appears  that  all  the  speakers  have 
overlooked  the  fact  that  the  American  workman  is  the  most  efficient 
laborer  of  his  kind  the  world  over ;  and  while  it  is  true  that  American 
workmen  will  get  more  per  day,  it  is  also  true  that  to  turn  out  the 
same  quantity  of  pulp  it  is  not  necessary  to  have  as  many  men  in  this 
country  as  it  is  abroad.  The  present  duty  is  $3.33  per  ton  on  un- 
bleached pulp  and  $5  per  ton  on  bleached  pulp.  These  duties,  with 
the  present  discrimination  against  the  foreign  manufacturer  to  the 
extent  of  being  subjected  to  charges  from  which  the  American  manu- 
facturer is  entirely  exempt,  such  as  packing  for  export,  the  inland 
freight  on  the  other  side  to  bring  the  pulp  to  the  seaboard,  the  ocean 
freight  to  bring  the  pulp  to  this  country,  and  the  import  merchant's 
profits  here,  are  all  items  entering  into  the  cost,  from  which  the 
American  manufacturer  is  entirely  exempt. 

I  presume  it  is  not  the  intention  of  this  committee  to  advance  the 
tariff  on  this  schedule.  At  the  same  time  the  trade  has  accommo- 
dated itself  to  the  present  rate  of  tariff,  and  at  the  present  time  it 
brings  a  certain  amount  of  revenue  to  the  Government,  which  the 
paper  manufacturers  are  quite  ready  and  willing  and  able  to  stand. 


CHEMICAL,  PULP MORRIS   GINTZLER  ET   AL.  6021 

The  committee  must  remember  that  every  ton  of  pulp  which  is 
brought  over  from  the  other  side  means  just  so  much  of  our  own 
wood  saved,  and  there  is  no  need  of  going  at  any  great  length  into 
the  subject  of  the  importance  of  the  preservation  of  our  forests. 

One  point  I  wish  to  bring  out  clearly  is  that  for  the  past  twelve 
years  there  has  been  no  chemical  pulp  mill  in  this  country  that  has 
failed,  but  each  and  every  mill  has  been  able  to  keep  up  and  to  make 
money. 

The  imports  do  not  amount  to  more  than  10  per  cent  of  the  total 
production  of  this  product,  and  I  maintain  that  the  American  manu- 
facturer who  is  dependent  on  the  general  open  market  is  entitled 
to  seek  his  supply  on  such  a  basis.  I  will  file  with  my  brief  here  let- 
ters from  different  manufacturers — about  100  of  the  leading  paper 
manufacturers  of  this  country — asking  you  to  make  no  change  in 
the  present  tariff  on  chemical  wood  piilps.  These  mills  employ  many 
hands  at  remunerative  wages,  and  it  is  a  question  of  compelling  these 
mills  to  reduce  wages  and  possibly  to  shut  down  their  plants  and 
possibly  to  import  the  finished  paper.  We  must  bear  in  mind  that 
chemical  pulp  is  raw  material  and  not  a  finished  product,  and  as  such 
should  not  be  subjected  to  any  further  duty.  I  thank  you. 

The  brief  and  letters  submitted  by  Mr.  Gintzler  are  as  follows: 


MORRIS  GINTZLER,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  FILES  BRIEF  AND  LETTERS 
IN  FAVOR  OF  RETAINING  PRESENT  DUTIES  ON  PULP. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  81,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  present  tariff  on  chemical  pulps  should  not  be 
altered  for  reasons  given  herein. 

Chemical  pulps,  as  distinguished  from  mechanical  or  ground  wood 
pulp,  which  latter  is  not  imported  from  Europe,  constitute  the  prin- 
cipal raw  material  of  a  great  many  grades  of  paper  manufactured  in 
this  country.  An  additional  duty  on  such  raw  material  adds  to  the 
"burden  of  the  manufacturing  interests  of  this  country. 

Under  normal  conditions  there  are  only  about  18  pulp  mills  of 
the  78  mills  in  the  United  States  which  can  supply  sulphite  pulp  to 
the  paper  mills.  The  other  pulp  mills  manufacture  only  for  use  in 
their  own  paper  mills  and  not  for  sale. 

Foreign  pulps  do  not  compete  to  a  sufficient  extent  with  the  Amer- 
ican pulps  to  have  their  importation  prohibited  by  any  high  re- 
strictive tariff. 

In  this  brief,  where  the  term  "  tons  "  is  used,  it  will  be  understood 
to  mean  a  ton  of  2,000  pounds. 

WAGES. 

The  cost  of  general  labor  in  this  country  for  producing  one  ton  of 
unbleached  sulphite  pulp  is  about  $4.  To  this  must  be  added  the 
cost  of  repair  labor,  $2  per  ton,  which  brings  the  total  cost,  including 
repair  labor,  to  $G  per  ton. 


6022  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

This  information  is  based  on  actual  figures  from  a  mill  making 
50  tons  per  day  of  unbleached  sulphite  pulp.  It  is  considered  that 
75  tons  is  the  correct  unit  for  economical  production,  and  the  cost 
of  labor  per  ton  for  a  mill  making  25  or  30  tons  per  day  is  larger 
than  that  for  a  mill  making  75  tons  daily. 

The  individual  wages  paid  abroad  are  less  than  those  paid  in  this 
country.  At  the  same  time,  however,  this  difference  is  largely  coun- 
terbalanced by  the  greater  efficiency  of  the  American  workman.  In 
Europe  more  time  is  devoted  to  the  careful  preparation  of  the  wood, 
a  longer  time  is  used  in  its  cooking,  all  adding  to  the  cost  of  labor, 
resulting  in  a  smaller  product  to  the  amount  of  labor  as  compared  to 
the  United  States.  The  result  is  that  the  cost  of  labor  per  ton  of 
pulp  abroad  is  no  less  than  that  in  this  country. 

The  actual  figures  for  the  cost  of  labor  per  ton  of  pulp  in  Europe 
is  from  $5  to  $9.75,  according  to  quality  of  product  and  prevailing 
wages  of  the  countries  where  mills  are  situated. 

WOOD. 

The  average  cost  of  unbarked  pulp  wood  in  this  country  is  about 
$8.50  per  cord  of  128  cubic  feet,  and  it  requires  about  2  cords  of 
unbarked  or  about  1.7  cords  of  rossed  wood  for  a  ton  of  sulphite 
pulp,  thus  making  the  average  cost  of  wood  per  ton  of  pulp  $17. 
Several  mills  in  this  country  manufacture  pulp  from  slabs  obtained 
from  sawmills,  which  still  further  reduces  the  cost.  A  number  of 
mills  in  this  country  still  enjoy  the  benefit  of  their  own  woodlands 
acquired  many  years  ago,  and  the  price  of  this  wood  is  quite  a  factor 
in  forming  a  basis  of  price  for  the  domestic  pulp. 

In  Europe  the  cost  of  wood  averages  $9  per  cord,  making  the  aver- 
age cost  of  pulp  wood  for  a  ton  of  pulp  at  the  pulp  mill  $18. 

The  pulp  here  referred  to  is  known  as  "quick-cooked  unbleached 
sulphite  pulp."  The  cost  of  pulp  when  manufactured  by  the  slow- 
cooked  or  "  Mitscherlich  "  process  is  largely  increased  owing  to  the 
necessarily  longer  time  used  in  cooking,  and  other  expenses  incidental 
thereto. 

SELLING  CONDITIONS. 

Before  the  foreign  pulp  becomes  competitive  with  the  domestic 
there  must  be  added  to  it  sundry  costs  and  expenses  from  most  of 
which  the  American  pulp  mill  is  exempt.  These  charges  for  the 
foreign  pulp  mill  may  be  figured  as  follows : 

Per  ton. 

Cost  of  packing  for  export $1.50 

Inland  freight  from  pulp  mill  to  seaport 1.00 

Ocean  freight 3.  00 

The  import  merchant's  profit 2.00 


Total , 7.50 

To  which  if  we  add  the  present  duty  of 3.  33 


Makes  a  total  of 10.83 

which  is  the  protection  afforded  to-day  to  the  American  pulp  manu- 
facturer. This  should  be  sufficient  for  the  American  manufacturer 
of  pulp  and  enable  him  to  market  independently  of  the  foreign  article. 
The  selling  price  of  domestic  quick-cooked  pulp  to-day  averages 
$42,  freight  paid  to  the  paper  mill. 


CHEMICAL   PULP MORRIS   GINTZLER   ET   AL.  6023 

The  average  selling  price  for  foreign  pulp  to-day  ranges  from  $39 
to  $42  at  the  port  of  arrival,  and  to  this  must  be  added  an  average 
freight  to  the  paper  mill  of  $3  per  ton,  making  a  total  of  $42  to  $45,- 
freight  paid  to  the  paper  mill.    This  is  for  prompt  deliveries,  and 
for  future  deliveries  higher  prices  are  asked. 

The  prices  ruling  to-day  are  not  normal  on  account  of  the  recent 
business  depression  and  the  larger  stocks  in  the  hands  of  foreign  pulp 
speculators. 

We  quote  from  Farmand,  the  leading  paper  trade  journal  in  Nor- 
way, from  the  issue  of  October  24,  1908,  as  follows : 

The  market  for  cellulose  is  so  bad  that  it  must  soon  bring  about  a  curtail- 
ment of  production,  the  more  so  as  log  prices  are  rather  advancing  than 
otherwise,  at  least  in  this  country,  and  although  a  reduced  output,  of  course, 
means  an  enhanced  cost  of  production,  it  will  not  be  very  difficult  for  the  man- 
agers to  find  out  which -is  the  smaller  loss :  To  go  down  in  quantity  or  to  accept 
the  prices  which  are  nowadays  put  before  them  by  their  agents. 

But  nothing  can  better  demonstrate  the  correctness  of  what  we  have  fre- 
quently stated  in  these  columns,  that  the  growing  demand  for  wood  for  so  many 
various  purposes  has  an  irresistible  tendency  to  raise  the  level  of  value  of  the 
raw  wood. 

The  prices  which  ruled  prior  to  October,  1907,  averaged  for  the 
domestic  pulp  from  $42  to  $46,  delivered  at  the  paper  mill,  and  for 
foreign  pulp  from  $46  to  $53. 

Importers  are  to-day  delivering  old  contracts  at  these  figures. 

Another  reason  for  the  depression  of  prices,  in  addition  to  the 
•  recent  dullness  prevailing  in  business,  is  that  domestic  pulp  was  ad- 
vanced to  such  a  figure  as  made  it  possible  to  bring  over  larger  quan- 
tities of  foreign  pulp. 

The  advance  in  prices  of  domestic  pulp  was  caused  by  the  large 
demand  prevailing  at  that  time. 

In  October  of  last  year  orders  for  paper  diminished  considerably, 
so  that  the  paper  mills  could  only  run  part  time,  and,  in  fact,  several 
of  them  had  to  shut  down  for  shorter  or  longer  periods;  and  it  may 
be  safely  stated  that  the  average  consumption  of  pulp  by  the  paper 
mills  during  the  past  year  has  not  been  more  than  60  per  cent  of 
the  normal  consumption.  The  shutting  down  of  the  paper  mills 
naturally  reduced  to  a  great  extent  the  demand  for  domestic  pulp, 
and  large  quantities  of  foreign  pulp  contracted  during  previous 
times,  when  higher  prices  were  ruling,  came  into  this  country.  In 
some  cases  these  pulps  could  be  disposed  of  by  the  importers  only 
at  a  loss. 

.Prior  to  the  financial  depression  before  referred  to  the  domestic 
pulp  had  always  been  sold  at  about  10  to  15  per  cent  cheaper  deliv- 
ered at  the  paper  mill  than  the  foreign  pulp.  In  corroboration  of 
this,  we  give  herewith  quotations  of  both  foreign  and  domestic  un 
bleached  pulps,  published  by  the  two  leading  trade  journals  of  the 
paper  and  pulp  industries — that  is,  the  Paper  Trade  Journal  and 
The  Paper  Mill,  both  published  in  New  York  City.  These  quota- 
tions for  some  years  past,  taken  at  random,  are  as  follows: 


[Prom  Paper  Trade  Journal.] 


Domestic  bleached: 


May  17,  1900 2J     -3.  05 

May  18,  1901 1\     -3.00 

May  22,  1902 2.  35-2.  50 

May  21,  1903 2.40-2.50 

May  19,  1904 2. 40-2| 


Domestic  blenched — Continued. 

May  18,  1905 2i     -21 

May  17,  1906 2*     -2J 

May  23,  1907 2.  <SO  3.  05 

May  21,  1908 2.  <i(>-3.  05 

November  15,  1900 2J     -3.  00 


75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  C.O-2— Vol  (-} 17 


6024 


SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 


Domestic  bleached — Continued. 

„  November  21,  1901 2*    -3.00 

November  20,  1902 2.  75-3.  00 

November  19,  1903 2. 40-2.  50 

November  17,  1904 2*.     -3i 

,       November  16,  1905— __  2i    -2| 

November  22,  1906 2i    -2J 

November  21,  1907 2.  60-3. 05 

Domestic  unbleached : 

May  17,  1900_ 2£     -2f 

May  18,  1901 2.30-2.50 

May  22.  1902 1|     -2.00 

May  21,  1903 1.85-2.00 

May  19,  1904 1.  85-2. 10 

May  18,  1905 1.80-2.10 

May  17,  1906 1.85-2.00 

May  23,  1907 2.15-2.25 

May  21,  1908 2.05-2.20 

November  15,  1900 2.10-2* 

November  21,  1901 1.  65-1.  85 

November  20,  1902 1.95-2. 15 

November  19,  1903 1.85-2.10 

November  17,  1904____  1. 85-2. 10 

November  16,  1905 1.  85-2. 10 

November  22,  1906 2.00-2.10 

November  21,  1907 2.  20-2.  30 

Foreign  bleached : 

May  17,  1900 3i     -3f 

May  18,  1901 3.15-3J 

May  22,  1902 1__  2.75-3.00 

May  21,  1903 2.  75-3.  20 

May  19,  1904 3.20-3.40 


Foreign  bleached— r Con  tinned. 

May  18,  1905 3.14-3.35 

May  17,  190G 3. 10-3i 

May  23,  1907 3.  20-3.  25 

May  21/1908 3.05-3.25 

November  15,  1900 3}    -3| 

November  21,  1901 3.  00-3i 

November  20,  1902 2.  75-3.  00 

November  19,  1903 2. 15-3.  20 

November  17,  1904 3.  35-3.  45 

November  16,  1905 3*.     -3.  35 ' 

November  22,  1906 3.15-3.30 

November  21,  1907 3.  20-3.  55 

Foreign  unbleached : 

May  17,  1900 2*     -2J 

May  18,  1901 2.30-2.50 

May  22,  1902 1.95-2.15 

May  21,  19D3 1.95-2.15 

May  19,  1904 2. 15-2$ 

May  18,  1905 2.  20-2* 

May  17,  1906 2i     -2.40 

May  23,  1907 2.25-2.45 

May  21,  1908 2.10-2.25 

November  15,  1900 2.30-2.50 

November  21,  1901 2.  30-2.  50 

November  20,  1902 1.  95-2. 15 

November  19,  1903 1.  95-2. 15 

November  17,  1904 2.20-2.30 

November  16,  1905 2J     -2.40 

November  22,  1906 2J    -2.40 

November  21,  1907 2.  25-2.  55 


[From  Paper  Mill.] 


Domestic  bleached : 

May  19,  1900 3i    -3.  50 

May  18,  1901 2*     -2J 

May  17,  1902 2i     -2J 

May  23,  1903 2i     -2.  50 

May  21,  1904 25     -3.00 

May  20,  1905 2.  50-3i 

May  18,  1907__, 2i     -3i 

May  16,  1908 2*    -2f 

November  17,  1900 2J    -3.  00 

November  16,  1902 2.  50-2.  75 

November  21,  1903 2.  55-2.  75 

November  19,  1904 2.  50-3i 

November  18,  1905 2}     -2| 

November  17,  1906 2£    -3.  00 

November  16,  1907 2f    -3.00 

Domestic  unbleached: 

May  19,  1900 2J     -2.40 

May  18,  1901 1.95-2.40 

May  17,  1902 1.  85-1.  90 

May  23,  1903 2.00-2.40 

May  21,  1904 1.85-2$ 

May  20,  1905 1.  85-2. 10 

May  19,  1906 1.85-2.00 

May  18,  1907 2.30-2.50 

May  16,  1908, 2. 10-2.  20 

November  17,  1900 2. 10-2.  50 

November  16,  1902 1.  95-2.  40 

November  21,  1903 1.  85-2.  00 

November  19,  1904 1.  85-2. 10 

November  18,  1905 1.  75-2. 10 

November  17,  1906 2.00-2.10 

November  16,  1907 2.  20-2.  50 


Foreign  bleached: 

May  19,  1900 3J     -3.75 

May  18,  1901 3.  60-44 

May  17,  1902 2.75-3.00 

May  23,  1903 2.  75-3* 

May  21,  1904 3J    -3| 

May  20,  1905 34     -3J 

May  19,  1906 3i     -3.40 

May  18,  1907 3£     -3.50 

May  16,  1908 3.15-3.45 

November  17,  1900 3J    -31 

November  16,  1902 3.  60-4.  25 

November  21,  1903 2.  85-3. 00 

November  19,  1904 3£    -3f 

November  18,  1905 3$    -3.  50 

November  17,  1906 3J    -3.30 

November  16,  1907 3i    -3.  50 

Foreign  unbleached : 

May  19,  1900 2$     -2.50 

May  18,  1901 2J     -3.00 

May  17,  1902 1.95-2.15 

May  23,  1903 1.  95-2J 

May  21,  1904 2.00-2.30 

May  20,  1905 2$     -2.40 

May  19,  1906 24     -2.40 

November  17,  1900 2.  30-2.  50 

November  16,  1902 2.  25-2.  50 

November  21,  1903 1.  85-2J    . 

November  19,  1904 2. 15-2$ 

-    November  18,  1905 2.  25-2.  65 

November  17,  1906 1.90-2.40 

November  16,  1907 2$    -3.  00 


CHEMICAL   PULP— MORRIS   GINTZLER   ET   AL.  6025 

BLEACHED  SULPHITE. 

The  present  tariff  provides  for  a  duty  of  $5  per  ton  on  this  article. 

The  items  of  cost  entering  into  the  manufacture  are,  as  already 
shown  in  the  unbleached  pulp,  practically  the  same  also  on  this  grade. 

The  cost  abroad  of  bleaching  unbleached  sulphite  pulp  is  no  less 
than  in  this  country,  chemicals  being  about  the  same.  The  advantage 
or  protection  to  the  American  manufacturer  on  this  article  is  even 
greater  under  existing  conditions  than  for  the  unbleached  pulp. 

The  disadvantages  with  which  the  foreign  manufacturer  has  to  con- 
tend in  marketing  his  goods  in  this  country  are  caused  by  the  follow- 
ing additional  expenses  from  which  the  American  pulp  manufacturer 
is  exempt: 

Cost  of  packing,  per  ton • $1.50 

Inland  freight  from  pulp  mill  to  seaport 1.00 

Ocean  freight 3.  00 

Import  merchant's  profit,  per  ton 2.00 

Present  duty,  per  ton 5.00 


Total 12.00 

so  that  the  American  manufacturer  could  sell  at  prices  at  least  $12.50 
per  ton  lower  than  the  foreign  manufacturer  and  make  just  as  much 
profit. 

SELLING   CONDITIONS. 

To-day  the  ruling  price  of  foreign  bleached  sulphite  pulp,  as  veri- 
fied by  the  Paper  Trade  Journal  quotations,  in  issue  of  November 
12,  1908,  is  from  $60  to  $65  per  ton  at  the  port  of  arrival,  equivalent 
to  $63  to  $68  per  ton  at  the  paper  mill. 

For  the  domestic  pulp  the  price  is,  delivered  at  the  paper  mill, 
from  $51  to  $52  per  ton. 

There  is,  therefore,  to-day  an  advantage  of  about  $12  to  $16  per 
ton  in  favor  of  the  American  manufacturer. 

The  higher  duty  would  not  benefit  the  manufacturer,  inasmuch 
as  these  pulps  do  not  compete,  on  account  of  quality,  as  can  be  seen 
by  the  difference  in  prices  ruling  to-day.  If  the  pulps  were  com- 
petitive, the  American  manufacturer  could,  without  difficulty,  secure 
prices  more  closely  approaching  those  ruling  for  the  foreign  article. 

The  policy  of  the  American  pulp  manufacturer  is  to  make  large 
productions,  and  anything  which  restricts  the  production  is  not 
looked  upon  with  favor  by  the  American  manufacturer. 

The  European  manufacturer  will  exercise  a  great  deal  of  patience 
and  industry  in  getting  an  article  as  nearly  perfect  as  possible,  re- 
gardless of  the  quantity  produced.  This,  in  a  measure,  will  explain 
the  difference  in  quality  between  the  pulps  manufactured  here  and 
abroad. 

ADDITIONAL    ADVANTAGES    ENJOYED    BY    THE    DOMESTIC    MANUFACTURER. 

Where  coal  is  used  for  the  development  of  steam  power,  the  Ameri- 
can mills  have  a  decided  advantage  over  those  abroad,  as  the  cost 
of  coal  abroad  is  very  much  higher  than  in  the  United  States. 

In  addition  to  this,  lime  and  sulphur  are  used  in  large  quantities, 
and  both  of  these  are  produced  in  this  country  to  a  sufficient  extent 
to  meet  the  demand.  Formerly  sulphur  was  largely  imported  for 
pulp  manufacturing  purposes,  but  since  the  discovery  and  develop- 
ment of  sulphur  mines  in  Louisiana  very  little,  if  any,  sulphur  is 
imported  for  pulp  manufacturing  purposes. 


6026  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

We  produce  in  this  country  bleached  chemical  pulp  made  from 
poplar  wood,  and  in  spite  of  the  alleged  discrepancies  of  labor  here 
and  abroad,  quantities  of  this  article  are  exported. 

Under  the  present  tariff  a  large  industry  of  sulphite  pulp  mills 
has  been  developed.  During  the  last  twelve  years  not  a  single  pulp 
mill  has  gone  into  bankruptcy,  and  many  of  them  have  enlarged  their 
plants  considerably. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  a  good  many  pulp  mills  have  been 
built  which  have  used  up  all  their  available  wood  supply,  and  they 
have  to  go  farther  and  at  larger  expense  for  their  wood,  which  in- 
creases its  cost  to  quite  an  extent. 

This  condition  also  applies  to  the  foreign  pulp  mills,  and  in  recent 
years  the  cost  of  wood  abroad  has  advanced  considerably. 

While,  according  to  official  statistics,  the  wood  cut  by  pulp  mills 
in  the  United  States  is  estimated  at  only  2|  per  cent  of  the  total 
wood  cut,  it  is  largely  increased  as  to  the  total  spruce  wood  cut. 

FOREST   PRESERVATION. 

It  is  essential  that  our  forests  be  conserved  as  much  as  possible. 
Our  agricultural  interests  are  threatened  by  the  devastation  of  the 
forests.  The  consumption  of  foreign  pulp  in  this  country  means 
just  so  much  timber  land  saved  here,  and  it  is  a  matter  beyond  ques- 
tion that  the  welfare  of  all  the  people  of  the  United  States  is  entitled 
to  protection  by  the  preservation  of  their  forests  rather  than  add  to 
the  profits  of  a  few  manufacturers  at  the  expense  of  the  entire 
country. 

A  higher  tariff  would  affect  hundreds  of  paper  mills  that  have  been 
buying  their  supplies  abroad,  and  might  result  in  the  reduction  or 
cessation  of  importations  of  pulp  and  in  an  increase  of  importation 
of  the  finished  paper.  Such  a  condition  would  mean  the  shutting 
down  of  many  paper  mills  that  are  now  giving  profitable  employ- 
ment to  thousands  of  men  at  wages  better  than  those  enjoyed  in 
many  other  lines  of  industry. 

In  the  interests  of  the  many  American  paper  mills  which  do  not 
manufacture  their  own  sulphite  pulp  we  ask  that  the  present  duty 
should  not  be  changed. 

We  submit  with  this  brief  a  large  number  of  letters  from  leading 
paper  manufacturers  of  the  country  protesting  against  any  action 
on  your  part  which  will  increase  the  cost  of  their  raw  material  or 
place  any  excessive  burden  on  them  which  would  interfere  with  the 
successful  operation  of  their  plants. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

Atterbury  Bros.  Co.,  Ira  L.  Beebe  &  Co.,  Frederick 
Bertuch  &  Co.,  Castle,  Gottheil  &  Overton,  Jean 
Freese,  Perkins  Goodwin  Co.,  M.  Gottesman  & 
Son,  Rudolf  Helwig,  Felix  Salomon  &  Co.,  E.  M. 
Sergeant  Co.,  Scand.-Am.  Trading  Co. 
RUDOLF  HELAYIG, 
LEON  GOTTHEIL, 
ROBT.  B.  ATTERBURY, 
MORRIS  GINTZLER  (F.  BERTUCH  &  Co.), 

New  York  City, 

Committee. 


CHEMICAL,   PULP MORRIS   GINTZLER   ET  AL.  6027 

MENASHA,  Wis.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Your  letter  of  November  14  received,  and  we  hasten 
to  reply  in  obedience  to  your  request. 

We  believe  fully  in  the  spirit  of  protection  to  all  home  industries, 
giving  them  the  benefit  of  every  doubt  in  fixing  tariff  schedules. 

We  believe  that  the  Republican  platform  of  1908  should  be  strictly 
adhered  to  in  the  revision  of  the  tariff. 

We  are  not,  however,  in  favor  of  such  tariff  revision  as  would 
enable  manufacturers  of  pulp  or  anything  else  to  demand  such  prices 
for  their  products  as  would  be  unfair  to  buyers  and  consumers. 

Not  long  ago  nearly  or  quite  all  manufacturers  of  sulphite  pulp 
in  this  country  and  Canada  entered  into  a  combination  for  the  pur- 
pose of  advancing  the  price  to  a  basis  of  hemlock  sulphite  at  2£  cents 
a  pound,  and  in  addition  eliminating  the  former  discount  for  cash. 
At  the  same  time  prices  were  agreed  upon  for  papers  which  were 
made  of  sulphite  much  lower  proportionally  than  were  demanded 
for  sulphite. 

Under  the  conditions  mentioned  we  found  it  impossible  for  us 
to  buy  sulphite  at  the  pool's  prices  and  put  it  into  paper  at  the  pool's 
prices  without  actual  loss  to  our  mill.  Not  being  manufacturers  of 
sulphite  we  were  obliged  to  seek  other  markets  in  which  to  buy  to 
enable  our  remaining  in  business  with  any  degree  of  success.  We 
found  that  we  could  buy  from  eastern  importers  at  prices  that  would 
enable  us  to  operate  at  nominal  profit,  and  we  also  found  that  we 
could  buy  pulps  of  great  superiority  of  quality. 

In  fact,  certain  of  the  foreign  pulps  are  not  duplicated  by  domestic 
manufacturers,  and  the  paper  made  from  it  commands  a  much  higher 
price  in  our  markets  than  any  made  in  the  United  States  or  Canada. 

It  is  our  opinion  that  the  present  duty  on  pulp  of  all  kinds  is  high 
enough  to  protect  domestic  manufacturers  on  the  basis  contemplated 
by  the  Republican  platform  of  this  year. 

We  further  believe  that  the  protection  provided  in  the  existing 
schedules  is  sufficient  to  encourage  the  building  of  plants  to  manu- 
facture such  better  grades  of  pulp  as  are  needed  in  this  market,  but 
not  now  manufactured  here. 

We  believe  that  the  available  supply  of  pulp  wood  is  now,  and  will 
be,  ample  for  all  pulp  and  paper  demands  for  all  time,  and  we  do  not 
advocate  protection  nor  tariff  revision  because  of  the  possible  or 
probable  denuding  of  our  forests.  We  believe,  however,  that  such 
restraint  as  will  conduce  to  a  spirit  of  fairness  and  consistency  in  our 
industrial  and  commercial  life  should  be  imposed  upon  us  all. 

We  do  not  believe  that  the  tariff  upon  any  kind  of  pulp  should  be 
so  increased  as  to  encourage  the  manufacturers  of  the  United  States 
and  Canada  to  cooperate  in  the  fixing  of  prices  above  the  reasonable 
limit. 

Yours,  truly,  JOHN  STRANGE  PAPER  COMPANY. 

JOHN  STRANGE,  Secretary. 


SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

HOLYOKE,  MASS.,  November  19,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

6  Beekman  Street,  New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  have  your  letter  of  the  14th  instant,  and  wish  to 
state  that  we  are  in  hearty  accord  with  you  in  your  efforts  to  prevent 
the  increase  of  the  duty  on  foreign  wood  pulp.  We  believe  it  would 
be  a  great  burden  on  the  paper  manufacturers  and  on  the  paper 
consumers  to  have  an  additional  duty  imposed. 

We  are  now  paying  a  higher  price  for  the  imported  pulp  which  we 
buy  for  our  two  paper  mills  than  we  would  have  to  pay  for  similar 
domestic  pulp,  but  the  imported  pulp  has  characteristics  which  we 
are  unable  to  obtain  in  any  domestic  pulp  which  we  have  used  here- 
tofore or  have  been  able  to  obtain  after  extensive  research. 

In  our  case  an  increase  in  duty  would  mean  a  corresponding 
increase  in  the  market  price  of  our  products,  which,  of  course,  the 
consumer  would  be  obliged  to  pay,  and  we  fail  to  see,  under  these 
conditions,  the  necessity  for  increasing  the  burden  upon  the  consumer. 

We  believe  that  the  very  rapid  destruction  of  our  forest  areas, 
which  is  so  largely  helped  along' by  the  manufacture  of  wood  pulp, 
should  be  discouraged  rather  than  encouraged.  A  higher  duty  on 
wood  pulp  would  surely  stimulate  the  investment  of  capital  in  the 
wood-pulp  manufacturing  business  in  this  country,  meaning  an  in- 
crease in  the  destruction  of  our  forest  reserves,  which  would  react 
upon  the  public  in  general  in  many  ways.  It  would  certainly  help  to 
increase  the  cost  of  lumber  for  building  material  by  making  lumber- 
ing operations  recede  farther  and  farther  from  the  lumber  markets. 

The  conditions  in  the  Connecticut  Valley  at  the  present  time  are  a 
strong  argument  against  the  imposition  of  a  still  higher  duty  on  wood 
pulp.  The  destruction  of  the  forests  on  the  watersheds  of  the  Con- 
necticut River  is  one  of  the  direct  causes  of  the  very  severe  drought 
which  has  prevailed  in  the  Connecticut  Valley  for  some  weeks.  The 
waters  of  the  Connecticut  River  were  never  so  low  at  this  period  of 
the  year,  and  it  is  hard  to  estimate  the  immense  loss  it  is  to  the  resi- 
dents of  this  beautiful  valley,  occasioned  by  the  shutting  down  of  our 
manufacturing  establishments  on  account  of  low  water.  The  Con- 
necticut River  is  not  the  only  example,  as  most  of  the  rivers  along 
the  northern  Atlantic  coast  are  suffering  from  the  same  cause.  It  is 
a  very  grave  condition  which  confronts  the  people  of  the  Connecticut 
Valley  at  the  present  time,  and  if  this  condition  can  be  traced  to  the 
destruction  of  our  forests  such  destruction  surely  should  not  be  en- 
couraged by  the  imposition  of  higher  duty  on  wood  pulp,  or  any 
other  tariff  legislation  which  would  encourage  or  aid  any  lines  of 
manufacture  to  renewed  efforts  toward  forest  destruction.  We  be- 
lieve this  is  a  question  which  is  of  vital  interest  to  not  only  the  paper 
manufacturers  in  the  East  and  wood-pulp  importers,  but  to  the  gen- 
eral public. 

Yours,  very  truly,  JAPANESE  TISSUE  MILLS, 

WM.  H.  BOND,  Secretary. 

FITCHBURG,  MASS.,  November  17, 1908. 
The  COMMITTEE  or  WOOD-PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  trust  you  will  use  your  utmost  endeavors  to  pre- 
vent any  increase  in  the  duties  on  chemical-process  pulps. 


CHKMICAL,   PULP MORRIS    GINTZLER    ET   AL,.  6029 

The  amount  of  high-grade  sulphite  fiber  manufactured  in  this 
country,  and  suitable  for  good  quality  papers,  is  so  small  that  any 
advance  in  the  duty  would  not  only  work  a  hardship  upon  such  paper 
manufacturers,  but  must  of  necessity  result  in  a  very  substantial  raise 
in  the  price  of  paper  from  the  grade  of  low-priced  book  to  fine  writ- 
ings, and  we  believe  that  any  increase  in  the  duty,  while  not  protect- 
ing any  industry  in  this  country,  as  almost  no  mills  make  sulphites  of 
equal  grade  to  the  imported,  would  be  offset  by  the  increased  price 
the  Government — one  of  the  largest  users  of  such  papers — would  be 
obliged  to  pay. 

No  greater  harm  can  befall  the  paper  mills  of  this  country  than  the 
increase  of  duty  on  the  high-grade  sulphites  imported  from  foreign 
countries,  and  we  trust  you  will  appreciate  its  serious  consequences. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

FITCHRURG  PAPER  COMPANY, 
G.  E.  WALLACE. 


BOGOTA,  N.  J.,  November  18,  1908. 
The  COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  As  consumers  of  sulphite  pulp  we  are  vitally  inter- 
ested in  the  question  of  a  tariff  on  this  material.  We  protest  against 
not  only  an  advance  in  the  present  pulp  schedule,  but  most  decidedly 
against  any  tariff  on  wood  pulp,  either  mechanical  or  chemical  pulp. 

The  manufacturers  of  paper  who  do  not  own  domestic  timber  lands 
and  pulp  mills  are  suffering  to-day,  and  most  of  them  have  their  mills 
on  part  time  or  down  completely  through  inability  to  obtain  from 
domestic  manufacturers  mechanical  wood  pulp  at  any  price  or  chem- 
ical pulp  at  any  reasonable  price. 

It  is  evident  to  any  sane  man  familiar  with  the  paper  business  in 
this  country  that  a  duty  on  wood  pulp  does  not  protect  labor  and  does 
riot  tend  to  preserve  our  forests,  and  the  only  conceivable  excuse  for  a 
tariff  duty  is  to  foster  a  monopoly  of  owners  of  extensive  woodland 
tracts  operating  pulp  mills,  who  by  unlawful  combination  have  put 
the  price  to  such  a  point  and  reduced  production  in  such  a  way  that 
the  manufacturers  of  paper  who  are  not  in  their  ring,  and  who  em- 
ploy most  of  the  labor  engaged  in  the  industry,  are  working  to  serious 
disadvantage,  and  instead  of  protecting  the  manufacturer  as  a  whole 
and  protecting  the  labor  engaged  in  the  industry,  the  Government, 
through  its  tariff  duties,  are  effectively  backing  conspirators  whose 
aims  and  objects  are  against  the  interest  of  the  larger  number  engaged 
in  the  trade. 

You  are  no  doubt  well  aware  that  it  is  not  only  the  user  of  print 
paper  who  has  a  valid  objection  to  the  duty  on  wood  pulp,  but  it  is 
decidedly  the  majority  in  number,  and  in  the  aggregate  the  majority 
in  capital  invested  in  the  paper  business,  who  suffer  most  from  these 
duties  on  raw  material. 

It  is  high  time,  in  my  opinion,  that  the  Government  let  raw  mate- 
rial come  into  this  country  free. 

Yours,  very  truly,  C.  W.  BELL,  Receiver, 

TRADERS'  PAPER  BOARD  Co. 


6030  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

BOSTON,  November  19,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIRS  :  The  Geo.  W.  Wheelwright  Paper  Company  are  manu- 
facturers of  paper  with  mills  producing  about  50  tons  of  paper  per 
day  of  book  grades.  These  mills  are  situated  in  Massachusetts  within 
about  50  miles  of  Boston.  Our  location  precludes  the  manufacture 
of  wood  pulp,  as  all  forests  are  distant,  and  fuel  is  high. 

We  are  using  a  considerable  quantity  of  chemical  wood  fibers,  both 
domestic  and  imported.  The  soda  fiber  we  use  the  most  of  is  all  of 
domestic  make,  but  the  stronger  fiber  made  by  the  sulphite  process  we 
use  more  largely  of  the  imported,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  of  superior 
quality  to  the  general  product  of  the  domestic  pulp  mills,  and  is  sold 
at  a  higher  price,  and  to  a  great  extent  is  not  competitive,  as  the 
domestic  pulp  is  an  inferior  quality  and  can  not  be  substituted  for  the 
imported,  which  commands  a  price  which  certainly  averages  a  quarter 
of  a  cent  a  pound  higher.  An  increase  in  the  duties  would  be  a  hard- 
ship on  us,  for  the  reason  that  we  must  continue  to  buy  the  foreign 
product,  as  the  home  producers  have  never  supplied  pulp  of  the 
quality  we  desire,  and  we  are  certain  we  should  be  unable  to  advance 
our  prices  to  offset  increased  costs. 

There  are  comparatively  few  pulp  mills  whose  product  is  sold  to 
mills  using  but  not  producing  pulp,  and  the  market  for  domestic 
pulp  is  largely  controlled  by  mills  producing  and  using  pulp  in  the 
manufacture  of  paper  and  selling  their  surplus.  It  is  doubly  the 
interest  of  such  manufacturers  to  favor  the  exclusion  of  imported 
pulps  by  higher  duties,  as  it  benefits  them  both  in  the  sale  of  pulp 
and  of  paper. 

For  the  foregoing  reasons  we  protest  against  any  advance  in  the 
duties  on  pulp. 

The  present  quotations  for  foreign  pulp  for  immediate  shipment 
are  abnormally  low,  due  to  the  unfavorable  business  conditions  which 
have  prevailed  and  should  not  be  considered  in  any  adjustment  of 
duties  for  the  reasons  of  market  conditions,  as  explained  by  one  of 
our  English  correspondents,  who  is  well  posted.  We  quote  below 
their  letter  of  October  31 : 

"  With  reference  to  sulphite  supplies,  would  you  consider  the  ques- 
tion of  picking  up  what  may  be  considered  a  bargain  for  delivery 
this  year?  The  point  is  this:  Owing  to  dullness  of  trade,  many 
papermakers  in  this  count  ly  are  not  able  to  take  out  their  contracted 
supplies,  consequently  some  paper  mills  in  Scandinavia  have  stocks 
inconveniently  large.  This  condition  of  affairs  will,  we  think,  be 
only  temporary,  because  the  price  has  now  sunk  below  cost  of  pro- 
duction. A  movement  is  on  foot  in  Scandinavia  to  reduce  production 
by  30  per  cent  for  three  or  six  months.  All  Norwegian  mills  have 
agreed  to  this  and  more  than  half  the  Swedish  mills.  They  are, 
however,  waiting  for  more  complete  unanimity  before  putting  this 
plan  into  operation.  In  the  meantime  several  mills  will  shut  dawn 
for  a  month  or  more  on  their  own  account  without  waiting  until  the 
pulp  associations  have  come  to  a  decision.  It  is  to  be  expected, 
therefore,  that  during  next  year  the  supply  will  adjust  itself  to 
the  demand,  but  in  the  meantime,  for  financial  reasons,  there  are 
stocks  which  will  be  going  cheap.  If  you  could  take  2/300  tons 
for  this  37ear  we  could  probably  make  you  a  special  offer. 


CHEMICAL   PULP MORRIS   GINTZLER   ET   AL.  6031 

"  We  have  dispatched  to  yon  a  sample  of  our  '  G '  pulp,  and  we 
have  to-day  sent  you  a  further  sample  of  our  '  T '  pulp.  You  have 
already  a  sample  of  the  HX.  These  three  brands  all  run  much  the 
same  and  are  popular  in  this  country  as  being  easy  bleaching,  suitable 
for  printings.  From  one  or  other  of  these  mills  we  could  possibly 
supply  you  with  cheap  lots  for  this  year.  We  can  not  quote  at 
present  until  we  know  that  you  will  be  open,  but  on  hearing  from 
you  we  would  lay  an  offer  before  you." 
Respectfully,  yours, 

GEORGE  W.  WHEELWRIGHT  PAPER  Co. 


MIDDLE-TOWN,  OHIO,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  notice  that  there  is  considerable  agitation  up  in 
reference  to  the  revision  of  the  tariff  on  pulp,  and  that  you  are  filing 
u  protest  against  any  advance.  We  wish  to  join  you  in  this,  and 
state  that  we  consider  it  a  great  injustice  to  the  consumers  of  pulps  to 
increase  the  tariff  on  foreign,  that  the  domestic  manufacturers  might 
increase  the  price  of  their  present  product,  which  we  consider  too 
high  now. 

They  attempted  to  raise  the  price  away  beyond  reason  a  year  or 
so  ago,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  foreign  importation  we  would 
have  been  forced  to  pay  at  least  $3  or  $4  a  ton  more  for  domestic. 

If  anything  is  done,  we  consider  that  the  schedule  should  be  re- 
duced, rather  than  advanced. 

We  hope  that  you  may  be  able  to  place  the  matter  before  the 
proper  authorities  at  Washington  in  such  a  light  that  they  will  see  what 
an  injustice  would  be  done  the  consumers  if  any  advance  is  made. 
Yours,  truly, 

.THE  PAUL  A.  SORG  PAPER  COMPANY, 
M.  T.  HARTLEY,  Treasurer. 


MARCELLUS  FALLS,  N.  Y.,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  14th,  would  say  that 
we,  as  paper  manufacturers,  consider  it  would  be  a  great  mistake  to 
increase  the  tariff  on  such  grades  of  chemical  pulp  as  are  being  im- 
ported into  this  country,  including  the  high  grades  of  sulphite  and 
sulphate  pulp,  such  as  is  used  in  all  superior  grades  of  wrapping 
specialties,  for  the  very  reason  there  is  very  little,  if  any,  made  in  this, 
country  that  comes  up  to  the  requirements  of  this  class  of  paper. 

The  manufacturers  of  sulphite  and  other  grades  of  chemical  pulp 
in  this  country  are  satisfied  to  make  a  grade  of  stock  that  will  answer 
for  news  paper  and  the  lower  grades  of  wrapping  paper,  but  do  not 
make  a  quality  that  will  answer  for  the  better  grades  of  paper. 

Consequently  the  paper  mills  confining  themselves  to  the  better 
grade  of  wood  papers,  as  a  rule  are  buying  imported  stock,  simply 
because  the  home  product  that  is  on  the  market  will  not  fill  the  bill. 


6032  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

f 

Increasing  the  tariff  will  not  increase  the  consumption  of  the 
home  product  of  chemical  pulp,  but  it  will  increase  the  importation 
of  the  foreign  high-grade  paper,  to  the  detriment  of  the  mills  now 
making  these  high  grades  at  home  in  our  own  country. 

For  these  reasons  we  are  opposed  to  an  increase  of  the  tariff  on 
imported  stock,  especially  as  our  own  supply  of  wood  is  now  so 
limited. 

Yours,  truly, 

MARCELLUS  PAPER  COMPANY, 
Per  F.  J.  FORD. 


TONAWANDA,  N.  Y.,  November  18,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OP  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  With  reference  to  the  hearing  before  the  Committee 
on  Ways  and  Means  in  the  House  of  Representatives  on  November 
21,  we  would  desire  to  protest  against  any  increase  on  the  present  im- 
portation duty  on  pulp. 

We  are  convinced  that  an  increase  on  this  duty  would  work  to  the 
detriment  of  American  manufacturers  using  pulp  or  sulphite,  not 
only  because  the  higher  cost  of  production  and  relatively  higher  cost 
of  labor  in  the  country  is  in  itself  a  handicap  against  the  American 
manufacturer,  but  because  the  rapid  depletion  of  our  own  forests, 
particularly  of  spruce,  which  is  the  best  wood  for  the  manufacture 
of  pulp  board,  makes  it  vitally  important  that  we  be  able  to  obtain 
pulp  from  the  Canadian  market. 

This  not  only  protects  our  own  forests,  but  is  also  a  protection 
against  the  flooding  of  our  market  with  pulp  board  from  Sweden 
and  Norway. 

Very  truly,  yours, 

TONAWANDA  BOARD  AND  PAPER  COMPANY. 


BOSTON,  November  17,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS. 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN:  Learning  that  there  is  an  agitation  to  increase  the 
tariff  on  wood  pulp,  we  desire,  as  manufacturers  using  this  kind  of 
stock,  to  protest  against  such  proposed  increase. 

We  are  convinced  that  to  raise  the  duty  would  benefit  only  a  few 
individuals,  and  would  be  detrimental  to  the  whole  paper-making 
industry.  More  than  this,  it  would  have  a  very  prejudicial  effect 
upon  the  forests  of  the  United  States,  which  need  the  most  enlight- 
ened legislation  and  care  to  save  them  from  practical  extinction. 

Hoping  that  your  committee  will  most  seriously  urge  that  the  pres- 
ent schedule  be  diminished  rather  than  increased,  we  are, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

MUNROE  FELT  AND  PAPER  COMPANY, 
JAMES  P.  MUNROE,  Treasurer. 


CHEMICAL  PULP— MORRIS   GINTZKEB   ET   AL.  6033 

CLEVELAND,  OHIO,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN  :  As  we  buy  considerable  tonnr.ge  of  foreign  sulphite. 
we  are  greatly  interested  in  the  proposed  revision  of  the  tariff.  It 
seems  to  us  that  it  would  be  a  grave  mistake  to  advance  the  present 
duty  and  thereby  discourage  importation  of  wood  pulp  at  a  time  when 
this  country  needs  all  its  domestic  timber,  which  is  being  rapidly 
exhausted.  The  present  duty  aifords  a  reasonable  protection  to  do- 
mestic producers,  and  yet  permits  considerable  importations  to  supply 
the  paper  and  board  mills  of  this  country.  We  wish  to  join  you  in 
expressing  our  protest  against  any  advance  in  the  pulp  schedule. 
Yours,  respectfully, 

THE  OHIO  BOXBOARD  COMPANY, 
THOS.  W.  Ross,  Treasurer. 


VICKSBURG,  MICH.,  November  17, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  MAKERS, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

DEAR  SIRS:  Your  letter  of  November  14  received  and  noted.  Of 
course  it  goes  without  saying  that  the  paper  mills  do  not  wish  any 
advance  or  any  change  of  any  kind  in  the  duty  on  wood  pulp.  The 
mills  are,  as  a  rule,  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  present  tariff  on  both 
pulp  and  papers,  with  the  exception  that  the  present  tariff  on  impor- 
tation of  papers  is  very  indefinite  and  allows  many  times  high-priced 
papers  to  be  imported  under  a  low  tariff. 

At  the  meeting  in  Chicago  last  week  the  fine  writing  mills  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  represent  them  at  the  hearing  in  Washington, 
and  it  would  seem  as  though  a  conjunction  of  your  committee  with 
that  would  be  a  good  idea  and  work  out  to  the  good  of  all  concerned. 
Mr.  C.  A.  Crocker  is  the  chairman  of  this  committee  in  question. 
Yours,  truly, 

LEE  PAPER  COMPANY, 
O.  H.  BRIGGS,  Manager. 

HIGHLAND  PARK,  CONN.,  November  17t  1908. 
COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Your  circular  of  the  14th  came  duly  to  hand.  We 
are  but  small  consumers  of  sulphite  pulp,  and  therefore  it  would  not 
make  as  much  difference  to  us  if  the  tariff  was  increased  or  decreased 
as  though  we  were  larger  users.  We  may,  perhaps,  be  able  to  give 
nearer  to  a  disinterested  opinion  in  the  matter  than  as  though  we 
were  larger  consumers.  We  think,  however,  it  would  be  very  unwise 
to  increase  the  duty  on  pulp,  in  view  of  the  rapid  disappearance  of 
the  forests  in  this  country,  also  the  agitation  which  has  sprung  up 
among  the  newspaper  men  for  a  lower  price  on  their  paper.  While  we 
do  not  have  any  great  sympathy  with  them  in  their  contention,  from 
some  of  the  editorials  we  have  read,  and  they  do  not  seem  to  know 
what  they  are  talking  about,  only  that  they  want  a  lower  price  on 


0034  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

paper,  still  we  think  it  would  be  unwise  to  do  anything  that  would 
necessitate  an  increase  of  price  in  news.     We  should  recommend,  if 
there  is  to  be  any  change  at  all,  that  it  should  be  decreased  rather 
than  increased,  in  view  of  the  facts  stated  above. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

CASE  BROS.   (INCORPORATED), 
Per  R.  N.  STANLEY,  Secretary. 


MANAYUNK,  PHILADELPHIA,  November  17,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  14th  instant,  we  don't 
think  it  advisable  to  change  the  tariff  on  pulp  and  paper,  and  cer- 
tainly not  to  increase  it,  as  we  are  very  large  users  of  imported  pulp, 
both  bleached  and  unbleached.  Our  reason  for  using  this  pulp  is 
that  we  were  forced  to  buy  it  on  account  of  the  domestic  sulphite 
manufacturers  getting  together  and  putting  a  prohibitive  price  on 
the  domestic  pulp. 

If  there  is  any  change  to  be  made  in  the  tariff,  we  think  there 
should  be  a  reduction  made  on  the  bleached  pulp,  as  it  is  too  high,  or, 
better  still,  if  the  Government  desires  to  protect  our  own  forests  we 
don't  see  why  there  should  be  any  duty  at  all  on  the  imported  pulps, 
as  it  certainly  would  encourage  the  use  of  them  and  protect  our  own 
forests  and  not  affect  the  domestic  sulphite  manufacturers,  as  they 
have  at  present  virtually  no  competition  outside  of  the  imported 
pulps. 

Yours,  truly,  MCDOWELL  PAPER  MILLS, 

C.  MCDOWELL. 


HOLYOKB,  MASS.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  have  your  favor  of  the  14th  instant  with  refer- 
ence to  the  present  duty  on  pulps  and  would  state  that  we  are  in  favor 
of  a  reduction  in  present  duties,  and  in  view  of  the  rapidly  decreas- 
ing amount  of  pulp  wood  in  this  country  we  trust  that  the  congres- 
sional committee  will  report  in  favor  of  such  a  reduction. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

C.  E.  POPE  PAPER  COMPANY, 
C.  W.  WHITING,  Treasurer. 


MILTON,  N.  H.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Regarding  the  tariff  on  mechanical  and  chemical 
wood  pulp,  this  company  is  very  much  opposed  to  any  increase  of  the 
duty;  it  would  work  an  unnecessary  hardship  on  consumers.  We  are 
paying  now  $42  for  unbleached  sulphite,  the  highest  price  I  can  re- 
member. The  duty  on  mechanical  pulp  should  be  taken  off  entirely. 


CHEMICAL   PULP MORRIS   GINTZLER  ET   AL.  6035 

The  price  of  this  commodity  is  not  regulated  by  duty,  but  entirely  by 
the  water  supply  and  the  ability  of  the  grinders  to  operate.  A 
drought  creates  high  prices;  plenty  of  water  power,  low  prices.  It 
is  a  low-priced  product  normally,  and  the  high  freight  rates  from 
Canada  and  elsewhere  make  a  sufficiently  high  natural  duty  to  always 
give  domestic  pulp  an  advantage  of  from  $2  to  $4  per  ton. 
Yours,  truly, 

W.  S.  LOWE,  Treasurer. 


RICHMOND,  VA.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  answer  to  your  letter  of  the  14th  instant,  beg  to 
say  we  feel  that  the  present  duty  on  wood  pulp  is  sufficient  to  protect 
the  industry  of  this  country,  and  at  the  same  time  the  prices  obtained 
for  the  domestic  product  are  profitable  to  the  manufacturers. 

We  are  not  large  consumers  of  foreign  sulphite,  but  we  use  this 
product  in  the  manufacture  of  our  paper  to  some  extent,  and  if  the 
duty  on  same  is  advanced,  we  will  consequently  have  to  pay  a  higher 
price,  which  will  affect  materially  the  profit  on  our  paper  in  which 
this  sulphite  is  used.  We  are  therefore  opposed  to  any  advance  in 
the  duty  on  wood  pulp. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

THE  ALBERMARLE  PAPER  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY. 
H.  W.  ELLEKSON,  President. 


Mmm.ETOwN,  OHIO,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  are  in  receipt  of  your  favor  of  the  14th,  request- 
ing us  to  give  you  a  letter  in  regard  to  increasing  duties  on  wood 
pulp. 

In  reply  would  say  that  this  article  does  not  interest  us  very  much, 
as  our  usage  is  very  small.  However,  we  think  it  would  be  a  great 
mistake  for  Congress  to  increase  the  duty  on  wood  pulp,  especially  at 
this  time,  when  there  is  so  much  agitation  going  on  in  Congress  and 
elsewhere  in  regard  to  protecting  our  forests. 

To  increase  the  duty  on  wood  pulp  would  certainly  have  a  tendency 
to  create  more  demand  for  wood  in  this  country,  and"  there  is  no  doubt 
but  what  we  are  all  interested  in  preserving  our  forests  as  much  as 
possible ;  hence  the  more  pulp  that  comes  into  this  country  the  more 
protection  we  give  our  forests. 

We  think,  however,  that  you  are  unduly  alarmed,  as  we  do  not 
think  there  is  any  Congressman  or  Senator  that  would  be  so  unwise 
as  to  raise  the  duty  on  wood  pulp  at  the  present  time,  especially  after 
the  recent  recommendations  of  President  Roosevelt  in  regard  to  put- 
ting newspaper  and  pulp  on  the  free  list. 
Very  respectfully,  yours. 

THE  WARDLOW-THOMAS  PAPER  COMPANY. 


6036  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

BARDEEN  PAPER  COMPANY, 
Otscgo,  Mich.,  November  16, 1908. 

COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York. 

DEAR  SIRS:  We  have  yours  of  the  14th.  As  we  are  manufacturers 
of  paper  and  not  of  wood  pulp  we  naturally  want  to  buy  our  pulp  as 
cheaply  as  we  can,  and  are  not  in  favor  of  increased  duties. 

While  we  believe  in  protection  to  home  industries,  we  also  believe 
in  competition. 

Yours,  truly,  G.  E.  BARDEEN,  President. 

K.  BARDEEN. 


SEYMOUR,  CONN.,  November  16, 1908. 

COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Replying  to  yours  of  14th.  we  are  not  large  users  of 
wood  pulp,  but  any  increase  of  duty  on  pulp  will  affect  us  in  propor- 
tion to  larger  users.  We  are  opposed  to  any  increase  of  tariff  on 
wood  pulp. 

Yours,  truly,  S.  Y.  BEACH  PAPER  Co. 


NOVEMBER  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  have  your  circular  letter  14th,  and  will  say  that 
it  is  our  earnest  desire  that  the  duties  on  wood  pulp  remain  at  the 
present  figures.  It  strikes  us  they  are  quite  equitable,  and  we  sincerely 
trust  your  committee  can  so  convince  the  proper  authorities  at  Wash- 
ington. 

Yours,  truly,  THE  BECKETT  PAPER  Co., 

F.  BECKETT,  Treasurer. 


MORRIS,  ILL.,  November  16,  1908. 

COMMITTE  OF  WOOD  PuLP  IMPORTERS. 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN:  Answering  your  favor  of  the  14th  instant,  we  bog 
to  advise  that  it  is  not  our  wish  or  desire  that  there  should  be  any 
increase  or  advance  on  the  duty  in  the  pulp  schedule. 

Any  change  in  the  present  tariff  on  wood  pulp  in  the  line  of  an  in- 
crease would  simply  add  an  additional  burden  to  the  consumer  and 
the  manufacturer,  and  we  trust  that  no  such  action  will  be  taken  when 
the  tariff  is  revised. 

Yours,  very  truly, 

PRAIRIE  Box  BOARD  Co., 

B.  F.  McKEAGE,  Jr.,  Secretary-Treasurer. 


6037 

FORESTPORT,  N.  Y.,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

DEAR  SIRS:  In  reply  to  yours  we  will  say  we  have  carefully  con- 
sidered the  matter,  and  have  decided  that,  in  our  opinion,  it  is  for 
the  best  interest  of  the  general  public  that  the  duty  on  wood  pulp  and 
paper  be  left  where  it  now  is. 

Respectfully,  yours,  A.  R.  PENNINGTON  &  Co. 


PARSONS  PAPER  COMPANY, 
Holyoke,  Mass.,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  14th  instant,  in  regard 
to  the  duty  on  wood  pulp,  would  say  that  we  are  decidedly  opposed 
to  any  advance  in  duties  upon  this  material.  We  do  not  see  that 
there  is  any  need  for  such  an  advance,  and,  as  stated,  we  think  it 
would  be  much  better  that  none  should  be  made. 
Yours,  truly, 

EDWARD  P.  BAGG,  Treasurer. 


PHOENIX,  N.  Y.,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  are  not  in  favor  of  a  revision  of  the  tariff  on 
wood  pulp.  As  the  matter  now  stands  we  believe  the  present  duty 
affords  sufficient  protection  to  American  manufacturers,  allowing 
them  to  compete  with  foreign  pulps.  To  increase  the  tariff  would  in- 
crease the  cost  of  paper. 

A  reduction  would  unsettle  values,  demoralize  business,  and  be 
detrimental  to  the  pulp  and  paper  industries  of  this  country. 
Yours,  respectfully, 

OSWEGO  RIVER  PAPER  MILLS. 


GREEN  BAY,  Wis.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

Room  721,  5  Beekman  Street,  New  York  City. 
GENTLEMEN:  Acknowledging  the  receipt  of  your  communication 
of  14th,  to  be  perfectly  frank  with  you,  we  believe  it  to  be  to  the  best 
interest  of  the  industry,  if  not  ourselves  individually,  to  stand  pat  on 
the  tariff  question  so  far  as  it  relates  to  wood  pulp. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

NORTHERN  PAPER  MILLS, 
IVER  J.  TERP,  Secretary. 


6038  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND    BOOKS. 

NEW  HAVEN,  CONN.,  November  16,  1908. 

COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York. 

GENTLEMEN:  Yours  of  the  14th  received,  and  beg  to  advise  that 
we  can  not  conceive  of  any  sane  argument  in  favor  of  an  advance  in 
the  pulp  schedule.  While  it  is  against  our  interest  as  consumers  of 
pulp,  in  a  broad  sense  we  believe  it  would  be  antagonistic  to  business 
welfare. 

Very  truly,  yours, 

THE  NEW  HAVEN  PULP  AND  BOARD  Co., 
WM.  R.  SHAFFER,  Secretary. 


BOSTON,  November  16. 1V08. 

COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York. 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  reply  to  yours  of  14th  instant,  I  believe  that  any 
change  of  the  duty  on  wood  pulp,  especially  an  advance,  would  be  an 
injury  to  the  paper  trade  of  this  country  and  should  not  be  under- 
taken. The  reasons  are  too  obvious  to  need  repetition  to  anyone 
conversant  with  trade  conditions. 
Very  truly,  yours,  * 

NATIONAL  FIBRE  BOARD  Co., 
By  STEPHEN  MOORE,  Treasurer. 


LEE,  MASS.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  14th,  in  which  you 
ask  us  to  express  an  opinion  as  to  whether  we  are  in  favor  of  an 
increase  in  the  tariff  duty  on  imported  pulp,  we  beg  to  state  that 
we  are  not  in  favor  of  such  an  increase,  as  we  believe  it  would 
\vork  an  injury  to  the  paper  manufacturer,  as  well  as  the  consumer 
of  paper,  for  certainly  if  you  increase  the  duty  on  pulp  it  will  mean 
an  increase  cost  to  the  manufacturer,  which  he  will  have  to  add 
to  the  cost  going  to  the  trade,  or,  in  other  words,  he  would  have  to 
get  more  money  for  his  paper  if  the  pulp  costs  very  much  more. 
While  we  are  not  very  large  users  of  pulp,  we  can  see  where  it  would 
work  to  a  great  disadvantage  in  some  grades  of  papers. 
Yours,  truly, 

MOUNTAIN  MILL  PAPER  Co., 
EDWARD  P.  STEVENSON,  Treasurer. 


MONROE,  MICH.,  November  16, 1908. 
The  COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  are  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  14th.  While 
we  do  not  at  present  use  any  sulphite  in  the  manufacturing  of  our 
product,  yet  we  are  interested  in  all  lines  of  the  industry,  and  we 
believe  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  do  any  tinkering  with  the  tariff  on 


CHEMICAL   PULP MORRIS    QINTZLER    ET    AL.  6039 

wood  pulp  or  sulphite,  as  it  simply  tends  to  demoralize  business  until 
the  thing  is  settled. 

We  certainly  hope  you  will  make  your  influence  felt  on  Congress, 
as  we  think  the  tariff  is  all  right  as  it  is  and  should  not  be  changed. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

MONROE  BINDER  BOARD  Co., 
L.  W.  NEWCOMER,  President. 


EAST  DOWNINGTOWN,  PA.,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  street,  New  York,  N.  T. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  wish  to  enter  our  protest  against  any  increase  of 
duty  on  wood  pulp. 

Yours,  truly,  FRANK  P.  MILLER  PAPER  Co. 

FRANK  PARKE. 


MEGARGEE  PAPER  MILLS, 
Philadelphia,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

Room  721,  5  Beekman  street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
GENTLEMEN:  Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  14th  instant  on  the 
duty  on  wood  pulp.     We  are  very  much  surprised  to  hear  that  there  is 
any  agitation  for  an  increase  of  the  duty  on  pulp;  we  supposed  the 
entire  agitation  was  the  other  way.    So  far  as  we  have  looked  into 
the  matter  we  think  the  present  duty,  if  worded  more  specifically,  is 
about  right,  as  it  covers,  to  the  best  of  our  knowledge,  the  difference 
in  cost  of  labor  between  this  country  and  foreign  labor. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

GEO.  M.  MEGARGEE,  Secretary. 


CHILLICOTHE,  OHIO,  November  17,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN:  Replying  to  your  letter  of  the  14th,  it  is  our  firm 
belief  that  the  interests  of  the  paper  trade  as  a  whole,  as  well  as  our 
own  interests,  will  be  best  served  by  leaving  the  duty  as  it  now  stands 
on  pulp. 

Yours,  very  truly, 

THE  MEAD  PULP  AND  PAPER  COMPANY, 
By  GEO.  H.  MEAD,  General  Manager. 


MARION,  IND.,  November  17,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  have  your  circular  letter  of  the  14th  instant  in 
regard  to  the  agitation  which  is  now  on  regarding  the  advance  in 
tariff  on  wood  pulps  into  this  country.  We  certainly  would  not  be 

75941— H.  Doc.  ir>0f>.  <>0-2— Vol  (5 18 


6040  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS, 

in  favor  of  any  advance  in  tariff  on  wood  pulps,  nor  would  we  like 
to  ask  for  any  decrease,  as  we  know  the  situation  of  the  pulp  mills. 
We  believe  that  we  would  be  better  off  without  any  change  whatever, 
as  with  the  present  duty  on  wood  pulp  the  pulp  mills  can  make  a 
nice  profit  on  their  pulp,  and  we  certainly  do  not  want  the  duty  on 
pulp  reduced  so  as  to  compel  our  pulp  mills  here  to  close  their  plants, 
nor  do  we  want  the  duty  on  pulp  so  it  will  prohibit  the  importation 
of  the  same. 

We  are  using  considerable  foreign  pulp  as  well  as  American,  and 
we  believe  that  the  present  duties  on  pulps  are  adequate  at  the  present 
time. 

Yours,  very  truly,  THE  MARION  PAPER  Co. 

H.  A.  GABLE,  Treasurer. 


LAWRENCE,  KANS.,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  are  in  receipt  of  your  circular  letter  of  the  14th 
regarding  the  agitation  which  has  recently  swept  over  the  country, 
and  regarding  the  revision  of  the  tariff.  We  trust  that  there  may  be 
no  movement  toward  an  increased  duty  on  pulp.  Certainly  it  would 
be  a  disadvantage  to  us  and  to  all  consumers  in  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try to  have  the  tariff  increased  on  pulp. 
Respectfully, 

LAWRENCE  PAPER  MFG.  Co., 
PAUL  A.  DINSMOOR, 

Assistant  Manager. 

YORK  PA.,  November  16, 1908. 
WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS'  ASSOCIATION, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  do  not  use  any  wood  pulp  and  we  really  do  wish 
to  do  all  in  our  power  to  oppose  any  advance  on  raw  material  to  pro- 
tect the  interests  justly  of  the  paper  manufacturers.      Anything 
further  we  can  do  in  this  matter  will  be  cheerfully  done. 
Respectfully,  yours, 

LAFEAN  PAPER  COMPANY. 


WATERTOWN,  N.  Y., 

November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York. 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  response  to  your  circular  dated  November  14,  we 
have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  we  are  not  in  favor  of  advancing 
the  duties  on  wood  pulps,  and,  more  than  that,  we  should  be  in  favor 
of  taking  all  duty  off  ground  wood  provided  an  agreement  could  be 
made  with  the  Canadian  government  that  no  export  duty  be  put  upon 
their  pulp  wood.  We  are,  however,  in  favor  of  keeping  the  present 
duties  on  sulphite  pulps. 

Yours,  truly,  KNOWLTON  BROTHERS. 


CHEMICAL    PULP MORRIS    GINTZLER    BT    Air.  6041 

KALAMAZOO,  MICH.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

Yew  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  14th,  we  can  hardly 
believe  that  Congress  will  think  of  increasing  the  duty  on  pulp,  as 
popular  sentiment  seems  to  lean  very  strongly  toward  a  reduction 
of  the  duty.  There  is  no  question  but  that  it  would  be  a  tremendous 
disadvantage  to  the  manufacturers  if  the  tariff  were  raised,  as  the 
domestic  manufacturers  would  immediately  fall  in  line  and  increase 
their  prices  accordingly.  Of  the  two,  we  should  much  sooner  have 
the  tariff  lowered  a  little,  but  our  judgment  would  be  that  the  pres- 
ent schedule  was  just  about  right  for  the  protection  of  the  pulp 
manufacturers  and  the  paper  manufacturer  as  well. 
Yours,  truly, 

KALAMAZOO  PAPER  COMPANY. 


SENECA  FALLS,  N.  Y.,  November  16,  1908. 
MESSRS.  COM.,  ETC. 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  object  to  any  change  in  present  tariff  on  wood  pulp. 
Yours,  truly, 

E.  S.  INGERSOLL. 


CASTLETON,  N.  Y.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD-PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  have  yours  of  the  14th  in  reference  to  duty  on 
wood  pulp,  and  would  state  that  we  do  not  buy  wood  pulp,  therefore 
have  no  interest  in  the  matter  beyond  an  indirect  one.  It  is  our 
opinion  that  the  duty  is  high  enough  to  protect  the  manufacturers  in 
the  United  States.  On  account  of  low-water  conditions,  we  under- 
stand pulp  is  very  high  just  at  present.  Probably  your  demands  of 
importations  when  under  normal  conditions  would  be  shut  off  and 
probably  at  a  loss  to  importers.  However,  these  conditions  are  not 
likely  to  prevail  for  long;  therefore  think  our  domestic  manufac- 
turers can  stand  it. 

Yours,  truly,  INGALLS  &  Co., 

H.  H.  G.  INGALLS,  Secretary. 


PHILADELPHIA,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD-PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN:  Yours  of  the  14th  received.     Our  mills  are  making 
board  from  old  papers,  so  that  while  we  join  3Tou  in  your  protest 
against  higher  tariff,  we  can  not  do  so  as  users  of  pulp. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

ELLSWORTH  H.  HULTS,  Jr. 


6042  SCHEDULE    M — PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

NORWICH,  CONN.,  November  17,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Yours  of  the  14th  received,  and  we  are  satisfied  with 
the  tariff  upon  wood  pulp  as  it  is  at  present  and  do  not  think  it  neces- 
•ary  for  any  advance  to  be  made,  as  the  manufacturers  have  to  pay  as 
much  as  it  is  possible  for  them  to  do  and  live  and  carry  on  their  busi- 
ness of  making  paper  for  the  market,  competing  with  other  foreign 
papers. 

Yours,  truly,  THE  A.  H.  HUBBARD  Co., 

CHARLES  L.  HUBBARD,  President. 


POTSDAM,  N.  Y.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

Room  721,  Beekman  Street,  New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  have  your  circular  of  the  14th,  and  note  con- 
tents. We  are  opposed  to  any  change  in  the  tariff  on  wood  pulp  at 
this  time  because  we  are  satisfied  with  the  situation  as  it  now  exists. 
We  are  manufacturers  of  nothing  but  ground  wood,  and  therefore  an 
advance  of  the  duty  would  not  oe  likely  to  affect  us  adversely.  At 
the  same  time,  it  is  our  opinion  that  it  is  better  to  leave  conditions  as 
(hey  are,  as  we  think  that  the  interests  of  the  paper  manufacturers 
and  the  paper  consumers  would  best  be  served  by. preserving  stability 
in  the  tariff. 

The  protection  afforded  by  the  present  tariff  is  a  reasonable  and 
proper  one,  and  is  the  result  of  years  of  experience.  We  should  not 
view  with  favor  any  reduction,  nor  do  we  think  that  it  would  be  wise 
to  advance  the  duty,  taking  into  consideration  all  the  conditions  which 
have  to  do  with  the  operation  of  the  various  branches  of  paper  man- 
ufacture. 

Yours,  respectfully, 

HANNAWA   FALLS  WATER  POWER  COMPANY, 
Per  E.  A.  MKURITT,  Jr.,  Receiver. 


PHILADELPHIA,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

Room  721,  5  Beekman  /Street,  New  York  City. 
DEAR  SIRS  :  We  are  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  November  4,  request- 
iug  an  expression  of  opinion  upon  the  subject  of  an  advance  of  the 
duties  on  wood  pulp. 

We  are  users  of  wood  pulp,  and  in  considerable  quantity,  in  our 
manufacture.  We  beg  to  state  that  the  present  price  of  paper  is  so  low 
and  the  margin  of  profit  so  small  that  if  there  is  an  increase  in  the 
duty  of  wood  pulp  it  can  not  possibly  be  borne  by  our  branch  of  the 
manufacture  and  will  have  to  be  added  to  the  price  of  the  paper. 
There  is  no  doubt,  therefore,  that  if  the  duty  is  advanced  the  price 
of  our  product  must  advance  accordingly,  and  as  it  enters  into  our 
paper  in  considerable  percentage  the  advance  of  our  price  will  have 
to  oe  at  least  proportionate. 
Truly,  yours, 

THE  GI.KN  MILLS  PAPER  COMPANY, 
PerTnos.  L.  SHAW. 


CHEMICAL    PULP MORRIS    G1NTZLER    ET    AL,  6043 

APPLETON,  Wis.,  November  16,  1908. 
The  COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York. 

GENTLEMEN:  Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  14th  instant,  we  are 
of  the  opinion  that  the  present  tariff  on  imported  sulphite  is  all  that 
is  necessary  to  afford  proper  protection  to  domestic  manufacturers. 
Strictly  speaking,  and  from  a  selfish  standpoint,  it  probably  would  be 
more  to  our  interest  if  the  duty  might  be  removed;  yet,  we  are  be- 
lievers in  the  principle  of  protection,  and  while  sulphite  to  us  is  a  raw 
material  it  is  a  finished  product  to  others  engaged  in  its  manufacture. 
Certainly  we  believe  that  the  duty  should  not  be  increased. 
Yours,  truly, 

Fox  RIVER  PAPER  COMPANY. 


/s  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y.,  November  16,  1908. 

COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :   Replying  to  your  circular  letter  of  the  14th  instant, 
beg  to  state  we  are  against  any  change  in  the  tariff  on  pulp  and  paper. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

FLOWER  CITY  TISSUE  MILLS  COMPANY, 
By  F.  M.  NEPHEW. 


BENNINGTON,  VT.,  November  17,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

Room  721,  5  Beekman  Street,  New  York. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  are  duly  in  receipt  of  yours  of  the  14th  instant. 
In  reply  will  say  that  we  see  no  good  reason  why  the  present  duty 
on  pulps  sho'ild  be  increased.  The  present  price  of  tissue  paper  is 
too  low  as  compared  with  the  present  price  of  sulphite  and  ground 
wood,  and  if  the  duty  on  pulps  was  increased  the  prices  of  paper 
would  have  to  be  increased  accordingly. 

We  are  opposed  to  any  increase  of  duty  on  pulps. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

FILLMORE  &  SLADE, 
By  H.  D.  FILLMORE. 


FALLSBURGH  PAPER  MILLS, 
Fallsburg,  N.  Y.,  November  16, 1908. 
AMERICAN  PAPER  AND  PULP  ASSOCIATION. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Yours  received.  We  use  both  foreign  and  domestic 
sulphite  and  ground  wood,  and  am  in  favor  of  having  the  tariff  re- 
main as  it  is  on  them. 

Most  truly,  EDW.  Y.  LE  FEVRE. 


6044  SCHEDULE   M— PULP,  PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

VINCENNES,  IND.,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York  City,  N.  T. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Your  "  circular  letter  "  relating  to  tariff  on  "  wood 
pulp  "  received.  In  reply  beg  to  say  we  do  not  believe  the  duty  on 
wood  or  wood  pulp  will  be  raised,  as  the  tendency  and  agitation  is 
just  the  opposite. 

We  use  considerable  "  print "  in  lining  strawboards,  but  we  are 
not  advocating  the  lowering  of  the  tariff  as  we  are  not  "  free  traders," 
and  we  do  not  believe  the  tariff  rate  will  be  increased,  as  your  circular 
letter  suggests.  We  are, 

Yours,  respectfully,  EMPIRE  PAPER  COMPANY, 

F.  W.  QUANTZ,  Manager. 


SUNAPEE,  N.  H.,  November^  16 ',  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  14th,  we  hardly  feel 
that  we  can  support  any  movement  for  the  sulphite  manufacturers 
to  increase  the  duty  on  foreign  pulp.  Our  opinion  is  that  with  the 
present  duty  the  domestic  sulphite  manufacturers  ought  to  be  able  to 
compete  with  the  foreign  manufacturers,  and,  even  if  they  do  have 
to  undersell  slightly  the  foreign  manufacturers,  that  there  should 
still  be  a  good  margin  of  profit  to  them. 

Our  idea  of  the  situation  is  that  the  domestic  manufacturers 
thought  there  was  no  end  to  the  price  they  could  charge  and  went 
beyond  the  limits  of  good  judgment  in  their  prices,  so  letting  in  the 
foreign  pulps. 

I  am,  however,  in  favor  of  retaining  the  present  tariff. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

EMERSON  PAPER  COMPANY, 
W.  A.  WHITNEY. 


PHILADELPHIA,  November  17, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York. 

DEAR  SIRS  :  Referring  to  your  letter  of  the  14th,  we  have  given  the 
matter  of  the  present  duty  on  wood  pulp  careful  consideration,  and 
from  our  standpoint  we  do  not  see  how  our  interests  on  this  side 
advance  by  either  raising  or  lowering  the  present  rates  of  duty. 
We  think  they  are  very  fair  as  they  now  stand. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

DILL  &  COLLINS  Co., 
GRELLET  COLLINS, 

President. 


CHEMICAL,   PULiP MORRIS    GINTZLER    ET    AL.  6045 

NEW  YORK,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PTILP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York. 

GENTLEMEN:  Acknowledging  receipt  of  your  circular  letter  with 
regard  to  the  tariff  on  wood  pulp,  we  think  it  would  be  unadvisable 
to  make  any  change  in  the  present  rate  of  duty  on  the  same. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

DIAMOND  MILLS  PAPER  COMPANY, 
C.  G.  VAN  GILDER,  Secretary. 


PHOENIX,  N.  Y.,  November  17, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York. 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  reply  to  your  favor  of  the  14th  we  regret  to  say 
that  it  will  not  be  convenient  for  us  to  attend  the  proposed  meeting. 
Regarding  the  tariff  agitation  and  any  intended  advance  on  pulps 
coming  into  this  country,  we  can  only  say  that  in  self -protection  we 
can  take  but  one  position — we  are  unalterably  opposed  to  any  ad- 
vance in  the  present  schedule.  It  seems  to  us  that  when  it  is  known 
that  the  supply  in  this  country  is  short  at  best,  and  under  adverse 
conditions  such  as  have  prevailed  recently  the  pulp  mills  have  not 
been  able  to  nearly  meet  the  demand,  any  person  or  committee  who 
tried  to  advance  the  rates  of  import  would  only  do  so  to  the  great 
detriment  of  the  paper  mills  who  purchase  their  pulp.  We  shall  be 
glad  to  see  their  efforts  sidetracked. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

CRESCENT  PAPER  AND  MACHINE  COMPANY. 


MARSEILLES,  ILL.,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Regarding  your  favor  of  the  14th  instant,  we  believe 
it  would  be  inadvisable  to  make  any  change  in  the  tariff  on  sulphite 
or  pulp,  for  the  reason  that  it  would  upset  present  conditions  and 
increase  the  cost  of  all  grades  of  paper  and  board  using  this  raw 
material,  and  we  trust  that  your  committee  will  be  successful  in  pre- 
venting any  change  in  the  present  situation. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

CRESCENT  PAPER  COMPANY, 
R.  F.  KNOTT,  President. 

WEST  HENNIKER,  N.  H.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN:  Replying  to  yours  of  the  14th,  we  had  no  idea  that 
there  was  any  prospect  of  increasing  the  present  duty  on  pulps.  All 
the  agitation  we  have  heard  of  was  in  favor  of  reducing  same. 


6046  SCHEDULE    M — PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

It  is  our  opinion  that  it  would  be  advisable  to  maintain  the  rates 
about  as  they  are  at  present. 
Yours,  truly, 

CONTOOCOOK  VALLEY  PAPER  COMPANY, 
H.  A.  EMERSON,  Treasurer. 


HUNTINGTON,  MASS.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Your  circular  letter  of  the  14th  received.  As  we  are 
one  of  the  divisions  of  the  American  "VVriting  Paper  Company,  we 
have  referred  your  letter  to  our  president,  Mr.  W.  N.  Caldwell, 
Holyoke,  Mass.  You  have  the  sympathy  of  this  division  in  your 
efforts  not  to  have  the  duty  on  pulps  increased. 

The  compliments  of  the  writer  to  each  gentleman  represented  on  the 
committee. 

Yours,  truly,  CHESTER  PAPER  COMPANY  DIVISION, 

E.  C.  ROGERS,  Manager. 


LITITZ,  PA.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS. 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  have  yours  of  the  14th  instant  relative  to  the  pos- 
sibility of  an  increase  in  the  duty  on  pulps,  and  we  wish  most  em- 
phatically to  go  on  record  as  being  most  strenuously  opposed  to  any 
such  legislation. 

Yours,  very  truly, 

THE  CONSUMERS  BOXBOARD  AND  PAPER  COMPANY, 
H.  J.  PIERSON,  General  Manager. 


SOUTH  HADLEY  FALLS,  MASS.,  November  17, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  answer  to  your  circular  letter  of  the  14th  instant, 
beg  to  state  that  you  are  right  in  your  supposition  that  we  are  op- 
posed to  any  advance  in  duty  on  foreign  pulp.  We  might  also  add 
that  we  have  the  same  opinion  as  the  Hampshire  Paper  Company 
upon  this  matter. 

Yours,  truly,  CAREW  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY, 

W.  D.  JUDD,  President. 


KALAMAZOO,  MICH.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York. 

GENTLEMEN:  Yours  of  the  14th  at  hand,  and  we  certainly  should 
not  like  to  see  the  duty  on  wood  pulp  raised,  and  we  remain, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

BRYANT  PAPER  COMPANY. 


CHEMICAL   PULP MORRIS    GINTZLER   ET    AL.  6047 

HOUSATONIC,  MASS.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Replying  to  your  favor  of  November  14,  we  would  say 
that  we  are  opposed  to  any  increase  in  the  duty  on  wood  pulp.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  do  not  think  the  duty  ought  to  be  reduced. 
Domestic  manufacturers  are  entitled  to  protection  on  their  product 
the  same  as  we  ask  for  ours. 

Yours,  truly,  B.  D.  RISING  PAPER  COMPANY. 


ROCKFORD,  ILL.,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  It  has  come  to  our  notice  that  there  will  be  an  effort 
made  on  November  21  to  start  a  movement  raising  the  duty  on  wood 
pulp,  which,  in  our  opinion,  would  benefit  nobody  but  a  few  wood- 
pulp  manufacturers  and  work  a  hardship  on  the  consumer  of  all 
grades  of  pulp,  which  is  now  almost  out  of  the  reach  of  the  manu- 
facturers of  the  cheaper  grades  of  paper.  We,  as  users  of  the  several 
grades  of  pulp,  respectfully  appeal  to  you  to  use  every  means  in  your 
power  to  prevent  this  advance. 

Thanking  you  for  any  efforts  you  may  take,  we  remain, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

ROCKFORD  PAPER  Box  BOARD  COMPANY, 
R.  WANTZ,  Manager. 


PITTSTON,  PA.,  November  16.  1908. 

GENTS:  I  am  very  much  opposed  to  any  advance  in  the  present 
tariff  on  wood  pulp  of  any  kind. 

Yours,  respectfully,  G.  B.  ROMMEL. 


SCOTCH  PLAINS,  N.  J.,  November  17,  1908. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  are  not  in  favor  of  adding  to  the  cost  of  the  pulp 
we  are  using  by  having  the  tariff  increased. 
Yours,  truly, 

SEELEY  PAPER  MILLS  COMPANY. 


KALAMAZOO,  MICH.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  have  your  letter  of  the  14th  in  regard  to  the 
tariff  on  imported  wood  and  sulphite,  etc.,  and  in  answer  would  say 
that  we  do  not  think  the  tariff  had  ought  to  be  interfered  with  in  any 
way,  and  that  means  that  we  consider  it  just  about  right  as  it  is. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

STANDARD  PAPKR  COMPANY, 
J.  H.  WHITNEY,  Manager. 


SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

RICHMOND,  VA.,  November  16,  1908. 

COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York. 

DEAR  SIRS  :  Referring  to  your  favor  of  November  14  in  reference  to 
the  duty  on  wood  pulp,  will  state  that  we  think  that  it  would  be 
unwise  for  Congress  to  increase  the  duty  on  this  material,  as  we  our- 
selves do  considerable  export  business  and  presume  that  other  paper 
manufacturers  do  the  same  thing. 

If  the  duty  were  increased  on  wood  pulp  of  any  kind  this  would 
naturally  throw  us  out  of  line  with  the  prices  of  our  foreign  com- 
petitors in  Germany  and  Sweden. 

We  hope,  therefore,  that  there  will  be  no  change  in  these  duties. 
Yours,  truly, 

STANDARD  PAPER  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY, 
R.  S.  CRUMP,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 


FULTON,  N.  Y.,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  wish  to  authorize  you  in  our  behalf  to  make  just 
as  strong  a  protest  as  you  possibly  can  in  the  hearing  before  the 
Ways  and  Means  Committee  at  Washington  against  any  advance  in 
the  tariff  rates  on  sulphite  or  ground  wood. 

There  can  be  no  question  but  that  these  articles  are  now  sufficiently 
protected,  and  if  there  is  any  change  in  the  tariff  it  should  be  down- 
ward rather  than  upward. 

V,"e  believe  it  would  be  a  most  serious  mistake  if  any  advance  in 
the  present  tariff  rates  on  wood  pulp  was  made. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

THE  VICTORIA  PAPER  MILLS  COMPANY, 
By  E.  R.  REDHEAD,  President. 


SKANEATELES,  N.  Y.,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN:  While  we  are  not  large  consumers  of  pulps,  we  cer- 
tainly do  not  want  to  see  any  disturbance  in  the  tariff,  as  that  would 
affect  our  business  in  proportion. 

We  trust  you  will  use  your  best  endeavors  to  see  that  no  disturbance 
occurs. 

Yours,  truly,  CHARLES  G.  WEEKS  COMPANY. 


APPLETON,  Wis.,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Replying  to  your  letter  of  the  14th,  we  are  not  pre- 
pared to  give  you  such  a  letter  as  you  ask  for,  although  upon  further 
investigation  it  might  prove  to  our  interest  to  give  it. 


CHEMICAL    PTJLP— MORBIS    GINTZLER    ET    AL. 

As  we  look  at  it,  the  whole  paper  industry  must  be  considered  as  a 
whole,  and  if  it  develops  that  it  is  to  the  advantage  of  the  trade  gen- 
erally to  have  a  higher  duty  on  sulphite  pulp,  we  are  willing  that  it 
should  be  put  on.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it  develops  that  a  lower  duty 
would  be  of  more  benefit,  then  we  are  ready  to  acquiesce  in  that. 

With  the  information  at  hand  now,  however,  we  can  not  express 
an  opinion  either  way. 

Yours,  respectfully, 

WISCONSIN  TISSUE  PAPER  COMPANY. 


WELLS  RIVER.  VT.,  November  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Replying  to  yours  of  the  1.4th,  we  would  state  that  we 
do  not  use  any  sulphite  pulp,  our  raw  material  being  burlap,  etc. 

We  realize,  however,  that  higher  duties  on  sulphite  would  be  a 
serious  handicap  to  the  majority  of  tissue  manufacturers,  as  the  im- 
ported article  is  really  necessary  to  them.    We  remain, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

ADAMS  PAPER  COMPANY, 
H.  CRABTREE,  Manager. 


BELLOWS  FALLS,  VT.,  November  16, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

Room  721,  5  Beekman  Street,  New  York. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  are  in  receipt  of  your  favor  14th,  and  would  state 
that  in  our  judgment  we  believe  the  duty  on  sulphite  should  remain 
as  it  is. 

Yours,  truly,  JOHN  ROBERTSON  &  SON. 

C.  W.  BLACK. 


BOSTON,  November  20.  1908. 
The  G.  W.  WHEELWRIGHT  PAPER  COMPANY. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  understand  that  you  propose  to  be  represented  in 
Washington  by  way  of  protest  against  any  increase  in  the  tariff  on 
chemical  wood  pulp,  which  is  taxed  under  "  Schedule  M,"  as  follows: 
Unbleached,  one-sixth  of  1  cent  per  pound,  dry  weight;  bleached, 
one-fourth  of  1  cent  per  pound,  dry  weight. 

We  wish  to  make  a  similar  protest 

We  manufacture  in  Maine  rising  45,000  tons  of  chemical  wood 
pulp  by  the  soda  process,  so-called,  more  than  one-half  of  which  we 
sell  to  manufacturers  of  paper,  the  balance  being  used  in  pur  own 
paper  mills.  We  think  the  protection  afforded  our  product  is  ample 
under  existing  law. 

We  buy  about  14,000  tons  of  chemical  wood  pulp,  mainly  un- 
bleached, made  by  the  sulphite  process,  for  use  in  our  paper  mills. 
Of  this  amount  more  than  one-half  is  of  foreign  origin,  five-eighths  of 
our  foreign  purchases  being  Canadian.  The  cost  of  the  foreign  pulp 


6050  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

to  us,  delivered  at  our  mills,  is  about  $4  per  ton  more  than  the  cost  of 
domestic  pulp,  and  the  specific  duty  amounts  to  more  than  8  per  cent 
ad  valorem. 

The  above  figures  relate  to  the  years  1907  and  1908.  The  large 
proportion  of  foreign  pulp  used  in  these  years  is  mainly  due  to  the 
fact  that  in  the  last  part  of  1906  and  the  early  part  of  the  year  1907 
we  found  difficulty  in  obtaining  domestic  sulphite  pulp  at  reasonable 
prices. 

It  would  seem  that  sufficient  protection  is  at  present  afforded  to 
American  manufactures  on  this  item,  and  that  an  increase  in  the  rate 
of  duty  levied  might  result  in  an  unnecessary  addition  to  the  cost 
and  to  the  price  of  paper  in  this  country. 

We  own  three  mills,  situated  in  Maine,  two  paper  and  one  soda 
pulp  mill.  Our  product  of  book  and  surface-coated  papers  is  about 
45,000  tons  per  annum. 

You  are  authorized  to  make  the  above  representations  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Ways  and  Means  in  our  behalf. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

S.  D.  WARREN  &  Co. 

P.  S. — We  wish  to  add  that  no  individual  or  association  is  au- 
thorized to  represent  us  in  respect  to  the  tariff  on  printing  paper. 
We  should  not  object  to  a  revision  of  this  schedule,  provided,  in 
connection  with  it,  are  fairly  considered  the  present  rates  of  duty  on 
articles  entering  the  cost  of  manufacture,  such  as  coal,  clay,  chem- 
icals, and  structural  materials. 


PHOENIX,  N.  Y.,  November  SO,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  or  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Your  favor  of  the  14th  received  during  the  writer's 
absence,  and  now  beg  to  state  that  our  position  in  the  matter  of  tariff 
revision  on  paper,  wood  pulp,  and  sulphite  is  that  no  change  should 
be  made  whatever — that  the  schedule  should  remain  exactly  as  it  is 
now. 

Very  truly,  yours,  SWEET  BROS.  PAPER  MFG.  Co., 

Per  T.  C.  SWEET. 


BUTTE,  MONT.,  November  19,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

5  Beekman  Street,  New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN:  Replying  to  your  circular  letter  dated  the  14th  in- 
stant, subject  duty  on  wood  pulp,  will  say  that  at  the  present  time 
our  mill  is  not  in  operation,  clue  principally  to  the  high  freight  rates 
and  the  lack  of  proper  consideration  from  the  railroad  companies 
for  prompt  service. 

We  would  most  certainly  oppose  a  further  increase  of  duty  of  both 
the  chemical  and  mechanical  pulp,  and  would  earnestly  solicit  your 
efforts  in  our  behalf  to  secure  better  service  from  the  railroads. 
Yours,  truly, 

KING  &  LARGEY  PAPER  MILLS. 
J.  M.  HOWARD,  Manager. 


CHEMICAL    PULP MORRIS    GINTZLER    ET    AL.  6051 

CINCINNATI,  OHIO,  November  £0,  1908. 

COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS. 

GENTLEMEN:  Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  14th  instant,  would  say 
that  we  are  opposed  to  any  increase  of  duty  on  wood  pulp  for  two 
reasons.  The  first  is  that  wood  pulp  enters  very  largely  into  the 
manufacture  of  paper  which  is  used  for  printing,  and  to  make  it 
more  costly  would  simply  mean  that  the  cost  of  printed  matter  would 
be  increased. 

It  is  a  question  whether  or  not  the  public  is  willing  to  pay  higher 
prices  for  its  daily  papers,  its  books,  and  its  literature  generally.  We 
think  that  it  is  not  willing,  and  we  believe  that  anything  tending  to 
increase  the  cost  of  these  almost  necessaries  of  life  will  be  very 
strongly  resented  by  the  people  of  this  country. 

Another  reason  which  we  think  should  appeal  to  the  congressional 
committee  having  this  matter  in  charge  is  that  of  the  preservation  of 
our  forasts.  If  it  is  made  difficult  or  impossible  to  bring  wood  pulp 
here  from  foreign  countries  we  shall  have  to  rely  upon  native  sources 
of  supply,  and  they,  as  you  are  undoubtedly  aware,  have  been  seriously 
depleted  of  late  years. 

Anything  tending  to  further  the  destruction  of  these  forests  will, 
we  think,  be  equally  resented  by  our  people. 
Yours,  truly, 

THE  KNERR  BOARD  AND  PAPER  Co., 
W.  J.  HALDEMAN,  Treasurer. 


MT.  VERNON,  IND.,  November  19,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  OF  WOOD  PULP  IMPORTERS, 

New  York  City. 

GENTLEMEN:  Your  circular  letter  in  relation  to  agitation  in  regard 
to  revision  of  tariff  on  wood  pulp,  print  paper,  etc.,  received.  We  are 
not  users  of  wood  pulp,  but  we  are  in  sympathy  with  all  those  who  are 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  material  entering  into  paper  of  what- 
soever kind,  as  well  as  the  paper  manufacturer,  and  think  there  should 
not  be  any  duties  taken  off  by  Congress  which  would  allow  the  free 
entrance  into  the  United  States  of  paper  or  material  entering  into 
the  manufacture  of  paper,  realizing  as  we  do  that  our  own  industries 
should  be  preferred  first,  last,  and  all  the  time ;  also  knowing  that  the 
profits  on  our  manufactured  goods  are  not  excessive,  and  many  con- 
cerns are  realizing  but  little  from  their  investments. 

Trusting  that  our  Representatives  will  not  bother  with  the  present 
duties,  we  nro. 

Very  truly,  yours,  MT.  VERNON  STRAWBOARD  Co., 

R.  A.  AUSTIN,  Manager. 


6052  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

THE  MONADNOCK  PAPER  MILLS,  BOSTON,  THINKS  THERE  SHOULD 
BE  NO  INCREASE  IN  DUTY  ON  PULP. 

BOSTON,  November  30, 1908. 
CHAIRMAN  WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  We  understand  that  the  American  Pulp  and  Paper  As- 
sociation is  advocating  and  is  going  to  present  to  you  on  the  21st 
instant  its  views  as  to  raising  the  duty  on  imported  pulps  from 
Europe  to  100  per  cent. 

We  are  members  of  the  above  association,  but  we  wish  to  go  on 
record  as  being  strongly  opposed  to  any  such  change  in  the  tariff. 

We  are  not  manufacturers  of  pulp  and  are  obliged  to  buy  all  of  our 
pulp  for  the  manufacture  of  our  paper,  and  while  we  buy  more  or 
less  of  it  made  in  this  country  as  well  as  in  Canada  we  still  buy  a  large 
quantity  from  Germany  and  Sweden,  for  the  reason  that  the  quality 
of  our  paper  demands  in  some  instances  a  better  grade  of  pulp  than 
can  be  made  in  this  country.  We  have  never  yet  seen  pulp  made  here 
of  as  good  quality  as  that  made  abroad,  and  while  there  are  a  few 
mills  here  that  if  they  exerted  themselves  could  manufacture  this 
quality,  they  would  not  make  enough  to  supply  the  demand  for  this 
grade,  and  if  the  duty  were  raised  100  per  cent  on  the  foreign  pulp 
they  could  make  their  prices  exorbitant.  Many  of  the  mills  in  this 
country  make  their  own  pulp  and  their  own  paper  together,  and  have 
some  pulp  for  sale,  and  a  raise  in  the  duty  to  this  figure  would  benefit 
them  very  materially,  but  it  would  be  a  distinct  detriment  to  the  mills 
like  ourselves  who  are  obliged  to  buy  pulp  in  the  foreign  market,  and 
a  large  proportion  of  the  paper  so  made  in  this  country  is  made  by 
mills  situated  in  similar  circumstances  as  ourselves. 

We  trust  that  no  change  will  be  made  in  the  way  of  an  increase  of 
duty  on  European  pulps. 

Yours,  very  truly,  MONADNOCK  PAPER  MILLS, 

A.  J.  PIERCE,  President. 


THE  TLLESTON  AND  HOLLINGSWORTH  COMPANY,  OF  BOSTON,  OP- 
POSES INCREASE  OF  DUTY  ON  WOOD  PULP. 

BOSTON,  November  20,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C., 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  Washington,  D.  G. 
DEAR  SIR:  This  company  is  opposed  to  any  increase  of  duty  on 
wood  pulp  for  the  following  reasons: 

Our  mill  is  situated  near  this  city  and  produces  about  30  tons  of 
high-grade  paper  per  day.  We  buy  all  of  our  wood  fiber,  not  being 
able  to  manufacture  it,  owing  to  the  location  of  our  mill.  The  low 

grades  are  almost  entirely  of  domestic  production,  but  many  of  the 
igher  grades  of  foreign  sulphite  fiber  are  of  superior  quality  to  any 
made  in  this  country,  and  for  that  reason  we  are  compelled  to  use 
them  in  order  to  obtain  certain  desired  traits  in  our  papers. 

We  are  content  with  the  present  duty  on  wood  pulp,  and  believe 
that  it  is  probably  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  American  pulp 
manufacturers. 


PULP,   AND   PRINT    PAPER.  6053 

We  protest,  however,  against  any  increase  in  the  said  duty.  The 
majority  of  paper  mills  in  the  United  States  make  their  own  pulp, 
manufacture  the  larger  part  of  their  pulp  into  paper,  and  sell  any 
surplus  which  they  may  have.  An  examination  into  the  cost  of 
paper  making  and  into  the  price  at  which  these  mills  sell  their  paper 
will  very  quickly  show  at  what  value  they  take  their  own  pulp  when 
put  to  their  own  uses,  and  tend  to  confirm  our  belief  that  they  already 
have  ample  protection. 

Very  respectfully,  yours, 

TlLESTON  AND  ROLLINGS  WORTH  COMPANY, 

GEO.  F.  CHILD,  Treasurer. 


FINCH,  PRUYN  &  CO.,  GLENS  FALLS,  N.  Y.,  STATE  THAT  PRESENT 
PULP  AND  PAPEE  SCHEDULE  IS  SATISFACTORY. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  21 1 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  I  represent  Finch,  Pruyn  &  Co.  (Incorporated),  a 
domestic  corporation  of  New  York  State  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  paper  and  lumber  at  Glens  Falls,  N.  Y.  The  production  in 
paper,  which  is  all  news  print,  is  approximately  18,000  tons  per  an- 
num. It  saws  into  lumber  from  15,000,000  to  20,000,000  feet  per 
annum.  The  company  employs  approximately  500  men  in  its  manu- 
facturing departments  and  in  its  woodland  operations.  The  city  of 
Glens  Falls  has  a  population  of  about  20,000,  and  its  staple  industry 
is  paper  making,  there  being  a  mill  of  the  International  Paper  Com- 
pany located  there.  I  am  manager  of  the  woodland  department  of 
the  Finch,  Pruyn  &  Co.,  and,  because  of  the  fact  that  the  cor- 
poration is  next  to  the  International  Paper  Company,  the  largest 
owner  of  New  York  State  woodland,  and  is  annually  cutting  a  supply 
of  wood  from  these  lands,  I  am  able  to  supply  the  committee  with 
accurate  figures  on  the  cost  of  production  of  pulp  wood  in  New  York 
State,  and  perhaps  in  addition  to  provide  an  illustration  of  what  the 
effect  of  the  tariff  may  be  upon  woodlands  in  our  section. 

Our  company  owns  160,000  acres  of  Adirondack  forest  land.  The 
experts  say  that  the  annual  growth  of  spruce  and  hemlock  upon 
these  lands  is  something  like  60  feet  to  the  acre.  If  we  exclude  10,000 
acres  for  burns  and  waste  land,  it  leaves  150,000  acres  and,  assuming 
that  the  figures  on  annual  yield  given  by  the  experts  is  correct,  our 
forest  would  produce  something  like  15,000  cords  of  wood  per  year. 
The  capacity  of  our  present  ground-wood  mill  is  about  18,000  tons  per 
year.  Each  cord  of  rough  pulp  wood  produces  1,800  pounds  of 
mechanically  ground  wood,  so  that  our  present  use  of  pulp  wood  for 
ground-wood  purposes  is  approximately  20,000  cords  per  year.  Be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  our  woodlands  would  not  supply  sufficient  wood 
for  a  sulphite  mill  to  supply  our  sulphite,  we  have  in  the  past  pur- 
chased our  sulphite  in  the  open  market. 

The  difference  between  our  consumption  of  pulp  wood  and  the 
yield  from  our  own  lands  we  purchase  in  the  open  market,  mainly 


6054  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

from  Canada.    In  the  year  1907  we  purchased  691  cords  of  rough, 
8,028  of  peeled,  and  1,341  cords  of  rossed  Canadian  pulp  wood. 

In  the  same  season  we  cut  from  our  own  lands  in  New  York  State 
81,397  cords  of  pulp  wood  and  logs,  the  total  cost  of  which,  for  re- 
moval from  the  stump  to  the  nearest  water  for  floating  and  driving  to 
our  mill,  was  $141,115.60.  To  drive  this  wood  to  our  mill  we  expended 
$28,001.94,  and  there  was  chargeable  against  it  for  sundries,  office 
salaries,  etc.,  $8,708.25,  making  the  total  cost  of  getting  this  wood 
from  the  stump  to  our  mill  $177,824.79,  or  $5.66  plus  per  cord.  The 
stumpage  value  of  this  wood  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  fix,  as  the  rapid 
increase  in  the  value  of  stumpage  of  Adirondack  land  for  various 
purposes  is  well  understood.  However,  the  generally  accepted  value 
of  stumpage  for  pulp  wood  purposes  is  from  $2  to  $2.50  per  cord  and, 
assuming  this  stumpage  to  have  an  average  value  of  $2.25  per  cord, 
we  get  a  total  cost  per  cord  at  our  mill  of  $7.91  for  the  wood  delivered 
in  13-foot  logs.  In  making  comparisons  with  the  cost  of  Canadian 
wood,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Canadian  wood  is  cut  into 
4-foot  lengths,  while  the  New  York  State  wood,  from  which  I  have 
given  figures,  comes  to  the  mill  in  the  log. 

The  Canadian  wood  purchased  by  this  company,  as  stated  above,  is 
bought  in  the  open  market  at  points  on  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway 
east  of  Quebec  at  $7  per  cord  for  hand-peeled  4-foot  wood,  and  the 
rough  wood  was  bought  in  the  same  section  at  $5.50  to  $6  per  cord 
and  the  rossed  was  bought  delivered  at  Glens  Falls  at  $11  per  cord. 
The  estimated  cost  of  delivering  4-foot  rough  pulp  wood  at  Mont- 
magny  and  St.  Catherine,  Quebec,  by  the  sea-coast  lumber  company, 
one  of  the  venders  of  the  wood  above  referred  to,  was  $2.90  per  cord 
for  Montmagny  and  $3.30  per  cord  for  St.  Catherine.  These  figures 
were  made  up  of  the  items  of  $2  per  cord  for  the  labor  of  laying  the 
wood  at  these  points,  plus  50  cents  per  cord  in  the  case  of  Montmagny 
and  $1  per  cord  in  the  case  of  St.  Catherine  for  driving,  booming,  and 
sorting  and  40  cents  per  cord  in  each  case  for  stumpage. 

We  are  supplied  with  figures  upon  the  cost  of  delivering  pulp 
wood  to  us  at  the  mouth  of  the  Jacques  Cartier  River,  about  20  miles 
west  of  Quebec  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  items  are  $2  per  cord  for 
labor  from  the  stump  to  the  driving  water ;  driving,  loss  of  measure- 
ment, rossing,  and  loading,  $1 ;  total  cost  of  wood  per  cord,  $3.  No 
account  of  stumpage  value  is  included  in  the  above  figures. 

To  protect  our  New  York  State  forest  lands  and  provide  for  an 
annual  yield,  which  shall  be  permanent,  we  have  asked  the  United 
States  forestry  department  to  supply  us  with  a  working  plan  for  cut- 
ting our  wood  and  the  department  is  now  at  work  upon  such  a  plan. 
So  long  as  we  are  able  to  make  up  the  deficiency  between  our  con- 
sumption and  the  annual  growth  of  our  own  wood,  at  anything  like 
the  present  prices  for  Canadian  wood,  we  shall  lumber,  under  the 
plan  proposed  by  the  United  States  Department.  Should  an  export 
duty  bar  us  from  the  Canadian  market,  we  would  be  forced  to  in- 
crease the  cutting  upon  our  own  land,  and  should  the  present  tariff 
schedule  on  news  print  be  reduced  so  that  we  would  be  forced  to  com- 
pete with  the  Canadian  mills,  having  the  chief  source  of  wood  supply 
above  referred  to,  it  would  be  necessary  to  look  to  our  own  wood 
land  for  our  entire  supply  of  pulp  wooa,  which  would  mean  that  in 
not  to  exceed  twenty-five  years  the  land  would  be  denuded.  Were  it 


PULP,   AND  FEINT   PAPEE.  6055 

not  for  the  rapid  increase  in  value  of  our  New  York  State  wood  land, 
it  might  be  that  there  would  be  a  greater  profit  in  denuding  the  prop- 
erty and  keeping  out  of  the  Canadian  wood  market  than  under  the 
present  plan  of  operating. 

The  present  tariff  schedule  is  satisfactory  to  this  company,  and  to 
reduce  it  means  to  compel  us  to  seek  our  source  of  supply  of  raw 
stock  in  northern  New  York;  and,  while  it  may  mean  that  we  shall 
be  able  for  some  years  to  compete  with  the  Canadian  mills,  it  plainly 
means  that  this  can  be  done  only  through  a  sacrifice  of  the  future  forest 
growth  in  our  section.  The  only  way  to  prevent  this  effect  of  any  sub- 
stantial tariff  reduction  would  be  for  the  State  of  New  York  to  con- 
demn the  forest  land  and  pay  its  present  value. 

In  conclusion  I  desire  to  express,  on  behalf  of  our  company,  our 
approval  of  the  conclusions  expressed  by  Mr.  Lyman  on  behalf  of  the 
International  Paper  Company. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

FINCH,  PRUTN   &  Co.    (!NC.), 
By  GEO.  N.  OSTRAXDER, 

Manager  Woodlands. 


THE  ST.  REGIS  PAPER  CO..  WATERTOWN,  N.  Y.,  WRITES  RELA- 
TIVE TO  STATEMENT  MADE  OF  PRICE  OF  PRINT  PAPER. 

WATERTOWN,  N.  Y.,  November  23, 1908. 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C., 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  Washington,  D.  C. 
DEAR  SIR:  I  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  a  statement  made  by 
John  Norris  in  his  brief  presented  to  your  committee  on  Saturday. 
November  21,  which  is  untrue,  together  with  evidence  thereof. 

The  following  appears  in  the  first  paragraph  of  Mr.  Norris's  brief : 

This  curtailment  of  production  bas  been  availed  of  by  paper  makers  generally 
to  mark  up  the  price  of  news  print  paper  this  week  to  $55  per  ton  New  York, 
or  $20  per  ton  in  excess  of  the  price  which  prevailed  when  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee  considered  this  schedule  twelve  years  ago,  and  $15  per  ton  in  excess 
of  the  price  which  would  prevail  under  normal  conditions. 

I  inclose  herewith  a  copy  of  a  letter  written  by  me  to  Mr.  Norris  on 
November  13,  in  which  we  quote  him  paper  at  the  rate  of  $42  per  ton 
for  an  annual  contract  of  3,000  tons  or  more  f.  o.  b.  mill.  The  rate 
of  freight  to  New  York  from  the  mill  is  $2.60  per  ton,  making  our 
quotation  $44.60  per  ton  New  York  instead  of  $55  per  ton  New  York. 

Our  quotation  to  Mr.  Norris  of  November  13  has  not  been  with- 
drawn ;  indeed,  the  quotation  was  confirmed  to  Mr.  Herman  Ridder, 
president  of  the  American  Newspaper  Publishers'  Association,  during 
the  week,  and  as  late  as  Saturday,  November  21. 

I  also  inclose  quotations  published  by  the  New  York  Journal  of 
Commerce  and  the  Commercial  Bulletin  in  their  edition   printed 
Saturday  morning,  November  21,  confirmatory  of  my  own  quotations, 
and  representing,  from  their  own  investigations,  current  prices. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

ST.  EEGIS  PAPER  COMPANY, 
G.  C.  SHEUMAN.  - 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 19 


6056  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

EXHIBIT  A. 

ST.  KEGIS  PAPER  COMPANY, 

Watertoion,  N.  Y.,  November.  13, 1908. 
JOHN  NORRIS,  Esq., 

American  Newspaper  Publishers'  Association, 

New  York  City. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Messrs.  H.  G.  Craig  &  Co.,  sales  agents  of  the  St.  Regis 
Paper  Company,  have  been  authorized  to  establish  the  following 
prices,  subject  to  change  without  notice.  These  prices  apply  to  our 
product  in  the  eastern  territory,  and  are  absolutely  invariable,  not 
only  as  to  price,  but  to  terms  as  well.  The  quantities  are  for  annual 
consumption,  to  be  shipped  monthly  during  the  year,  as  near  as  may 
be,  viz: 

3,000  tons  or  more $2.10 

2,000  tons  to  3,000  tons 2.12* 

1,000  tons  to  2,000  tons 2. 15 

500  tons  to  1,000  tons 2. 17$ 

100  tons  to  500  tons 2.  20 

Prices  f.  o.  b.  cars  mill,  cash  thirty  days  from  shipment.  Paper  to 
be  charged  at  gross  weight,  including  cores,  cores  to  be  credited  at 
1  cent  per  linear  inch  when  delivered  to  the  mill.  While  we  have 
noted  that  prices  are  subject  to  change  without  notice,  it  is  not  in- 
tended that  they  will  change  excepting  as  conditions  change. 

Our  product  is,  as  you  know,  not  elastic,  and  we  can  not  sell  more 
than  our  unsold  production,  based  upon  normal  running.  At  the 
present  time  we  have  about  60  tons  a  day  available  for  1909. 

When  water  conditions  become  normal  again,  we  intend  to  make 
a  public  quotation  for  such  tonnage  as  we  have  available  for  im- 
mediate delivery,  or,  say,  within  thirty  days,  but  just  at  the  moment 
we  are  not  disposed  to  quote  on  any  other  basis  than  for  yearly  con- 
tracts. 

Yours,  very  truly,  G.  C.  SHERMAN. 


EXHIBIT  B. 

Paper. — Little  improvement  is  reported  in  the  water-supply  situa- 
tion at  the  mills  and  the  consequent  restriction  of  production  keeps 
available  supplies  of  news  print  scarce.  With  a  good  demand  for 
both  sheet  and  roll  the  market  is  very  firm.  Increasing  demand  is 
noted  for  wrappings,  and  a  good  business  is  being  done  in  book  and 
writing  papers  at  full  prices. 

Roll,  annual  contracts,  f.  o.  b.  mill $2.05  @  $2.10 

Roll,  transient  orders,  immediate  delivery 2.25  @  2.50 

News,  sheet,  annual  contract,  f.  o.  b.  mill 2. 15  @  2.  20 

News,  sheet,  transient  orders 2.  30  @  2.  50 

Wrapping,  No.  2,  jute 4.37$ 

Wrapping,  inanila,  No.  1,  wood 2.65  @  3. 15 

Wrapping,  manila,  No.  1,  jute 4.  75 

Wrapping,  manila,  No.  2,  wood 2.35  @  2. 60 

Wrapping,  hardware 3.50  @  4.50 

Writing,  flat,  ledger  and  record .09  @  .20 

Writing,  superfine .  11  (7i)  17 

Writing,   fine .07*  @  ."o9 

Writing,  engine  sized .  06  @  .  07  i 


PULP,   AND  PRINT   PAPER. 


6057 


Book  $3.50  @  $3.80 

Book,  coated .05  @  .06* 

Tissues,  white,  No.  1 .40  @  .41$ 

Tissues,  white,  No.  2 .  37*  @  .40 

Tissues,  colored .40  @  .41$ 

Tissues,  manila,  No.  1 .35  @  .40 

Tissues,  manila,  No.  2 '. -       .  35  @  .38 

Strawboard,  carload  lots,  per  ton 20.00  @  25.00 

Newsboard,  carload  lots,  per  ton 24.  00  @  27.  00 


JOHN  NORRIS,  REPRESENTING  THE  AMERICAN  NEWSPAPER 
PUBLISHERS'  ASSOCIATION,  SUBMITS  SUPPLEMENTAL  STATE- 
MENT RELATIVE  TO  PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER. 

NEW  YORK,  November  SO,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives, 

Washington,  D.  0 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  chairman  asked  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  International  Paper  Company  to  submit  a  statement 
of  the  securities  given  in  exchange  for  mills  merged  into  that  company, 
I  venture -to  furnish  a  memorandum  bearing  upon  the  condition  of 
those  mills  when  merged.  I  present  the  following. 
Yours,  truly, 

JOHN  NORRIS, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Paper, 
American  Newspaper  Publishers'  Association. 

In  January,  1898,  all  the  large  paper  mills  of  the  Eastern  States, 
with  a  few  unimportant  exceptions,  were  merged  into  the  Interna- 
tional Paper  Company.  This  corporation  was  capitalized  upon  a 
basis  of  $55,000,000,  divided  as  follows: 

Bonds $10, 000, 000 

Preferred  stock 25, 000, 000 

Common  stock 20, 000, 000 

The  basis  of  the  consolidation  was  as  follows: 


Corporation. 

Tons. 

Total. 

Glen  Manufacturing  Co  

135 

$4,344,000 

Winnipiseogee                   

70 

2,135,100 

Fail  Mountain  

100 

4,  105,  507 

Russell  Paper                                                    .               .     .        

20 

684,000 

Niagara  Falls  

120 

3,059,800 

Webster  Paper               .         .                 .                                              ..        

26 

592,800 

Haverhill  

40 

228,000 

Hudson  River  (Plattsburg,  Glens  Falls,  St.  Maurice  Lumber  Co.) 

f      150 

3,193,280 

Umbagog  •.  

\      275 
20 

7,  985,  635 
556,800 

Otis  Falls  

150 

4,976,530 

Falmouth.       .              ..             

60 

Herkimer  .'  

25 

592,800 

Lake  George     .    ..        

50 

1,231,200 

Turners  Falls  

11 

228,000 

Rumford  Fails  (plus  Woodland)  .                           

100 

2,280,000 

Piercefleld  

30 

506,000 

Ontario        .           

26 

412,000 

Montague  

50 

1,048,000 

Five  of  the  paper  mills  (Rumford,  Niagara,  Fall  Mountain,  Turners 
Falls,  and  Montague)  rented  their  power  at  a  total  annual  cost  of 
$196,000  per  annum.  Two  others  were  run  by  steam,  which  made 


6058  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPEKS,  AND   BOOKS. 

successful  competition  by  them  impossible,  and  five  others  had  insuffi- 
cient power.  Four  owned  no  wood  lands  and  ten  of  the  mills  had  no 
sulphite  auxiliaries. 

One  hundred  and  one  paper-making  machines  were  comprised  hi 
the  plants  of  these  mills,  but  only  half  of  them  were  of  recent  construes 
tion  or  of  desirable  pattern.  Fifty  of  the  paper  machines  in  the  mill- 
wjBre  almost  worthless.  Mr.  Whitcomb,  general  manager,  on  page 
1072  of  his  testimony  before  the  Mann  committee,  submitted  a  table 
of  67  paper  machines  making  news  print  paper.  Referring  to  a  list  of 
101  paper  machines,  he  said: 

They  were  all  making  news  at  the  time  they  were  taken  into  the  company. 

Out  of  this  list  of  machines,  3  were  sold,  that  is,  the  mills  containing  3  machines  were 
sold;  15  machines  were  discontinued;  5  machines  were  leased;  the  plants  containing 
5  machines  are  at  present  under  lease. 

In  further  explanation  of  Mr.  Whitcomb's  testimony  and  to  recon- 
cile his  statement  that  only  67  paper  machines  are  now  making  news 
print  paper,  it  should  be  stated  that  15  machines  have  been  diverted 
to  the  making  of  other  kinds  of  paper. 

Not  one  of  the  mills  in  all  the  combination  possessed  all  of  the  six 
essentials  of  the  cheapest  and  most  successful  manufacture,  namely, 
cheap  wood,  cheap  and  ample  water  power,  cheap  rates  to  market, 
modern  machinery,  wholesale  production  and  concentration  at  one 
place  under  one  supervision. 

One  mill  (Haverhill)  was  dismantled  after  purchase.  One  mill 
included  in  this  combination  (Rumford  Falls)  made  profits  of  $488,000 
in  four  months  on  a  capital  of  $500,000  and  entered  the  trust  on  a 
basis  that  yielded  $4.50  for  every  dollar  of  original  investment,  so  that 
in  forty-four  months  the  total  return  on  an  investment  of  $500,000 
was  $2,750,000.  Yet  that  mill  was  in  such  poor  shape  wrhen  acquired 
by  the  trust  that  an  enormous  outlay,  was  necessary  to  bring  it  into 
condition. 

Another  mill  (Ontario)  averaged  profits  of  from  32  per  cent  to  48 
per  cent  per  annum,  and  took  $4  hi  trust  securities  for  every  $1  of  its 
stock. 

One  plant  (Lawrence)  which  could  not  make  newspaper  on  a  num- 
ber of  its  machines  was  unloaded  upon  the  trust  at  a  valuation  of 
$22,000  per  ton  of  daily  output  as  a  premium  to  the  promoter  of  the 
International  Paper  Company,  Mr.  W.  A.  Russell. 

Another  mill  that  had  not  made  any  money  in  ten  years  was  turned 
in  at  $22,000  per  ton  of  daily  output. 

For  a  mill  (Herkimer)  that  made  not  1  cent  of  profit  in  1897 — a 
mill  which  had  no  water  power,  no  sulphite  attachment,  and  which 
carted  its  pulp  2  miles,  an  appraisement  of  $570,000  was  put  upon  it 
in  its  merger  into  the  trust. 

An  allowance  of  nearly  $8,000,000  was  made  for  a  mill  (Glens 
Falls)  one-half  of  which  might  better  be  located  upon  Boston  Com- 
mon or  in  New  York  City.  Five  years  previous  the  stock  capital  of 
that  concern  had  been  $300,000. 

Another  company  which  was  merged  into  the  trust  on  a  basis  of 
$3,500,000  had  been  started  on  an  investment  of  $60,000— Glen 
Manufacturing  Company. 

These  details  are  given  to  show  the  character  of  security  which  you 
are  now  asked  to  protect. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

JOHN  NOEEIS. 


PRINT  PAPER ARTHUR   C.    HASTINGS.  6059 

ARTHUR  C.  HASTINGS,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  FILES  SUPPLEMENTAL 
STATEMENT  RELATIVE  TO  PRINT  PAPER. 

NEW  YORK,  December  S,  1908. 
Hon.  SERE  NO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  Washington,  D.  C. 
DEAR  SIR:  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  take  advantage  of  your  kind 
request  for  information  from  the  manufacturers'  standpoint  as  to  what 
the  effect  would  be  on  the  paper  manufacturers  by  the  removal  of  the 
duty  of  $6  per  ton  on  printing  paper;  also  the  answer  to  the  request 
of  Mr.  Underwood  at  the  proceedings  on  November  21,  evening  ses- 
sion; also  the  request  of  Mr.  Gaines  as  to  the  increased  cost  of  a 
single  paper  of  certain  size  and  weight.  I  will  make  each  of  these 
calculations  and  attach  hereto.  The  actual  cost  conditions  in  other 
countries  than  our  own  make  it  necessary  that  the  present  duty  be 
retained  if  the  paper  manufacturers  in  the  news  or  wood  papers,  or 
so-called  wood  papers,  are  to  continue  in  business.  I  believe  that 
there  has  been  enough  testimony  before  your  committee  and  the 
select  committee  of  Congress  to  prove  that  there  has  been  no  adequate 
return  on  the  capital  invested  in  the  paper-manufacturing  business  in 
the  last  twenty-five  years,  and  that  the  reduction  of  the  duty  would 
mean  in  a  very  short  time  the  actual  extinction  of  the  average  United 
States  paper  mills  making  so-called  wood  papers. 

MEMORANDUM   OF   COMPARATIVE   COST  OF   NEWS   PAPER  AS   COMPARED 
WITH    OTHER    COUNTRIES. 

The  figures  which  are  used  in  this  compilation  are  gathered  from 
reports  made  by  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor  from  pay- 
roll sheets  of  the  International  Paper  Company,  and  would  be  more 
correct  probably  than  any  figures,  coming  from  an  individual  mill. 
Based  upon  these  figures,  the  rates  as  to  the  cost  of  labor  for  a  ton  of 
finished  paper  is,  in  the  United  States,  about  $8;  in  Canada,  $5.46; 
Norway  and  Sweden,  $2.22;  Germany,  $2.48;  Austria,  $2.09;  so  that  the 
difference  in  cost  of  manufacture  in  wages  alone  for  all  the  countries 
named,  except  Canada,  is  nearly  the  amount  of  duty,  or  $6  a  ton. 
Taking  the  lower  cost  of  material  used  in  a  paper  mill  which  a  United 
States  manufacturer  has  to  pay  the  difference  of  coming  from  these 
countries,  their  cost  of  production  is  more  than  $6  a  ton  less  than  ours. 
As  to  the  Canadian  duty,  which  is  $2.54  a  ton  on  labor  alone,  there 
should  be  added  the  saving  made  in  manufacture  in  Canada  over  the 
United  States  mill  through  their  cheaper  supply  of  wood,  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  actual  labor  in  the  woods  is  cheaper  there  than  in  the 
United  States  and  the  fact  that  many  of  the  mills  have  the  wood 
delivered  to  them  from  the  river  without  any  freight.  These  two 
items  alone,  labor  and  wood,  would  practically  make  up  the  difference 
in  the  cost  amounting  to  the  present  tariff.  The  matter  of  cost  has 
been  gone  into  so  exhaustively  by  your  committee  and  the  select 
committee  of  Congress  that  this  information  could  be  gotten  in  detail 
much  more  readily  than  I  could  give  it  to  you. 

When  the  manufacturers  of  paper  in  this  country  do  not  have 
enough  business  to  keep  their  mills  fully  supplied  with  orders,  prices 
naturally  go  down.  When  there  is  more  than  enough  business  to 
keep  them  supplied  the  prices  naturally  go  up,  and  foreign  paper 


6060  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

comes  in,  as  the  foreigner  can  export  to  this  country  profitably  at  any 
time,  pay  the  duty,  and  leave  him  a  profit.  In  Germany  they  can  ex- 
port their  surplus  at  an  actual  manufacturing  loss  and  keep  their 
prices  up  in  the  home  market.  If  the  duty  were  removed  it  can  be 
readily  seen  what  the  outcome  would  be. 

MEMORANDUM  OF  SAVING  IF  DUTY  WERE   REMOVED   AND  THE   SAVING 
ACCRUED   TO   THE   PURCHASER. 

While  I  do  not  admit  that  the  removal  of  the  duty  on  news  paper 
would  result  in  a  saving  to  the  publishers  of  the  duty  collected,  sup- 
posing for  the  sake  of  argument  that  it  did,  an  eight-page  paper  of 
the  Staats  Zeitung  size,  of  New  York  City,  of  the  date  of  December  3, 
1908,  as  an  example,  1,000  copies  would  weigh  120  pounds.  At  2J  cents 
per  pound,  the  cost  would  be  $2.70,  or  the  cost  per  single  copy  of  2TV 
mills.  The  present  duty,  amounting  to  $6  per  ton,  would  amount 
on  1,000  copies  to  36  cents,  or  on  a  single  copy  to  thirty-six  one 
hundredths  of  a  mill.  It  takes  8  papers  to  weigh  1  pound.  On  the 
average  rural  newspapers  using  a  sheet  of  paper  30  inches  by  44 
inches,  weighing  100  pounds  to  1,000  sheets,  having  a  weekly  circula- 
tion of,  say,  1,000  copies  or  52,000  copies  in  a  year,  the  saving  would 
be,  if  the  price  were  2\  cents  per  pound,  $15.60,  or  on  a  single  copy 
three-tenths  of  a  mill.  It  would  take  10  papers  of  this  size  to 
weigh  1  pound. 

ARTHUR  C.  HASTINGS. 
President  American  Paper  and  Pulp  Association. 


THE   MOUNT    TOM    SULPHITE    PUIP    COMPANY   ASKS   BETEN- 
TION  OF  PRESENT  DUTY  ON  ITS  PEODUCT. 

BOSTON,  December  3,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  The  Mount  Tom  Sulphite  Pulp  Company  manufactures 
a  high  grade  of  bleached  sulphite  pulp,  about  30  tons  daily,  for  fine 
papers,  such  as  fine  book  and  writing  paper,  and  all  its  product  is 
sold  to  mills  making  such  paper  and  replaces  just  so  much  foreign 
pulp,  as  our  competition  is  directly  witn  the  mills  in  Sweden,  Nor- 
way, and  Germany.  The  cost  of  labor  at  this  plant  is  double  that  of 
the  mills  referred  to  above  per  ton  of  pulp  made;  we  work  our" men 
on  three  tours  in  twenty-four  hours  instead  of  two  tours,  as  the  for- 
eign mills  do.  We  put  Just  the  same  amou-nt  and  kind  of  work  in  the 
preparation  of  our  wood  as  is  done  in  Europe — that  is,  in  barking, 
boring  out  knots,  cleaning  chips,  etc. — and  where  they  employ  boys, 
and  even  girls,  we  are  compelled  to  employ  men,  as  boys  and  girls  for 
this  kind  of  work  in  this  country  are  not  to  be  had  or  allowed  by  law. 
We  cook  our  fiber  long  hours,  putting  the  same  amount  and  kind  of 
work  in  washing,  screening,  bleaching,  rescreening,  etc.,  as  they  do. 

None  of  the  grade  of  pulp  we  manufacture  is  exported,  while  a  very 
large  amount  (43,000  tons  in  1897,  or  42  per  cent  of  all  bleached  pulp 
bold  in  this  country)  is  imported. 


PULP,   AND   PRINT   PAPER.  6061 

From  figures  already  submitted  to  your  committee  by  the  pulp 
and  paper  men  you  will  see  that  this  cost  of  labor  enters  into  every 
department  of  our  mill,  cost  of  plant  per  ton  capacity,  cost  of  cutting, 
logging,  driving  our  timber,  cost  of  mill  supplies  of  all  kinds,  etc. 
We  have  been  nearly  twenty  years  building  up  this  plant  under 
the  most  adverse  circumstances,  and  the  present  tariff  does  not 
represent  the  advantage  the  foreign  mills  have  over  us.  If  it  is 
taken  off  or  reduced,  we  believe  it  would  mean  the  closing  down  of  our 
plant. 

We  employ  from  150  to  175  men,  according  to  the  season  of  the 
year,  at  this  plant.  The  plant  represents  $755,000  invested  capital, 
and  we  have  quite  a  suburb  of  Northampton,  Mass.,  dependent  on 
us,  with  a  fine  new  schoolhouse  in  which  we  are  educating  from  60 
to  70  children,  mostly  of  foreign  parentage. 
Yours,  truly, 

CHAS.  .C.  SPRINGER. 


INTERNATIONAL   PAPEE    COMPANY,    NEW    YORK    CITY,    FILES 
SUPPLEMENTAL  BRIEF  RELATIVE  TO  WAGES  AND  COSTS. 

NEW  YORK,  December  19,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE,  * 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  desire  to  supplement  the  statement  in  regard  to 
Schedule  M,  which  we  submitted  to  your  committee  on  November 
21,  with  additional  data. 

Wages. — Exhibit  A,  attached,  is  a  comparison  of  our  regular  sched- 
ule of  wages  in  force  July  1,  1908,  with  the  wages  paid  in  the  following 
Canadian  mills: 

Laurentide  Paper  Company  (Limited),  Grand  Mere,  Quebec. 

Canada  Paper  Company  (Limited),  Windsor  Mills,  Quebec. 
.  Belgo-Canadian    Pulp    and    Paper    Company,    Shawinigan    Falls, 
.Quebec. 

St.  Raymond  Paper  Company  (Limited),  St.  Raymond,  Quebec. 

Imperial  Paper  Mills  of  Canada  (Limited),  Sturgeon  Falls,  Ontario. 

J.  R.  Booth,  Ottawa,  Ontario. 

This  comparison  is  based  on  a  table  of  wages,  marked  "Exhibit  B," 
which  gives  the  wages  for  each  position  in  each  of  the  six  Canadian 
mills  given  above,  which  are  the  only  ones  at  present  making  news 
paper.  This  data  was  obtained  through  a  labor  organization  whose 
representatives  visited  each  mill  and  interviewed  the  various  classes 
of  employees.  They  are  ready,  if  called  upon,  to  make  affidavit  that 
the  figures  are  correct  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge  and  belief. 

A  mere  glance  is  sufficient  to  show  a  decided  excess  in  the  wages 
paid  by  this  company  over  any  of  the  Canadian  mills.  At  the  end 
of  Exhibit  B,  however,  is  a  statement  of  averages  also  reduced  to  a 
basis  of  percentages.  While  these  averages  are  not  mathematically 
strictly  correct,  because  the  wages  are  not  weighted  by  the  number  of 
employees  in  each  occupation,  yet  we  believe  that  the  conclusion  is 


6062  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

sound — that  the  disparity  between  our  wages  and  Canadian  wages  is 
understated  rather  than  overstated — for  the  reason  that  the  difference 
in  the  wages  paid  to  low-class  labor  (employed  by  the  hour)  is  greater 
than  the  difference  in  the  wages  paid  to  high-class  labor  (employed  by 
the  week),  and  the  low-class  labor  bein»  much  the  more  numerous 
the  true  percentage  of  excess  wages  paid  by  us  would  be  greater  than 
that  shown. 

It  should  be  further  stated  that  in  comparing  our  schedule  with 
each  Canadian  mill  only  the  positions  or  wages  are  taken  into  account 
in  our  schedule  which  are  given  in  the  schedule  of  each  of  the  Cana- 
dian mills  with  which  comparison  is  made. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  average  wages  in  the  International  Paper 
Company  paid  to  those  who  are  employed  by  the  week  exceed  the 
corresponding  average  wages  at  each  mill  by  the  following  percentages : 
48.7,  36.5,  45.0,  16.6,  17.3,  26.2;  and  that  the  average  hourly  wages 
of  'the  International  Paper  Company  exceed  the  corresponding  Cana- 
dian wages  in  each  mill  by  the  following  percentages:  74.4,  58.9,  59.5, 
69.4,  55.7,  55.3. 

For  the  sake  of  more  readily  grasping  the  difference  as  a  whole,  we 
have  averaged  the  weekly  rate  for  all  the  Canadian  mills  and  the 
hourly  rate  as  Well,  showing  that  the  International  Paper  Company's 
weekly  wages  average  30.6  per  cent  more  than  the  Canadian  mills  and 
that  the  International  Paper  Company's  hourly  wages  average  60.5 
per  cent  more  than  the  Canadian  mills. 

Finally,  we  have  averaged  these  two  percentages  (weighted  by  the 
number  of  positions)  and  find  that  the  average  schedule  of  the  Inter- 
national Paper  Company  exceeds  the  average  wages  in  all  the  Cana- 
dian mills  by  57.6  per  cent,  which,  as  previously  stated,  is  probably 
less  than  the  actual  true  excess. 

Supposing  our  wages,  however,  are  only  50  per  cent  more  than  the 
Canadian  wages,  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  labor  in  a  ton  of  paper  in 
favor  of  the  Canadian  mill  would  be  $2.66,  as  against  $2.50,  as  stated 
in  our  memorandum  submitted  November  21.  We  believe  that  the 
actual  difference  is  not  less  than  S3. 

Cost  of  wood. — As  nearly  as  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain,   the 
Canadian  mills  pay  as  follows  for  rough  wood  per  cord  delivered  at. 
their  mills: 

Laurentide  Paper  Company  (Limited) $6.  25  to  $6.  75 

Canada  Paper  Company  (Limited) 6.  00 

Belgp-Canadian  Pulp  and  Paper  Company 6. 00 

St.  Raymond  Paper  Company  (Limited) 5.  50 

Imperial  Paper  Mills  of  Canada  (Limited) 5.  50  to  6. 00 

J.  R.  Booth 6.00 

This  confirms  our  statement  previously  made  that  the  Canadian 
mills  pay  on  an  average  $6  per  cord. 

Freight  on  paper. — When  under  examination,  the  writer  stated  that 
the  difference  in  freight  rates  to  our  market  from  our  mills  and  from 
Canadian  mills,  respectively,  did  not  amount  to  very  much  and  was 
negligible  compared  with  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  wood  and  labor. 

The  following  table  shows  approximately  the  average  rate  paid  by 
us  during  1907  to  reach  the  cities  enumerated,  also  the  minimum 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER CHESTER  W.  LYMAN. 


6063 


rate  from  the  Canadian  mill  to  the  same  points,  rates  being  per  100 
pounds  on  carload  lots: 


Interna- 
tional 
Paper  Co. 
(average). 

Canadian 
mill. 

Advantage  per  ton  in 
favor  of— 

L  P.  Co. 

Canadian 
mill. 

Boston                                       .             

$0.14 
.13 
.15 
.17 

•a 

:!!' 

.17 
.21 
.40 
.32 
.36 
.46 

o$0.  20 
.18 
.1W 
.19i 
.17 
.15i 
.ISi 
.18 
.19 
.21* 
.421 
.30J 
.36 
.46 

$1.20 
1.00 
.90 
.50 
.90 

Philadelphia                                                

Pittsburg                                                           

Detroit 

Chicago  ..                 

.40 
.10 
.50 

St.  Louis  

Memphis  

$0.30 

New  Orleans  

Houston     .                                 

a  For  export,  15  cents. 

We  estimate  that  this  gives  us  an  advantage  on  all  of  our  business 
of  only  about  75  cents  per  ton. 

Exhibit  C  gives  the  rates  from  each  of  our  principal  news  mills  to 
the  above-named  cities.  Exhibit  D  gives  the  rates  from  each  of  the 
Canadian  mills  to  the  same  points. 

PER     CENT    OF    NEWS    PAPER     MADE     BY     INTERNATIONAL     PAPER 

COMPANY. 

Exhibit  E  is  a  list  of  the  mills  making  news  paper  in  the  East  and 
Exhibit  F  a  list  of  those  in  the  West,  which  show  that  the  Inter- 
national Paper  Company  makes  only  about  44  per  cent  of  the  "news" 
made  in  the  East  and  only  33  per  cent  of  that  made  in  the  whole 
country. 

PHYSICAL    CONDITION    OF    ITS    MILLS    AT    TIME    OF    ORGANIZATION    OF 
INTERNATIONAL    PAPER    COMPANY. 

In  spite  of  general  and  specific  refutations  in  the  past,  neverthe- 
less representations  have  been  made  to  your  committee  that  the 
International  Paper  Company  was  composed  at  the  time  of  its 
organization  of  a  collection  of  inefficient  and  dilapidated  plants. 
While  we  apprehend  that  your  committee  is  more  concerned  with 
present  conditions  than  those  of  ten  years  ago,  we  deny  absolutely 
this  claim  and  assert  that  the  statements  which  have  been  presented 
in  support  of  it  are  practically  without  exception  exaggerated,  dis- 
torted, and  false. 

At  the  time  the  International  Paper  Company  was  organized, 
while  it  did  not  take  in  all  of  the  "news"  mills,  the  properties  it 
purchased  represented  the  most  efficient  plants  at  that  time  in  exist- 
ence. When  it  is  considered  that  the  manufacture  of  news  paper 
in  the  United  States  exceeded  in  quantity  that  manufactured  in  any 
other  country  in  the  world,  and  that  the  individual  plants  were 


6064  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

larger  and  many  of  them  better  than  any  plants  in  the  world,  and 
that  news  paper  was  then  sold  in  the  United  States  more  cheaply 
than  in  any  other  market,  it  is  absurd  to  claim  that  there  could  be  a 
consolidation  of  two-thirds  or  three-quarters  of  the  existing  plants 
without  such  consolidation  being  of  a  high  grade  of  efficiency  as 
to  its  physical  condition. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  falsity  of  the  statements  recently  made 
to  you,  we  quote  the  following: 

An  allowance  of  nearly  $8,000,000  was  made  for  a  mill  (Glens  Falls),  one-half  of 
which  might  better  be  located  upon  Boston  Common  or  in  New  York  City.  Five 
years  previous  the  stock  capital  of  that  concern  had  been  $300,000. 

This  same  statement  was  made  before  the  Committee  on  the 
Judiciary  in  its  hearings  on  Lilley  resolution,  No.  243,  in  1904,  and 
a  specific  answer  was  made  thereto,  which  is  as  follows: 

The  total  capitalization  of  the  Glena  Falls  Paper  Mill  Company  issued  and  paid  up 
was  considerably  more  than  $3,000,000,  instead  of  $300,000,  as  stated.  But  the  cap- 
italization did  not  by  any  means  cover  the  whole  amount  of  money  invested.  The 
original  Glens  Falls  Paper  Company  was  organized  and  began  business  in  the  year 
1864.  It  was  owned  and  controlled  by  a  few  individuals  who  were  directly  interested 
in  and  connected  with  the  management  of  the  property,  and  who  were  more  inter- 
ested in  building  up  a  large  and  valuable  manufacturing  plant  than  they  were  in 
paying  dividends.  Consequently,  they  devoted  the  greater  part  of  the  earnings  for 
many  years  to  the  enlargement  and  extension  of  the  plant,  the  acquisition  of  wood- 
lands, and  other  property  necessary  for  their  purposes.  In  this  way,  prior  to  the 
formation  of  the  International  Paper  Company,  the  Glens  Falls  Company  had  acquired 
and  built  up  a  valuable  and  successful  plant  and  property,  a  large  part  of  which  was 
provided  for  out  of  earnings  for  which  no  capitalization  had  ever  been  issued.  This 
property  included,  among  others,  the  following: 

1.  Paper  mill  at  Glens  Falls,  making  paper  and  ground  wood  pulp,  with  the  use  of 
its  own  very  valuable  developed  water  power  on  the  Hudson  River  at  that  point. 

2.  Mills  at  Fort  Edward,  making  paper,  ground  wood  and  sulphite  pulp,  with  the 
use  of  its  own  vary  valuable  water  power  on  the  Hudson  River  at  that  point. 

3.  Undeveloped  water  power  on  the  Hudson  River  and  other  property  above  Glens 
Falls. 

4.  A  great  undeveloped  water  power  with  250  feet  head  on  the  Saranac  River  at 
Cadyville. 

5.  62,990  acres  of  woodland  in  the  Adirondacks  tributary  to  said  mills,  and  also  a 
large  amount  of  woodland  in  Canada  held  under  Canadian  permits. 

6.  A  fine  water-power  of  about  100  feet  head,  partly  developed,  on  the  Lamoille 
River,  in  Vermont,  since  utilized  by  the  erection  by  the  International  Paper  Company 
of  a  pulp  mill. 

7.  A  valuable  undeveloped  water  power  with  a  head  of  over  65  feet  on  the  Lamoille 
River,  in  Vermont. 

The  plants  above  mentioned,  purchased  from  the  Glens  Falls  Company,  have  an 
aggregate  capacity  of  over  300  tons  of  paper  per  day. 

For  the  plants  and  property  so  purchased  the  International  Paper  Company  paid, 
in  its  securities,  about  $6,000,000,  instead  of  $8,000,000,  as  stated,  and  we  confidently 
believe  that  the  properties  enumerated  are  worth  more  than  the  amount  paid  for 
them. 

STATE  OP  NEW  YORK, 

City  and  County  of  ftew  York,  it? 

Frederick  H.  Parks,  being  duly  sworn,  deposes  and  says  that  he  is  the  first  vice- 
president  of  the  International  Paper  Company;  that  he  has  read  the  foregoing  state- 
ments, and  that  the  allegations  contained  in  the  same  are  true  to  the  best  of  his 
knowledge  and  belief. 

FREDERICK  H.  PARKS. 

Sworn  to  before  me  this  21st  day  of  April,  1904. 
[SEAL.]  E.  W.  KENNEDY, 

Notary  Public,  Kings  County. 
Certificate  filed  in  Xew  York  County. 


PULP,   AND  PRINT  PAPER CHESTER  W.  LYMAN. 


6065 


This  is  but  a  fair  sample  of  the  misrepresentations  which  have  been 
made  to  you.  Each  and  every  one  could  be  as  readily  disproved, 
but  we  regard  this  matter  as  irrelevant,  and,  besides,  the  charges  are 
so  voluminous  that  we  doubt  whether  you  desire  to  have  us  reply  to 
them  in  detail.  We  respectfully  refer  you  for  additional  information 
upon  this  point,  or  any  other  which  has  not  been  covered  by  our 
statements  to  your  committee,  to  the  hearings  before  the  Committee 
on  the  Judiciary  above  referred  to,  and  to  the  hearings  last  spring 
before  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  on  Pulp 
and  Paper  Investigation.  We  believe  that  you  will  find  that  every 
unfavorable  allegation  which  has  been  made  in  regard  to  this  company 
has  been  conclusively  disproved. 

Very  truly,  yours,  CHESTER  W.  LYMAN, 

Assistant  to  President. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

Weekly  and  hourly  rates  of  wages,  International  Paper  Company,  compared  with  Canadian 

mills. 


SUMMARY    OF   TOTALS. 


Average  weekly  rate  for  Canadian  mills $19.  28 

Average  weekly  rate  for  International  Paper  Company 25.17 

International  Paper  Company  per  cent  more 30.  6 


Average  hourly  rate  for  Canadian  mills 

Average  hourly  rate  for  International  Paper  Company. 
International  Paper  Company  per  cent  more 


1655 

2656 

60. 5 

Nine  and  seven-tenths  per  cent  of  positions  are  weekly;  90.3  per  cent  are  hourly. 
International  Paper  Company  more  than  Canadian  mills  for  all  positions,  57.6  per 
cent. 
December  18,  1908. 


EXHIBIT  B. 

Weekly  and  hourly  rates  of  wages,  International  Paper  Company,  compared  with  Canadian 

mills. 


Occupation. 

Basis  of 
rate. 

Interna- 
tional 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

Canada 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

Belgo- 
Canadian 
P.  &  P. 
Com- 
pany. 

Lauren- 
tide 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

St.  Ray- 
mond 
Papoi 
Com- 
pany. 

Imperial 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

J.  R. 

Booth. 

Foremen: 
Foreman  grind- 

Weekly... 

$48.08 

$15.00 

$20.00 

$16.  20 

$21.00 

$24.00 

er  wood  mill. 
Night  foreman 

...do  

21.00 

12.00 

14.40 

16.20 

18.00 

1ZOO 

grinder  wood 
mill. 
Foreman    sul- 

...do   

34.61 

19.63 

67.31 

30.00 

phite  mill. 
Night  foreman 

...do  

21.90 

18.00 

15.00 

sulphite  mill. 
Foreman     pa- 

...do   

48.08 

57.69 

42.00 

per  mill. 
Foreman      pa- 

...do   

33.28 

36.00 

30.00 

per  machines. 
Night  foreman 

...do  

36.00 

30.00 

18.00 

plant. 
Night  foreman 

do 

35  00 

16  50 

repairs. 
Night  foreman 

.do 

36  00 

21  OC 

21  00 

25  00 

steam. 
Night  foreman 

.do  

20.00 

12.00 

19  63 

13  50 

12.00 

yard. 
Do  

...do... 

15.50 

12.96 

12.00 

11.52 

6066 


SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 


Weekly  and  hourly  rates  of  wages,  International  Paper  Company,  compared  with  Canadian 

mills — Continued. 


Occupation. 

Basis  of 
rate. 

Interna- 
tional 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

Canada 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

Belgo- 

Canadian 
P.  &  P. 
Com- 
pany. 

Lauren- 
tide 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

St.  Ray- 
mond 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

Imperial 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

J.  R. 
Booth. 

Wood  piling: 

Hourly 

SO  2667 

$0.15 

$0.15 

$0.13 

$0.175 

$0.20 

Wood  handler. 

do  

do     . 

.2234 
.2000 

.125 
.125 

.13 
.13 

.13 
.13 

$0.125 

.150 
.150 

.15 
.15 

do 

.1600 

.10 

.10 

..do    .. 

.2444 

.13 

.250 

.165 

..do 

.3000 

.13 

.165 

....do.... 

.4626 

.15 

.15 

.200 

.165 

..do 

.1944 

.125 

.13 

.13 

.140 

do 

3056 

.125 

.13 

.175 

.142 

.  ..do    . 

.4444 

.125 

.13 

.175 

.158 

Water  boy 

do  

.1389 

.10 

.10 

Wood  handling: 
Head  wood 
handler 

.do  .  . 

.3000 

.150 

.135 

.15 

.175 

.20 

Do  

Conveyer  man 

....do  
.    .do  

.2234 
.2234 

.125 
.125 

.135 
.135 

.13 

.14 

.125 

.150 
.150 

.15 
.15 

Sealer  

do.... 

.2200 

.150 

.135 

.15 

.165 

Tlivp.r  man 

do  

.2000 

.150 

.15 

Blip  man 

.    .do 

.2234 

.125 

.13 

Teamster  

...do.... 

.1944 

.125 

.135 

.13 

Single  team 

..  .do  ... 

.3056 

.125 

.13 

.175 

.142 

Double  team... 

do.... 

.4444 

.125 

.13 

.175 

.158 

Engineer  

....do  

.2500 

.150 

.15 

.200 

.165 

Wood  room: 
Head  preparer  . 

...do... 

.3100 

.200 

.150 

.20 

.20 

.20 

Wood  handler 

do.. 

.2234 

.125 

.135 

.13 

125 

.15 

.15 

Conveyer  man. 

...do... 

.2234 

.125 

.135 

.13 

.125 

.15 

.15 

Sawyer  .... 

.  .do... 

.2505 

.175 

.135 

.22 

15 

.165 

Barker  

...do... 

.2234 

.150 

.135 

.15 

.1125 

.165 

.165 

Splitter  

....do  

.2234 

.150 

.135 

.13 

.165 

.165 

Chipper  

...do  

.2234 

.150 

.135 

.13 

.162 

.165 

Chip  bin  

...do... 

.2234 

.125 

.135 

Knotter.. 

....do  

.2234 

.125 

.135 

.13 

.150 

Waste  handler. 

....do  

.2234 

.125 

.135 

.13 

.150 

Grinders: 
Head    grinder 
man  

...do... 

.3165 

.150 

.180 

.14 

.1025 

.167 

.18 

Grinder  man  .  . 

....do  

.2424 

.125 

.140 

.13 

.125 

.125 

Block  handler.. 

....do  

.2234 

.125 

.135 

.13 

.125 

.125 

Ground       wood 
screens: 
Screen  man  

...do... 

.2234 

.125 

.135 

.13 

125 

.125 

Sliver  man  

....do  

.2234 

.125 

.140 

.13 

.125 

.125 

Ground  -  wood 
presses: 
Head  pressman 

...do.... 

.2979 

.150 

.140 

.18 

.146 

.146 

Pressman  

...do  

.2234 

.125 

.115 

.13 

125 

125 

Decker  man  

...do  

.2234 

.125 

.135 

.14 

.125 

.121 

Acid  plant: 
Sulphur  burner 
Acid  maker  

...do.... 
...do  

.3100 
.3100 

.15 
.26 



.187 

.208 

.18 
.20 

Lime  slacker... 

...do  

.3100 

.15 

146 

15 

Lime  handler.  . 

...do  

.1878 

.13 

125 

15 

Tower  man  

...do  

.1889 

Digesters: 
Cook  

...do.... 

.3500 

.26 

250 

.25 

First  helper  

...do  

.2500 

15 

167 

17 

Second  helper.  . 

...do  

.2100 

.13 

125 

.125 

Blow-pit  man.  . 
Sulphite  screens: 
Screen  man  

...do  
...do.... 

.2409 
.2234 





.14 
13 

.125 
125 

.123 
125 

Kollergang  man 
Bulphite  presses: 
Head  pressman 
Pressman  
Decker  man  

...do  

...do.... 
...do  
...do  

.2234 

.3047 
.2234 
.2234 



.13 

.15 
.13 



.125 

.188 
.125 
167 

.125 

.167 
.125 

15 

Beaters: 
Head  beater 

...do  

.39 

1875 

34 

a  292 

2291 

25 

24 

man. 
Beater  man  
Clay  and  size 

...do.... 
....do  

.2708 
.2234 

.125 
.125 

.135 

.15 
.13 

.1458 

.125 
138 

.125 
125 

man. 

i  Maximum  rate  for  positions. 


PULP,  AND  PBINT  PAPER CHESTEE  W.  LTMAN. 


6067 


Weekly  and  hourly  rates  of  wages,  International  Paper  Company,  compared  with  Canadian 

mills — Continued. 


Occupation. 

Basis  of 
rate. 

Interna- 
tional 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

Canada 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

Belgo- 
Canadian 
P.  &  P. 
Com- 
pany. 

Lauren- 
tide 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

St.  Ray- 
mond 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

Imperial 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

J.R. 

Booth. 

Paper  machines: 
Machine  tender 
Second  hand... 
Third  hand  

Hourly  .  .  . 
do  
do  

$0.50 
.33 
.25 

090.50 
•J.313 

0.188 

fO.50 
a.34 
.225 

a  JO.  469 
o.313 
.231 

$0.333 
.25 
.167 

$0.333 
.25 
.167 

$0.333 
25 
167 

Fourth  hand... 
Fifth  hand  

....do  
...do  

.2234 
.2234 

.165 

.20 

.188 

.108 

.146 
.125 

138 

Broke  hustler.. 
Finishing: 
Head  finisher... 
Roll  finisher.... 
Sheet  finisher... 

....do  

...do... 
....do  
.     .do  .   .. 

.2234 

.35 
.2167 
.25 

.156 

.20 
.15 
.125 

.105 

.225 
.175 

.13 

.18 
.13 
.13 

.10 

.175 
.13 

.125 

.30 
.165 

.125 

.233 
.167 
.15 

Counter  man  . 

do  

.1833 

.125 

.13 

.15 

Counter  girl  

do  

.1200 

.10 

.16 

.10 

Cutter  man... 

.     .do  

.2.r> 

.125 

.15 

.13 

.15 

Cutter  girl  

do  

.1278 

.10 

.13 

.10 

Re  winder  

do  

.2778 

.125 

.20 

.15 

.15 

.18 

Weigher  

do  

.2444 

.15 

.14 

.15 

.1(17 

Marker  

do  

.2222 

.135 

.13 

.167 

First  baler  

.     .do  

.2100 

.13 

.15 

Baler  

do  

.20 

.13 

Caser  

do  

.1833 

.13 

tndoor,  miscel- 
laneous: 
Head    paper 

do  

.3000 

.15 

.175 

.167 

loader. 
Paper  loader  

...do... 

.2055 

.15 

.13 

.175 

.150 

Stock  handler. 

do  

.2641 

.125 

.13 

Weigher.  ...... 

...do... 

.2234 

.15 

.13 

.175 

.167 

Carman    .... 

.      do     ... 

.2500 

.13 

Oil  keeper  

do  

.2167 

.13 

.130 

Oiler  

...do... 

.2234 

.15 

.15 

.13 

.175 

.167 

Cleaner  

.      do     . 

.2056 

13 

.13 

.167 

Filter  man  

...do... 

.2234 

.13 

Night    watch- 

....do   

.1905 

.175 

.115 

.13 

.088 

.154 

.154 

man. 
Sundry  watch- 

....do   

.2234 

man. 
Elevator  man.  . 

...do... 

.1833 

.15 

Felt  man  

do  

.2222 

.13 

First      core 
cleaner. 
Core  cleaner  

....do  
...do... 

.2000 
.1833 

.125 

.13 
.13 

.165 
.150 

.167 
.15 

Samples  

do  

.2222 

.13 

.142 

Stock  saver  

do  

.2482 

First    power 

do  

.3385 

.225 

.25 

house  man. 
Second    power 

....do  

.2480 

.225 

.20 

house  man. 
Outdoor,  miscella- 
neous: 
Kocks  

...do... 

.2234 

.125 

.135 

.13 

.15 

.15 

Barn  boss  

....do... 

.2083 

.20 

.15 

.20 

.20 

Teamster  

do  

.4444 

.125 

.135 

.  13 

.14 

Single  team  

do... 

.3333 

.125 

.175 

.142 

Double  team... 

....do  

.4444 

.125 

.175 

.158 

First  laborer  

do... 

.2223 

.  15 

Laborer  

....do  

.1833 

.125 

.15 

.135 

Gate  keeper  

do  

.1889 

Steam  plant: 
Engineer  
Engine  oiler  

...do... 
do  

.3125 
.27 

.175 
.125 

.15 

.15 
.15 

.35 

.208 
.146 

.167 
.139 

Dynamo  man.. 

do  

.34 

.175 

.25 

.167 

.208 

Head  fireman.. 

do... 

.30 

.1875 

.275 

.18 

.188 

.208 

First  fireman... 

do.. 

.28 

.15 

.146 

Coal  fireman  

do... 

.25 

.125 

.15 

.15 

.15 

.125 

.138 

Wood  fireman.. 

do.   .   . 

.25 

.125 

.15 

.15 

.15 

.125 

.138 

Coal  handler... 

do... 

.2234 

.125 

.13 

.13 

.125 

.125 

Wood  handler.  . 

....do  

.2234 

.125 

.13 

.13 

.125 

.125 

Ash  handler  

do... 

.2234 

.125 

.13 

.13 

.125 

.125 

Boiler  cleaner.. 

do  

.2234 

.15 

.13 

.is 

Repairs: 
Head  machinist 

...do... 

.44 

.30 

.385 

.45 

.40 

Machinist  

...do  

.3333 

.20 

o.25 

.25 

Machinist  help- 

  do  

.25 

.15 

.15 

.15 

.175 

er. 

•  Maximum  rate  for  p  sit  ions. 


6068 


SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 


Weekly  and  hourly  rales  of  wages,  International  Paper  Company,  compared  vnth  Canadian 

Mills — Continued. 


Occupation. 

Basis  of 
rate. 

Interna- 
tional 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

Canada 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

Belgo- 
Canadian 
P.&P. 
Com- 
pany. 

Lauren- 
tide 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

St.  Ray- 
mond 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

Imperial 
Paper 
Com- 
pany. 

J.  R. 

Booth. 

Repairs—  Cont'd. 

$0  39 

$0.20 

$0.33 

$0.30 

JO.  375 

•wright. 
Millwright 

do 

35 

$0  20 

.20 

.20 

.225 

Mill  wri  gh  t 

do 

2422 

15 

.15 

.15 

.175 

helper. 
Carpenter  

...do  
do 

.3333 
3611 

.20 
.20 

.20 
.275 

.20 
.33 

$0:20 

.25 
.30 

.20 
.30 

Piper 

do     

3056 

.175 

.20 

0.25 

.175 

.20 

do  

.3056 

Blacksmith 

.do  

.34 

.185 

.20 

.25 

.25 

.25 

B  1  acksrn  ith 

do  

.2222 

.15 

.15 

.15 

.15 

helper. 

do... 

.4444 

.30 

..do  

.20 

.13 

Painter 

do  

.28 

.15 

.15 

.175 

do     ... 

1833 

.14 

.15 

do  

.3333 

.225 

.20 

.30 

.20 

.  .do  

.25 

.15 

.15 

.175 

.175 

Saw  flier 

do  

.25 

.30 

.195 

.25 

Draftsman 

.do  

.2778 

do  

.481 

.225 

.30 

.25 

.25 

.30 

do     .   . 

3333 

do  

.1944 

helper. 
Laborer....... 

...do  

.1944 

.13 

.15 

Office: 
First  clerk 

Weekly... 

23.08 

16.  15 

21.00 

19.80 

18.00 

30.00 

Second  clerk 

.  do  

15.38 

15.00 

15.00 

15.00 

22.50 

Third  clerk 

do     

15  00 

12.00 

12.00 

Day     time- 

...do  

15.00 

16.15 

12.00 

18.00 

keeper. 
Night    time- 

...do   

15.00 

12.00 

18.00 

keeper. 
Stenographer.  .  . 

...do.... 

15.00 

13.85 

9.00 

9.00 

'  10.50 

Storekeeper  . 

...do  

15.00 

16.15 

9.00 

10.50 

Railroad  operating: 
Engineer 

Hourly.... 

.26 

.30 

Fireman  ,    .... 

...do  

.19 

.15 

Trainman. 

...do  

.19 

.15 

First  trackman. 

...do  

.21 

.13 

Trackman.  ... 

...do  

.175 

.13 

Screen  plates: 
Head  plate 

...do  

.3056 

.30 

.225 

cutter. 
Plate  cutter  

...do  

.232 

.15 

.165 

Piers  and  booms: 
Head  river  man 

...do.... 

.3055 

.18 

.20 

River  man  

...do  

.22 

.13 

.168 

Core  machine: 
First    core 

...do  

.20 

.15 

.15 

.175 

.178 

maker. 
Core  maker  

...do  

.1833 

.13 

.  150 

.150 

Average  weekly 

23  46 

15  96 

15  36 

19  80 

20  24 

20.50 

rate. 
International    Pa- 

34.88 

21  79 

22.27 

23  08 

23  74 

25  86 

per  Co.,  average 
for  comparison. 
International    Pa- 

48.7 

36.5 

45.0 

16.6 

17.3 

26.2 

per  Co.   (more), 
per  cent. 
Average   hourly 

1531 

.1642 

.1629 

.1648 

.1742 

.1715 

rate. 
International    Pa- 

.2670 

.2609 

.2598 

.2791 

.2712 

.2063 

per  Co.,  average 
for  comparison. 
International    Pa- 

74.4 

58.9 

59.5 

69.4 

55.7 

55.3 

per  Co.   (more), 
percent. 

a  Maximum  rate  for  positions. 


PULP,  AND  PRINT  PAPER CHESTER  W.  LYMAN.  6069 

EXHIBIT  C. 

Freight  rates  from  principal  International  Paper  Company  "n«ws"  mills  to  cities  named. 


City. 

3 
«  . 
OS" 

-^ 

O  w 

*? 

s* 

i 

1L- 

f*i'H 
*$ 

3 

is 

S 
°*' 
"» 

& 

a 

.—  •-* 

3- 

8j 

*a 

dS~ 
Zo 

__J3 
1 

_a" 

C 
© 

s* 

62 

fc 

1 

k 
s 

o3 

fc? 
§ 

o 

I 
O 

SI 

fe 

i 

• 
fc 

3>| 

^-S5 
^®- 
5tf 

sl 

i 

i 
K 

,4* 

«"S     . 

^! 

3- 
9 

£j 

s> 

II 

Boston  

15 

15 

15 

10J 

12 

15 

12 

15 

15J 

12 

New  York  

13 

13 

13 

17 

15 

13 

17 

13 

13 

15 

Philadelphia  

15 

15 

15 

16 

17 

13 

16 

16 

17 

15 

Baltimore. 

17 

17 

17 

18 

17 

13 

18 

17 

17 

17 

Pittslmrg  

15 

15 

15 

19 

17 

10 

20 

17 

15 

17 

Detroit  

15 

15 

15 

16 

16 

10 

18 

15 

15 

16 

Cincinnati  

16 

-    16 

16 

15* 

15* 

13 

18 

16 

16 

18 

Chicago  

18 

18 

18 

18 

18 

18 

18 

18 

18 

18 

Indianapolis  

17 

17 

17 

19 

19 

14 

20 

17 

17 

19 

St.  Louis..    ........ 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

Atlanta  

40 

40 

40 

45| 

42 

40 

46} 

45 

40 

40 

Memphis..        

32 

32 

32 

32*. 

35 

32 

34 

37 

32 

32 

New  Orleans  

36 

36 

36 

37* 

35 

31 

39 

36 

35 

35 

Houston 

46 

46 

46 

46 

46 

46 

46 

46 

46 

40 

EXHIBIT  D. 

Freight  rates  from  Canadian  "news"  mills  to  cities  named. 


• 

Lauren- 
tide  Paper 
Co.  (Ltd.). 

Canada 
Paper  Co. 
(Ltd.). 

Belgo- 
Canadian 
Pulp  and 
Paper  Co. 

St.  Ray- 
mond Pa- 
per Co. 
(Ltd.). 

Imperial 
Paper  Mills 
(ltd.). 

J.  R.  Booth 

B  os  ton  

o20 

618 
22 
22 
17 
16 
15J 
18 
19 
21*. 
43J 
35 
«i 
63 

23 

22 
29J 
29*. 
23 

15i 
18 
19 
21 

o20 

618 
22 
22 
17 
16 
15J 
18 
19 
214 
43i 
35 
43i 
63 

23J 

21J 
26J 
26* 
21* 

20 
22J 
23j 
26 

20 
21 
24 

o20 
ol8 
Itt 

19J 
17 
16 

m 

18 
19 
21} 

30i 
36 
46 

New  York  

Philadelphia 

Baltimore.    .          ... 

Pittsburg  

27 
16 
16i 
19 
26 
22* 

Detroit  

Cincinnati  

Chicago  

Indianapolis  

St.  Louis  

Atlanta  

Memphis  

32 
44 

36i 
44i 
67 

New  Orleans  

Houston  

a  Export,  15. 


^Export,  17J. 


6070  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPEBS,  AND  BOOKS. 

EXHIBIT  E. 

Annual  product  eastern  "news"  manufacturers. 

Tons. 

1.  Great  Northern  Paper  Co 136,032 

2.  Berlin  Mills  Co 62,400 

3.  St.  Regis  Paper  Co 39,000 

4.  Remington  Martin  Paper  Co 19,  656 

5.  Raymondville  Paper  Co 17, 160 

6.  Finch  Pruyn  Co 14,040 

7.  W.  H.  Parsons  &  Co 43,680 

8.  Dalton  Paper  Mills .' 9,984 

9.  Gould  Paper  Co 15,  600 

10.  West  End  Paper  Co 7,800 

11.  Norwood  Paper  Co 6,240 

12.  Cliff  Paper  Co 9.360 

13.  Pettebone  Cataract  Paper  Co 9,360 

14.  Schroon  River  Pulp  and  Paper  Co 6,  240 

15.  Taggarta  Paper  Co 8,580 

16.  Aldrich  Paper  Co 7, 800 

17.  Malone  Paper  Co 6,  240 

18.  Champion  Paper  Co 7,800 

19.  Oswego  Falls  Paper  Co 7,  800 

20.  Iroquois  Paper  Co 6, 000 

21.  High  Falls  Paper  Co 7, 500 

22.  St.  Croix  Paper  Co 40, 080 

23.  Brownville  Paper  Co 3, 400 

24.  H.  S.  GarrettA  Son 5.580 

25.  St.  George  Paper  Co 8,680 

506,012 

26.  International  Paper  Co 404, 550 

910, 562 


EXHIBIT  F. 

Annual  product,  uestern  "neus"  •manufacturers. 

Tons. 

1.  Kimberley  Clark  Company 20,  200 

2.  Combined  Locks  Paper  Company 21,  840 

3.  John  Edwards  Manufacturing  Company 12, 400 

4.  Nekoosa  Edwards  Paper  Company 15,  600 

5.  Centralia  Pulp  and  Paper  Company 7,  800 

6.  Grand  Rapids  Pulp  and  Paper  Company 9,  360 

7.  iVisconsin  River  Paper  and  Pulp  Company 12, 480 

8.  Tomahawk  Pulp  and  Paper  Company 3,  740 

9.  Dells  Paper  and  Pulp  Company 6, 240 

10.  Hennepin  Paper  Company 4,  680 

11.  Itasca  Paper  Company 6,240 

12.  Northwest  Paper  Company 7,  800 

13.  Rhinelander  Paper  Company 18,  720 

14.  Menasha  Paper  Company 7,  800 

15.  Flambeau  Paper  Company 3, 120 

16.  W.  D.  Boyce  Paper  Company 7,800 

17.  Cheboygan  Paper  Company 18, 720 

18.  Willamette  Pulp  and  Paper  Company 49,  920 

19.  The  Star  Paper  Mill  Company...... 15,  600 

20.  Outagamie  Paper  Company 5, 300 

21.  Marinette  and  Menominee  Paper  Company 8,  730 

22.  Alexandria  Paper  Company 9, 360 

23.  Floriston  Pulp  and  Paper  Company 6,240 

24.  Patten  Paper  Company 3, 120 

25.  Watab  Paper  and  Pulp  Company 12, 480 

295,  290 


PULP  AND  PRINT  PAPER W.   R.    NELSON.  6071 

JOHN  NORRIS,  REPRESENTING  AMERICAN  NEWSPAPER  PUB- 
LISHERS' ASSOCIATION,  FILES  LETTER  OF  PUBLISHER  OF 
KANSAS  CITY  (MO.)  STAR. 

904  PULITZER  BUILDING, 

New  York,  January  5,  1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  G. 
DEAR  SIR  :  In  the  matter  of  pulp  and  paper  schedule,  may  I  submit 
to  you  the  inclosed  letter  from  W.  R.  Nelson,  publisher  of  the  Kansas 
City  Star  and  proprietor  of  the  Star  Paper  Mill,  Kansas  City? 
Yours,  truly, 

JOHN  NORRIS, 

Chairman  of  Committee  on  Paper, 
American  Newspaper  Publishers'  Association. 


KANSAS  CITY,  Mo.,  December  29,  1908. 
Mr.  JOHN  NORRIS, 

904  Pulitzer  Building,  New  York  City. 

DEAR  MR.  NORRIS:  The  paper  makers  and  allied  interests  have 
always  been  exceedingly  busy  with  the  Star's  paper  mill.  They  have 
called  it  "  Nelson's  white  elephant,"  and  they  have  had  me  bankrupt 
several  times  since  the  mill  has  been  in  operation,  but  they  never  have 
been  quite  as  explicit  as  in  the  ansAver  submitted  by  them  to  the  Ways 
and  Means  Committee.  The  statement,  "  Mr.  Nelson  has  no  hesi- 
tancy in  stating  that  his  losses  amount  to  over  $600,000,"  has  never 
been  uttered  by  me.  It  is  a  deliberate  falsehood. 

When,  in  August,  1902,  I  decided  to  manufacture  my  own  paper 
the  white  paper  situation  wras  insufferable.  It  was  impossible  for  a 
western  publisher  to  obtain  paper  except  through  the  General  Paper 
Company  of  Chicago. 

On  January  18,  1902,  the  Star  closed  a  contract  with  that  concern 
to  supply  us  with  500  tons  per  month  at  $2.10  f.  o.  b.  Kansas  City. 
During  the  life  of  this  contract  the  growth  of  the  Star  made  it  neces- 
sary to  increase  the  shipments  to  700  tons  a  month,  and,  although 
there  had  been  a  reduction  of  10  cents  per  cwt.  in  the  freight  rates,  the 
best  price  I  could  secure  for  the  additional  200  tons  was  $2.37^. 
There  was  no  apparent  reason  for  this  advance.  I  realized  the  im- 
portance to  the  Star  to  control  its  paper  supply.  I  built  the  paper 
mill  in  Kansas  City.  It  began  operations  in  July,  1903.  I  have  had 
no  reason  to  regret  my  action.  There  probably  has  been  a  time  when 
I  could  have  purchased  paper  for  le?s  than  it  costs  me  to  manufacture 
it  in  Kansas  City,  but  I  maintain  that  my  average  cost  price  since 
July,  1903,  has  been  below  the  Kansas  City  quotation  of  the  paper 
makers.  In  addition  to  this  I  have  been  absolutely  independent  of 
the  paper  trust. 

It  was  the  Star's  paper  mill  that  put  a  stop  to  the  soaring  price  of 
paper  in  1902  and  1903.  I  have  always  felt  that  in  assuring  my  own 
supply  of  paper  I  rendered  a  distinct  and  valuable  service  to  my 
fellow  publishers.  I  have  enjoyed  the  paper  mill  every  minute  since 
it  has  been  built,  so  the  paper  makers  need  give  themselves  no 

75941— H.  Doe.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 20 


6072  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

uneasiness  on  my  account.     If  their  predictions  come  true  I  can  see 
still  greater  comfort  in  store  for  me  in  the  future. 

In  conclusion  I  want  to  say  that  The  Star  Paper  Mill  is  in  splendid 
physical  condition ;  it  has  paid  interest  and  all  maintenance  charges. 
It  makes  50  tons  a  day.  Twice — when  we  were  threatened  with  a 
strike  two  years  ago,  and  again  in  October  this  year,  when  advertising 
and  circulation  increases  forced  us  to  look  for  an  extra  supply — we 
purchased  white  paper,  and  in  each  instance  had  to  pay  a  price  far 
in  excess  of  our  cost  price.  You  are  at  liberty  to  use  this  information 
in  any  way  you  like. 

Yours,  truly,  W.  R.  NELSON. 


ONION  SKIN  PAPERS. 

[Paragraphs  396,  397,  and  401.] 

STATEMENT  MADE  BY  A.  W.  ESLEECK,  REPRESENTING  THE 
ESLEECK  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY. 

SATURDAY,  November  81, 1908. 

Mr.  ESLEECK.  I  will  not  burden  you  with  any  further  statistics,  Mr. 
Chairman,  but  simply  present  a  few  facts  in  relation  to  the  classifica- 
tion of  certain  papers  that  now  come  in  under  the  schedule  of  print- 
ing papers. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  What  paragraph  ? 

Mr.  ESLEECK.  Among  them  are  what  are  termed  "  onion  skin  or 
typewriter  papers,  japan  paper,  drawing  paper,  blueprint  paper." 
All  of  these  have  been  entered  as  printing  paper  at  a  low  classification. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  What  paragraph  of  the  bill  are  they  in? 

Mr.  ESLEECK.  Paragraphs  401,  396,  and  397.  We  established  our 
factory  about  eight  years  ago  with  reference  to  making  light-weight 
papers.  At  that  time  there  were  few,  if  any,  imported  into  this  coun- 
try. Since  that  time  the  foreign  light-weight  papers  are  imported  in 
large  quantities,  and  sold  by  almost  every  jobbing  house  in  the  United 
States.  These  papers  are  imported  as  onion  skins,  advertised  as  onion 
skin  and  typewriting  papers,  used  as  such,  and  come  in  direct  com- 
petition with  the  American  product.  The  price  at  which  they  are 
imported  is  very  low,  .the  price  at  the  port  of  entry  being  about  5  or  6 
cents  a  pound,  and  they  are  sold  in  this  country  at  8  cents.  Now,  the 
cheapest  paper  we  can  make  of  that  character  is  from  13  cents  to  35 
cents,  and  yet  the  price  of  these  foreign  papers  is  so  low  that  the  trade 
use  them  simply  because  the  price  is  low,  and  use  them  in  place  of  the 
domestic  article.  They  say  the  papers  are  not  as  good,  and  they  are 
not,  but  they  say  they  answer  the  purpose  for  which  they  use  them, 
which  is  manifold  purposes.  The  same  is  true  of  blueprint  papers. 
They  come  in  also  as  printing  papers,  and  without  taking  up  any  extra 
time  I  would  like  to  read  just  one  or  two  notations  I  made  here,  arid 
leave  the  brief  with  the  clerk  of  the  committee. 

Paper  designated  in  the  trade  as  onion  skin,  glazed  or  unglazed, 
white  or  colored,  manifold  or  typewriter,  weighing  not  more  than 
8  pounds  to  the  ream  of  folio  17  by  22  inches,  6  cents  per  pound  and 
15  per  cent  ad  valorem;  if  weighing  over  8  pounds  and  not  over  10 


ONIONSKIN   PAPERS A.   W.    ESLEECK.  6073 

pounds  to  the  ream  of  17  by  22  inches,  5  cents  per  pound  and  15  per 
cent  ad  valorem.  This  would  give  this  class  of  paper  the  same  protec- 
tion as  is  given  to  copying  paper.  .  But  these  papers  are  used  for  the 
same  purposes  as  copying  paper;  they  are  used  for  manifolding  pur- 
poses. With  this  classification  and  rate  of  duty  the  German  article 
could  then  be  sold  in  this  market  for  several  cents  per  pound  less  than 
the  cheapest  of  the  domestic  papers. 

There  are  other  grades  of  writing  papers  manufactured  in  this 
country  that  are  seriously  affected  by  the  present  classification,  not- 
ably blueprint  papers,  hand-made  papers — whether  genuine  or  imi- 
tation, cover  papers,  Japan  papers — genuine  and  imitation,  these 
papers  have  been  entered  as  printing  paper  at  a  duty  of  eight-tenths 
of  a  cent  per  pound.  We  are  not  asking  any  increase  in  these  papers, 
but  we  do  ask  that  these  papers  be  properly  classified,  and  we  do 
believe  that  all  these  papers  I  have  referred  to — onionskins,  mani- 
fold, Japan  paper,  and  blueprint  paper — should  come  under  para- 
graph 401,  which  refers  to  writing  paper. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  volume  of  those  papers  consumed  in 
this  country? 

Mr.  ESLEECK.  You  mean  the  light-weight  papers? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  papers  you  are  referring  to. 

Mr.  ESLEECK.  Of  the  light-weight  papers  which  I  am  personally 
most  interested  in  I  should  say,  without  having  exact  data,  that  there 
was  probably  a  thousand  tons  imported. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  how  much  is  consumed  in  the  United 
States? 

Mr.  ESLEECK.  That  is  a  hard  question.     It  is  a  growing  trade. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  have  no  comparison  of  the  importations 
with  the  consumption  in  the  country? 

Mr.  ESLEECK.  I  should  say  that  the  importation  was  probably  one- 
third  of  the  consumption  on  the  manifold  papers;  the  onion  skins 
and  the  typewriter  manifold  papers,  I  should  say  that  the  importa- 
tion was  probably  one-third. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Two-thirds  produced  in  the  United  States? 

Mr.  ESLEECK.  Yes.  sir ;  I  should  say  about  that. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  is  under  one-eighth  of  a  cent  duty  now  ? 

Mr..  ESLEECK.  Eighth-tenths  of  1  per  cent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  If  we  put  on  the  duty  that  you  ask,  what  effect 
would  that  have  on  the  importations? 

Mr.  ESLEECK.  The  imported  article  could  be  sold  for  about  3  cents 
a  pound  less  than  the  cheapest  paper  we  make  in  this  country. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  think  the  importation  would  be  as  large  as  it 
is  at  present  ? 

Mr.  ESLEECK.  I  do  not  know  that  it  would  affect  it  very  much,  but 
it  would  bring  the  two  papers,  domestic  and  foreign,  nearer  together, 
so  that  there  would  not  be  that  inducement  for  the  people  to  buy  the 
cheaper  article.  Now  it  is  so  cheap  that  they  use  the  imported. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Would  not  the  effect  of  that  duty  be  to  cut  off 
importations  entirely  ? 

Mr.  ESLEECK.  No,  sir;  they  could  import  it  and  sell  it  3  cents  a 
pound  cheaper  than  our  cheapest  paper.  Domestic  prices  run  from 
13|  up  to  25  cents,  and  even  higher  than  that. 


6074  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

BRIEF   SUBMITTED    BY   A.   W.    ESLEECK,    REPRESENTING    THE 
WRITING-PAPER  BRANCH  OF  PAPER  INDUSTRY. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  21,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  appreciate  the  courtesy  extended  to  us  by  your 
honorable  committee  in  giving  us  the  opportunity  to  present  some 
facts  that  have  a  most  important  bearing  upon  that  branch  of  the 
paper  industry  with  which  we  are  connected  and  which  vitally  affects 
its  interest. 

First.  The  importation  of  German  light-weight  papers.  These 
are  manufactured  on  a  basis  of  from  7£  pounds  to  9  pounds  to  the 
ream  of  480  or  500  sheets,  17  by  22  inches,  and  sold  in  this  country  as 
onionskins  and  manifold  typewriter. 

These  papers  are  imported  by  the  Germania  Importing  Company, 
oi  New  York;  O.  M.  Steinman,  of  New  York;  and  also  by  several 
of  the  large  jobbing  houses  in  this  country.  These  papers  are  adver- 
tised as  onionskin  and  typewriter  papers,  sold  as  such,  and  as  such 
they  are  universally  used ;  and  while  the  quality  is  much  inferior  to 
the  domestic  product,  and  the  price  at  which  it  is  sold  is  so  attractive 
to  the  average  buyer  (being  approximately  8  cents  per  pound)  that  it 
is  rapidly  crowding  out  the  American  product.  (See  exhibit  A  at- 
tached, which  are  the  foreign  papers;  Exhibit  B  are  of  domestic 
manufacture.) 

These  papers  are  not  covered  either  by  section  397  or  401  of  the 
present  tariff,  but  have,  we  understand,  been  entered  under  section 
396  as  printing  paper  at  a  valuation  carrying  eight-tenths  of  a  cent 
per  pound.  The  injustice  of  this  classification  is  so  manifest,  and  its 
effect  on  American  manufacturers  of  paper  used  for  identically  the 
same  purpose  so  disastrous,  we  feel  that  it  is  only  necessary  to  place 
these  facts  before  your  honorable  committee  to  have  them  receive 
your  most  favorable  consideration. 

Section  397  places  a  duty  on  copying  and  tissue  papers  weighing 
not  over  6  pounds  to  the  ream  of  20  by  30  inches  of  6  cents  per 
pound  and  15  per  cent  ad  valorem  ;  if  weighing  over  6  pounds  and  not 
over  10  pounds  to  the  ream,  5  cents  per  pound  and  15  per  cent  ad 
valorem. 

The  quantity  of  paper  used  in  duplicate  work,  i.  e.,  carbon  copies, 
is  vastly  in  excess  of  that  used  in  the  manufacture  of  copy  books,  and 
inasmuch  as  the  foreign  importations  of  onionskin  and  typewriter 
manifold  seems  to  be  unclassified  under  the  present  tariff  that  was 
framed  prior  to  the  advent  of  this  class  of  paper  into  this  country, 
we  beg  to  suggest  to  your  honorable  committee  for.  your  favorable 
consideration  the  following  classification:  Paper  designated  in  the 
trade  as  onionskin,  glazed  or  unglazed,  white  or  colored,  manifold 
or  typewriter,  weighing  not  more  than  8  pounds  to  the  ream  of  folio, 
17  by  22  inches,  6  cents  per  pound  and  15  per  cent  ad  valorem;  if 
weighing  over  8  pounds  and  not  over  10  pounds  to  the  ream  of  17  by 
22  inches,  5  cents  per  pound  and  15  per  cent  ad  valorem.  This  would 
give  this  class  of  paper  the  same  protection  as  is  given  to  copying 
paper.  With  this  classification  and  rate  of  duty  the  German  article 
sould  then  be  sold  in  this  market  for  several  cents  per  pound  less 
than  the  cheapest  of  the  domestic  papers. 


ONIONSKIN    PAPERS A.    W.    ESLEECK.  6075 

There  are  other  grades  of  writing  papers  manufactured  in  this 
country  that  are  seriously  affected  by  the  present  classification, 
notably  blueprint  papers,  hand-made  papers — whether  genuine 
and  imitation — cover  papers,  Japan  papers — genuine  and  imitation — 
these  papers  have  been  entered  as  printing  paper  at  a  duty  of  eight- 
tenths  of  a  cent  per  pound.  The  term  "  hand  made  "  should  be  more 
clearly  defined,  because  genuine  hand  made  has  sometimes  been  as- 
sessed as  printing  paper.  Imitation  hand-made  papers  have  been 
made  in  this  country,  but  the  manufacture  had  to  be  practically 
abandoned  on  account  of  the  low  price  of  the  imported  paper.  If 
properly  protected,  they  could  be  profitably  made  in  this  country. 
(See  Exhibit  G.) 

Japan  paper,  genuine  and  imitation :  These  papers  are  a  strong, 
hard,  sized  paper,  of  the  nature  of  a  bond  paper.  They  are  being  im- 
ported into  the  country  in  large  quantities  as  French  Japan,  the 
imitation  paper  being  assessed  under  paragraph  No.  396  as  printing 
paper.  They  should  be  especially  mentioned.  These  papers  are 
being  made  in  this  country.  (See  Exhibit  F.) 

Blueprint  paper:  Paragraph  No.  398  should  be  so  amended  as  to 
distinctly  cover  blueprint  papers,  and  we  would  suggest  that  the 
clause  in  the  article  relating  to  plain  basic  photograph  papers  be 
amended  to  read  as  follows:  "Plain  basic  photographic  and  blue- 
print papers  for  albumenizing,  sensitizing,  or  baryta  coating,  3  cents 
per  pound  and  10  per  cent  ad  valorem;  albumenized  or  sensitized 
paper,  or  paper  otherwise  surface-coated  for  photographic  or  blue- 
print purposes,  30  per  centum  ad  valorem." 

Papers  for  blueprinting  purposes  are  essentially  photograph  pa- 
pers, made  in  the  same  manner,  and  are  coated  and  developed  pre- 
cisely as  are  ordinary  photographic  papers.  They  are  very  hard, 
sized,  and  vary  in  value  from  7  cents  to  27  cents  per  pound"  (Ex- 
hibit D.) 

It  evidently  was  the  intent  of  the  framers  of  the  tariff  of  1897 
that  blueprint  papers  should  be  classed  as  plain  photographic  papers, 
and  they  were  assessed  as  such  for  about  four  years.  The  United 
States  General  Appraisers  at  New  York,  under  date  of  November  21, 
1901,  declared  that  "  paper  used  for  making  blueprint  paper  is  not 
dutiable  as  plain  basic  photographic  paper  under  paragraph  398, 
act  of  July  24,  1897.  Such  papers  are  of  the  class  suitable  for  print- 
ing of  books,  and  are  dutiable  under  paragraph  396,  if  valued  above 
5  cents  per  pound,  at  the  rate  of  15  per  cent  ad  valorem."  (Treasury 
Decisions,  vol.  4,  No.  48,  November  28,  1901;  23378  G.  A.,  5031.) 
This  decision  is  so  obviously  wrong  as  to  scarcely  need  discussion. 
Papers  suitable  for  printing  books  are  either  not  at  all  sized,  or  sized 
very  lightly,  in  order  that  the  ink  may  dry  quickly.  They  are  of 
very  short  fiber,  easily  torn,  and  soft.  In  every  particular  blueprint 
papers  are  the  opposite  of  this.  They  are  hard,  exceedingly  well 
sized,  smooth,  high  finish,  and  very  strong.  They  are  made  from  an 
entirely  different  class  of  stock,  and  are  more  expensive  to  make  than 
printing  papers,  and  are  entirely  different  in  eVery  particular. 
(Samples  herewith,  Exhibit  E.) 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  of  the  13,362  tons  of  "  printing  paper  " 
imported  from  Canada  in  the  year  1907  only  2  tons  are  valued  at  4  to 
5  cents,  and  of  the  1,515  tons  of  "  printing  paper  "  imported  from 
Europe  in  the  same  period  1,330  tons  are  valued  at  5  cents  and  over, 
which  indicates  that  the  great  bulk  of  the  so-called  "  printing  paper  " 
coming  from  Europe  is  not  printing  paper  at  all,  but  high-grade 


6076  SCHEDULE  M PULPS,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

papers,  very  probably   for  blueprinting  and  other  purposes  than 
printing  paper. 

The  nature  of  photographic  papers  and  blueprint  papers  being 
essentially  the  same,  it  is  very  possible  that  papers  intended  for 
regular  photographic  purposes  are  being  imported  as  "  blueprint 
papers  "  and  escaping  the  duty.  There  is  no  way  to  prove  this,  but 
no  inspector  could  tell  whether  certain  roll  was  plain  blueprint  or 
photograph  paper,  as  the  chemical  constituents  are  practically  the 
same. 

These  special  papers,  with  the  exception  of  blueprint  papers, 
could  be  classified  under  section  401,  and  would  then  read  as  follows: 

"  Writing,  letter,  note,  hand-made,  whether  genuine  or  imitation, 
sized  or  unsized,  if  deckled  on  two  or  more  sides,  drawing,  ledger, 
bond,  record,  tablet,  typewriter  paper,  onionskin,  and  manifolding 
papers,  cover  papers,  Japan  paper,  genuine  or  imitation,  weighing 
not  more  than  8  pounds  to  the  ream  of  500  sheets  of  17x22  inches,  6 
cents  per  pound  and  15  per  cent  ad  valorem;  if  weighing  over  8 
pounds  to  the  ream  and  not  over  10  pounds  to  the  ream,  5  cents  per 
pound  and  15  per  cent  ad  valorem;  if  weighing  not  less  than  10 
pounds  and  not  more  than  15  pounds  to  the  ream,  2  cents  per  pound 
and  15  per  cent  ad  valorem;  weighing  more  than  15  pounds  to  the 
ream,  3£  cents  per  pound  and  15  per  cent  ad  valorem." 

Also  amending  the  last  clause  of  the  section,  after  the  word  "  pro- 
vided "  to  read  as  follows :  "  That  in  computing  the  duty  on  such 
papers  every  187,000  square  inches  shall  be  taken  to  be  a  ream,"  as  in 
writing  papers,  folio,  or  17x22  inches,  is  generally  taken  as  a  basis  for 
weight. 

We  would  respectfully  call  your  committee's  attention  to  the  matter 
of  cardboard  and  bristol  board,  pasted  and  unpasted.  These  papers 
are  manufactured  in  large  quantities  in  this  country,  and  we  think 
should  be  classified  in  a  manner  to  prevent  any  misunderstanding  or 
undervaluation.  Would  recommend  a  special  clause,  No.  408,  carry- 
ing 35  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

ESLEECK  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY, 
By  A.  W.  ESLEECK, 
Representing  the  writing-paper  branch  of  the  paper  industry. 


STATEMENT  OF  R.  S.  ELLIOTT,  OF  PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  RELATIVE 
TO  THE  DUTIES  ON  ONIONSKIN  PAPERS. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

The  onionskin  paper  that  the  gentleman  has  just  spoken  about 
that  is  brought  from  the  other  side  is  made  out  of  wood.  It  is  an  en- 
tirely different  paper  in  the  make-up  from  the  papers  made  in  this 
country.  If  you  put  a  duty  on  that  paper  made  on  the  other  side,  the 
sale  of  it  will  absolutely  cease  in  this  country,  because  the  wearing 
qualities  of  that*  paper  are  not  as  good  as  the  wearing  qualities  of 
these  papers  made  in  this  country,  which  are  made  out  of  rags.  The 
paper  made  in  Germany  and  Austria  is  made  out  of  wood,  so  that  the 
importation  of  that  paper  has  decreased  instead  of  increasing,  for 
this  reason.  About  six  or  seven  years  ago  those  papers  were  brought 
in  in  large  quantities  for  tablet  manufacturers,  which  they  sold  to 
people  in  the  West  and  in  the  South  for  foreign  correspondents.  That 


ONIONSKIN   PAPERS — B.   S.   ELLIOTT.  6077 

trade  has  practically  been  eliminated,  for  they  are  to-day  using  the 
American  papers  in  place  of  these  onionskin  papers.  Now,  these 
onion  papers  are  used  for  special  work  here  in  this  country,  and  the 
trade  has  grown  and  been  built  up  simply  on  account  of  the  price  of 
the  stuff. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  class  of  work  are  they  used  on? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  I  sell  it  for  railroad  manifold  work  and  work  of 
that  character,  and  it  is  sold  by  jobbers  all  over  the  country  in  small 
quantities.  Cleveland  is  a  very  large  center  for  the  use  of  that  paper. 
To-day  factories  have  a  great  many  branches  all  over  the  country. 
One  big  concern  where  they  use  this  paper  sends  ten  or  fifteen  or 
twenty  orders  through  the  mail;  they  use  this  light-weight  paper. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  volume  of  the  business  in  these  grades 
that  the  gentleman  just  preceding  you  spoke  about  in  this  country. 
Do  you  know  what  is  the  average  of  business,  the  volume  of  con- 
sumption ? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  It  is  hajd  to  give  you  those  figures  right  offhand. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  you  know  what  the  importations  are  in  com- 
parison with  the  volume  of  consumption? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  No;  I  could  not  give  you  that.  I  can  say  this,  that 
there  are  but  four  importers  in  this  country  that  make  a  specialty  of 
chat  business.  The  business  has  changed  materially  in  the  last  six  or 
seven  years.  The  large  importations  were  seven  years  ago,  when  it  was 
used  as  tablet  paper.  That  has  entirely  died  out. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  you  think  if  we  put  the  duty  on  this  paper 
that  was  asked  for  by  the  gentleman  who  preceded  you,  that  would 
amount  to  a  prohibitive  tariff? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  It  would  in  this  way,  that  the  paper  that  is  made  in 
Europe  is  made  out  of  wood,  and  the  wearing  qualities  are  such  that 
if  the  American  had  to  pay  the  same  price  for  that  German  paper  as 
he  did  for  the  American,  he  would  use  the  American  paper,  because 
it  will  wear  twice  as  long.  It  is  made  out  of  rags. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  In  other  words,  your  idea  is  that  we  would  not 
give  the  consumer  the  right  of  choice  as  to  which  paper  he  preferred, 
but  we  would  prohibit  the  other  paper  entirely  ? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  You  are  talking  about  onionskin  paper. 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  There  is  no  such  paper  designated  in  the  tariff  law 
now. 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  No,  sir;  this  paper  was  really  erroneously  called 
onionskin  paper  by  the  importer. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  But  how  does  it  come  in  now  ? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  It  comes  in  under  25  per  cent  paper,  not  otherwise 
provided  for. 

Mr.  ESLEECK.  It  would  come  in  under  eight-tenths  of  1  per  cent 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  Twenty-five  per  cent  is  the  rate  of  duty. 

Mr.  ESLEECK.  The  duty  is  eight-tenths  of  1  per  cent. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Under  what  clause? 

Mr.  ESLEECK.  Under  section  398. 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  Onionskins  do  not  come  in  under  onionskin  paper. 
There  was  a  case  here  on  that,  three  years  ago.  I  have  imported  car 
loads  of  it,  and  paid  25  per  cent  duty,  for  the  last  ten  years. 


6078  SCHEDULE    M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Is  it  used  the  same  as  onionskin  paper  is  used,  as 
typewriter  paper? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  It  is  not  used  as  typewriter  paper,  because  it  is  made 
out  of  wood,  and  it  does  not  have  the  qualities  that  American  paper 
has.  It  does  not  come  in  competition  with  typewriter  papers. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  do  you  want  us  to  keep  it  out  for,  if  it  does  not 
come  in  competition? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  It  does  not  come  in  competition  with  regular  type- 
writer papers.  I  do  not  want  to  keep  it  out. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  want  to  let  it  in  ? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  I  want  you  to  let  the  duty  stay  just  where  it  is,  at  25 
per  cent.  I  do  not  want  to  change  the  classification. 


THE  B.  D.  RISING  PAPER  COMPANY,  HOTJSATONIC,  MASS.,  WISHES 
BLUEPRINT  PAPER  SPECIFICALLY  ENUMERATED. 

HOUSATONIC,  MASS.,  December  1,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  respectfully  request  that  paragraph  No.  398  be 
amended  by  specifically  naming  blueprint  paper,  so  that  it  shall  read 
as  follows: 

398.  Surface-coated  papers  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  two  and  one- 
half  cents  per  pound  and  fifteen  per  cent  ad  valorem,  if  printed,  or  wholly  or  partly 
cohered  with  metal,  or  its  solutions,  or  with  gelatin  or  flock,  three  cents  per  pound 
and  twenty  per  centum  ad  valorem;  parchment  papers,  two  cents  per  pound  and 
ten  per  centum  ad  valorem;  plain  basic  photographic  and  blueprint  papers,  for  albu- 
menizing,  sensitizing,  or  baryta  coating,  three  cents  per  pound  and  ten  per  centum 
ad  valorem;  albumenized  or  sensitized  paper  or  paper  otherwise  surface  coated,  for 
photographic  or  blueprint  purposes,  thirty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

The  argument  for  this  change  in  classification  has  been  fully  set 
forth  by  Mr.  A.  W.  Esleeck  in  his  brief  filed  November  21,  1908. 
The^  are  now  improperly  assessed  under  paragraph  396  as  "paper 
suitable  for,  books  and  newspapers." 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  quality  of  the  two  classes  of 
paper.  Book  paper  is  soft,  either  unsized  or  sized  very  slightly,  has 
a  short  fiber,  is  made  from  cheap  stock,  and  frequently  contains  a 
large  proportion  of  wood  fiber. 

On  the  other  hand,  blueprint  paper  is  strong,  hard,  thoroughly  well 
sized,  and  made  from  new  cotton  cuttings. 

Blueprint  papers  are  really  photographic  papers,  as  they  have  the 
same  chemical  properties  and  are  sensitized  and  developed  in  the 
same  manner  as  regular  photographic  papers.  They  were  assessed 
duty  as  "plain  basic  photographic  paper"  for  about  four  years,  and 
until  by  a  decision  of  the  General  Board  of  Appraisers,  they  were 
adjudged  to  be  book  papers.  (See  Treasury  Decisions,  vol.  4,  No.  48, 
Nov.  28,^  1901,  23378;  G.  A.  5031.) 

Very  little  blueprint  paper  was  made  in  this  country  until  after  the 
enactment  of  the  tariff  of  1897.  Since  then  it  has  been  demonstrated 
that  the  paper  can  be  successfully  produced  here.  The  principal 
competition  is  from  Germany,  and  the  ability  of  the  importer  to  bring 
in  these  high-grade  papers  as  "book  paper  valued  at  5  cents-  per 
pound"  enables  him  to  sell  at  ven  low  prices  in  this  country.  We 


BLUEPRINT   PAPER TISSUE   PAPERS.  6079 

refer  to  Exhibit  A,  "Samples  of  foreign  blueprint  paper,"  and  Exhibit 
B,  "Samples  of  book  and  news  paper." 
Respectfully  submitted. 

B.  D.  RISING  PAPER  COMPANY, 
By  OH  AS.  MoKERNON,  Treasurer. 


TISSUE  PAPERS. 

[Paragraph  397.] 

WILKINSON  BROS.,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  SUGGEST  NEW  CLASSIFI- 
CATION FOR  SILVER  TISSUE  PAPER. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  November  20,  1908. 
Chairman  SERENO  PAYNE, 

Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  Washington,  D.  G. 

DEAR  SIR:  Referring  to  the  data  you  are  getting  preparatory  to 
submitting  to  Congress  a  recommendation  for  revision  of  the  tariff, 
we  would  like  to  present  some  facts  in  regard  to  light-weight  papers, 
particularly  20  by  30  silver  tissue. 

The  English  paper  at  the  present  time  costs  about  $1.30  per  ream 
landed  in  this  country.  If  the  tariff  was  the  same  as  it  is  on  other 
papers — that  is,  25  per  cent — the  cost  would  be  about  $1.05  delivered 
on  sidewalk  in  this  country.  American  silver  tissue  is  being  sold 
by  the  manufacturers,  and  has  been  sold  by  them  for  the  past  five 
or  six  years,  at  prices  varying  from  62£  up  to  95  cents  per  ream, 
and  once  in  a  while  when  the  manufacturers  have  been  in  a  combina- 
tion and  have  pooled  their  price,  it  has  been  as  high  as  $1.  Under 
the  circumstances,  would  it  not  be  wise  to  reduce  the  present  tariff, 
which  is  15  per  cent  and  6  cents  per  pound,  down'  to  a  straight  25 
per  cent  duty,  and  this  duty  of  25  per  cent  to  apply  on  all  papers, 
basis  20  by  30,  10  pounds  and  lighter,  25  per  cent  being  the  duty  on 
ordinary  paper. 

Yours,  truly,  WILKINSON  BROS.  &  Co.  (!NC.). 


STATEMENT  OF  BERNHARDT  LEVI,  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY,  WHO 
WISHES  A  NEW  CLASSIFICATION. 

SATURDAY,  November  SI,  1908. 

Mr.  LEVT.  My  name,  gentlemen,  is  Bernhardt  Levi,  of  318  Forty- 
eighth  street,  New  York  City.  I  am  here  to  discuss  the  matter  of 
tissue  papers  in  the  form  in  which  I  handle  them. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Under  what  paragraph  in  the  bill  does  that  appear? 

Mr.  LEVI.  Paragraph  397,  section  M,  is  where  tissue  papers  are 
mentioned;  but  we  are  applying  for  a  tariff  on  such  articles  as  are 
not  provided  for,  asking  for  a  specific  or  increased  duty. 

We  have  practically  no  duty  on  some  of  our  goods  at  all.  These 
are  manufactured  articles  that  are  not  provided  for.  We  want  these 
articles  classified  under  decorative  articles  and  novelties. 


6080  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  You  want  the  duty  changed  ? 

Mr.  LEVI.  Yes,  sir.  It  is  35  per  cent  now  (paragraph  407)  on  the 
manufactured  article,  but  not  on  the  paper  or  the  raw  material  in  the 
manufactured  article. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  What  do  you  want? 

Mr.  LEVI.  I  would  like  6  cents  per  pound  specific  and  25  per  cent 
ad  valorem. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  would  that  make  it  ad  valorem  ? 

Mr.  LEVI.  That  would  make  the  rate  about  50  to  60  per  cent  ad 
valorem.  At  present  there  is  no  duty  on  the  paper  at  all  when  it  is 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  our  articles.  There  is  a  duty  or  a  protec- 
tion of  about  100  per  cent  on  the  raw  material  or  the  paper  out  of 
which  we  make  the  articles,  but  on  the  paper  when  it  is  used  in  the 
manufactured -articles  there  is  none  whatever. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Under  what  paragraph  did  you  say  this  is  mentioned  ? 

Mr.  LEVI.  407.  Our  paper  is  not  provided  for.  There  is  no  duty 
on  the  paper  which  comes  over  here  in  the  manufactured  article. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Do  you  want  to  raise  the  duty? 

Mr.  LEVI.  Put  a  specific  duty  on  it  and  lower  the  ad  valorem  duty, 
for  the  specific  duty  will  partly  protect  us,  because  it  will  give  us  the 
same  rate  the  manufactured  paper  has.  If  the  35  per  cent  ad  valorem 
is  on  the  labor  in  the  manufactured  articles,  then  there  is  no  duty  on 
the  raw  material  when  in  the  finished  article ;  you  have,  then,  no  pro- 
tection on  the  paper;  also  vice  versa.  It  affects  us  in  that  way.  We 
have  the  best  machinery  which  is  used  in  Germany,  and  the  balance 
we  have  manufactured  here.  We  have  the  same  way  of  manufactur- 
ing that  they  have  over  there.  That  is  all  I  desire  to  say  at  this  time. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  desire  to  file  a  brief? 

Mr.  LEVI.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Very  well,  file  it  with  the  clerk. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  belong  to  the  American  paper  trust? 

Mr.  LEVI.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Is  there  an  institution  or  organization  known  as  the 
Tissue  Paper  Association? 

Mr.  LEVI.  Possibly.    I  do  not  buy  from  them. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Are  you  not  a  part  of  that? 

Mr.  LEVI.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  they  not  issue  price  sheets  and  fix  the  prices  and 
raise  prices  whenever  they  get  ready? 

Mr.  LEVI.  I  do  not  know.    I  have  never  seen  any  sheets. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  never  did? 

Mr.  LEVI.  No,  sir;  I  have  never  seen  any.  The  makers  of  the 
papers  come  to  me  and  offer  their  papers  according  to  the  colors  and 
the  quality  and  thickness. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  buy  from  them  ? 

Mr.  LEVI.  I  buy  from  the  manufacturer  or  maker  of  paper.  All 
of  my  goods  are  American  goods. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Are  you  acquainted  with  Mr.  Herman  Ridder? 

Mr.  LEVI.  I  know  he  is  a  newspaper  owner. 

Mr.  CLARK.  He  has  been  agitating  this  identical  question  and  put 
your  company  in  as  one  of  this  trust. 

Mr.  LEVI.  I  never  heard  of  it.     He  knows  more  about  it  than  I  do. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  am  telling  you  merely  what  Bidder  did  to  you. 


TISSUE  PAPERS FILTER   PAPERS.  6081 

The  CHAIRMAN.  If  you  called  Ridder  to-day,  he  might  change  his 
attitude. 

Mr.  LEVI.  I  never  knew  I  was  so  well  known.  I  have  never  met 
him  since  1870. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  are  sure  you  are  not  a  part  of  a  great  paper  trust, 
are  you  ? 

Mr.  LEVI.  I  wish  I  were.     I  am  not  in  any  trust. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  tissue-paper  trust? 

Mr.  LEVI.  No,  sir;  I  never  heard  of  it.  I  buy  direct  from  the 
manufacturer,  and  the  prices  are  about  equal. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  combination  of  tissue-paper 
manufacturers  ? 

Mr.  LEVI.  I  never  heard  of  it. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Is  it  the  Tissue-Paper  Association  that  fixes  the  prices? 

Mr.  LEVI.  I  never  heard  of  it. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  never  inquired  into  it  when  you  were  buying,  did 
you? 

Mr.  LEVI.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  just  simply  pay  what  they  tell  you  to  pay? 

Mr.  LEVI.  I  buy  as  cheap  as  I  possibly  can  and  pay  cash  for  it,  but 
if  I  find  a  man  that  will  give  me  the  same  goods  for  less  money,  the 
quality  being  the  same,  of  course  I  buy  of  him,  but  I  have  never 
found  him  yet. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  the  trouble  to-day.  The  association  fixes  the 
prices  to  y.ou,  if  you  are  not  a  part  of  them,  and  everybody  else  pays 
the  same. 

Mr.  LEVI.  I  never  heard  of  the  Tissue-Paper  Association.  There 
are  so  many  mills  I  do  not  believe  they  could  get  them  under  a  trust. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  You  find  the  prices  about  the  same  always? 

Mr.  LEVI.  Pretty  nearly.  The  qualities  are  different,  of  course. 
There  are  different  kinds  of  machines  which  make  paper  worth  more 
than  others. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  I  mean  paper  of  the  same  grade. 

Mr.  LEVI.  It  probably  costs  them  the  same  to  manufacture  it.  I 
never  heard  of  a  trust  of  any  kind  except  the  cardboard  trust,  and 
that  is  going  to  pieces,  I  believe. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  Do  you  know  Herman  Ridder? 

Mr.  LEVI.  In  1870  I  believe  I  met  him  once.  I  am  not  positive. 
I  read  his  paper  occasionally,  as  I  read  all  papers. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  Did  you  ever  have  any  correspondence  with  him 
about  this? 

Mr.  LEVI.  Never.  I  never  talked  to  anybody;  never  knew  I  was 
going  to  come  here  until  last  Wednesday. 


FILTER  PAPERS. 

[Paragraph  397.] 

NEW  YORK,  December  S,  1908. 
WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

SIRS:  Tariff  law,  Schedule  M,  pulp,  paper,  and  books,  paragraph 
397:  Filtering  paper  Scents  per  pound  and  15  percent  ad  valorem. 


G082  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Why  this  excessive  rate  of  duty?    Would  not  2$  cents  per  pound  be 
sufficient  from  either  or  anv  point  of  view  ? 

We  are  distributers  of  foreign-made  filter  papers  and  have  been 
mystified  as  to  why  this  line  is  or  should  continue  to  be  taxed  with 
wnat  amounts  to  75  to  90  per  cent  duty. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

Yours,  truly,  ZINKEISEN  &  Co., 

M.  ZINKEISEN. 


LIGHT-WEIGHT  PAPERS. 

[Paragraphs  397,  398,  401,  and  459.] 

STATEMENT  OF  JOHN  K.  BUCK,  OF  HARTFORD,  CONN.,  RELATIVE 
TO  VARIOUS  THIN  LIGHT-WEIGHT  PAPERS. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  represent  certain  manufacturers  of  tissue  paper  and 
specialties  in  higher  grades  and  lighter  weight  papers.  I  call  atten- 
tion to  paragraphs  397,  398,  401,  and  459.  These  all  embrace  articles 
in  which  those  people  whom  I  represent  are  interested  and  which 
they  more  or  less  manufacture. 

With  reference  to  paragraph  397,  we  all  say  that  from  our  stand- 
point we  are  satisfied  with  the  present  duty. 

With  reference  to  paragraph  398,  we  call  attention  to  the  second 
clause,  as  follows: 

If  printed,  or  wholly  or  partly  covered  with  metal,  or  its  solutions,  or  with 
gelatin  or  flock,  3  cents  per  pound  and  20  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

We  desire  in  a  degree  to  affect  that  duty  by  inserting  at  the  end  of 
the  paragraph,  so  that  if  it  is  adopted  into  the  new  law  it  will  be 
a  distinct  clause  by  itself,  the  following : 

Metal-coated  tissue  paper,  weighing  not  over  15  pounds  to  the  ream  of  500 
sheets,  on  a  basis  of  20  by  24  inches,  and  whether  in  reams  or  any  other  form, 
10  cents  per  pound  and  30  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Just  to  explain  about  that.  The  former  metal-coated  papers  are 
manufactured  in  large  quantities  by  several  mills  in  this  country,  and 
no  complaint  is  made  by  the  people  that  I  represent  in  regard  to  the 
rate  on  those.  Several  years  after  the  act  of  1897  went  into  effect 
there  appeared  on  the  American  market  this  kind  of  paper.  It  was 
composed  of  a  very  thin  tissue  paper  and  tin  foil  reduced  to  a  liquid 
state  and  then  brushed  onto  it  or  coated  onto  it.  That  combination 
of  the  very  thin  tissue  paper  with  the  tin  foil  reduced  to  a  liquid 
form  and  brushed  onto  it  came  into  the  market  under  the  duty  to 
which  I  have  just  called  attention  of  3  cents  a  pound  and  20  per  cent 
ad  valorem.  Now,  that  kind  of  tissue  paper  required  the  highest 
skilled  labor  and  the  most  delicate  machinery.  The  workmen  com- 
mand the  highest  wages  that  could  be  paid  for  manufacturing  paper 
products,  so  that  the  goods  of  that  combination  came  to  be  very  high 
and  the  American  manufacturers,  of  course,  knew  of  its  importation, 
but  were  unable  to  compete  with  the  foreign  manufacturer,  because  on 
account  of  wages  they  were  paying  and  other  conditions  it  was  im- 
possible to  produce  that  combination  paper  for  a  less  rate  than  70 
cents  per  pound. 


LIGHT-WEIGHT   PAPERS JOHN    K   BUCK.  6083 

It  costs  the  foreign  manufacturer  just  57  cents  to  lay  it  down  in 
New  York.  It  costs  the  American  manufacturer  70  cents  to  produce 
it,  and  all  we  ask  is  that  you  put  us  on  an  equal  footing  with  the 
foreign  product.  We  ask  for  a  duty  of  10  cents  specific  and  30  per 
cent  ad  valorem,  which  makes  it  cost  57.51  cents.  We  want  to  see 
if  we  can  manufacture  it  here,  and  we  are  ready  to  commence  the 
manufacture  of  it. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  say  it  costs  you  70  cents  to  produce  it,  laid 
down  in  New  York? 

Mr.  BUCK.  Yes,  sir;  70  cents  a  pound. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  At  what  price  can  the  New  York  importer  lay  it 
down? 

Mr.  BUCK.  Fifty-seven  cents.  It  costs  at  port  of  shipment  45 
cents,  and  then  they  add  the  duty  of  3  cents  specific  and  20  per  cent 
ad  valorem  under  the  old  clause.  This  is  a  new  thing  which  has 
just  come  into  vogue,  and  we  are  unable  to  compete  with  it.  This 
paper  with  which  we  are  to  compete  has  heretofore  been  exempt. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  importer  lays  it  down  in  the  port  of  New 
York  at  a  little  over  65  cents,  and  the  ad  valorem  rate  of  30  per  cent 
is  added. 

Mr.  BUCK.  It  costs  the  foreign  manufacturer  at  the  port  of  ship- 
ment 45  cents,  to  which  must  be  added  the  specific  duty  of  3  cents 
and  an  ad  valorem  of  30  per  cent  a  pound,  making  57  cents. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  claim  that  that  is  the  cost  to  the  importer 
with  the  duty  added? 

Mr.  BUCK.  With  the  duty  paid.  The  whole  cost,  duty  paid,  is  57 
cents.  All  that  we  ask  is  to  be  put  on  a  level  with  the  foreign 
product. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  volume  of  this  business  in  the  United 
States? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  think  we  had  better  let  Mr.  Buck  finish  the 
reading  of  his  brief. 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  will  complete  my  argument. 

(Mr.  Buck's  brief  is  as  follows:) 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  %1,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C.: 

GENTLEMEN:  The  undersigned  are  manufacturers  of  tissue  paper 
and  specialties  in  high-grade  and  light-weight  papers.  They  desire 
to  make  suggestions  in  regard  to  said  four  paragraphs. 

Paragraph  397.  We  suggest  no  change  in  this  paragraph,  as  the 
manufacturers  have  adapted  themselves  to  its  provisions,  and  under 
present  conditions  of  the  market  it  seems  to  be  equitable  in  its  oper- 
ation. 

Paragraph  398.  We  suggest  an  amendment  to  this  paragraph  by 
adding  at  the  end  thereof  the  following : 

Metal-coated  tissue  paper  weighing  not  over  fifteen  pounds  to  the  ream  of 
five  hundred  sheets  on  a  basis  of  twenty  by  twenty-four  inches  and  whether  in 
reams  or  any  other  form,  ten  cents  per  pound  and  thirty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

The  reason  for  this  amendment  is  that  since  1897  (when  the  pres- 
ent tariff  was  passed)  a  new  demand  has  arisen  for  a  very  light- 


6084  SCHEDULE   M PULP,    PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

weight  tissue  paper,  coated  with  a  solution  of  tin  on  one  side  and  of 
such  fine  quality  and  so  skillfully  made  that  no  pin  holes  appear  in 
the  paper  before  coating,  so  that  the  tin  side  is  used  for  conducting 
electric  current  and  the  plain  or  paper  side  used  for  insulation. 
Therefore  it  can  be  easily  understood  that  the  highest  grade  of 
skilled  labor,  as  well  as  material,  is  imperative.  A  foreign-made 
article,  now  imported  under  the  present  tariff,  only  pays  3  cents  per 
pound  and  20  per  cent  ad  valorem,  thus  making  this  metal-coated 
tissue  paper  cost  as  follows: 

Value  at  port  of  shipment,  45  cents;  specific  duty,  3  cents  per 
pound,  3  cents;  20  per  cent  ad  valorem,  9  cents;  total,  57  cents  per 
pound. 

Under  the  proposed  duty  this  article  would  cost,  duty  paid,  as 
follows : 

Value  at  port  of  shipment,  45  cents;  specific  duty,  10  cents  per 
pound,  10  cents;  30  per  cent  ad  valorem,  13£  cents;  total,  68£  cents. 

This  paper  costs  the  American  manufacturer  to  put  on  the  market 
about  TO  cents  per  pound. 

(Exhibit  A,  hereto  attached,  is  a  sample  of  this  metal-coated  tis- 
sue paper.) 

Paragraph  401.  We  suggest  the  following  amendments  to  para- 
graph 401 :  After  the  words  "  typewriter  paper "  and  before  the 
word  "  weighing,"  in  the  second  line,  insert  the  words  "  cover  papers." 
The  reason  for  this  amendment  is  that  heretofore  there  has  been  no 
classification  of  this  grade  of  paper,  and  it  might  come  in  under 
printing  paper  at  the  low  rates,  whereas  it  is  high-grade  paper  and 
should  be  classed  with  writing  and  other  papers  mentioned  in  this 
paragraph. 

Also  after  the  word  "  rates  "  in  said  paragraph,  and  before  the 
word  "  provided,"  insert  the  following : 

also  papers  commonly  known  as  onion-skin  papers,  weighing  not  over  eight 
pounds  to  the  ream,  and  whether  in  reams  or  any  other  form,  six  cents  per 
pound  and  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  if  weighing  over  eight  pounds  to  the 
ream  and  under  ten  pounds  to  the  ream,  and  whether  in  reams  or  in  any  other 
form,  five  cents  per  pound  and  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

This  is  to  meet  the  condition  that  has  arisen  since  1897,  the  very 
thin  typewriter  papers  and  onion-skin  papers  being  in  use  in  increas- 
ing quantities  of  late  years  in  the  carbon  duplicate  methods  and  new 
system  which  compel  the  use  of  very  light-weight  papers,  which 
are  really  in  a  class  by  themselves,  and  should  carry  a  much  higher 
rate  than  the  other  papers  mentioned  in  this  paragraph,  for  under 
present  conditions  the  foreign  manufacturers  are  importing  what  is 
known  as  ;'  glazed  "  and  "  unglazed  "  onion-skin  papers  and  selling 
them  to  the  paper  dealers  at  72  cents  per  ream,  or  at  9  cents  per 
pound  (in  many  cases  8  cents  per  pound),  while  this  paper  that  is 
made  here  costs  about  12  to  16  cents  per  pound,  with  the  result  that 
the  American  mills  are  fast  losing  the  business. 

Under  the  present  conditions  the  foreign  manufacturers  import 
this  paper  and  pay  a  very  small  duty — eight-tenths  of  1  cent  per 
pound. 

Under  the  present  duty  this  article  would  cost  as  follows : 

Value  per  pound  at  port  of  shipment,  5  cents;  specific  duty,  eight- 
tenths  of  a  cent  per  pound ;  total,  5^  cents. 


LIGHT-WEIGHT  PAPERS JOHN    K   BUCK.  6085 

Under  the  duty  proposed  by  the  amendment  this  paper  would  cost 
as  follows : 

Value  per  pound  at  port  of  shipment,  5  cents ;  specific  duty,  6  cents 
per  pound;  ad  valorem  duty  (15  per  cent),  three-fourths  of  a  cent; 
total;  llf  cents. 

One  reason  why  the  foreign  manufacturer  can  sell  the  paper  so 
much  cheaper  than  we  is  the  difference  in  labor  cost,  as  shown  in 
schedule  given  below : 

Labor  table. 


Foreign 
per  day. 

American 
per  day. 

Engineers.           .                  _                       _  _          

$1.00 

(2.63 

Beater  men  .  

.75 

2.50 

Helpers 

.70 

1.65 

Machine  tenders    ..                  _                __._                        __ 

1.15 

3.15 

Back  tenders    

.75 

1.70 

Cutter  men  _.  -  „ 

.75 

2.65 

Helpers           _                        _                _    

.60 

1.85 

Girl  finishers  

.40 

1.35 

Millwrights 

1.00 

3.7£ 

These  same  labor  conditions  apply  to  the  metal-coated  tissue  men- 
tioned in  paragraph  398,  also  the  tissue  and  other  light-weight  papers 
mentioned  in  paragraph  397,  and  the  cigarette  papers  mentioned  in 
paragraph  459,  Schedule  N.  , 

As  for  material,  we  use  better  stock,  which  costs  us  considerably 
more  than  the  material  used  by  the  foreigner  in  manufacturing  their 
onionskin  paper,  and  we  claim  our  papers  are  much  better. 

The  amendment  is  asked  for  to  meet  the  new  conditions  which  have 
arisen  during  the  past  three  years  relating  to  this  paper. 

(Exhibits  B  and  C,  hereto  attached,  are  samples  of  the  imported 
onionskin  papers,  selling  at  8  and  9  cents  per  pound.) 

(Exhibits  I)  and  E,  hereto  attached,  are  samples  of  the  domestic 
onionskin  papers,  selling  at  14  to  20  cents  per  pound.) 

Cigarette  paper  now  included  in  Schedule  N,  paragraph  No.  459. — 
Pipes,  smokers'  articles,  etc. 

The  manufacturers  of  cigarette  papers  do  not  ask  that  the  rate  of 
duty  in  this  schedule  be  changed,  and  they  desire  to  state  that  this  is 
a  thin  tissue  paper  of  a  special  manufacture,  made  in  both  sheets  and 
reels,  and  manufactured  by  the  Diamond  Mills  Paper  Company  and 
others,  and  is  equal  to  any  of  the  foreign  manufacture.  The  con- 
sumption of  this  paper  is  on  the  increase  and  the  foreign  competi- 
tion is  very  strong,  but  this  paper  is  now  made,  and  can  be  success- 
fully made,  in  this  country  if  fairly  protected  from  the  foreign 
article.  The  manufacturers  have,  and  are,  keeping  up  with  this 
demand  as  far  as  they  are  warranted  in  doing.  It  appears  that  the 
importations  under  paragraph  459,  which  includes  this  paper,  were 
valued  at  $954,521.98  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1907.  For  the 
year  ending  June  30,  1908,  the  value  was  $966,823.29,  showing  an 
increase  in  the  importations.  This  paper  could  all  be  manufactured 
here  if  the  manufacturers  were  allowed  to  do  so,  and  the  present  rate 
of  duty  assessed,  60  per  cent,  is  the  very  lowest  that  will  enable  the 
manufacturers  to  continue  the  making  of  this  paper  and  compete 
with  the  foreign  manufacturer. 


6086  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

(Exhibit  F  hereto  attached  is  a  sample  of  domestic  cigarette 
paper.) 

All  of  which  is  most  respectfully  submitted. 

THE  DIAMOND  MILLS  PAPER  COMPANY, 

44  Murray  street,  New  York  City. 
C.  H.  DEXTER  &  SONS, 

Windsor  Locks,  Conn. 
THE  JERSEY  CITY  PAPER  COMPANY, 

Jersey  City,  N.  J. 
THE  SMITT  PAPER  COMPANY, 

Lee,  Mass. 
By  JOHN  K.  BUCK, 

Hartford,  Conn., 

Counsel. 

Mr.  BUCK  (continuing).  There  is  a  sample  of  this  paper  attached 
to  the  brief,  and  the  committee  can  examine  it. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  volume  of  this  business  in  this  coun- 
try— the  manufacture  of  the  paper  to  which  you  have  referred? 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  am  unable  to  answer  that  question.  The  only  re- 
turns are  general  returns  and  include  all  others  in  that  class  of  extra 
thin  metal-coated  papers,  and  the  manufacture  of  which  is  increasing 
to  a  considerable  quantity. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  do  not  know  the  quantity  of  this  paper  that 
is  manufactured — that  is,  the  quantity  on  which  you  want  the  duty 
changed  ? 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  do  not. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  you  know  how  much  business  is  being  done 
in  that  paper  by  American  manufacturers? 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  do  not  know,  because  it  is  only  an  experiment.  The 
experiment  has  proceeded  so  far  that  we  are  able  to  say  that  we  can 
produce  it. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  do  not  know  how  much  of  the  American 
market  the  American  manufacturers  can  supply  ? 

Mr.  BUCK.  No,  sir;  I  do  not. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  you  are  not  giving  us  any  information  on 
which  we  can  come  to  a  conclusion. 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  am  unable  to  give  you  any  information  as  to  the  vol- 
ume of  the  business  because  the  Treasury  Deparfrnent  would  not  fur- 
nish it.  I  wrote  to  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  and  also  to  the  Depart- 
ment of  Commerce  and  Labor,  but  I  am  unable  to  get  the  volume  of 
business  in  that  article. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  This  is  contemplated  to  be  a  new  industry  ? 

Mr.  BUCK.  A  new  industry  entirely.  It  has  only  appeared  within 
the  past  three  years.  It  is  classed  with  this  metal-coated  paper  and 
the  Treasury  Department  referred  to  it  in  that  way.  I  think  that  Mr. 
Austin,  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  can  find  out. 

In  reference  to  the  typewriter  paper,  I  can  say  that  the  American 
manufacturers  now  make  it  at  a  cost  of  from  12  cents  to  16  cents  a 
pound  produced  in  the  United  States.  That  is  made  in  the  Dexter 
Mills  and  the  Diamond  Mills  and  others.  It  is  being  produced,  but 
they  are  closing  their  business  under  the  present  tariff.  I  have  in  my 
brief  a  table  of  the  cost  of  labor. 


LIGHT-WEIGHT  PAPERS JOHN   K   BUCK.  6087 

Mr.  NEEDHAM.  In  your  paper  you  do  not  include  the  freight 
charges? 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  have  left  out  the  freight  charges  because  they  are 
exceedingly  slight  and  amount  to  nothing.  In  the  metal-coated 
paper  I  put  it  in.  If  I  can  get  those  rates,  I  will  put  them  in,  and 
also  the  volume  of  business  done. 

In  regard  to  cigarette  papers,  it  really  does  not  belong  in  this 
schedule.  It  is  made  by  the  Diamond  Mills.  It  has  a  duty  of  60 
cents,  and  notwithstanding  that  duty  the  importations  are  increasing 
every  year  under  that  duty.  The  schedule  reads  as  though  it  was  a 
little  high. 

I  might  say  further  that  in  all  of  these  four  descriptions  of  paper 
we  ask  for  no  increase  of  duty  whatever,  and  in  all  of  the  tissue 
papers  and  the  metal-coated  papers  which  we  are  now  manufactur- 
ing we  are  conducting  the  business  and  competing  with  the  foreign 
manufacturers.  We  ask  no  odds  further  than  the  present  rate.  As 
to  these  new  suggestions,  all  we  are  asking  is  for  a  duty  that  will 
protect  us  against  the  foreign  product,  which  is  distinctive  in  char- 
acter. All  we  ask  is  to  enable  us  to  conduct  the  business.  If  you 
will  do  that,  we  are  able  to  go  into  the  market  and  take  our  chances. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  many  people  are  there  in  this  country  who 
are  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  this  tissue  paper? 

Mr.  BUCK.  That  I  can  not  say;  there  are  a  vast  number  of  them. 
These  are  mills  in  Connecticut  and  New  Jersey.  The  Diamond  Mills 
have  five  mills  engaged  in  this  work.  I  do  not  know  the  capacity  of 
the  other  mills. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Is  there  any  association  or  combination  between 
the  mills  for  the  purpose  of  fixing  prices  on  tissue  paper? 

Mr.  BUCK.  No,  sir;  there  never  was  and  never  will  be. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  there  is  free  and  open  competition  in  the 
market  on  tissue  paper? 

Mr.  BUCK.  Yes,  sir;  I  speak  for  the  Diamond  and  Dexter  mills, 
and  for  nobody  else.  We  are  not  in  any  combine.  We  are  independ- 
ent manufacturers  and  not  importers.  Some  years  ago  one  man  ex- 
ported 20  reams  and  sold  it  for  less  than  it  cost  him  in  this  country, 
and  he  gave  up  the  business. 

Mr.  CLARK.  There  is  no  tissue  paper  combination? 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  do  not  know  of  any. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  there  is  one,  you  are  not  aware  of  it? 

Mr.  BUCK.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Then  you  are  not  a  part  of  the  paper  trust? 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  do  not  think  so. 

Mr.  CLARK.  It  has  been  stated  before  us  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  a  paper  trust. 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  have  heard  of  it 

Mr.  CLARK.  Have  you  ever  come  in  contact  with  it  ? 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  have  seen  a  gentleman  whom  they  said  belonged  to 
the  paper  trust.  I  had  never  seen  any  of  them  before. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  the  tissue  paper  men  all  sell  at  the  same  prices  ? 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  can  not  answer  that  question. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Have  you  ever  investigated  that  question  ? 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  presume  that  they  sell  substantially  at  the  same  price. 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 21 


6088  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Does  not  the  location  of  the  mill  or  any  favorable  or 
accidental  circumstance  enable  one  company  to  produce  cheaper  than 
another  company  can  produce? 

Mr.  BUCK.  Possibly  that  might  be  so,  but  I  think,  with  the  rail- 
road facilities,  which  are  so  complete  and  perfect,  that  it  is  scarcely 
a  consideration  that  could  enter  into  the  question;  and,  moreover,  if 
rates  were  to  favor  any  particular  one  section  or  locality  that  matter 
could  be  corrected  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Is  there  any  association,  combination,  or  arrangement 
by  which  anybody  acting  under  authority  of  such  combination  can 
sell  this  paper  to  the  consumer  at  a  fixed  price  ? 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  do  not  know  of  any. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  never  heard  of  such  thing? 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  never  heard  of  such  thing.  That  question  has  never 
come  home  to  the  persons  I  represent.  I  do  not  think  the  Dexter  Mill 
would  ever  permit  it.  A  gentleman  who  has  just  whispered  to  me 
says  that  there  is  no  such  thing. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Who  is  the  gentleman  who  just  whispered  to  you  ? 

Mr.  BUCK.  He  is  the  manager  of  the  mill  of  C.  H.  Dexter.  He  is 
a  practical  manufacturer. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Are  you  a  manufacturer? 

Mr.  BUCK.  No,  sir ;  I  am  a  lawyer. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  thought  you  were  asking  these  things  because  you 
were  a  manufacturer. 

Mr.  BUCK.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Is  this  gentleman  who  was  whispering  to  you  your 
client? 

Mr.  BUCK.  Well,  he  is  not  my  client,  but  he  is  the  superintendent 
of  the  corporation  that  is  my  client. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Then,  practically,  he  is  your  client  ? 

Mr.  BUCK.  Yes,  sir.  I  know  him  and  have  known  him  for  thirty 
years  and  I  believe  his  word,  and  I  also  believe  the  word  of  Mr.  Coffin. 
I  have  no  doubt  of  the  truth  of  whatever  they  say. 

Mr.  CLARK.  We  lawyers  have  never  been  able  to  get  up  a  trust  in 
our  business. 

Mr.  BUCK.  That  is  true,  and  I  do  not  think  that  this  committee, 
looking  exactly  like  the  Supreme  Court,  or  a  little  more  so,  would 
think  anything  less  of  the  truth  if  it  came  from  the  lips  of  a  lawyer 
than  if  it  came  from  other  sources. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  paper  trust  which  has  been  spoken  of  was  the 
International  Paper  Company.  You  said  that  you  had  heard  of  the 
paper  trust. 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  have  heard  of  that. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  have  no  personal  knowledge  of  it? 

Mr.  BUCK.  Not  the  slightest. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  suppose  that,  in  referring  to  the  paper  trust,  you 
referred  to  the  International  Paper  Company  ? 

Mr.  BUCK.  Yes,  sir.  We  have  no  connection  with  them — no  con- 
nection in  any  way  whatever. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  suppose  that  there  is  a  uniform  price  for  wheat 
in  Liverpool,  is  there  not  ? 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  think  there  must  be. 


LIGHT-WEIGHT    PAPERS— SURFACE-COATED    PAPERS.  6089 

Tho  CHAIRMAN.  You  would  not  regard  that  as  the  absolute  exist- 
ence of  a  trust — the  fact  that  the  producers  sell  wheat  in  Liverpool  at 
a  certain  price  ? 

Mr.  BUCK.  No ;  I  do  not  think  that  is  any  proof.  I  think  that  the 
manufacturers  would  be  weak  to  consider  anything  that  would  cut 
their  own  throat. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Did  you  not  tell  me  a  while  ago  that  you  had  run 
across  some  of  the  representatives  of  the  paper  trust  here  in  Wash- 
ington ? 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  said  that  I  had  seen  one  of  them — that  he  had  been 
pointed  out  to  me  as  one  of  the  paper  trust. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  wish  you  would  send  in  the  names  of  such  gentle- 
men, as  we  would  like  to  present  them  to  Mr.  Bonaparte,  of  the  De- 
partment of  Justice.  It  is  claimed  all  the  time  that  they  are  unable 
to  find  anybody  who  belongs  to  the  paper  trust. 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  should  be  glad  to  furnish  any  of  the  names  if  I  can. 
I  do  not  know  any  of  them,  and  I  suppose  that  you  have  more  facili- 
ties here  for  finding  them  out  than  I  have. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  do  not  run  with  that  gang.  They  do  not  come  to  me, 
but  you  being  in  the  paper  business  I  understood  you  to  say  that  you 
had  met  some  gentlemen  who  were  representatives  of  the  paper 
trust. 

Mr.  BUCK.  I  think  you  are  in  error  as  to  what  I  said.  I  said  that 
a  gentleman  was  pointed  out  to  me  as  being  a  representative  of  that 
trust,  but  I  do  not  know  any  of  the  names. 


SURFACE-COATED  PAPERS. 

[Paragraph  398.] 

STATEMENT  OF  H.  B.  FABER,  OF  NEW  YORK,  REPRESENTING  THE 
MANUFACTURERS  OF  SURFACE-COATED  PAPERS. 

SATURDAY,  November  81,  1908. 

Mr.  FABER.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  committee.  I  will 
not  read  my  brief,  but  will  simply  state  some  of  the  main  features 
connected  with  it. 

This  is  an  old  industry,  the  surface-coated  paper,  paper  familiar  to 
you  all,  and  paper  used  to  cover  boxes — shoe  boxes  and  hat  boxes, 
and  various  boxes -of  that  description.  This  paper  has  been  manu- 
factured in  Germany  for  a  great  number  of  years,  but  it  is  a  rela- 
tively young  industry  in  this  country.  It  is  a  paper  that  is  manu- 
factured by  putting  onto  a  white  paper  stock  a  color  and  then  polish- 
ing this  color  to  make  a  glazed  finished  surface,  which  you  will  see 
in  samples  on  the  back  of  this  brief. 

Now,  the  main  feature  of  the  argument  is  to  show  that  the  imports 
of  the  foreign  papers  have  increased  from  4,000,000  pounds  in  1902  to 
8,000,000  pounds  in  1907.  The  manufacturers  of  surface-coated 
papers  in  this  country  have  suffered  a  corresponding  decrease,  not 
so  much  on  their  output  as  in  their  profits,  due  to  this  increase  of 
approximately  100  per  cent  in  the  importations  of  glazed  papers. 


6090  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

The  reason  that  these  foreign  papers  have  come  into  this  country  in 
the  volume  that  they  have  is  due  to  the  cost  of  production  in  Ger- 
many and  the  cost  of  production  in  this  country. 

On  page  6  of  this  brief  I  have  calculated  the  cost  of  producing 
this  grade  of  goods  in  this  country  and  in  Germany,  and  you  will 
notice  that  to  manufacture  a  unit  quantity  of  this  grade,  which  we 
call  a  ream,  which  is  480  or  500  sheets  of  paper  20  inches  by  24 — to 
manufacture  this  unit  quantity  it  costs  us  in  this  country  $2.25, 
while  in  Germany  they  can  manufacture  the  same  thing  for  $1.19. 
The  reason  for  that  is  that  the  paper  stock  that  they  use  is  slightly 
cheaper.  Their  color  is  slightly  cheaper,  and  their  labor  very  much 
so,  and  you  will  notice  that  the  labor  item  in  the  American  product 
is  49  cents  as  against  10  cents  in  the  German. 

These  figures,  as  you  will  notice  in  making  the  comparison  of  cost, 
have  been  very  carefully  compiled.  I  have  done  the  work  myself, 
and  they  have  covered  over  5.000  individual  orders  that  have  been 
turned  out  and  sold  to  the  trade.  They  have  been  made  up  in  per- 
centages and  simplified,  of  course,  under  four  headings,  as  you  will 
see  on  page  5,  which  will  give  you  the  component  percentages  which 
enter  into  the  cost  of  production. 

In  taking  my  figures  of  German  cost  I  have  taken  an  extract  from 
Carl  Hoffmann's  paper,  the  Papier  Zietung,  which  is  a  recognized 
authority,  where  he  asks  the  German  manufacturers  of  these  goods 
for  their  statements  of  cost;  and  he  has  printed  that  statement  in 
detail,  giving  the  labor  of  a  single  laborer  on  the  machine,  and  that 
appears  on  page  7.  That  is  an  authentic  statement,  and  it  can  be 
relied  upon.  In  that  statement  he  shows  that  the  cost  of  manufac- 
turing this  product  in  Germany  is  $1.19,  as  against  the  cost  in  this 
country  which  we  show,  and  which  is  the  combined  opinion  of  all 
the  manufacturers  in  the  trade  in  this  line,  of  $2.25.  This  paper 
manufacured  in  Germany  for  $1.19  enters  this  country,  all  duties 
paid,  for  $1.81,  and  sells  in  the  open  markets  for  from  $1.90  to  $2  a 
ream,  against  our  product  manufactured  at  a  cost  of  $2.25.  That 
shows  why  the  imports  of  that  grade  of  paper  have  been  on  a  steady 
increase,  and  why  the  manufacturers  in  this  country  have  suffered  a 
decrease  in  their  profits. 

The  American  manufacturers  have  been  compelled  in  late  years  to 
throw  into  the  market  an  imitation  paper,  and  I  have  submitted  a 
sample  of  the  imitation  on  the  second  from  the  last  sheet  attached  to 
the  brief.  To  every  appearance  that  imitation  resembles  the  imported 
papers.  It  is  of  the  same  weight  and  of  the  same  appearance  and  of 
the  same  character,  but  the  pasting  qualities  of  the  paper  are  very 
different.  It  is  made  by  an  entirely  different  method.  The  burnishing 
is  put  on  longitudinally  instead  of  across  the  paper,  and  when  that 
paper  is  used  by  the  box  makers  they  encounter  difficulties  which  they 
do  not  encounter  in  the  imported  or  domestic  flints.  This  imitation 
paper  we  can  manufacture  in  this  country  for  $1.90  a  ream,  and  you 
will  find  on  page  8  a  detailed  statement  of  our  costs.  That  is  the  best 
we  can  do,  $1.90  a  ream,  and  that  imitation  paper  at  a  cost  of  $1.90 
a  ream  has  to  compete  against  the  foreign  flint  paper  which  it  is  an 
imitation  of,  sold  in  this  country  at  $1.90  to  $2,  manufactured  in 
Germany  at  $1.19. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  What  is  the  duty  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  About  62  cents. 


SURFACE-COATED   PAPERS H.   B.    FABER.  6091 

Mr.  DALZELL.  You  want  to  make  it  6  cents  a  pound  ? 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  What  would  that  be  ad  valorem  under  your 
present  rate? 

Mr.  FABER.  I  should  judge  it  would  be  about  70  or  80  per  cent  ad 
valorem.  It  would  have  to  be  double  the  duty  we  have  on  now,  and 
you  will  see  the  duty  here  on  page  4.  The  ad  valorem  duty  figures 
up  in  the  neighborhood  of  40  per  cent. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Of  this  surface-coated  paper  that  you  are  talking 
about,  you  say  there  has  been  an  enormous  increase  in  the  importa- 
tion? 

Mr.  FABER.  There  has  been. 

Mr.  CLARK.  According  to  your  own  figures,  in  the  year  ending 
June  30,  1903,  they  imported  1,359,110.25  pounds,  and  in  the  year 
ending  June  30,  1907,  there  was  imported  only  1,380.781.50.  That  is 
an  increase  of  only  about  20,000  pounds  in  five  years. 

Mr.  FABER.  In  that  figure  you  gave  me,  1,359,110.25,  you  will 
notice  "  Surface-coated  papers  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act." 
That  is  the  beginning  of  the  paragraph,  and  then  comes  surface- 
coated  papers  "  if  printed,  or  wholly  or  partly  covered  with  metal  or 
its  solutions,  or  with  gelatin,  or  flock."  That  is  another  branch  of 
the  industry,  not  the  ordinary  surface-coated  glazed  papers  which  are 
shown  here,  and  which  come  under  the  clause,"  Surface-coated  papers 
not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act," 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  you  do  not  intend  this  table  to  show  it,  what  did  you 
print  the  table  for? 

Mr.  FABER.  The  "  others  not  specially  provided  for  "  are  4,037,640 
as  against  6,883,165.  I  am  copying  this  official  table  and  do  not 
want  to  omit  anything. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  are  included  in  "  others  are  not  provided 
for  "  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  Yes;  we  are  included  in  "others  are  not  provided 
for"  in  this  table. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  are  the  others? 

Mr.  FABER.  Surface-coated  papers. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Anything  besides  the  paper  you  manufacture  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  No,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  "  Others  not  specially  provided  for  "  covers  the 
papers  you  manufacture  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  That  is  where  it  appears  on  the  import  sheets. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  know  how  it  appears.  I  am  trying  to  find  out 
what  the  fact  is,  whether  that  clause  "others  not  specifically  provided 
for  "  includes  those  you  manufacture  and  nothing  else  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  Nothing  else.  The  reading  of  the  paragraph  as  it 
stands  now  is  "  Surface-coated  papers  not  specially  provided  for  in 
this  act." 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  know  how  that  reads. 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  one  you  are  talking  about  is  included  in  both  or 
one  of  those  classes? 

Mr.  FABER.  Both. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  did  you  print  the  other  for? 

Mr.  FABER.  Because  that  comes  under  the  heading. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  do  not  make  "  surface  papers,"  etc.  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  "  Covered  with  metal  or  its  solutions,  or  with  gelatin  or 
flock?" 


6092  SCHEDULE   M PULE,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  do  not  know  what  it  is  covered  with.  Do  you  make 
papers  included  in  that  first  specification  there — surface  papers,  etc.  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  We  make  papers  in  both. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  percentage  belongs  to  the  first  class  and  what  to 
the  second? 

Mr.  FABER.  Ninety-nine  per  cent  to  the  second  class  and  1  to  the 
first. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  If  the  rate  of  duty  is  increased,  the  box  manu- 
facturer would  have  to  have  an  increase  of  duty  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  Not  when  you  consider  that  a  ream  of  paper  will  cover 
nearly  a  thousand  boxes,  and  where  the  ream  of  paper  sells  at  $2.25 
a  ream  you  would  see  that  the  fraction  of  increase  there  would  be  very 
slight. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  I  see  you  figure  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  labor 
in  this  country  and  Germany,  and  state  that  while  labor  costs  in  Ger- 
many 10  cents,  in  this  country  it  is  49  cents.  That  is  based  on  the 
rate  of  wages?  It  is  not  based  on  the  labor  cost  of  the  product,  but 
the  actual  wages? 

Mr.  FABER.  These  figures  are  all  made  up  from  the  pay  roll. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  You  know  in  a  general  way  that  that  is  not  an 
accurate  way  to  determine  labor  cost.  In  the  Philippines  apparent 
labor  is  also  lower  than  it  is  here,  yet  the  actual  labor  cost  there  is  in 
effect  higher  than  here  from  an  economic  standpoint.  Is  there  any 
difference  in  the  method  of  production  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  No,  sir;  the  process  is  the  same.  In  fact  the  Germans 
have  copied  our  machinery,  and  the  hours  are  the  same,  and  about  the 
same  amount  of  labor  is  put  on  the  unit  product  in  this  country  and 
in  foreign  countries. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  What  is  the  difference  between  the  efficiency  of  Ger- 
man and  American  labor  employed  in  the  production  of  that  kind 
of  paper  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  As  we  are  compelled  to  use  mostly  German  labor,  that 
is  about  the  same. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  The  gentleman  compared  Filipino  labor  with  Ameri- 
can labor,  and  I  understood  he  tried  to  make  the  same  comparison 
between  the  United  States  and  Germany. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  I  beg  the  gentleman's  pardon.  I  was  not  making 
a  comparison,  except  to  illustrate  a  principle.  That  is  all. 

Mr.  FABER.  The  German  and  American  labor  is  of  about  equal 
.efficiency,  and  we  use  about  the  same  number  per  unit  of  quantity 
in  this  country  as  abroad,  and  we  work  about  the  same  hours. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  There  is  no  such  comparison  to  be  made  between 
the  labor  of  the  United  States  and  Germany  as  there  is  between  the 
United  States  and  the  Philippine  Islands  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  I  know  nothing  about  the  Philippine  Islands. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  They  pay  16  cents  a  day  there. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  see  the  ad  valorem  duty  on  your  stock  is  44  per 
cent,  and  you  ask  increase  of  the  duty  to  6£  cents  a  pound. 

Mr.  FABER.  We  ask  you  to  drop  the  ad  valorem  and  increase  the 
specific  duty  to  6  cents  a  pound. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  would  make  the  duty  equivalent  to  about 
70  per  cent  ad  valorem? 

Mr.  FABER.  I  judge  so. 


SUEFACE-COATED   PAPEES — -H.   B.    FABEE.  6093 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  think  you  would  have  to  nearly  double  the 
duty  that  there  is  now  in  order  to  live? 

Mr.  FABER.  You  can  see  that,  because  that  duty  of  6  cents  a  pound 
will  not  permit  that  foreign  product  to  sell  in  this  country  for  less 
than  the  cost  to  the  manufacturer  to  manufacture  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  much  do  you  produce  here  now  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  In  volume? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  much  do  all  of  you  produce  here  in  this 
country  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  I  would  have  to  make  a  very  rough  guess  at  it.  I 
should  say  a  million  dollars,  covering  all  the  lines. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Was  that  amount  increased  or  not,  say,  from  1903 
to  1907? 

Mr.  FABER.  I  believe  the  amount  has  stood  about  uniform  in  the 
last  four  or  five  years.  I  know  the  profits  have  decreased.  I  can 
answer  for  that. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  profit  has  decreased,  especially  in  the  last 
year  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  I  am  not  counting  the  last  year.- 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  are  not  counting  the  last  year. 

Mr.  FABER.  I  can  possibly  answer  your  question  in  another  way. 
In  1907,  right  at  the  height  of  our  business  activity  in  our  own  fac- 
tory, we  had  75  flint  machines  for  manufacturing  this  paper,  of 
which  50  of  them  were  shut  down. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  had  75  when? 

Mr.  FABER.  Seventy-five  machines  ready  to  work  and  only  25  in 
operation. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  When  did  you  put  in  that  large  number  of 
machines  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  Oh,  we  have  been  in  business  dating  back  from  1839. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  business  has  grown  up  since  that  time? 

Mr.  FABER.  Yes;  grown  up  gradually.  I  can  not  tell  when  these 
machines  were  put  in. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Does  this  substitute  sell  as  well  as  the  original 
goods  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  No,  sir;  this  imitation  you  refer  to  does  not  sell  as 
readily.  It  is  only  by  reason  of  the  fact  we  sell  it  at  lower  prices  that 
the  goods  ever  sell  at  all. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Does  that  largely  take  the  place  of  the  original 
goods  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  It  has  not  largely  taken  the  place  of  it.  We  try  to 
make  it  take  the  place  of  it  in  competition  with  the  foreign  product. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  What  percentage  of  your  output  was  the  imitation 
style  in  1907? 

Mr.  FABER.  Sixty  per  cent  of  the  imitation  to  40  per  cent  of  the 
flinted,  or  the  goods  we  tried  to  imitate. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  You  say  you  are  able  to  sell  this  imitation  flinted 
article  in  the  United  States  because  you  can  sell  it  at  cheaper  prices 
than  the  imported  flint? 

Mr.  FABER.  No,  sir;  we  can  not  sell  it  at  cheaper  prices,  but  we 
manufacture  this  imitation  product  in  order  to  compete  against  the 
foreigner. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  But  you  get  more  for  the  imitation,  according  to 
your  figures  on  page  13,  than  they  can  sell  theirs  for  ? 


6094  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  FABER.  We  do,  because  we  can  not  manufacture  the  imitation 
at  that  price.  The  imported  sells  for  $1.90  and  $2,  ^whereas  it  costs 
$1.90  to  manufacture  the  imitation. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  They  sell  the  imported  flint  in  the  United  States 
for  $1.90  to  $2,  and  you  sell  the  imitation  for  $1.90  to  $2.25? 

Mr.  FABER.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Why  does  the  imitation  run  out  the  imported  ar- 
ticle ? 

Mr.  FABER.  It  is  not  doing  that.  Year  by  year,  as  you  can  see,  our 
imports  have  been  increasing. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  What  percentage  of  the  imitation  do  you  say  is  sold 
as  compared  to  the  entire  amount  consumed  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  Sixty  per  cent  of  the  imitation  against  40  per  cent  of 
the  flinted  paper. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  That  does  not  look  as  if  the  imported  flint  was  run- 
ning out  the  imitation  flint,  if  60  per  cent  is  imitation. 

Mr.  FABER.  Not  60  per  cent  of  the  total  consumption.  You  are 
asking,  as  I  understand  it,  what  percentage  of  the  manufactured  goods 
is  imitation  and  what  percentage  of  the  manufactured  goods  is  the 
flinted  goods.  I  say  60- per  cent  imitation  and  40  per  cent  flinted 
goods.  These  imitation  goods  come  in  competition  with  the  imported 
papers  and  are  gradually  being  driven  to  the  wall.  Of  course,  the 
flinted  papers  are  being  driven  more  rapidly  than  the  friction  papers, 
and  we  only  produce  40  per  cent  of  those  now. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  What  has  been  the  highest  amount  you  have  ever 
produced  of  the  imitation  ?  Was  it  ever  more  than  40  per  cent  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  It  was  up  to  90  or  100  per  cent  at  one  time.  It  was  only 
by  reason  of  the  fact  we  could  not  compete  against  this  foreign  prod- 
uct that  we  were  compelled  to  go  into  the  manufacture  of  imitation 
goods.  In  the  early  days  there  were  no  friction  goods  at  all ;  they  were 
all  flinted  goods.  That  has  arisen  in  the  last  few  years  by  reason  of 
competition. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  The  reason  you  only  sell  40  per  cent  of  the  flinted 
article  as  compared  to  60  per  cent  of  the  imitation  is  on  account  of  the 
large  cost  of  the  flinted  article? 

Mr.  FABER.  Yes,  sir;  and  it  is  used  for  particular  work,  and  we 
have  a  limited  market  now  for  it. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  You  are  trying  to  induce  the  market  to  take  the  imi- 
tation instead  of  the  real  article? 

Mr.  FABER.  If  we  do  not  do  that  we  will  be  compelled  to  go  out  of 
the  market. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  How  long  have  they  been  making  this  imported  article 
abroad  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  I  really  could  not  say;  over  a  hundred  years,  I  know. 
There  are  over  75  factories  in  Germany. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  you  have  been  making  your  articles  relatively  a 
short  time? 

Mr.  FABER.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  understood  you  to  say  you  had  been  making  it  ever 
since  1839.  Can  you  not  make  another  calculation  for  us  on  that? 

Mr.  FABER.  I  can  not  say  how  long  the  Germans  have  been  making 
it.  I  know  it  is  a  good  deal  over  a  hundred  years. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  When  did  you  begin  to  manufacture  the  imitation 
flint? 


SURFACE-COATED   PAPERS H.   B.    FABER.  6095 

Mr.  FABER.  The  imitation  paper  has  only  been  brought  into  the 
market  in  the  last  fifteen  years.  The  foreigners  have  tried  to  make 
an  imitation  themselves. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  failed? 

Mr.  FABER.  And  failed  to  do  it. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Then  you  have  the  field  there? 

Mr.  FABER.  No,  sir ;  we  have  not  the  field,  because  it  is  an  imitation, 
•and  we  do  not  want  the  field  on  imitation. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Have  you  been  losing  money  ever  since  1839  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  When  did  you  begin  to  lose  money? 

Mr.  FABER.  When  the  increase  began  on  the  importations. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  The  more  you  have  learned  about  the  manufacture  of 
the  paper,  the  more  money  you  have  lost? 

Mr.  FABER.  That  seems  so — or  the  more  the  Germans  learn  the 
more  we  lose. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  kind  of  labor  do  you  use? 

Mr.  FABER.  We  use  some  skilled  labor  and  some  ordinary  labor. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  thought  you  told  one  of  the  gentleman  you  used 
German  labor. 

Mr.  FABER.  We  do — skilled  labor. 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  Germans  import  the  paper  and  you  import  the 
labor? 

Mr.  FABER.  The  skilled  labor;  yes. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  import  the  labor?  Do  you  import  it  under  con- 
tract made  in  Germany? 

Mr.  FABER.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  can  the  German  find  out  you  want  him  if  you  do 
not  have  a  contract  with  him? 

Mr.  FABER.  He  comes  to  this  country,  and  this  being  a  very  large 
industry  in  Germany  they  have  a  large  market  to  come  from.  They 
come  here  looking  for  work  in  the  line  with  which  they  are  familiar 
and  they  learn  there  are  paper  manufacturers  who  are  making  this 
line  of  paper. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  did  not  send  an  agent  over  there  to  drum  them 
up? 

Mr.  FABER.  Positively  not. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  against  the  law,  you  know. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  say  these  Germans  come  over  here  looking  for 
work,  and  after  arriving  here  they  force  you  to  pay  them  five  times 
as  much  as  they  were  getting  at  home.  Is  that  true  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  That  is  true. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  wish  you  would  send  us  your  pay  roll  for  the 
month  of  January,  1907,  Mr.  Faber. 

Mr.  FABER.  I  can  do  that. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Show  the  different  classes  of  labor,  specifying  the 
classes  of  labor,  and  what  you  pay  by  the  day  or  week  or  hour. 

Mr.  FABER.  There  is  a  classification  in  one  of  the  sheets  I  have  sub- 
mitted to  the  committee.  Possibly  that  will  answer  your  question. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  do  not  care  for  the  number  of  employees  so 
much  as  I  do  the  number  who  are  skilled  and  the  number  who  are 
merely  common  laborers. 

Mr.  FABER.  I  can  prepare  that  for  you. 


6096  SCHEDULE  M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  do  not  find  in  your  brief  the  number  of  pounds 
to  a  ream ;  I  suppose  it  varies,  but  you  give  us  no  idea  of  the  weight 
of  a  ream  of  paper,  and  at  the  same  time  you  ask  us  to  make  a  duty  on 
the  pound  basis. 

Mr.  FABER.  In  that  extract  from  Carl  Hoffman's  article  I  have 
given  it  in  weight. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  On  what  page  is  that?  I  looked  all  through  the 
brief  and  could  not  find  it. 

Mr.  FABER.  I  believe  I  have  stated  the  weight  in  my  brief. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  have  the  weight  stated  in  your  brief,  but  in 
such  a  way  that  the  committee  will  have  to  figure  it  into  pounds. 

Mr.  FABER.  That  is  18  pounds  to  the  ream.  The  average  paper 
weighs  19  pounds  to  the  ream,  and  the  paper  weighs  about  the  same 
as  domestic,  possibly  a  trifle  less — a  half  pound  or  a  pound. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  have  work  enough  to  do  without  translating 
such  figures  in  that  way. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  proportion  of  your  laborers  are  American  citi- 
zens, and  what  proportion  of  them  are  unnaturalized  ?  Do  you  have 
any  idea  on  that  subject? 

Mr.  FABER.  Unnaturalized,  you  say? 

Mr.  CLARK.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  FABER.  I  believe  probably  90  per  cent  of  them  are  naturalized. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Ninety  per  cent  of  them  are  naturalized  ? 

Mr.  FABER.  Yes.  They  have  been  with  us  a  good  many  years.  The 
Germans  are  the  skilled  laborers. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  I  am  getting  at  is  this :  Are  the  men  you  employ 
American  citizens,  men  who  came  here  to  stay,  or  do  they  belong  to 
the  class  that  come  over  here  and  get  work,  if  they  can,  and  as  soon 
as  they  get  a  little  money  go  back  to  Europe  again? 

Mr.  FABER.  No;  they  are  here  to  stay.  We  have  some  that  have 
been  with  us  forty  years  or  more.  They  come  here  to  stay  and  settle. 
We  have  no  transient  help  from  abroad. 


STATEMENT  OF  MANUFACTURERS  OF  SURFACE-COATED  PAPERS 
RELATIVE  TO  NEW  CLASSIFICATION. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  %1, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  O. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  manufacturers  of  surface-coated  papers  repre- 
sented by  the  undersigned  respectfully  urge  that  paragraph  398, 
Schedule  M,  of  the  tariff  act  of  1897,  be  amended  as  hereinafter 
mentioned. 

The  products  particularly  and  seriously  affected  by  this  paragraph 
are  commonly  known  as  surface-coated,  glazed,  and  plated  papers  for 
covering  paper  boxes,  such  as  are  used  for  putting  up  candy,  jewelry, 
underwear,  hosiery,  knit  goods,  hardware,  and  thousands  of  other 
articles  which  are  in  daily  use,  and  also  for  printing  and  lithographic 
work.  Outside  of  a  few  large  concerns  who  make  book  papers  the 
manufacturers  of  this  class  or  goods  do  not  make  the  raw  paper  used 


SURFACE-COATED  PAPERS DOTY  &  SCBIMGEOUR  ET  AL.       6097 

for  coating,  but  buy  it  from  paper  mills.  The  various  processes  of 
coating  require  considerable  technical  skill  and  experience,  and  the 
materials  used  are- pulp  and  dry  colors,  glue,  clays,  etc.  These  mate- 
rials are  largely  imported.  The  coating  is  done  by  machinery,  and 
the  papers  are  then  finished  on  flint  machines  and  friction  calenders. 
The  flint  machine  is  a  small  and  rather  expensive  machine  by  which 
the  paper  is  glazed  under  a  flint  stone,  and  will  turn  out  on  the  aver- 
age about  2  reams  in  ten  hours.  The  papers  made  by  this  process 
are  the  more  expensive,  have  a  high  finish,  and  are  used  for  the  better 
grade  of  boxes,  printing,  etc.  All  of  the  foreign  papers  in  the  glazed 
line  imported  into  this  country  are  finished  by  this  process.  The 
other  process  of  finishing  is  by  friction  calenders — a  process  made 
necessary  by  the  steady  increase  of  foreign  imports  and  the  inability 
of  the  domestic  manufacturers  to  compete  on  the  better  grades.  The 
friction-finished  papers  are  simply  imitations  of  the  flint-finished 
papers,  and  are  inferior  to  the  latter  for  the  finer  grades  of  work. 

The  manufacture  of  surface-coated  papers  is  an  old  industry  abroad. 
Germany  alone  has  upward  of  75  factories  turning  out  these  goods, 
while  in  the  United  States  there  are  less  than  25. 

By  reason  of  the  excessive  low  cost  of  material  and  labor  abroad, 
this  country  has  been  made  the  dumping  ground  of  the  foreign  prod- 
uct, and  it  has  resulted  in  the  curtailment  of  the  output  of  the  home 
manufacturer. 

A  specific  case  will  illustrate  this  point.  During  the  spring  of 
1907,  at  the  height  of  the  business  activity  of  this  country,  out  of 
75  flinting  machines  in  the  factory  of  Doty  &  Scrimgeour,  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  only  25  were  in  operation;  the  balance  were  shut  down  and 
the  labor  discharged,  solely  from  lack  of  work.  Furthermore,  this  has 
resulted  in  many  manufacturers  of  surface-coated  papers  finding  it 
more  profitable  to  import  certain  lines  of  papers  rather  than  to  manu- 
facture them.  One  very  large  manufacturer,  Louis  De  Jong  &  Co., 
of  New  York,  has  for  years  imported  largely  of  these  papers,  finding 
it  more  profitable  to  import  than  to  manufacture  them. 

It  is  a  fact  that  the  foreign  importation  entering  into  this  country 
at  the  ports  of  New  York,  Boston.  Chicago,  and  other  cities  has  in- 
creased almost  100  per  cent  during  the  last  five  years. 


6098 


SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 


SURFACE-COATED  PAPERS DOTY  &  SCRIMGEOUR  ET  AL.       6099 

This  alarming  increase,  together  with  the  corresponding  decrease 
in  the  output  of  the  product  manufactured  in  the  United  States, 
makes  it  imperative  that  some  revision  of  paragraph  398  be  made  if 
this  industry  is  to  continue  in  this  country. 

The  stagnation  in  growth  of  this  industry  in  the  United  States  is 
proof  sufficient  that  the  profits  during  the  past  five  years  have  been 
lean  and  that  the  costs  of  manufacture  have  been  shaved  down  to 
their  lowest  figures.  This  is  further  emphasized  by  the  fact  that  the 
manufacturers  in  the  trade  are  independent,  there  being  no  combina- 
tion of  any  kind. 

The  unit  of  manufacture  for  this  country  and  Germany  is  a  ream, 
composed'  of  500  sheets,  20  by  24  inches,  and  weighs  from  18  to  20 
pounds.  The  usual  wholesale  quantities  are  20  reams  or  case  lots 
(foreign),  containing  25  reams. 

The  average  cost  to  manufacture  a  ream  of  flinted  paper  in  the 
United  States  is  $2.25.  The  expenses  which  go  to  make  up  the  total 
cost  (expressed  in  percentage)  of  goods  manufactured  in  the  United 
States  are: 

Per  cent. 

Paper 34.6 

Color 19.  5 

Labor 21.8 

Manufacturing  and  selling  expense 24. 1 

100 

The  figures  from  which  these  percentages  are  made  have  been 
compiled  during  the  past  three  years  as  accurately  as  the  most  ap- 
proved cost  system  can  determine,  and  covering  more  than  5,000 
individual  and  completed  orders,  actually  sold  to  the  trade. 

The  ream  of  foreign  flinted  paper  sells  in  this  country  for  $1.90  to 
$2  a  ream,  selling  against  the  domestic  paper,  which  can  not  be  manu- 
factured for  less  than  $2.25  a  ream. 

A  comparison  of  the  relative,  costs  of  manufacturing  a  ream  of 
flinted  paper  in  the  United  States  and  in  Germany  is  as  follows : 

Cost  of  manufacturing  a  ream  of  flinted  paper. 


In  the 
United 
States. 

In  Ger- 
many. 

$0.78 

$0  50 

.44 

25 

.49 

.10 

Manufacturing  and  selling  expense            _              -  

.54 

.34 

Total          

2.25 

1.19 

The  figures  used  in  the  above  calculation  of  cost  of  the  home  prod- 
uct are  derived  from  the  percentages  heretofore  expressed.  The 
figures  used  in  determining  the  cost  of  the  foreign  product  are  an 
abstract  from  an  article  published  by  Carl  Hofmann,  of  Berlin, 
editor  of  Papier  Zeitung,  attached  herewith. 

Calculation  on  surface-coated  papers  (flinted),  copied  from  article 
published  by  Carl  Hofmann,  of  Berlin,  editor  of  Papier  Zeitung : 

"  What  is  the  cost  of  production  on  50  reams  of  flinted  paper  at 
480  sheets,  51  by  76  centimeters  in  size,  which  is  to  be  delivered  f.  o.  b. 


6100  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

London  at  6|  shillings =M.  6.60.  5  per  cent  commission  and  2  per  cent 
discount?  Weight  of  paper  to  be  48  to  50  grams  per  square  meter 
(equivalent  to  18  pounds  to  the  ream  of  500  sheets,  20  by  24  inches). 

Calculation  on  50  reams. 

M.       Pf. 

Net  470  kg.  paper,  at  28  pf 131    60 

Average  cost  of  color  per  ream,  1  m.  30  pf _ 65 

Labor  for  color  mixing 2     50 

Labor  for  color-machine  tender 5 

Labor  for  one  girl  helper 1    50 

Labor  for  glazing,  at  20  pf.  per  ream 10 

Labor  for  cutting,  at  3  pf.  per  ream . —  1    50 

Labor  for  sorting,  counting,  and  packing 5 

3  per  cent  waste,  etc 6    65 

Packing  in  3  (bales) 4     50 

.50  wrapping  sheets,  5  kg.,  at  27  pf : 1     35 

Cartage  to  railroad  depot,  525  kg.,  at  30  pf 1     60 

Freight  to  London,  525  kg.,  at  4  m.  20  pf 22       5 

5  per  cent  commission,  2  per  cent  discount=7  per  cent  of  selling  price; 

50  by  6  m.  60  pf.=330  m 23     10 

For  superintendence,  figured  for  a  capacity  of  10  coating  machines, 

at  50  reams 20 

Selling  expense  (no  allowance  for  losses) __  10 


311    35 

Fifty  reams  glazed  paper  51  by  76  cm.  cost  to  manufacture  311  m. 
35  pf.,  and  sells  for  330  m. 

Expressing  the  above  figures  in  terms  of  reams  20  by  24  inches,  and 
calculating  a  mark  at  24  cents,  we  have — 

Fifty  reams  51  by  76  cm.  equal  62.5  reams  20  by  24  inches. 

Sixty-two  and  one-half  reams  20  by  24  inches  cost  311  m.  35  pf.,  or 
$74.72. 

One  ream  20  by  24  inches  costs  $1.19  delivered  in  London. 

One  ream  20  by  24  inches  sells  for  $1.26  in  London. 

The  margin  between  cost,  311  m.  35  pf.,  and  selling  prices,  330  m., 
or  18  m.  65  pf.,  is  no  profit  for  the  excessively  low  figuring  of  the 
various  items,  the  unavoidable  repairs  to  machinery  and  plant,  loss 
of  interest  on  long  credits.  Accidents  and  many  other  expenses  are 
not  taken  into  consideration. 

This  German  product,  laid  down  in  London  at  an  average  cost  of 
$1.19  a  ream  to  manufacture  in  Germany,  can  be  laid  down  in  the 
United  States,  duty  paid,  for  $1.81  cost,  and  sold  for  $2  a  ream, 
against  the  cost  of  producing  the  same  article  in  this  country  for 
$2.25. 

The  manufacturer  has  been  compelled  to  throw  into  competition 
against  the  imported  glared  or  flinted  paper  an  imitation  known  in 
the  trade  as  "  friction  finish  "  papers.  This  paper  is  manufactured 
at  an  average  cost  of  $1.90  a  ream. 


•SURFACE-COATED  PAPERS- — DOTY  &  SCRIMGEOUR  ET  AL.      6101 


• 

Cost  of  manufacturing 
a  ream  of— 

Friction 
finish  or 
imitation 
flinted  in 
the  United 
States. 

Flinted 
finish  in 
Germany. 

Paper               .    _     _  .       ._      .  _ 

$0.66 
.37 
.41 
.46 

$0.50 
.25 
.10 
.34 

Color       —    -  ---  —  

Labor 

Manufacturing  and  soiling  expense    .-  

1.90 

1.19 

The  cost  of  an  imitation  flinted  paper  of  American  manufacture 
is  greater  than  the  price  at  which  the  foreign  flinted  paper  is  entered 
into  our  markets,  all  duties  paid.  The  foreign  manufacturers  do  not 
send  an  imitation  flinted  paper  to  this  country. 

The  American  manufacturers  find  marked  differences  in  the  cost  of 
manufacture  dependent  on  the  color  of  the  finished  product,  and  have 
classified  the  various  costs  into  five  different  groups  accordingly,  as 
follows : 

Taking  Group  A  as  a  unit  of  cost,  or  100  per  cent,  the  relation  of 
cost  and  selling  price  is : 

A.  Surface-coated  paper,  white,  unit  of  cost,  100  per  cent;  selling 
price,  $2.10. 

B.  Surface-coated  paper,  tints,  approximate  unit  of  cost,  110  per 
cent ;  selling  price,  $2.25. 

C.  Surface-coated  paper,  red  and  green,  approximate  unit  of  cost, 
120  per  cent;  selling  price,  $2.50. 

D.  Surface-coated  paper,  dark  shades,  approximate  unit  of  cost, 
125  per  cent ;  selling  price,  $2.60. 

E.  Surface-coated  paper,  copper  and  metal  finish,  unit  of  cost,  150 
per  cent ;  selling  price,  $3.25. 

Samples  attached  hereto  show  examples  of  these  groups. 

The  foreign  product  entering  the  United  States  is  valued,  in  apply- 
ing the  ad  valorem  duty,  without  regard  to  shade,  except  as  to  Class 
E,  and  sells  in  the  home  market,  against  these  domestic  prices,  for 
$1.90  to  $2  a  ream  for  all  shades. 

In  the  face  of  these  facts  and  figures,  it  is  the  combined  recommen- 
dation of  the  manufacturers  of  surface-coated  paper  in  the  United 
States  that  paragraph  398  of  Schedule  M  should  be  amended  as  fol- 
lows: 

Paragraph  398 — Surface-coated  papers. 

Amend  paragraph  398  by  striking  out  after  the  word  "  act "  the 
words  "  two  and  one-half  cents  per  pound  and  fifteen  per  centum  ad 
valorem  "  and  insert  the  words  "  six  cents  per  pound  "  (as  a  mini- 
mum duty) . 

Strike  out  after  the  word  "  flock "  the  words  "  three  cents  per 
pound  "  and  insert  the  words  "  six  cents  per  pound  "  (as  a  minimi  in 
duty). 

The  amended  paragraph  will  then  read  as  follows : 

"  Surface-coated  papers  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  six 
cents  per  pound ;  if  printed,  or  wholly  or  partly  covered  with  metal 


6102 


SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 


or  its  solutions,  or  with  gelatine  or  flock,  six  cents  per  pound  and 
twenty  per  centum  ad  valorem;  parciiment  papers,  two  cents  per 
pound  and  ten  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  plain  basic  photographic  pa- 
pers for  albumenizing,  sensitizing,  or  baryta  coating,  three  cents  per 
pound  and  ten  per  centum  ad  valorem;  albumenized  or  sensitized 
paper  or  papers  otherwise  surface  coated  for  photographic  purposes, 
thirty  per  centum  ad  valorem." 
Respectfully  submitted. 

DOTY  &  SCRIMGEOUR,  INC., 

New  York,  N.  Y., 

LOUIS  DE  JONGE  &  Co.,  INC., 

New  York,  N.  Y.,  and  Fitchburg,  Mass., 
WALTHER  &  Co., 

New  York,  N.  Y., 
SPRINGFIELD  GLAZED  PAPER  Co., 

Springfield,  Mass., 
E.  G.  LOCKE, 

Camden,  N.  J., 
NEW  ENGLAND  CARD  &  PAPER  Co., 

Springfield,  Mass., 
HOLYOKE  CARD  &  PAPER  Co., 

Springfield,  Mass., 
UNITED  MANUFACTURING  Co., 

Springfield,  Mass., 

Committee. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

TaWe  of  comparative  wages'  paid  in  Germany  and  the  United  States  in  the 
surface-coated  paper  industry. 


Germany. 

United 
States. 

Oolor  machine  tenders  „ 

Per  day. 
1.80m.  or  43  can  ts_. 

Per  day. 
$1.75 

Flint  or  finishing  machine  tenders  ..      _  . 

1.40  m.  or  34  cents 

1  50 

Oolor  room  bosses  

4.00  m.  or  96  cents 

2  25 

Average  wages  skilled  male  factory  help  . 

(2.00m.  or  48  cents.. 

]  2.00-  2.50 

\2.50m.  or  60  cents- 

MARBLE  AND  AGATE  PAPER. 

[Paragraph  398.] 

HON.  0.  E.  WALDO,  M.  C.,  SUBMITS  LETTER  OF  DOMESTIC  PAPEE 
CO.,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  ASKING  FOR  AN  INCREASE  OF  DUTY  ON 
AGATE  AND  MARBLE  PAPER. 

290  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK, 

November  23, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C., 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

MY  DKAR  SIR:  Herewith  you  will  find  inclosed  a  communication 
from  Mr.  J.  W.  Newberry,  president  of  the  Domestic  Paper  Company, 


MAKBLE  AND  AGATE  PAPER G.  E.  WALDO,  M.  0.  6103 

of  115-117  Nassau  street,  New  York  City.     Mr.  Newberry  is  a  resi- 
dent of  my  district. 

Mr.  Newberry  and  his  company  desire  that  the  duty  on  marble  and 
agate  paper,  under  the  present  law  2£  cents  per  pound  and  15  cents 
ad  valorem,  be  increased  to  5  cents  per  pound  and  30  cents  ad  valorem. 

If  this  is  done,  Mr.  Newberry  is  confident  that  a  large  business  in 
the  manufacture  of  this  kind  of  paper  will  be  built  up  in  this  coun- 
try, and  his  company  alone  is  ready  to  invest  a  considerable  amount 
of  capital  if  this  increase  in  the  tariff  is  made. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

G.  E.  WALDO. 

115-117  NASSAU  STREET, 
New  York,  November  18,  1908. 
Hon.  COMMITTEE  OF  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Marble  and  agate  paper  samples  attached  are  at  pres- 
ent subject  to  a  duty  of  2-|  cents  per  pound  and  15  cents  ad  valorem, 
and  are  classified  under  the  head  of  coated  papers,  which  includes  all 
surface-coated  papers. 

Not  a  single  pound  or  sheet  of  marble  or  agate  paper  is  manufac- 
tured in  the  United  States,  but  is  principally  manufactured  in  Ger- 
many and  Belgium,  several  thousand  men  being  employed  in  this 
class  of  work. 

The  wages  in  Belgium  average  90  cents  per  day  of  thirteen  hours. 
There  are  a  few  men  employed  in  the  United  States  marbling  the 
edges  of  books;  their  wage  is  $2.50  to  $3.50  a  day  of  eight  hours. 

The  average  product  of  one  man  making  marble  and  agate  paper 
is  one-half  ream  per  day,  so  that  the  cost  of  labor  in  Belgium  in  pro- 
ducing one  ream  of  such  paper  is  $1.80. 

The  weight  of  such  paper  mostly  used  in  the  United  States  is  20 
pounds  to  the  ream.  It  retails  in  the  United  States  at  $3.75  per 
ream. 

To  compete  with  foreign  labor  workmen  in  the  United  States  could 
not  be  paid  over  $1  a  day.  This  is  the  reason  why  there  are  no  manu- 
facturers of  marble  or  agate  paper  in  the  United  States. 

If  the  duty  on  such  paper  were  raised  to  5  cents  per  pound  and  30 
cents  ad  valorem,  a  large  industry  in  this  line  would  be  generated  and 
employment  given  to  hundreds  to  men  at  fair  living  wages,  not  to 
speak  of  the  products  used  in  producing  such  paper  being  purchased 
at  home. 

The  increase  of  duty  asked  is  only  just  and  fair  to  the  workmen  of 
this  country,  and  would  only  put  them  on  an  equality  with  the 
cheaper  labor  of  Europe,  and  would  give  employment  to  a  large 
number  of  young  men  who  would  become  adept  in  manufacturing 
such  paper. 

In  the  event  of  the  duty  being  raised  as  requested,  this  company  is 
prepared  to  invest  considerable  capital  in  the  manufacture  of  the 
same  in  this  country. 

The  above  is  respectfully  submitted  to  your  honorable  committee 
for  consideration. 

Very  truly,  yours,  J.  W.  NEWBERRY, 

President  Domestic  Paper  Co. 

75941— II.  Due.  innr..  (Mt-U— Vol  G 22 


6104  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  PAPER. 

[Paragraph  398.] 

STATEMENT  OF  NELSON  CTJRTIS,  OF  2304  WASHINGTON  STREET, 
BOSTON,  RELATIVE  TO  BASIC  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PAPERS. 

SATURDAY,  November  21, 1908. 

Mr.  CURTIS.  The  lines  which  affect  our  industry  are  in  Schedule  M, 
paragraph  398,  commencing  with  the  words  "  Plain  basic  photo- 
graphic paper,  for  albumenizing,  sensitizing,  or  baryta  coating,  3 
cents  per  pound  and  10  per  cent  ad  valorem."  To  make  it  short,  we 
ask  that  that  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows : 

Plain  basic  papers,  for  albumenizing,  blueprinting,  and  black  printing,  baryta 
coating,  or  other  sensitizing,  photochemical,  or  photomechanical  processes,  3 
cents  per  pound  and  20  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  albumenized,  baryta-coated,  or 
sensitized  paper,  or  paper  otherwise  surface  coated  for  photographic  purposes, 
30  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  much  does  that  change  the  duty  from  the 
present  schedule? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  Ten  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  increases  it  10  per  cent  ad  valorem? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  In  that  particular  clause. 

The  following  paper  was  here  filed  with  the  committee : 

Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives: 

Respectfully  represents  your  petitioner  that  the  duty  on  plain  basic  paper 
for  photographic  purposes  is  now  fixed  by  the  Dingley  tariff  bill  in  Schedule  M, 
paragraph  398,  and  reads  as  follows: 

"  Surface-coated  papers  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  two  and  one-half 
cents  per  pound  and  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  if  printed,  or  wholly  or 
partly  covered  with  metal  or  its  solutions,  or  with  gelatin  or  flock,  three  cents 
per  pound  and  twenty  per  centum  ad  valorem;  parchment  papers,  two  cents 
per  pound  and  ten  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  plain  basic  photographic  papers  for 
albumenizing,  sensitizing,  or  baryta  coating,  three  cents  per  pound  and  ten  per 
centum  ad  valorem ;  albumenized  or  sensitized  paper  or  paper  otherwise  surface 
coated  for  photographic  purposes,  thirty  per  centum  ad  valorem." 

That  the  rate  of  3  cents  per  pound  and  10  per  centum  ad  valorem  is  not  suffi- 
cient on  plain  basic  photographic  papers  to  protect  your  petitioner,  the  only 
recognized  producer  of  high-grade  plain  paper  for  photographic  purposes  in  the 
United  States. 

Wherefore  your  petitioner  prays  that  said  schedule  be  amended  by  changing 
the  word  "  ten "  to  "  twenty  "  in  the  thirteenth  line  of  above  schedule,  para- 
graph 398,  in  order  to  return  us  to  the  rate  given  under  the  McKinley  bill. 
Your  petitioner  further  requests  that  the  last  clause  beginning  with  the  words 
"  plain  basic,"  etc.,  in  line  11  of  above  paragraph  398,  be  changed  so  that  it  will 
read  "  plain  basic  papers  for  albumenizing,  blueprinting  and  black  printing, 
baryta  coating,  or  other  sensitizing,  photo-chemical  or  photo-mechanical  pro- 
cesses," so  that  Schedule  M,  paragraph  398,  will  read  as  follows: 

"  Surface-coated  papers  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  two  and  one- 
half  cents  per  pound  and  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  if  printed,  or  wholly 
or  partly  covered  with  metal  or  its  solutions,  or  with  gelatin  or  flock,  three 
cents  per  pound  and  twenty  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  parchment  papers,  two 
cents  per  pound  and  ten  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  [plain  basic  papers  for  albu- 
menizing, blueprinting  and  blackprinting,  baryta  coating,  or  other  sensitizing, 
photo-chemical  or  photo-mechanical  processes,  three  cents  per  pound  and 
twenty  per  centum  ad  valorem;]  albumenized,  baryta -coated,  or  sensitized 
paper,  or  paper  otherwise  surface  coated  for  photographic  purposes,  thirty  per 
centum  ad  valorem." 

The  reason  for  asking  change  of  wording  is  to  more  properly  classify  papers 
which  are  now  being  imported,  we  think,  under  other  classifications. 

THE  AMERICAN  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PAPEB  COMPANY, 
By  NELSON  CURTIS,  Treasurer. 
Office,  No.  2304  Washington  street,  Boston,  Mass. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC   PAPER NELSON    CURTIS.  6105 

Mr.  CURTIS.  It  might  be  well  for  me  to  explain  to  you  something 
about  the  formation  of  our  industry.  In  1890  the  state  chemist  of 
Connecticut,  after  many  years  of  study  and  experiment,  imparted  to 
me,  as  a  practical  paper  maker,  his  theoretical  knowledge  01  making 
plain  paper  for  photographic  emulsions.  By  photographic  emulsions 
I  mean  any  kind  of  coating  which  may  be  applied  to  paper  and 
when  so  applied  is  acted  upon  by  light.  We  formed  a  company 
called  the  American  Photographic  Paper  Company  and  in  a  small 
way  began  the  manufacture  of  plain  basic  paper  for  photographic 
purposes  at  South  Lee,  Mass.  We  were  encouraged  in  our  experi- 
ments by  the  protection  afforded-  under  the  McKinley  bill.  While 
there  was  no  classification  for  such  a  paper  under  the  McKinley  bill, 
it  supposedly  came  under  the  35  per  cent  ad  valorem  rate. 

We  spent  five  years  experimenting,  from  1890  to  1895,  and  in  July 
of  the  latter  year  we  succeeded  in  making  a  marketable  paper  after 
having  spent  many  thousand  dollars  in  experiments.  While  we  were 
in  the  experimental  stage  the  Wilson  bill  became  a  law  and  reduced 
the  rate  from  35  per  cent  ad  valorem  to  30  per  cent  ad  valorem. 
We  did  not  appear  in  remonstrance  to  this  reduction  because  we  had 
not  perfected  our  process.  We  did  appear,  however,  before  your 
committee  at  the  hearing  on  the  Dingley  schedule  and  explained  that 
the  then  existing  classifications  did  not  properly  cover  our  product, 
and  upon  our  recommendation  the  classification  of  plain  basic  papers, 
etc.,  was  made.  Our  principal  reason  for  asking  a  rate  of  3  cents 
and  20  per  cent  ad  valorem  is  to  restore  us  to  the  protection  under 
the  McKinley  bill  and  as  recommended  by  the  Finance  Committee  in 
the  Senate  at  the  time  of  the  framing  of  the  Dingley  bill,  thus  en- 
abling us  to  better  compete  with  foreign  manufacturers  whose  price 
for  labor  and  material  is  much  less  than  ours.  The  price  paid  for 
machine  tenders  in  this  country  is  from  $3  to  $4  per  day,  against 
87  cents  to  $1  per  day  in  Europe,  and  ordinary  laborers  are  paid  in 
this  country  from  $1.50  to  $2,  against  50  cents  to  $1  per  day  in 
Europe.  Girls  employed  in  sorting  of  rags  and  in  the  finishing  of 
paper  are  paid  in  this  country  from  $1  to  $1.25  per  day,  against  50 
cents  to  60  cents  per  day  in  Europe. 

Under  a  secret  process  known  to  but  three  people,  and  in  which 
process  of  manufacture  all  three  take  active  part,  the  business  is  still 
being  conducted  by  us. 

We  further  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  para- 
graph covering  our  papers  might  be  changed  to  cover  more  broadly 
the  papers  which  are  imported  for  all  photographic  processes. 

Finally,  I  would  like  to  say  that  inasmuch  as  the  McKinley  bill 
afforded  a  rate  of  35  per  cent  ad  valorem  when  no  plain  p^per  for 
photographic  processes  was  produced  in  this  country,  it  seems  to  me 
proper  that  at  least  a  like  rate  ought  to  exist  now  that  such  a  paper 
is  being  successfully  produced  here. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  is  the  production  in  this  country  of  pho- 
tographic paper  of  all  kinds? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  The  production  in  this  country  of  the  high  grade, 
which  we  make 

The  CHAIRMAN.  In  dollars? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  I  can  not  give  you  the  low  grades,  but  it  is  about  100 
tons  a  year  of  the  high  grade.  The  importations  are  about  2,000,000 
pounds. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  dividend  are  you  making  now? 


6106  SCHEDULE  M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  CURTIS.  Our  paper  costs  us  23  cents  a  pound,  and  we  sell  it  for 
29  cents. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is,  every  time  you  invest  23  cents  you  make  6 
cents.  Do  you  know  oi  any  other  business  in  which  you  can  do  that. 
excepting  the  lumber  business  [laughter] — that  is,  put  in  23  cents  and 
draw  out  29  ? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  But  with  a  large  business  it  would  be  different.  This 
is  a  limited  business. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Of  course  it  is.  If  it  wasn't,  you  would  be  the  richest 
mnn  on  earth.  How  much  dividend  do  you  make  upon  the  money 
invested  ? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  Our  money?  You  must  remember  we  have  been  a 
long  time  in  bringing  this  business  up  to  what  it  is. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  let  me  put  it  this  way :  You  do  not  expect  Con- 
gress to  put  a  tariff  rate  on  your  goods  that  will  compensate  you 
for  money  that  you  lost  when  you  didn't  know  how  to  make  the 
paper,  <lo  you  ? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  I  think  that  if  the  American  manufacturer  was  willing 
to  support  a  thing  like  that,  of  benefit  to  the  consumer  in  America, 
that  he  should  have  some  benefit. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  are  making  money  out  of  the  business  now? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  We  are. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  are  you  making?  That  is  what  we  want 
to  find  out. 

Mr.  CURTIS.  On  the  basis  of  sales  of  150,000  to  200,000  pounds,  5 
cents  a  pound. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  you  are  making  6 'cents  on  every  23  cents  invested, 
you  are  making  30  per  cent  profit. 

Mr.  CURTIS.  That  should  be  5  cents  instead  of  6  cents;  24  cents 
to  29  cents. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Still,  that  leaves  it  away  up  yonder  at  25  per  cent 
profit,  doesn't  it? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  The  reason  I  ask  for  an  increase  in  duty  is  because 
the  foreigners  are  putting  in  so  much  paper.  They  can  put  it  in 
for  less  than  we  can  make  it  if  they  want  to. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Is  there  any  stock  in  your  company  for  sale  ? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  do  not  want  to  sell  it? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  No ;  it  is  a  close  corporation. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  would  like  to  get  some  of  it  if  you  want  to  sell  it. 


THE  AMERICAN  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PAPER  COMPANY,  BRIDGEPORT, 
CONN.,  WRITES  RELATIVE  TO  DUTIES  IMPOSED  ON  PLAIN 
BASIC  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PAPERS. 

BRIDGEPORT,  CONN.,  December  ##,  1908. 
Hon.  EBENEZER  J.  HILL,  M.  C., 

Ways  and  Means   Committee, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  :  On  Saturday,  November  21,  1908,  Nelson  Curtis,  of 
No.  2304  Washington  street,  Boston,  Mass.,  appeared  before  your 
honorable  committee  in  behalf  of  the  company  of  which  I  am  presi- 
dent.   He  made  a  plea  for  a  special  classification  in  the  latter  part  of 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  PAPER.  6107 

paragraph  398  of  Schedule  M  pertaining  to  plain  basic  papers  for 
photographic  emulsions. 

I  have  been  one  of  the  state  chemists  of  Connecticut  for  many 
years.  Back  in  the  sixties  I  commenced  experimenting  in  trying  to 
make  a  paper  which  could  be  used,  when  coated,  for  photographic 
emulsions.  I  was  not  successful  until  I  met  Mr.  Curtis  and  together 
with  him  experimented  from  the  year  1890  until  1895.  when  we  pro- 
duced a  satisfactory  paper.  Our  risk  in  the  manufacture  of  this 
paper  is  a  great  one,  it  being  very  difficult  bo  produce  and  liable  to 
losses  in  the  manufacture. 

The  testimony  of  Mr.  Curtis  made  before  your  committee  was  that 
the  paper  costs  us  24  cents  a  pound  and  we  get  29  cents  per  pound, 
making  a  profit  of  practically  20  per  cent  in  good  times  and  provided 
we  make  no  losses  on  bad  accounts  or  poorly  manufactured  paper. 

Under  the  McKinley  schedule  we  were  allowed  35  per  cent  ad 
valorem.  We  ask  now  that  the  duty  be  3  cents  specific  and  20  per 
cent  ad  valorem,  which  is  a  10  per  cent  raise  from  the  Dingley  sched- 
ule, so  that  we  can  compete  with  the  foreign  manufacturers  and 
practically  restore  us  to  the  McKinley  schedu]e. 

Trusting  that  you  will  give  me  your  consideration  in  addition  to 
Mr.  Curtis's  plea,  I  remain, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

THE  AMERICAN  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PAPER  Co. 
Per  SYLVESTER  P.  WHEELER,  President. 


EASTMAN  KODAK  CO.,  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y.,  OPPOSES  INCREASE  OF 
DUTY  ON  PLAIN  BASIC  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PAPER. 

ROCHESTER,  N.  Y.,  December  31, 1908. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  0. 

GENTLEMEN:  Our  attention  has  been  called  to  a  statement  made 
to  the  committee  by  Mr.  Nelson  Curtis,  of  Boston,  in  favor  of  an 
increase  of  the  duty  on  "  plain  basic  photographic  paper  for  albumen- 
izing,  sensitizing  or  baryta  coating"  (par.  398).  His  argument  is 
found  under  date  of  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  Curtis's  statements  are  so  wide  of  the  mark  and  his  deductions 
so  erroneous  that  we  can  not  allow  them  to  pass  unchallenged. 

1.  Mr.  Curtis  is  not  a  manufacturer  of  paper;  he  is  simply  a  stock- 
holder and  officer  of  the  American  Photographic  Paper  Company. 
That  company  neither  owns  nor  operates  any  paper  mill.  The  paper 
which  it  sells  is  manufactured  for  it  by  the  American  Writing  I3aper 
Company  at  one  of  its  mills  located  at  South  Lee,  Mass.  The  manu- 
facturing which  the  American  Photographic  Paper  Company  does 
consists  simply  in  sizing  the  paper  by  a  secret  process.  Several  times 
a  year  Mr.  Curtis  and  one  or  two  assistants  go  to  the  mill  at  South 
Lee  and  supervise  the  preparation  by  his  process  of  from  20,000  to 
30,000  pounds  of  paper  for  photographic  uses.  His  work  is  all  done 
in  the  mill  of  the  American  Writing  Paper  Company,  and  the  stock 
is  carried  in  this  same  milL 


6108  SCHEDULE   M— PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

In  his  argument  Mr.  Curtis,  in  reply  to  a  question  put  to  him  by 
a  member  of  your  committee,  made  the  following  statement:  "Our 
paper  costs  us  $0.23  per  pound  and  we  sell  it  for  $0.29." 

We  happen  to  know  that  Mr.  Curtis's  company  is  under  contract 
with  a  foreign  manufacturer  to  sell  to  it  its  entire  output  up  to 
100,000  pounds  at  $0.23  per  pound.  It  pays  the  American  Writing 
Paper  Company  $0.19  per  pound  for  the  paper.  On  the  basis  of  an 
output  of  100,000  pounds,  his  company's  gross  annual  profit  is  $4,000. 
In  addition,  the  foreign  manufacturer  pays  it  an  indemnity  of  $8,500 
per  annum,  irrespective  of  the  amount  it  takes.  This  added  to  the 
$4,000  makes  a  gross  profit  of  $12,500. 

Making  a  liberal  allowance  for  the  expenses  of  Mr.  Curtis  and  his 
assistants  while  at  South  Lee  supervising  the  sizing  of  the  paper 
and  for  the  expense  of  the  comparatively  small  amount  of  chemicals 
which  they  use,  the  net  annual  profit  of  his  company  must  be  in  the 
neighborhood  of  $10,500  per  year,  including  the  indemnity,  on  an 
output  of  paper  which  costs  his  company  $19.000. 

Practically  all  of  the  paper  which  Mr.  Curtis's  company  sizes  is 
sold  to  us  by  the  foreign  manufacturer,  and  we  pay  $0.29  per  pound 
for  it. 

The  combined  profit  of  Mr.  Curtis's  company  and  the  foreign 
manufacturer  on  this  paper  must  be  about  55  per  cent. 

2.  During  the  year  ending  June  30,   1908,  we  imported  about 
2,266,000  pounds  of  photographic  paper.    Of  this,  1,016,000  pounds 
cost  $0.44  and  upward  per  pound  and  about  1,250,000  pounds  cost 
under  $0.44  per  pound.    This  paper  is  purchased  by  us  from  foreign 
manufacturers  because  it  is  not  and,  so  far  as  has  been  discovered, 
can  not  be  made  in  this  country. 

We  are  obliged  to  import  over  95  per  cent  of  all  of  the  raw  paper 
which  we  use  for  photographic  purposes,  for  the  reason  that  neither 
Mr.  Curtis's  company  nor  any  other  American  company  can  furnish 
a  paper  which  can  take  the  place  of  the  foreign-made  paper. 

It  would  therefore  be  unfair  to  increase  the  duty  on  raw  basic 
paper  and  thus  make  us  pay  the  increased  duty  on  over  2,250.000 
pounds,  simply  to  enable  Mr.  Curtis's  company  to  increase  the  pres- 
ent large  profit  on  its  output. 

If  Mr.  Curtis's  company  could  make  a  paper  that  could  take  the 
place  of  foreign-made  papers,  it  would  have  a  very  large  field  for  its 
product  and  could  sell  at  a  large  profit  under  the  present  tariff  rates. 

In  a  former  statement  filed  by  us  we  stated  that  all  our  raw  basic 
paper  was  made  abroad.  The  amount  of  the  Curtis  paper  (so-called) 
which  we  use  is  so  small  in  comparison  with  our  importation  (less 
than  4£  per  cent)  that  we  overlooked  it. 

3.  As  we  understand  it  the  general  policy  of  this  Government  is 
to  admit  free  of  duty  such  articles  as  can  not  be  manufactured  in  this 
country.    We  see  no  reason  why  this  principle  should  not  be  followed 
in  this  case.    There  can  be  no  substantial  argument  urged  in  favor  of 
an  increase  of  the  duty.     It  should  be  decreased  instead  of  increased. 

Very  respectfully, 

EASTMAN  KODAK  COMPANY, 
By  GEO.  EASTMAN, 

Treasurer. 


PARCHMENT  PAPEE B.   A.   VAN   WINKLE.  0109 

PARCHMENT  PAPER. 

[Paragraphs  398  and  402.] 

STATEMENT  OF  B.  A.  VAN  WINKLE,  REPRESENTING  HARTFORD 
CITY  PAPER  COMPANY,  HARTFORD  CITY,  IND. 

SATURDAY,  November  21, 1908. 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  I  represent  the 
Hartford  City  Paper  Company,  of  Hartford  City,  Ind.  "We  are  en- 
gaged in  manufacturing  two  special  kinds  of  paper,  one  of  which  we 
call  imitation  parchment  and  the  other  of  which  we  call  glassine  or 
parchment  paper.  We  have  been  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  this 
paper  since  1905.  Previous  to  that  time  this  paper  was  not  manu- 
factured in  the  United  States,  and  all  of  it  which  was  consumed  in 
the  United  States  was  imported  from  Germany  and  Sweden. 

We  find  that  this  paper  is  classified  and  dutiable  under  paragraph 
402  of  the  act  of  1897,  which  brings  it  in  under  unclassified  papers 
bearing  a  duty  of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem.  This  paper  is  identical  in 
its  uses  with  parchment  paper,  and  in  many  places  it  is  used  inter- 
changeably with  if,  and  notably  in  the  packing  industries,  by  the 
grocerymen,  by  the  confectioners  and  bakers,  and  parchment  paper 
is  classified  under  paragraph  398  and  bears  a  duty  of  2  cents  a  pound 
and  10  cents  ad  valorem. 

The  transparent  papers,  or  pergamyns,  are  used  interchangeably 
with  surface-coated  or  paraffin  papers,  which  are  admitted  under  the 
same  paragraph  and  bear  a  duty  of  2^  cents  a  pound  and  15  per  cent 
ad  valorem.  Our  experience  in  the  business  has  taught  us  that  we  are 
not  able  to  make  this  paper  and  put  it  in  competition  on  the  Atlantic 
seaboard  with  the  imported  article,  for  the  reason  that  the  Germans 
and  Swedes  are  able  to  obtain  their  labor  at  about  41  per  cent  of  our 
cost,  and  are  also  able  to  obtain  their  sulphite  fiber,  from  which  this 
paper  is  made,  at  from  $10  to  $15  a  ton  below  us  for  the  same  grade 
of  stock  in  this  country.  Therefore  they  are  able  to  put  their  paper  in 
the  seaboard  markets  at  from  10  to  15  per  cent  below  our  cost  of  pro- 
duction, which  of  course  shuts  us  out  of  business  there. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  understand  your  contention  is  that  parchment 
paper  made  from  wood  pulp  is  now  classified  by  the  courts  as  paper 
otherwise  provided  for  at  a  lower  rate  of  duty  ? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  And  you  desire  to  have  it  classified  as  paper  made 
from  rags,  ordinary  parchment  paper? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  Yes,  sir.  The  fact,  Mr.  Chairman,  is  that 
parchment  paper  is  sometimes  made  of  rags  and  sometimes  made  out 
of  sulphite. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  relation  does  the  parchment  paper  made 
from  pulp  bear  to  the  other  parchment  paper?  Is  it  substantially 
the  same? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  Practically  the  same. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Is  the  process  about  the  same* 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  It  varies  a  little. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  cost  is  about  the  same  per  pound  ? 


6110  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,   PAPEBS,   AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  It  is  about  the  same  per  pound. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  do  not  think  the  committee  will  have  any  diffi- 
culty in  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  parchment  paper  made  from 
anything  will  be  classified  as  the  same.  That  would  satisfy  you? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  Yes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  do  not  ask  for  a  change  of  duty? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  Not  at  all. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  ask  for  a  change  of  duty  on  all  parchment 
papers  ? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  Yes.  We  ask  that  they  be  classified  the  same 
as  the  papers  with  which  they  come  into  competition. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  think  that  is  sufficient. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Mr.  Van  Winkle,  what  is  it  you  want? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  We  want  our  paper  taken  from  the  unclassified 
list,  which  it  is  now  in,  and  put  into  the  classified  list  under  an 
amended  section — 398. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  there  is  no  difference  in  the  tariff  after  you  change 
it,  what  do  you  want  to  change  it  for? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  I  did  not  say  that. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  comes  in  now  as  paper  not  provided  for  at  the 
lower  ad  valorem  rate. 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  I  said  we  did  not  want  to  have  the  tariff 
changed. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  As  interpreted  by  the  courts,  there  is  a  difference. 
But  you  desire  to  have  it  the  same? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  Yes. 

Mr.  CLARK.  When  did  you  start  this  business  ? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  In  1905. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is,  under  the  same  law  as  you  have  got  now? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Are  you  making  money  ? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  A  little  money. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  money  did  you  make  ?  Let  us  be  perfectly 
frank  with  each  other. 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  On  a  300,000  investment  we  are  able  to  earn 
from  $8,000  to  $10,000  a  year. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  per  cent  is  that? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  That  would  be  less  than  8  per  cent. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Is  it  more  than  7  per  cent  ? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  I  would  have  to  stop  to  figure  that  out.  Let  us 
see.  Yes ;  it  would  be. 

Mr.  GAINES.  You  have  your  figures  wrong  somewhere;  either  the 
amount  you  are  calculating  on  or  your  percentage. 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  I  have  not  figured  it  out  in  per  cent.  We  can 
earn  from  $8,000  to  $10,000  at  the  rate  we  have  been  going  in  the  last 
six  months  on  a  $350,000  investment. 

Mr.  GAINES.  That  would  be  3  per  cent. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  the  nub  of  the  whole  business — what  you  have 
just  said,  "  On  the  basis  of  the  last  six  months,"  and  the  last  six 
months  are  the  worst  six  months  anybody  has  seen  in  the  United 
States  in  the  last  ten  years.  Is  not  that  the  honest  truth  ? 


PARCHMENT   PAPER B.   A.   VAN   WINKLE.  6111 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  The  honest  truth  is  that  business  has  been  very 
dull  in  most  lines. 

Mr.  CLARK.  All  manufacturing  lines? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  I  think  there  are  some  exceptions. 

Mr.  CLARK.  In  most  of  them.  Now,  take  the  best  six  months,  say, 
in  1907.  How  much  dividend  could  you  make  in  those  six  months  if 
you  segregated  what  went  before  from  what  came  after  ? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  We  are  selling  our  paper  at  as  high  a  price  as 
we  can  get  for  it,  and  under  present  conditions  the  imported  paper 
will  not  allow  us  to  get  any  more. 

Mr.  CLARK.  But  we  have  the  gorgeous  promise  that  everything  is 
going  to  blossom  like  the  rose  from  now  on.  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  If  it  blossoms  that  way,  it  will  be  all  right.  But 
it  might  not  blossom.  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  it  does  blossom  according  to  programme,  you  will 
not  need  any  increase  of  the  tariff? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  Yes ;  there  would  be  need  of  it,  because  the  im- 
ported article  would  come  in  here  cheaper  than  we  could  produce  it. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  made  the  first  ever  made  in  the  United  States  ? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  Yes ;  so  far  as  I  know,  that  is  so. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Why  did  you  not  go  on  and  investigate  the  relation 
of  things  in  Germany  and  Sweden  to  America  under  the  Dingley 
rates  before  you  went  into  it? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  We  thought  we  did,  but  we  were  mistaken. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Why  did  you  not  employ  somebody  to  tell  you  ? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Nobody  could  tell  what  the  courts  would  hold.  He 
could  not  employ  that  man  in  the  United  States.  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  DALZELL.  It  is  a  question  of  classification. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  know,  but  it  is  also  a  question  of  raising  revenue. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  If  all  parchment  papers  ought  to  be  reduced,  that 
would  be  a  fair  proposition? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  It  would. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  this  man  is  making  a  fair  profit,  instead  of  marking 
up  his  the  other  fellow's  ought  to  be  marked  down. 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  I  want  to  say  that  no  man  considers  3  per  cent 
in  manufacturing  business  a  very  good  profit. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  do  not  believe  so,  either,  if  that  is  what  you  got. 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  No. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  counted  out  interest  and  wear  and  tear  before  you 
commenced,  and  that  dividend  is  "clear  velvet,"  in  the  language  of 
the  street. 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  Suppose  there  was  an  accident.  You  know  one 
does  not  want  to  take  too  much  risk  in  the  manufacturing  business. 
We  might  have  an  accident,  or  an  explosion  of  a  boiler,  or  things  like 
that,  that  you  could  not  have  on  a  farm. 

Mr.  CLARK.  No,  but  our  teams  might  run  off  and  destroy  all  the 
machinery  and  everything  we  have. 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  I  do  not  believe  you  can  get  anybody  to  put 
money  in  a  3-per-cent  manufacturing  industry. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  just  now  stated  that  after  counting  out  the 
interest  and  wear  and  tear  of  machinery  you  still  had  3  per  cent 
velvet. 


6112  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  We  did  during  the  last  six  months. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is,  during  the  worst  time  we  ever  saw  you  would 
get  your  interest  and  wear  and  tear  and  3  per  cent  profit  for  the  first 
six  months? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  We  do  not  think  an  interest  charge  on  the  in- 
vestment in  a  manufacturing  industry  should  be  counted  as  part  of 
the  profit.  You  would  not  do  that  on  a  farm. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  precisely  what  we  would  do.  The  right  way 
to  cipher  out  what  you  can  make  as  profit  is  first  to  count  your  inter- 
est on  your  investment. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  If  that  is  right,  I  would  have  to  give  my  wheat 
away.  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  CLARK.  Oh,  no;  jrpu  would  not.  You  are  raising  wheat  on 
that  land  out  there  at  the  rate  of  $125  an  acre. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Mr.  Van  Winkle,  what  salary  do  you  pay  to  your 
president  ? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  We  do  not  pay  him  a  cent, 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Does  anyone  of  your  executive  officers  get  a  salary  ? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  Not  excepting  the  general  manager. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  do  you  pay  your  general  manager? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  We  pay  the  general  manager  $2,500  a  year. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  you  say  the  president  gets  nothing  ? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  The  president  gets  nothing,  and  the  secretary 
gets  nothing,  and  no  directors  get  anything  at  all,  only  their  percent- 
age of  the  dividends.  If  the  mill  earns  anything,  they  get  it ;  if  not, 
they  do  not. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Mr.  Van  Winkle,  you  do  not  feel  under  present  con- 
ditions, with  the  tax  on  that  imported  article,  that  you  have  made  a 
fair  profit  on  your  investment  ? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  That  is  it. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  And  you  want  a  fair  protection  to  do  that  ? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  Yes. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Have  you  increased  your  stock  since  you  have  been  in 
operation  ? 

Mr.  VAN  WINKLE.  No,  sir.  We  have  increased  our  debts,  because 
we  have  had  a  lot  of  experimenting  to  do  and  a  lot  of  new  machinery 
to  install ;  and  until  the  last  six  months  we  did  not  make  any  money 
at  all ;  in  fact,  we  lost  money. 


BRIEF  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  HARTFORD  CITY  PAPER  CO.,  HART- 
FORD CITY,  IND.,  RELATIVE  TO  PARCHMENT  PAPERS. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  £1,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  This  statement  or  brief  is  submitted  on  behalf  of  the 
Hartford  City  Paper  Company,  organized  under  the  laws  of  the 
State  of  Indiana  and  doing  business  in  Hartford  City,  Ind.,  and 
involves  the  manufacture  of  paper,  under  Schedule  M — pulp,  papers, 
and  books,  and  more  particularly  paragraph  398  of  the  act  of  July 


PARCHMENT  PAPER B.   A.   VAN   WINKLE.  6113 

24,  1897,  as  follows,  the  portion  italicized  being  particularly  under 
discussion : 

Surface-coated  papers  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  two  and  one-half 
cents  per  pound  and  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem;  if  printed,  or  wholly  or 
partly  covered  with  metal  or  its  solutions,  or  with  gelatin  or  flock,  three  cents 
per  pound  and  twenty  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  parchment  papers,  two  cents 
per  pound  and  ten  per  centum  ad  valorem;  plain  basic  photographic  papers  for 
albumenizing,  sensitizing,  or  baryta  coating,  three  cents  per  pound  and  ten  per 
centum  ad  valorem ;  albumenized  or  sensitized  paper  or  paper  otherwise  surface- 
coated  for  photographic  purposes,  thirty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

It  is  respectfully  urged  that  the  section  above  quoted  should  be 
amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows,  the  portion  italicized  being  added 
thereto : 

Surface-coated  papers  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  grease-proof,  imi- 
tation parchment,  pergamyn  papers  which  have  been  supercalendered,  and  ren- 
dered transparent  or  partially  transparent,  and  commercially  known  as  glassine, 
parchmyn,  and  japanin  paper,  two  and  one-half  cents  per  pound  and  fifteen  per 
centum  ad  valorem ;  if  printed,  or  wholly  or  partly  covered  with  metal  or  its 
solutions,  or  with  gelatin  or  flock,  three  cents  per  pound  and  twenty  per  centum 
ad  valorem ;  parchment  papers,  imitation  parchment,  grease-proof,  pergamyn  pa- 
pers, and  papers  of  a  density  sufficient  to  shoic  blisters  when  subjected  to  heat,  two 
cents  per  pound  and  ten  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  plain  basis  photographic  papers 
for  albumenizing,  sensitizing,  or  baryta  coating,  three  cents  per  pound  and  ten 
per  centum  ad  valorem ;  albumenized  or  sensitized  paper  or  paper  otherwise  sur- 
face-coated for  photographic  purposes,  thirty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

The  suggested  amendments  are  descriptive  of  various  gradas  of 
paper  manufactured  by  the  company  on  whose  behalf  this  statement 
is  made  by  other  companies  in  the  United  States.  These  papers 
come  into  open  and  direct  competition  with  the  same  class  of  papers 
now  imported  into  this  country,  mostly  from  Germany  and  Sweden. 
The  imported  product,  under  a  decision  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury hereafter  referred  to,  is  dutiable  at  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  under 
the  italicized  portion  of  the  general  provision  of  paragraph  402,  as 
follows,  the  italics  being  ours : 

Paper  hangings  and  paper  for  screens  or  fireboards,  and  all  other  paper  not  spe- 
cially provided  for  in  this  act,  twenty-five  per  centum  ad  valorem;  all  Jacquard 
designs  of  one-line  paper,  or  parts  of  such  designs,  finished  or  unfinished, 
thirty-five  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  all  Jacquard  designs  cut  on  Jacquard  cards, 
or  parts  of  such  designs,  finished  or  unfinished,  thirty-five  per  centum  ad 
valorem. 

It  is  contended  that  these  papers,  now  being  imported  into  this 
country  under  the  commercial  names  of  grease-proof,  pergamyn, 
imitation  parchment,  No.  2  parchment,  glassine,  parchmyn,  and 
japanin,  and  sold  in  competition  with  the  same  grade  of  paper  manu- 
factured here,  should  not  be  permitted  to  come  in  under  the  general 
classification  as  provided  in  paragraph  402,  and  that  paragraph  398 
should  be  amended  as  above  suggested  so  as  to  clearly  include  these 
grades  of  paper  in  the  classification  of  papers  there  described  to 
which  they  are  similar  either  in  material,  quality,  texture,  or  the  use 
to  which  they  may  be  applied. 

There  are  many  reasons  why  this  should  be  done,  and  we  shall 
refer  to  some  of  them  briefly: 


Seasons  for  classification  under  paragraph  398. 

ant  constru 
of  the  act,  under  the 


1.  Present  construction :  It  was  probably  intended  by  the  f ramers 
designation  "  parchment  papers,"  to  include  all 


6114  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

other  papers  which,  in  point  of  either  material,  quality,  texture,  or 
uses  to  which  they  may  be  put,  are  similar  to  parchment  papers. 
At  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  act  in  question,  imitation  parch- 
ment, grease-proof,  pergamyn,  glassine,  parchmyn,  and  japanin 
papers  were  not  manufactured  in  this  country  at  all  and  were  but 
little  used.  However,  it  'was  evidently  not  the  intention  of  Con- 
gress in  framing  the  act  of  July  24,  1897,  to  give  to  the  descriptive 
words  "parchment  papers"  a  narrow  construction  or  to  bring 
within  their  meaning  only  such  papers  as  were  made  of  a  particular 
material  or  in  a  particular  manner.  That  this  is  so  is  evident  from 
section  7  of  the  same  act,  which  we  quote  in  full : 

That  each  and  every  imported  article,  not  enumerated  in  this  act,  which  IB 
similar,  either  in  material,  quality,  texture,  or  the  use  to  which  it  may  be 
applied,  to  any  article  enumerated  in  this  act  as  chargeable  with  duty,  shall 
pay  the  same  rate  of  duty  which  is  levied  on  the  enumerated  article  which  it 
most  resembles  in  any  of  the  particulars  before  mentioned;  and  if  any  non- 
enumerated  article  equally  resembles  two  or  more  enumerated  articles  on  which 
different  rates  of  duty  are  chargeable,  there  shall  be  levied  on  such  nonenumer- 
ated  article  the  same  rate  of  duty  as  is  chargeable  on  the  article  which  it  resem- 
bles paying  the  higher  rate  of  duty ;  and  on  articles  not  enumerated,  manufac- 
tured of  two  or  more  materials,  the  duty  shall  be  assessed  at  the  highest  rate 
at  which  the  same  would  be  chargeable  if  composed  wholly  of  the  component 
material  thereof  of  chief  value ;  and  the  words  "  component  material  of  chief 
value,"  wherever  used  in  this  act,  shall  be  held  to  mean  that  component  material 
which  shall  exceed  in  value  any  other  single  component  material  of  the  article ; 
and  the  value  of  each  component  material  shall  be  determined  by  the  ascertained 
value  of  such  material  in  its  condition  as  found  in  the  article.  If  two  or  more 
rates  of  duty  shall  be  applicable  to  any  imported  article,  it  shall  pay  duty  at  the 
highest  of  such  rates. 

In  the  case  of  United  States  v.  Stone  et  al.  (101  Fed.  Rep.,  713), 
decided  February  9,  1900,  by  the  circuit  court  of  appeals,  second  cir- 
cuit, this  question  was  very  briefly  considered.  The  case  arose  on  an 
appeal  to  the  circuit  court  of  the  United  States  by  Stone  and  others, 
who  were  importers,  from  a  decision  of  the  Board  of  General  Ap- 
praisers affirming  a  classification  for  duty  by  the  collector  of  certain 
imported  merchandise. 

It  appears  from  the  opinion  of  the  district  judge  that  "  imitation 
parchment,"  "  parchment  No.  2"  or  "  grease-proof  wrapping  paper," 
had  been  classified  for  duty  under  paragraph  308,  Schedule  M,  of  the 
act  of  1894,  at  30  per  cent,  as  parchment  paper.  The  importers  pro- 
tested, claiming  that  it  was  dutiable  under  paragraph  313  or  under 
paragraph  310  of  said  act,  as  paper,  or  manufactures  of  paper  not 
specifically  provided  for.  The  district  judge  held  that  the  decision 
of  the  general  appraisers  should  be  reversed,  and  this  decision  was 
affirmed  by  the  circuit  court  of  appeals. 

It  should  be  noted  that  at  the  time  this  case  was  considered  no  paper 
of  the  kind  designated  as  grease-proof,  imitation  parchment,  or 
parchment  No.  2  was  being  manufactured  in  this  country  and  the  de- 
cision was  made  wholly  without  reference  to  its  effect  upon  manufac- 
turers of  the  same  class  of  paper  here.  Moreover,  section  2499,  Re- 
vised Statutes  of  the  United  States,  1878,  was  then  in  force  and  very 
similar  in  effect,  if  not  in  language,  to  section  7  of  the  act  of  1897. 
We  quote  as  follows: 

There  shall  be  levied,  collected,  and  paid,  on  each  and  every  nonenumerated 
article  which  bears  a  similitude,  either  in  material,  quality,  texture  or  the  use 


PARCHMENT   PAPER B.    A.    VAN    WINKLE.  .         6115 

to  which  it  may  be  applied,  to  any  article  enumerated  in  this  title  as  chargeable 
with  duty,  the  same  rate  of  duty  which  is  levied  and  charged  on  the  enumerated 
article  which  it  most  resembles  in  any  of  the  particulars  before  mentioned ;  and 
if  any  nonenumerated  article  equally  resembles  two  or  more  enumerated  articles, 
on  which  different  rates  of  duty  are  charged,  there  shall  be  levied,  collected,  and 
paid  on  such  nonenumerated  article  the  same  rate  of  duty  as  is  chargeable  on  the 
article  which  it  resembles  paying  the  highest  duty ;  and  on  all  articles  manufac- 
tured from  two  or  more  materials  the  duty  shall  be  assessed  at  the  highest  rate 
at  which  any  of  its  component  parts  may  be  chargeable 

The  effect  of  this  section  probably  was  not  considered  at  all,  and 
probably  was  not  even  called  to  the  attention  of  the  court  in  United 
States  v.  Stone,  supra,  for  it  is  not  referred  to  in  any  way  by  either 
of  the  courts  that  considered  the  question.  From  the  language  of 
the  opinion  of  the  district  judge,  it  is  perfectly  apparent  that  the 
"  imitation  parchment,"  "  parchment  No.  2,"  and  "  grease-proof 
wrapping  paper,"  the  imported  articles,  were  very  similar  in  many 
particulars  to  the  parchment  papers  referred  to  in  section  308, 
Schedule  M,  of  the  act'  of  1894.  With  this  admitted  similarity,  it 
seems  probable  that  the  court  would  have  sustained  the  general  ap- 
praisers in  their  decision  to  classify  these  importations  as  parch- 
ment papers  if  section  2499  had  been  referred  to  or  considered  in 
any  way. 

The  Treasury  Department,  in  decision  No.  22163,  followed  the 
case  of  United  States  v.  Stone,  supra,  and  it  has  been  the  practice 
since  that  decision  in  1900  to  admit  all  these  papers  described  as 
grease-proof,  pergamyn,  imitation  parchment,  glassine,  parchmyn, 
and  japanin  under  the  general  classification  of  section  402,  act  of 
1897. 

Since  1895  the  above-described  papers  have  been  made  in  this 
country.  The  industry  is  new  and,  in  view  of  the  facts  presented 
here,  the  case  demands  a  new  interpretation  of  the  meaning  of 
parchment  papers  and  a  consideration  of  the  effect  of  section  7, 
supra,  on  the  whole  matter. 

2.  Parchment:  A  true  parchment  is  the  skin  of  a  calf,  sheep,  or 
goat,  prepared  for  writing  on.    Parchment  papers,  the  term  used  in 
paragraph  398,  should  be  given  a  broad  construction  and  include 
all  papers  that  are  similar  in  appearance  to  the  real  parchment  and 
derive  their  name  from  that  fact.    Grease-proof,  pergamyn — one  of 
the  names  of  the  imported  grease-proof — and  other  papers  manu- 
factured by  this  company  have  many  of  the  qualities  of  parchment 
papers  and,  while  differing  in  name,  are  largely  used  for  the  same 
purposes. 

3.  Grease-proof:  The  grease-proof  and  parchmyn  papers,  which 
terms  apply  to  all  the  papers  manufactured  by  this  company,  in  many 
cases  are  substituted  for  parchment  paper :  both  our  papers  and  parch- 
ment papers  are  largely  used  by  meat  packers  in  this  country  for  the 
same  purpose,  viz,  wrapping  smoked  meats,  lining  lard  pails  and 
tubs.     They  are  also  used  interchangeably  by  grocerymen,  bakers, 
confectioners,  poultry  packers,  and  soap  manufacturers.    Our  papers 
are  used  because  of  the  quality  they  possess  of  being  practically  im- 
pervious to  greases.    Parchment  papers  have  the  same  quality. 

4.  Process  of  manufacture:  Parchment  paper  which  is  used  for  the 
same  purposes  as  the  papers  manufactured  by  this  company  is  pro- 
duced by  subjecting  paper  known  as  "  unsized  "  or  "  waterleaf,"  made 


6116  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

of  cotton  or  sulphite  fiber,  or  both  in  combination,  to  a  bath  of  sul- 
phuric acid,  which  renders  it  practically  impervious  to  grease,  while 
the  paper  manufactured  by  this  company  is  rendered  impervious  to 
greases  by  treating  the  sulphite  fiber  from  which  it  is  made  in  such 
manner,  by  mechanical  appliances,  as  to  gelatinize  it,  making  the 
resultant  sheet  of  paper  very  dense,  nonporous,  and  therefore  practi- 
cally impervious  to  greases. 

5.  Similarity  in  appearance:  The  papers  manufactured  by  this 
company  are  not  only  used  as  a  substitute  for  parchment  paper  in 
many  cases,  but  they  are  so  similar  to  it  that  it  is  often  difficult,  ex- 
cept by  an  expert,  to  detect  any  difference  at  all  between  them. 
Attached  hereto  are  samples  of  our  grease-proof  paper,  marked  "  Ex- 
hibit A,"  of  imported  grease-proof  paper,  marked  "  Exhibit  B,"  and 
of  parchment  paper,  marked  "  Exhibit  C." 

6.  Requires  skilled  labor :  The  process  of  manufacturing  the  papers 
produced  by  this  company  requires  the  highest  skilled  and  the  high- 
est priced  labor  used  in  the  paper  industry.    The  results  obtained  are 
the  most  perfect  possible  from  the  use  of  wood  fiber. 

7.  Production  limited :  The  care  necessary  to  be  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  these  papers  renders  the  production  from  a  given  unit  of 
labor  very  small ;  therefore  the  cost  of  labor  is  a  very  important  factor 
in  the  total  cost  of  production. 

8.  Cost  of  production  and  labor  cost :  These  papers  are  largely  pro- 
duced in  Germany  and  Sweden,  both  of  which  countries  export  their 
product  to  this  country  where  it  is  sold  in  competition  with  the  same 
grades  of  paper  manufactured  here.    Attached  hereto  as  Exhibit  G  is 
a  statement  of  the  comparative  cost  of  production  of  this  class  of 
paper,  showing  the  cost  of  labor  in  German  and  Swedish  mills  to  be 
about  42  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  labor  in  a  mill  of  the  same  capacity  in 
product  to  this  country,  where  it  is  sold  in  competition  with  the  same 
from  which  the  paper  is  made  is  at  least  $10  per  ton  less  to  the  Ger- 
man and  Swedish  mills  than  the  price  of  American  sulphite  from 
which  our  paper  is  made. 

9.  Amount  imported  and  American  production:  Effort  has  been 
made  to  obtain  a  correct  statement  of  the  amount  of  these  papers 
imported  into  this  country,  but  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  come  in 
under  the  unclassified  list,  it  has  been  impossible  to  obtain  exact  in- 
formation.   From  the  best  information  obtained — that  is,  from  our 
knowledge  of  what  is  used  by  the  large  consumers  and  other  informa- 
tion from  the  importers  themselves,  we  believe  that  the  amount  ex- 
ceeds 10,000  tons  annually,  all  of  which,  representing  a  value  of  more 
than  $1,000,000  per  year,  would  be  manufactured  in  the  United  States 
if  adequate  protection  were  afforded.     It  is  certain,  also,  that  the  use 
of  this  class  of  papers  is  growing  rapidly. 

10.  Cost  delivered :  On  account  of  the  low  cost  of  labor  and  of  raw 
material  and  the  low  cost  of  ocean  freights,  the  Germans  and  Swedes 
are  able  to  deliver  this  paper  on  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  seaboards 
at  a  price  varying  from  $10  to  $15  per  ton  below  our  cost  of  produc- 
tion, as  shown  in  Exhibit  "  H  "  attached  hereto,  which  exhibit  sets 
out  the  prices  at  which  the  foreign  product  has  been  purchased  by 
New  York  importers  from  1902  to  1908,  inclusive.     Exhibit  "  H  " 
further  shows  that  since  1905,  when  this  company  began  the  manufac- 
ture of  these  papers,  the  price  of  the  foreign  product,  especially  that 


PARCHMENT  PAPER B.   A.   VAN    WINKLE.  6117 

grade  known  as  "  Parchmyn  "  has  been  reduced  an  average  of  $10 
per  ton  below  the  price  at  which  it  was  offered  previous  to  that  year. 

11.  Synonymous     terms :     The     terms     "  imitation     parchment," 
"  grease-proof,"  and  "  pergamyn  "  are  synonymous  terms,  being  sim- 
ply trade  names  for  the  same  grade  of  paper,  and  are  applied  to  the 
grade  of  this  paper  which  is  nontransparent,  and  the  terms  uglassine," 
"  parchmyn,"  and  "  japanin  "  paper  are  synonymous  and  are  applied 
to  the  grade  of  this  paper  which  is  transparent.     All  of  these  papers 
are  produced  from  the  same  basis,  the  transparent  grade  being  the 
result  of  an  advanced  process  to  which  the  nontransparent  base  has 
been  subjected. 

12.  Waxed  or  paraffined  papers :  At  the  present  time  we  understand 
that  all  imported  waxed  or  paraffined  papers  are  classified  and  dutia- 
ble as  surface-coated  papers  under  paragraph  398.     This  class  of 
paper  is  used  interchangeably  with  glassine,  parchmyn,  and  japanin 
papers  by  confectioners,  bakers,  grocerymen,  packers,  butchers,  soap 
makers,  and  others  for  wrapping  merchandise,  where  it  is  desirable 
to  use  a  transparent  paper  for  showing  the  contents  of  the  package 
and  a  paper  impervious  to  grease,  to  protect  the  customers'  hands 
from  the  greases  or  fats  of  the  contents  of  the  package. 

Attached  hereto  is  Exhibit  D,  showing  sample  of  waxed  papers, 
and  Exhibits  E  and  F,  showing  samples  of  glassine,  parchmyn,  and 
japanin  papers,  all  of  which  in  many  cases  are  used  for  identically 
the  same  purposes. 

13.  Process  of  manufacture :  Waxed  paper,  made  for  the  purposes 
above  stated,  is  made  of  sulphite  fiber  and  then  coated  with  paraffin, 
which  gives  it  a  transparency  and  renders  it  partially  impervious  to 
water  and  greases.    Glassine  paper  is  made  of  the  same  material  and 
rendered  transparent  and  partially  impervious  to  grease  and  water, 
as  heretofore  stated,  by  mechanical  processes,  and  is  preferred  by 
many  users  for  the  reason  it  is  not  coated  with  paraffin  and  contains 
no  oils,  greases,  nor  chemicals,  and  because  of  its  purity  is  an 
ideal  food  wrapper. 

14.  Classified  as  surface-coated  papers :  Since  both  classes  of  paper, 
viz,  waxed  paper  and  glassine,  are  not  only  similar  in  appearance,  but 
are  made  from  the  same  material  and  are  used  for  the  same  purposes, 
they  should  therefore  be  classified  the  same  as  surface-coated  papers, 
under  the  authority  of  section  7. 

15.  General:  It  will  be  noted  that  no  request  is  made  for  an  in- 
crease of  tariff  rates  affecting  the  paper  industry,  but  this  grade  of 
paper  which  is  now  being  imported  into  this  country  and  which  comes 
in  direct  competition  with  the  same  grade  of  paper  manufactured 
by  this  company  and  other  manufacturers  of  the  United  States  is  now 
made  dutiable  under  the  unclassified  list  at  25  per  cent  ad  valorem.    We 
have  shown  that  some  grades  of  this  paper  are  used  interchangeably 
with  parchment  paper;  that  for  many  uses  they  are  equally  as  good  as 
the  parchment  paper.    We  have  shown  that  other  grades  of  this  paper 
are  used  interchangeably  with  waxed  papers,  now  classified  as  sur- 
faced paper ;  that  for  many  purposes  they  are  as  good  as  waxed  paper 
and  for  many  purposes  very  much  better;  that  it  requires  an  expert 
to  detect  the  difference  between  the  two  classes  of  papers,  and  that  the 
labor  required  to  produce  it  must  be  as  skillful  and  as  expensive  as 
that  used  to  produce  parchment  paper.    For  these  reasons  it  was  the 


6118  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

evident  intention  of  the  Congress  which  passed  this  act  that  this 
paper  should  bear  the  same  duty  as  the  parchment  paper  and  that  it 
should  be  classified  in  paragraph  398,  under  Schedule  M — pulp, 
papers,  and  books. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  the 
Ways  and  Means  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

HARTFORD  CiTr  PAPER  COMPANY, 
By  B.  A.  VAN  WINKLE,  General  Manager. 


Exhibit  A,  sample  of  imitation  parchment,  or  grease-proof,  made 
by  Hartford  City  Paper  Company. 

Exhibit  B,  sample  of  imitation  parchment,  or  grease-proof,  im- 
ported from  Germany. 

Exhibit  C,  sample  of  parchment  made  in  this  country. 

Exhibit  D,  waxed  paper,  classified  as  surface-coated  paper  under 
paragraph  398. 

Exhibit  E,  sample  of  white  glassine,  parchmyn,  and  japanin 
paper,  made  by  Hartford  City  Paper  Company. 

Exhibit  F,  sample  of  white  glassine,  parchmyn,  and  japanin  paper, 
imported  from  Germany. 


EXHIBIT  G. 

Cost  of  producing  grease-proof  and  glassine  papers,  at  Hartford  City 

Mill,  August  1, 1908. 

The  total  labor  cost  in  an  American  mill  producing  8  tons  of  grease- 
proof and  glassine  papers  is  $169.99  per  day. 

The  entire  conversion  cost,  not  including  raw  material,  is  $390.96 
per  day,  or  $48.87  per  ton  of  production. 

Bleached  white  grease-proof: 

Conversion  cost  per  ton $48.87 

Sulphite 60.50 

Sizing  and  G-P 1.  60 


Total__  .  110.97 


Bleached  white  glassine: 

Cost  for  paper,  net 136.80 

Cost  for  labor 5.81 

Cost  for  rolls__  2.  55 


Total 145.16 

The  above  statement  of  cost  of  producing  imitation  parchment, 
grease-proof,  pergamyn,  glassine,  parchmyn,  and  japanin  papers  in 
the  mill  of  the  Hartford  City  Paper  Company  are  made  up  from  the 
records  as  they  appear  upon  the  books  of  the  company  on  August  1, 
1908,  and  are  true,  as  I  verily  believe. 

B.  A.  VAN  WINKLE, 

General  Manager. 


PAECHMENT  PAPEE B.   A.   VAN    WINKLE. 


6119 


EXHIBIT  H. 

Itemized  statement  of  cost  of  making  grease-proof  and  glassine  papers 
in  Klara  Fors,  Sweden. 

The  total  labor  cost  in  a  Swedish  or  German  mill  producing  8  tons 
of  grease-proof  and  glassine  papers  is  $85.71  per  day. 

The  entire  conversion  cost,  not  including  raw  material,  is  $261.91 
per  day,  or  $22.74  per  ton  of  production. 

Total  conversion  cost $261.  91 

Conversion  cost,  per  ton,  based  on  8  tons  production 32.74 

Cost  of  sulphite  if  produced  at  mill,  per  ton 28.  00 

Cost  of  sulphite  if  bought 35.  00 

Recapitulation  of  cost. 

Cost  of  sulphite  if  produced  at  mill,  per  ton  paper $30.  80 

Cost  of  conversion 32.  74 

Sizing 1. 50 


Total  cost. 


65.04 


The  above  statement  of  cost  of  making  grease-proof  paper  in 
the  Klara  Fors  (Sweden)  mill  was  given  to  the  Hartford  City  Paper 
Company  by  one  of  the  owners,  and  is  thoroughly  reliable. 


EXHIBIT  I. 

Comparison  of  wages  per  day  of  paper-mill  employees  in  Sweden  and  America. 


Sweden.      America. 


Power  plant: 

Engineers $1.00  $2.75 

Firemen .82  2.00 

Helpers _• .75  1.75 

Ash  wheelers .... .69  1.50 

Coal  wheelers .62  1.60 

Beater  room: 

Beatermen .75  2.25 

Helper .70  1.75 

Do .70  1.50 

Machine  room: 

Machine  tender 1.15  4.00 

Back  tender .75  2.00 

Third  hands .70  1.50 

Finishing-  room: 

Rewinder  men .          _            .75  1.75 

Helpers .60  1.50 

Cutter  man .75  2.00 

Helper _ .60  1.50 

Ream  cutter  man .75  2.00 

Helper ._. ._  .60  1.75 

Roll  wrapper .60  1.50 

Girls .40  .75 

Boys .40  1.00 

Cutter  man .75  1.75 

Box  shop— Man .60  1.50 

Miscellaneous: 

Loaders .60  1.50 

Millwright 1.00  3.00 

Helper .75  2.00 

Night  watch .60  1.50 

Sunday  labor,  averages 3.00  6.24 

Electricians _ .75  2.40 

Supercalenders: 

Calender  men 1.00  3.48 

Helpers .75  1.50 

Helpers .60  1.75 

Salaries: 

Superintendent- . 
Manager 

St^nofr-apheVs::-    Averages..... 1 13.40  87.00 

Shipping  clerk 

Bookkeeper 


75041— H.  Doc.  1505.  60-2— Vol  6- 


-23 


6120  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   TAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

EXHIBIT  J. 

Comparison  of  cost  of  producing  grease-proof  paper  in  Germany,  Sweden,  and 

America. 


Germany 
and 
Sweden. 

America. 

$30.80 

$49.51 

32.74 

48.75 

Sizing  

1.50 

1.50 

65.04 

99.86 

Taking  the  unit  of  American  labor  cost  as  100  per  cent,  the  German 
and  Swedish  labor  cost  is  41.7  per  cent. 

Taking  the  unit  of  American  cost  for  raw  material  (sulphite  fiber) 
as  100  per  cent,  the  cost  of  the  German  and  Swedish  raw  material  is 
62  per  cent. 

Taking  the  total  cost  of  American  product  as  100  per  cent,  the  total 
cost  of  the  German  and  Swedish  product  is  65  per  cent. 


EXHIBIT  K. 
Prices  of  glassine  papers,  f.  o.  6.  Antwerp,  reduced  to  American  standard. 


Pfennig 
per  kilo. 

Cents  per 
pound. 

White  glassine:                    *     . 
1902           .  

52} 

5.5 

1903,  1904,  and  1905       .    -  

501 

6.5 

1906    :  

47 

5.1 

1907  

47 

5.1 

1908    —  

46 

5.0 

Natural  glassine: 
1902               .  .     .     

40} 

4.4 

1903,  1904,  and  1905  

37J 

4.1 

1906                                . 

87 

4  0 

1907  .    

36 

8.9 

1908  

35 

3.83 

Colored  glassine: 
1902  . 

57J-61 

6  3-6.7 

1903,  1901,  and  1905  

54    57J 

59-63 

1906  -_  ... 

52    553 

57-61 

1907  _  

52  -55| 

5.7-G.l 

1908    -  -    -    — 

50J-54 

5559 

Prices  of  grease-proof  parchment  f.  o.  &.  Antwerp  or  Gottenburg,  reduced  to 

American  standard. 


Pfennig 
per  kilo. 

Cents  per 
pound. 

Grease  proof: 
1905  _  

371 

4.8 

1906  

37} 

4.8 

1907  

41 

4.43 

1908  -  

36  T5 

4.23 

The  above  statements  of  cost  were  given  by  reliable  importers  from 
actual  purchases  made  from  various  mills  in  Germany  and  Sweden, 
and  fairly  represent  the  range  of  prices  during  those  years. 


PAECHMENT   PAPER B.   A.    VAN    WINKLE. 


6121 


Reduction  in  the  German  and  Swedish  prices  on  grease-proof  and 
glassine  papers  since  1905,  in  which  year  the  Hartford  City  Paper 
Company  began  manufacturing  these  papers  in  the  United  States. 

Price  per  pound  f.  o.  b.  Antwerp  of  white  glassine  in  1905,  5.5 
cents ;  in  1908,  5  cents.  Reduction  since  1905,  $10  per  ton.  Price  per 
pound  f.  o.  b.  Antwerp  of  natural  glassine  in  1905,  4.1  cents;  in 
1908,  3.83  cents.  Reduction  since  1905,  $6  per  ton.  Price  per  pound 
f.  o.  b.  Antwerp  of  colored  glassine,  in  1905,  5.9  cents;  in  1908,  5.5 
cents.  Reduction  since  1905,  $8  per  ton.  Price  per  pound  f.  o.  b. 
Gottenborg  of  No.  1  grease-proof,  in  1905,  4.8  cents;  in  1908,  4.23 
cents.  Reduction  since  1905,  $11.40  per  ton. 

Costs  of  imported  glassine  paper  compared  to  cost  of  producing  same 
in  the  Hartford  City  Paper  Company's  mill,  Hartford  City,  Ind. 

White  glassine  of  German  manufacture  costs  the  importer  now 
$100  per  ton  f.  o.  b.  Antwerp.  Same  grade  of  paper  costs  Hartford 
City  Paper  Company  to  manufacture  $145.16.  No.  1  grease  proof,  of 
Swedish  manufacture,  costs  the  importer  now  $84.60  per  ton  f.  o.  b. 
Gottenborg.  Same  grade  of  paper  costs  the  Hartford  City  Paper 
Company  to  manufacture  $110.97. 

Comparative  statement  of  f.  o.  b.  cost,  duty  paid,  under  present 
valuation  of  white  glassine  paper,  at  Antwerp  and  at  Hartford  City 
mill,  Hartford  City,  Ind. : 


Imported. 

Domestic. 

Selling  price,  per  ton  f    o.  b  ,  Antwerp 

$100  00 

Duty,  25  per  cent  ad  valorem 

25.00 

Freight,  Antwerp  to  Atlantic  seaport,  10  cents  per  100  pounds  

3.20 

2  00 

Cost,  per  ton,  at  Hartford  City  mill 

$145.16 

Freight,  Hartford  City  to  New  York,  L.  O.  L               ...    

9.00 

Total  cost  in  New  York  under  present  classification               _    _  .  

130.20 

154.16 

Comparative  statement  of  f.  o.  b.  cost,  duty  paid,  under  present 
valuation  of  grease-proof  paper,  manufactured  at  Gottenborg,  Swe- 
den, and  at  Hartford  City,  Ind. : 


Imported. 

Domestic. 

Selling  price  per  ton,  f.  o.  b.  Gottenborg 

$84.60 

Duty,  25  per  cent  ad  valorem- 

21.15 

Freight   Gottenborg  to  Atlantic  seaports,  20  cents  per  100  pounds 

4.00 

Insurance,  commission,  and  cartage,  2  per  cent                                    

1.63 

Cost  per  ton  of  same  grade  at  Hartford  City  mill  

$110.97 

Freight,  Hartford  City  to  New  York,  L.  O.  L                  -    —    -  -    - 

9.00 

Totafccost  in  New  York  under  present  classification  

111.43 

119.97 

The  above  comparison  is  made  on  the  highest  grades  of  imported 
papers  with  the  same  grades  of  domestic  papers.  On  lower  grades 
of  paper  the  difference  in  cost  delivered  in  New  York  is  stfU  greater 
in  favor  of  the  imported  papers. 


6122  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPEES,   AND   BOOKS. 

THE  PATERSON  PARCHMENT  PAPER  CO.,  PASSAIC,  N.  J.,  THINKS 
THAT  PRESENT  RATES  SHOULD  BE  RETAINED  ON  VEGETABLE 
PARCHMENT  PAPER. 

PASSAIC,  N.  J.,  December  2,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  view  of  the  hearings  on  tariff  revision  now  beir.g 
held  by  your  committee,  we  beg  to  respectfully  submit  the  following : 

First.  The  merchandise  we  produce  is  parchment  paper,  which  is 
manufactured  from  an  unsized  paper  made  from  cotton  rags,  and 
treated  with  sulphuric  acid  or  other  suitable  reagent.  Two  processes 
are  involved — making  the  unsized  paper  from  cotton  rags  and 
parchmentizing  with  sulphuric  acid.  (Sample  of  each  is  attached 
hereto.) 

Second.  The  paragraph  of  the  present  tariff  act  we  are  interested 
in  is  Schedule  M,  paragraph  398 : 

Surface-coated  papers  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  two  and  one-half  cents 
per  pound  and  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem;  if  printed,  or  wholly  or  partly  covered 
with  metal  or  its  solutions,  or  with  gelatin  or  flock,  three  cents  per  pound  and  twenty 
per  centum  ad  valorem;  parchment  papers,  two  cents  per  pound  and  ten  per  centum 
ad  valorem;  plain  basic  photographic  papers  for  albumenizing,  sensitizing,  or  baryta 
coating,  three  cents  per  pound  and  ten  per  centum  ad  valorem;  albumemzed  or  sen- 
sitized paper  or  paper  otherwise  surface-coated  for  photographic  purposes,  thirty  per 
centum  ad  valorem. 

Third.  We  respectfully  petition  that  no  reduction  be  made  in  tha 
rate  of  duty  now  levied,  but  rather  that  it  be  increased ;  and  that 
should  a  minimum  and  maximum  rate  be  adopted,  it  would  be  neces- 
sary for  the  protection  of  our  industry  to  have  the  present  rate  (2 
cents  per  pound  and  10  per  cent  ad  valorem)  a  minimum  rate.  A 
higher  rate  of  protection  would  be  absolutely  necessary  should  wages 
decrease  in  Germany  at  any  time. 

Fourth.  Our  reasons  for  asking  that  no  reduction  be  made  are  that 
with  lower  tariff  the  foreign  manufacturers  will  be  able  to  compete 
with  us  in  this  market  to  such  an  extent  as  to  seriously  injure  our 
business.  The  manufacturers  in  Germany  are  more  numerous  than 
they  are  in  this  country,  produce  a  greater  quantity,  and  have  fre- 
quently within  the  past  years  made  a  practice  of  exporting  to  this 
country  parchment  paper  at  prices  far  below  the  price  at  which 
parchment  paper  is  sold  in  our  own  markets.  (In  reference  to  this, 
see  translation  of  letter  in  Papier  Zeitung,  attached  hereto.  The 
Papier  Zeitung  is  published  by  Carl  Hoffman,  of  Berlin,  Germany.) 
Herein  lies  the  principal  danger  to  our  industry ;  therefore  any  lower- 
ing of  the  duty  would  surely  result  in  increased  importations.  It  is 
possible  to  produce  this  paper  much  more  cheaply  in  Germany,  Bel- 
gium, and  France  than  in  this  country,  and  protection  to  more  than 
offset  wages  and  other  costs  should  be  granted,  foB  the  reason  that 
foreigners  could  otherwise  sell  at  a  sacrifice  and  make  it  impossible 
for  American  manufacturers  to  compete.  It  appears  also  that  the 
German  manufacturers  of  parchment  paper  nave  an  association 
which  controls  prices  in  Germany,  which  enables  the  manufacturers 
the  better  to  export  at  cost  price  or  less,  as  they  are  released  from 
ruinous  competition  at  home.  (See  printed  circular  attacked.) 


PARCHMENT   PAPER PATERSON   PARCHMENT  PAPER   CO.      6123 

The  cost  of  labor  enters  very  largely  into  our  paper,  for  the  reason 
that  the  paper  goes  through  two  processes  before  it  is  finished.  In 
the  first  it  is  manufactured  into  an  unsized  paper  from  cotton  rags, 
dried  and  put  up  into  rolls;  from  the  paper  mill  it  is  sent  to  the  parch- 
ment mill,  where  the  paper  undergoes  its  treatment  in  sulphuric  acid, 
thoroughly  washed  in  water,  dried  again  and  finished,  and  either  sold 
in  plain  sheets  or  printed  sheets.  So  that  it  is  readily  seen  that  a  very 
large  part  of  the  cost  is  labor,  hence  the  necessity  of  our  receiving  full 
protection. 

The  industry  in  this  country  has  been  slowly  advancing  in  the  face 
of  domestic  and  foreign  competition.  The  Paterson  Parchment 
Paper  Company,  of  Passaic,  N.  J.,  was  the  first  concern  to  success- 
fully manufacture  and  sell  parchment  paper  in  this  country,  in  1885, 
and  since  then  eighteen  competitors  have  come  into  the  market,  of 
whom  two  survive,  the  others  having  been  driven  out  mainly  by  the 
foreign  competition;  so  that  to-day  the  manufacturers  of  this  paper 
are: 

The  Paterson  Parchment  Paper  Company,  Passaic,  N.  J. 

The  West  Carroll  ton  Parchment  Paper  Company,  West  Carroll- 
ton,  Ohio. 

The  Glenn  Mills  Paper  Company,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

The  competition  among  these  three  concerns  is  brisk,  so  that  there 
is  no  danger  to  the  community  at  large  of  being  compelled  to  pay 
more  for  the  paper  than  it  is  worth.  In  this  connection  we  wish  to 
call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  when  in  1885  The  Paterson 
Parchment  Paper  Company  first  entered  the  market,  the  wholesale 
price  of  parchment  paper  was  27  cents  per  pound,  which  price  has 
gradually  been  reduced  by  competition,  as  related  above,  until  to-day 
the  selling  price  wholesale  is  8.64  cents  per  pound,  f.  o.  b.  mill.  The 
labor  cost  is  more  apt  to  advance  in  the  manufacture  of  paper  for 
the  reason  that  the  labor  unions  are  advocating  three  tours  of  work 
in  the  paper  mills  and,  in  a  great  many  cases,  have -succeeded  in 
obtaining  this  concession.  So  far  as  this  has  been  tried  out  it  has 
resulted  in  increased  labor  cost  and,  should  the  manufacturers  of 
parchment  paper  be  compelled  to  follow  the  lead  of  others,  it  will 
readily  be  seen  that  the  cost  of  production  will  increase  and  that  in- 
creased protection  would  be  necessary. 

Since  the  present  tariff  bill  was  passed  the  increase  in  wages  has 
been,  in  the  paper  mill,  50  per  cent,  and  in  the  parchment  mill,  25 

Eer  cent.  Other  expenses  nave  increased,  also,  notably  lumber, 
uilding  materials,  wrapping  paper,  twine,  fuel,  etc. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  also  that  the  waste  in  manufacturing 
parchment  paper  can  not  be  used  again  as  paper,  and  is  a  loss  which 
adds  to  the  expense  of  manufacture. 

Under  the  present  bill  the  industry  has  more  than  doubled,  so  that 
now  SI, 630, 000  are  invested  in  it  and  about  560  people  find  employ- 
ment, receiving  $293,000  in  wages  annually. 

This  industry  is  still  capable  of  considerable  expansion,  as  parch- 
ment paper  is  not  as  universally  used  in  this  country  as  it  is  in 
Europe,  provided  adequate  protection  is  granted  to  it. 

We  wish  to  call  particular  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  paper  we 
manufacture  is  known  in  the  trade  as  "Vegetable  parchment  paper," 
and  -it  would  perhaps  be  better  to  so  describe  it  in  the  bill,  even 
though  the  words  "parchment  paper,"  as  contained  in  the  present 


6124  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

bill,  have  been  construed  to  mean  paper  produced  by  our  process. 
There  are  other  papers,  especially  writing  papers,  which  are  known 
as  parchment  ana  which  are  produced  on  the  paper  machine,  requir- 
ing but  one  process,  and  they  should  be  distinguished  from  vegetable 
parchment  paper. 

We  would  also  point  out  the  fact  that  so-called  imitation  parchment, 
glassine,  parchmine,  etc.,  are  not  in  the  same  class  as  vegetable  parch- 
ment paper,  for  the  reason  that  they  also  are  made  directly  on  the 
paper  machine  in  one  continuous  process  and  are  not  as  valuable, 
mainly  for  the  reason  that  only  one-half  of  the  labor  is  expended  on 
them.  We  are  of  the  opinion  that  it  would  be  confusing  to  put  imi- 
tations of  parchment  paper  in  the  same  clause  as  genuine  parchment 
paper  hi  the  tariff  bill,  but  should  be  covered  by  a  separate  clause. 

We  therefore  earnestly  petition  your  honorable  body  that  they  do 
not  recommend  a  lower  rate  of  tariff,  and  thus  destroy  whatever  pros- 
perity we  have  been  enjoying  for  the  past  ten  years. 

The  West  Carrollton  Parchment  Paper  Company  and  The  Glen 
Mills  Paper  Company  desired  us  to  present  this  brief,  and  should 
therefore  be  considered  as  approving  it. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

THE  PATEKSON  PARCHMENT  PAPER  Co. 
WM.  F.  BRUNNER,  Vice-President 


THE  HARTFORD  CITY  (IND.)  PAPER  CO.  FILES  SUPPLEMENTAL 
BRIEF  RELATIVE  TO  SULPHITE  PARCHMENT. 

HARTFORD  CITY,  IND.,  December  7,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  At  the  time  of  our  hearing  on  Schedule  M — November 
21 — I  made  the  statement  to  the  committee  that  parchment  paper 
was  often  made  from  sulphite  fiber  alone,  and  that  it  was  sometimes 
made  of  a  combination  of  cotton  fiber  and  sulphite  fiber.  Sulphite 
fiber,  as  you  doubtless  know,  is  a  wood  product. 

Mr.  Elliott,  who  appeared  before  your  committee  on  the  same  date 
in  behalf  of  the  importers  and  in  opposition  of  our  contention,  made 
the  statement  that  parchment  paper  (which  he  designated  as  "vege- 
table parchment")  was  made  from  cotton  fiber,  and  held  out  the  idea 
that  it  could  not  be  made  from  wood  fiber  and  that  it  was  therefore  a 
much  more  expensive  paper  to  make  than  our  paper. 

I  beg  to  call  your  attention  to  the  inclosed  copy  of  a  letter  which  I 
wrote  to  Mr.  Harry  Zimmerman,  who  for  several  years  was  employed 
by  the  Friend  Paper  Company,  of  West  Carrollton,  Ohio,  and  had 
charge  of  their  parchment  department;  also  call  your  attention  to  a 
copy  of  a  reply  which  I  received  from  him  under  date  of  December  4 
and  attached  samples  of  parchment  paper  which  he  says  are  made 
from  sulphite  fiber  alone.  Also  you  will  note  his  statement  that  he 
can  easily  manufacture  it  from  the  sulphite  fiber. 

I  am  very  sorry  to  take  up  so  much  of  your  time  on  this  question, 
but  it  is  vital  to  us.  Our  mill  is  now  down  for  want  of  orders,  and  we 
can  not  meet  the  competition  from  the  importers  in  the  East,  and  of 


SULPHITE    PARCHMENT B.    A.    VAN    WINKLE.  61 '2  5 

course  can  not  sell  our  goods  at  a  higher  price  than  they  can  buy  the 
imported  article  for,  and  for  that  reason  we  are  not  able  to  keep  our 
mill  going. 

Very  truly,  yours, 

HARTFORD  CITY  PAPER  COMPANY, 
By  B.  A.  VAN  WINKLE, 

General  Manager. 

EXHIBIT  A. 

NOVEMBER  28,  1908. 
Mr.  H.  ZIMMERMAN,  West  Carrollton,  Ohio. 

DEAR  SIR  :  We  have  again  had  occasion  to  think  over  the  proposi- 
tion of  parchment  paper,  and  remembering  your  visit  to  us  during  last 
February,  we  have  been  discussing  whether  or  not  you  stated  to  us 
that  vegetable  parchment  paper  can  be  made  from  an  exclusively 
sulphite  stock.  As  the  writer  remembers  your  statement,  you  stated 
that  the  vegetable  parchment  can  be  made  and  often  is  made  from  a 
purely  sulphite  stock  and  that  the  use  of  cotton  fiber  is  not  absolutely 
necessary,  and  furthermore,  that  the  use  of  it  depended  on  whether  or 
not  cotton  fiber  was  cheaper  than  sulphite  fiber;  in  other  words,  that 
which  of  the  two  fibers  they  used  depended  upon  the  price.  As  you 
know,  we  are  not  in  position  here  to  use  cotton  rags,  and  if  we  should 
in  future  decide  to  make  this  paper  we  would  necessarily  have  to  make 
it  from  sulphite  fiber  base. 

Awaiting  your  advices  with  interest,  we  beg  to  remain, 
Very  truly,  yours, 

HARTFORD  CITY  PAPER  COMPANY, 
By  B.  A.  VAN  WINKLE,  General  Manager. 


EXHIBIT  B. 

KALAMAZOO,  MICH.,  December  4,  1908. 
HARTFORD  CITY  PAPER  COMPANY, 

Hartford  City,  Ind. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  VAN  WINKLE  :  I  received  yours  of  the  28th  addressed 
to  me  at  West  Carrollton,  Ohio — same  was  forwarded  to  me  at 
Kalamazoo,  Mich. — contents  carefully  noted,  and  in  reply  wish  to 
say  that  I  will  again  give  you  the  same  proposition  that  I  gave  you 
last  February.  If  you  will  remember,  my  proposition  was  that 
you  add  vegetable  parchment  paper  with  your  parchmyn  and 
glassine  papers;  in  that  way  you  would  be  manufacturing  a  full 
line  of  specialties  for  wrapping  meats,  lards,  and  butter;  also  for  the 
canneries.  I  am  sending  you  a  few  samples  of  vegetable  parchment 
paper  made  from  all  sulphite  pulp  which  I  can  manufacture  with  ease. 

Now,  Mr.  Van  Winkle,  I  can  not  quite  catch  the  drift  of  your 
letter;  you  did  not  state  in  your  letter,  were  you  to  take  on  the 
manufacturing  of  vegetable  parchment,  just  who  your  vegetable- 
parchment  man  would  be,  and  this  being  the  case  we  can  not  be 
confidential  as  yet. 

I  would  be  much  pleased  to  hear  from  you,  and  wish  to  say  that 
I  do  not  know  of  any  party  who  would  be  able  to  take  on  the  manu- 
facture of  vegetable  parchment  with  a  less  outlay  of  money  than  the 
Hartford  City  Paper  Company. 

Very  truly,  yours,  HARRY  ZIMMERMAN, 

1825  Center  Street,  Kalamazoo,  Mich. 


6126  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

ENVELOPES. 

[Paragraph  399.] 

THE  AMERICAN  PAPER  GOODS  COMPANY,  KENSINGTON,  CONN., 
SUGGESTS  NEW  CLASSIFICATION  FOR  ENVELOPES. 

KENSINGTON,  CONN.,  December  4,  1908. 

Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  G. 

DEAE  SIR:  In  connection  with  proposed  revision  of  the  tariff  we 
desire  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  duties  prescribed  hi  existing 
tariff,  sections  397,  398,  399,  and  402,  in  reality  discriminate  against 
the  American  envelope  manufacturer  in  favor  of  the  European. 

There  has  been  a  constantly  growing  demand  the  past  few  years 
for  envelopes  made  from  high-glazed  transparent  papers,  which 
papers  are  produced  only  in  Europe,  chiefly  in  Germany. 

We  have  endeavored  to  supply  this  demand,  but  since  the  business 
has  assumed  large  proportions  have  been  decidedly  hampered  by  the 
importation,  chiefly  from  Germany,  of  the  completed  article. 

The  chief  cost  of  these  goods  is  the  paper,  admitted  at  present 
(section  402)  as  paper  not  otherwise  specifically  provided  for  at  a 
rate  of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem,  while  the  completed  article  is  admitted 
(section  399)  at  a  rate  of  20  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

In  making  envelopes  in  the  United  States  paper  must  of  necessity 
be  imported  in  sheets  or  rolls,  and  there  is  a  loss  in  cutting  the 
irregular  shapes  required  often  as  high  as  12  and  15  per  cent  and  a 
further  waste  running  often  as  high  as  5  per  cent  in  manufacture. 
On  all  this  waste  the  American  manufacturer  pays  the  duty  of  25 
per  cent,  while  the  foreign  manufacturer  pays  but  20  per  cent  on 
paper  actually  used  in  the  completed  article  plus  his  cost  of  manu- 
facture, which  is  smaller  than  ours,  and  selling  profit. 

Were  suitable  papers  made  in  the  United  States,  we  should  be 

flad  to  avail  ourselves  of  this  source  of  supply;  but  they  are  not,  nor 
ave  experiments  in  this  country  turned  out  favorably,  nor  is  there 
any  inducement  to  the  American  paper  maker  to  develop  these  grades 
of  paper  for  envelopes  so  long  as  the  German  envelope  is  sold  here 
cheaper  than  the  German  paper,  and  the  American  envelope  manufac- 
turer is  unable  to  engage  in  the  business.  We,  therefore,  feel  that  in 
justice  to  domestic  manufacturers  of  both  paper  and  envelopes,  the 
rate  of  the  raw  material  should  be  compensated  for  by  a  duty  on. the 
manufactured  article.  On  account  of  waste  in  cutting,  running,  and 
cheaper  labor  abroad,  the  rate  on  the  manufactured  article,  to  be 
really  equitable,  should  be  materially  more  than  on  the  raw  material. 

Without  knowledge  of  what  the  raw  rates  on  paper  will  be,  we 
therefore  strongly  recommend  that  section  399  be  amended  as  fol- 
lows: 

Paper  envelopes,  plain,  20  per  cent  ad  valorem;  if  bordered,  em- 
bossed, printed,  tinted  or  decorated  35  per  cent  ad  valorem,  plus  an 
additional  duty  at  the  rate  imposed  on  tne  paper  used  in  their  manu- 
facture. 

This  gives  us  very  little  protection.  Practically  it  simply  gives 
us  a  chance  to  compete  in  the  American  market  on  even  terms  with 
the  foreign  manufacture. 

We  particularly  feel  the  need  of  this  provision  at  this  time  since 
applications  are  being  made  to  increase  the  tariff  and  cost  to  us, 


ENVELOPES.  6127 

not  only  upon  various  grades  of  paper,  but  upon  other  materials 
which  we  are  obliged  to  import,  for  example  tapioca  flour  not  made 
in  this  country  at  all.  These  applications  it  is  impossible  for  us  to 
be  advised  of  hi  tune,  or  hi  many  cases  successfully  to  oppose  when 
we  do  learn  of  them.  The  only  safe  position  for  our  industry  is  one 
where  an  increase  in  the  tariff  on  our  raw  materials  will,  as  here 
requested,  carry  a  balancing  rise  in  the  tariff  on  foreign  envelopes. 

We  have  never  asked  for  any  discrimination  hi  our  favor,  but 
respectfully  submit  that  ourselves  and  others  ought  not  to  be  dis- 
criminated against  in  favor  of  our  foreign  competitors. 
Yours,  truly, 

THE  AMERICAN  PAPER  GOODS  Co., 
N.  S.  BACON,  Assistant  Secretary. 

(The  Continental  Paper  Bag  Company,  New  York  City,  writes 
indorsing  above  letter.) 


THE  SEWELL-CLAPP  MANUFACTURING  CO.  ASKS  A  HIGHER  DUTY 
ON  ENVELOPES  THAN  ON  ENVELOPE  PAPER. 

CHICAGO,  December  7, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

House  of  Representatives,   Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  Our  attention  has  been  called  to  the  fact  that  by  the 
present  tariff  law  a  higher  rate  is  in  some  cases  imposed  upon  foreign- 
made  paper  brought  into  this  country  than  on  the  envelopes  made  of 
such  paper.  This  is  a  manifest  injustice  to  the  envelope  manufac- 
turers in  this  country  and  an  evident  discrimination  against  Amer- 
ican labor.  The  American  manufacturer  must  pay  the  higher  rate  of 
tariff  on  the  paper  wasted  in  process  of  manufacture,  while  the  foreign 
manufacturer  pays  a  lower  rate  of  tariff  on  the  paper  actually  used  in 
making  the  envelopes  only. 

We  respectfully  represent  that  the  tariff,  hi  justice  to  American 
manufacturers  of  envelopes,  should  be  so  amended  as  to  place  upon 
foreign-made  envelopes  a  considerably  higher  rate  of  duty  than  that 
laid  upon  the  paper  of  which  the  envelopes  are  made. 

The  increasing  use  of  envelopes  made  of  imported  papers  makes 
this  a  matter  of  considerable  importance  to  envelope  manufacturers, 
and  we  respectfully  recommend  it  to  the  attention  of  your  committee. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

SEWELL-CLAPP  MFG.  Co., 
CLEMENT  L.  CLAPP. 


HON.  HARRY  M.  COUDREY,  M.  C.,  SUBMITS  LETTER  OF  HESSE 
ENVELOPE  AND  LITHOGRAPH  CO.,  OF  ST.  LOUIS,  MO.,  RELATIVE 
TO  THE  DUTY  ON  ENVELOPES. 

ST.  Louis,  December  7, 1908. 
Hon.  H.  M.  COUDREY,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  As  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  of  Congress  is  at 
work  revising  the  tariff,  we  think  it  but  right  and  proper  to  call  your 


6128  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPEKS,  AND   BOOKS. 

attention  to  certain  facts  existing  under  present  tariff,  which  dis- 
criminates against  the  American  manufacturer  of  envelopes  in  favor  of 
European  competition  in  sections  397,  398,  399,  and  402. 

In  the  past  few  years  there  has  been  a  constantly  growing  demand 
for  envelopes  in  this  country  made  from  certain  papers  which  are 
produced  only  in  Europe,  chiefly  in  Germany. 

The  chief  item  of  cost  in  the  manufacture  of  envelopes  is  the  paper. 
Take,  for  instance,  a  certain  transparent  high-glazed  paper,  which  is 
now  being  used  to  a  great  extent  in  this  country  in  the  manufacture 
of  envelopes,  admitted  at  present  (section  402)  as  paper  not  other- 
wise specifically  provided  for  at  a  rate  of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem, 
while  the  completed  envelope  (section  399)  is  admitted  at  a  rate  of 
20  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

In  manufacuring  envelopes  it  is  necessary  to  import  this  paper  in 
sheets  or  rolls,  and  in  cutting  the  irregular  shapes  for  envelopes  there 
is  a  loss  in  cutting  of  from  12  to  15  per  cent,  and  a  further  loss  in  waste 
in  running  through  machine  of  about  5  per  cent.  On  all  this  waste 
the  American  manufacturer  pays  a  duty  of  25  per  cent,  while  the 
foreign  manufacturer  only  pays  20  per  cent  on  the  actual  amount  of 
paper  used,  paying  nothing  on  the  waste,  which  we  are  obliged  to 
figure  in  the  cost  of  our  product. 

Of  course,  we  do  not  know  what  the  revised  rate  on  paper  will  be 
when  the  committee  gets  through  with  it,  and  without  this  knowl- 
edge we  suggest,  recommend,  and  urge  that  section  399  be  amended 
as  follows : 

Paper  envelopes,  plain,  20  per  cent  ad  valorem;  if  bordered, 
embossed,  printed,  tinted,  or  decorated,  25  per  cent  ad  valorem 
plus  an  additional  duty  at  the  rate  imposed  on  the  paper  used  in 
their  manufacture. 

We  believe  the  above  to  be  only  fair  to  the  American  manufac- 
turer, whose  cost  of  labor  and  other  expenses  are  much  higher  than 
in  foreign  countries. 

We  particularly  feel  the  need  of  this  provision  at  this  time,  since 
applications  are  being  made  to  increase  the  tariff  on  other  materials 
used  by  us  in  the  manufacture  of  envelopes.  Tapioca  flour,  for 
instance,  which  is  not  made  in  this  country  at  all  and  which  is  prob- 
ably the  next  greatest  item  in  the  manufacture  of  envelopes  out- 
side of  labor.  This  is  not  a  luxury,  and,  as  stated,  can  not  and  is 
not  being  produced  in  this  country.  Why,  then,  should  a  duty  be 
placed  upon  it  ? 

We  know  the  committee  wants  to  learn  the  facts  and  will  make 
such  recommendation  as  will  protect  American  manufacturers  and 
at  the  same  time  work  no  hardship  on  the  people  of  this  great 
country. 

Yours,  truly, 

HESSE  ENVELOPE  AND  LITHO.  Co., 
F.  H.  HESSE,  President  and  Treasurer. 


PERFORATED  LABELS — CHILDREN  *S  BOOKS.        6129 

PERFORATED   LABELS. 

[Paragraph  400.] 

THE  ARTHUR  C.  HARRIS  CO.,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  ASKS  FOR  MAIN- 
TENANCE OF  PRESENT  DUTIES  ON  PERFORATED  LABELS. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  December  1,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.   C. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  wish  to  lay  before  you  the  facts  concerning  an 
industry  which,  while  not  of  national  importance  in  itself,  is  never- 
theless well  calculated  to  represent  certain  phases  of  the  tariff  ques- 
tion. 

We  are  practically  the  sole  manufacturers  in  this  country  of  per- 
forated silver  tickets  used  in  the  put-up  of  fine  cotton  cloths.  We 
are  facing  a  keen  competition  from  England  and  Germany,  where 
the  hand  labor,  which  is  a  large  factor  of  cost,  can  be  had  at  about 
one-third  of  the  American  standard  wages.  When  you  consider 
that  the  raw  material,  i.  e.,  silver-laid  paper,  has  to  be  imported,  you 
will  readily  appreciate  that  an  average  duty  of  40  per  cent  on  labor 
which  is  practically  665  per  cent  cheaper  than  ours  is  not  prohibitory 
to  the  foreigner. 

The  main  argument  which  is  left  us  is  quicker  deliveries  and  more 
careful  attention  to  orders  than  the  foreigner  can  give. 

To  sum  up,  as  it  affects  perforated  work  on  silver  or  other  metal 
papers,  the  tariff  ought  to  be  maintained  at  least  on  the  finished  product, 
while  the  duty  on  metal-covered  papers  might  be  lowered. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

ARTHUR  C.  HARRIS  COMPANY, 
ARTHUR  C.  HARRIS,  President. 


CHILDREN'S  BOOKS. 

[Paragraph  400.] 

CERTAIN  IMPORTERS  OF  CHILDREN'S  TOY  BOOKS  REQUEST  A 
REDUCTION  OF  THE  DUTIES  THEREON. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  December  19, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives. 

SIRS:  On  behalf  of  importers  of  children's  toy  books  (Raphael 
Tuck  &  Sons  Company,  Kaufmann  &  Strauss,  E.  P.  Button  &  Co.)  I 
respectfully  request  a  reduction  of  the  duties  now  provided  in  para- 
graph 400  of  the  tariff  act  for  children's  books  containing  illuminated 
lithographic  prints. 

The  duty  provided  hi  the  present  act  is  8  cents  a  pound.  This 
amounts,  as  will  be  shown  by  figures  subjoined,  from  45  to  62§  per 
cent  ad  valorem.  These  books  were  formerly  imported  hi  large 
quantities.  The  present  tariff  is  so  high  that  it  has  driven  the 
imported  article  from  the  market,  and  thus  deprived  the  United 


SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

States  of  considerable  revenue  which  it  obtained  from  this  class  of 
goods  prior  to  the  enactment  of  the  Dingley  tariff.  It  has  also 
enabled  the  American  manufacturer  to  raise  his  prices  on  this  class 
of  goods  and  increase  the  cost  to  the  consumer.  We  respectfully 
ask  for  a  reduction  of  the  duty  from  8  to  5  cents  a  pound.  The  reduced 
duty  proposed  would  average  from  28  to  40  per  cent  ad  valorem, 
which  would  be,  we  submit,  a  sufficiently  high  duty  upon  this  class 
of  goods  to  produce  a  substantial  revenue  and  permit  the  importation 
of  foreign  books,  which  represent  a  higher  quality  of  artistic  work 
than  the  corresponding  domestic  article. 

The  firm  of  Raphael  Tuck  &  Sons  Company  have,  by  reason  of  the 
prohibitory  tariff  on  these  goods,  if  imported,  been  having  them  made 
here  by  a  well-known  domestic  manufacturer,  and  it  has  been  found 
that  the  price  of  the  article  here  is  about  equal  to  the  price  of  the  cor- 
responding book  in  Germany,  so  that  the  domestic  manufacturer 
needs  no  protection. 

I  submit  herewith  Exhibit  1,  which  consists  of  six  toy  books  marked 
respectively  "A,"  "B,"  "C,"  Ca,"  "D,"  and  "E."  These  books  are 
all  printed  here  with  the  exception  of  "Ca," which  is  printed  abroad 
and  which  if  compared  with  the  others  will  show  the  superior  quality 
of  the  foreign  work.  The  following  is  a  statement  of  the  foreign  cost 
and  the  landed  cost  here  (exclusive  of  freight,  etc.)  of  the  correspond- 
ing foreign  article,  the  rate  of  duty  on  the  basis  of  the  present  law, 
and  the  selling  price  of  the  domestic  book. 


Foreign 
price. 

Equivar 
lent  In 
United 
States 

Duty. 

Total 
landed 
cost  (ex- 
clusive of 
freight, 

Ad  valo- 
rem 
equiva- 
lent of 
specific 

Selling 
price  of 
Ameri- 
can arti- 
cle per 

currency. 

etc.). 

duty. 

1,000. 

Marks. 

Per  cent. 

A  —  2-penny  toy  books... 

60 

$12.00 

80  pounds,  at  8  cents  per 

$18.40 

63j 

$12.85 

pound,  $6.40. 

B—  3-penny  toy  books... 

65 

16.00 

100  pounds,  8  cents  per 

23.60 

51J 

14.58 

pound,  $8. 

C  —  4-penny  toy  books.  .  . 
D  —  6-penny  toy  books  .  . 

90 
155 

21.60 
37.20 

150  pounds,  at  8  cents,  $12. 
210  pounds,  at  8  cents, 

33.60 
54.00 

55? 

45 

31.25 
37.22 

$16.80. 

E—  Shilling  toy  books.  .  . 

280 

67.20 

526  pounds,   at  8  cents, 

109.28 

663 

66.67 

$42.08. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  we  respectfully  submit  that  the  rates  ar- 
tpo  high,  and  that  the  American  manufacturer  needs  no  such  protece 
tion,  nor  in  fact  any  protection.  We  ask  that  the  duty  be  reduced 
from  8  cents  to  5  cents.  If  this  is  done  the  specific  duty  will  be  an 
equivalent  ad  valorem  to  the  following  percentages  for  these  books: 
A,  33J  per  cent;  B,  32  per  cent;  C,  34|  per  cent;  D,  28J  per  cent; 
E,  40  per  cent. 

We  submit  that  these  proposed  rates  would  be  quite  as  high  as 
ought  to  be  imposed  on  these  goods.  They  will  bring  in  a  substantial 
revenue  to  the  Government,  enable  the  importers  to  bring  in  these 
goods,  and  by  competition  with  the  domestic  manufacturer  reduce 
the  price  to  the  consumer,  and  will  afford  the  manufacturer  all  the 
protection  that  he  needs  or  ought  to  have. 

There  is  no  reason  why  the  duty  on  toy  books  should  be  made 
higher  than  on  toys  generally,  which  are  subjected  to  a  duty  under 


CHILDREN'S  BOOKS — LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS.  6131 

the  present  act  of  35  per  cent.  We  do  not  suggest  this  rate,  because 
experience  has  shown  that  it  is  better  to  preserve  the  specific  duty 
system  and  avoid  all  questions  of  undervaluation. 

W.  WICKHAM  SMITH. 


LITHOGRAPHIC   PRINTS. 

[Paragraph  400.] 

IMPORTERS  AND  DEALERS  IN  DECALCOMANIA  OR  LITHOGRAPHIC 
TRANSFERS  RECOMMEND  NEW  CLASSIFICATION. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  November  18^  1908. 
The  HONORABLE  WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  On  behalf  of  the  importers  and  dealers  of  decalco- 
mania, or  lithographic  transfers,  we  herewith  beg  to  present  our 
views  on  the  rate  of  duty  for  the  consideration  of  your  committee  as 
to  the  classification  for  duty  purposes  under  the  tariff  to  be  pro- 
mulgated. 

A  brief  resume  of  the  tariff  history  of  this  merchandise  may  be 
instructive  in  the  light  of  argument,  pro  and  con,  which  will  be 
advanced  on  this  subject  by  your  committee. 

Ever  since  the  decalcomania,  or  lithographic  prints,  were  intro- 
duced into  this  country  for  the  decoration  of  china  and  earthen  ware, 
as  well  as  numerous  other  materials,  these  lithographic  prints  have 
been  properly  classified  under  paragraph  400  of  the  Dingley  tariff 
and  previously  under  the  Wilson  tariff  as  lithographic  prints  from 
stone,  zinc,  ailummumj  etc.,  at  the  rate  of  20  cents  per  pound,  net 
weight.  This  rate  was  the  subject  of  a  distinct  understanding  be- 
tween foreign  and  domestic  dealers,  on  these  goods  at  the  time  the 
present  tariff  was  being  framed,  as  per  evidence  before  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee.  These  decalcomania,  or  transfer  pictures,  are 
known  throughout  the  trade  as  lithographic  prints,  and  manufac- 
turers of  these  decalcomania  in  Europe  style  their  firms  as  litho- 
'  graphic  establishments. 

Decalcomania  is  a  form  of  a  lithographic  print  now  used  very  ex- 
tensively in  the  decoration  of  pottery  and  other  materials  the  world 
over.  The  name  decalcomania  does  not  indicate  the  real  difference 
in  any  essential  feature  from  the  term  "  lithographic  print,"  and  the 
only  difference  between  decalcomania  and  the  common  lithographic 
prints  lies  in  the  fact  that  a  decalcomania  is  printed  on  gummed 
paper,  so  that  it  may  readily  transfer  from  the  sheet  on  which  it  is 
printed  to  some  other  object.  It  may  be  said  right  here  that  this 
gummed  paper  is  not  a  surface-coated  paper,  neither  in  a  technical 
nor  commercial  sense,  because  a  surface-coated  paper  has  a  permanent 
surface  coating,  while  the  gummed  paper  which  is  used  for  the 
decalcomania  has  the  gum  coating  only  for  the  purpose  of  transfer- 
ring the  lithographic  print  thereon  upon  the  object,  as  aforesaid. 

Before  the  adaptation  of  decalcomania  to  pottery  decoration  pot- 
tery was  decorated  with  so-called  "  printed  and  filled-in  "  patterns, 
i.  e.,  the  outline  of  a  pattern  was  engraved  on  a  copper  plate  and  from 


6132  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND    BOOKS. 

same,  with  the  aid  of  printing  paper,  transferred  upon  the  ware, 
and  colors  were  then  applied  to  this  outline  or  design  by  a  brush  in 
the  hands  of  a  workman.  This  process  has  become  obsolete  since  the 
introduction  of  decalcomania.  The  colors  are  now  all  printed  and 
the  pattern  made  complete  in  all  colors  on  the  paper,  and  from  this 
paper  the  pattern  is  transferred  by  one  process  to  the  ware.  This 
reduces  to  a  considerable  extent  the  cost  of  hand  labor  required  in 
pottery  decoration,  and  since  hand  labor  is  and  always  has  been 
much  more  expensive,  and  skilled  labor  particularly  so  much  harder 
to  obtain  in  America  than  in  those  European  countries  where  pot- 
tery has  been  made  for  many  years,  it  was  decalcomania  which  has 
placed  the  American  potter  in  a  position  to  compete  with  the  im- 
ported foreign  goods. 

From  the  time  when  pottery  was  decorated  in  this  country  until 
1899  or  1900,  the  above-described  process  of  printing  and  filling  in 
by  hand  with  colors  was  the  only  method  of  decorating  used  by  the 
American  potter,  and  all  the  materials,  as  printing  paper  and  cera- 
mic colors,  necessary  for  the  decorating,  were  imported.  By  adapt- 
ing decalcomania  and  importing  same  from  Europe,  the  potter  is 
practically  importing  the  same  materials  which  he  formerly  im- 
ported, eliminating  the  high  cost  for  skilled  labor,  and  thus  enabling 
him  to  compete  against  foreign  importers  of  china,  not  to  speak  at 
all  of  the  higher  artistic  standard  of  decalcomania  compared  with 
printed  and  filled-in  patterns.  At  the  time  the  Dingley  bill  was 
formulated  there  were  decalcomania  transfers  imported  from  Europe, 
but  only  for  use  on  other  materials,  not  on  pottery.  Therefore 
ceramic  decalcomanias  are  not  specifically  mentioned  in  that  bill.  It 
was  only  about  1900  that  the  use  of  decalcomania  became  quite  gen- 
eral with  the  potters,  and  since  then  it  has  become  almost  a  universal 
process  of  applied  colors  in  pottery  decoration.  With  the  growth 
and  development  of  the  pottery  industry,  the  importations  of  decal- 
comania grew  readily,  and  for  some  years  there  was  no  question 
raised  as  to  the  propriety  of  classifying  it  as  lithographic  prints 
under  paragraph  400.  When  decalcomanias  were  first  used  by  the 
potters,  there  was  absolutely  no  manufacturer  in  this  country,  but 
there  were  a  large  number  of  such  establishments  in  England,  France, 
and  Germany  employing  a  large  corps  of  artists  in  designing  their 
patterns,  and  the  work  of  these  artists  was  therefore  made  available 
for  the  use  of  the  American  potters.  Naturally  decalcomania  took 
the  place  of  the  raw  materials  the  potter  had  previously  imported  in 
the  form  of  pigments,  colors,  and  printing  paper. 

Now,  if  this  material  had  been  specifically  mentioned  along  with 
lithographic  prints  in  paragraph  400,  no  question  would  or  could 
ever  have  been  raised  as  to  the  propriety  of  that  classification;  but 
because  decalcomania  is  nowhere  mentioned,  the  opportunity  was 
given  to  the  American  lithographers  who  later  began  to  manufacture 
this  material,  to  raise  a  technical  question  and  to  seek  the  classifica- 
tion of  the  decalcomania  under  some  schedule  paying  a  higher  rate 
of  duty  than  lithographic  prints.  Kepeated  efforts  have  been  made, 
particularly  by  one  domestic  manufacturer  of  decalcomania,  to  have 
these  reclassified,  first,  as  cigar  labels;  second,  as  manufactures  of 
,metal  at  45  per  cent  ad  valorem ;  third,  as  manufactures  of  paper  at 
35  per  cent  ad  valorem;  and  fourth,  as  surface-coated  paper  at  20 
per  cent  ad  valorem  and  3  cents  per  pound,  and  this  is  the  present 


LITHOGRAPHIC  FEINTS OTTO   PALM,   JR.,   ET  AL.  6133 

rate  of  duty  assessed  on  these  goods.  The  higher  rate  of  duty  was 
sought  by  the  above-mentioned  domestic  manufacturer  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  he  has  repeatedly  arid  in  many  cases  been  able  to  sell  his 
goods  at  a  lower  price  than  the  imported  article  could  be  offered.  It 
is  a  notorious  fact,  and  the  leading  American  pottery  manufacturers 
will  offer  testimony  to  the  effect,  that  the  American  manufacturers  of 
the  decalcomania  do  not  and  can  not  obtain  as  high  a  price  for  their, 
decalcomania  as  the  foreign  importers  on  an  average,  for  the  reason 
that  the  American  decalcomanias  have  been  confined  almost  exclu- 
sively to  the  cheap  lines  and  to  copies  of  the  foreign  designs.  In 
decalcomania,  as  in  every  other  line  of  applied  art  work,  originality 
commands  a  price. 

While  no  doubt  it  would  be  possible  to  have  produced  a  limited 
number  of  original  designs  in  this  country,  yet  there  is  by  no  means 
available  here  the  great  body  of  artists  who  are  seeking  commercial 
employment  in  Europe. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  all  instances  where 
the  domestic  manufacturer  offers  his  goods  at  a  lower  figure  than  we 
have  been  able  to  sell  them  and  where  his  decorations  have  been 
copies  of  our  patterns,  the  importers  and  dealers  in  these  goods  were 
subjected  to  a  very  severe  loss,  because  the  importers  had  to  pay 
the  European  manufacturers  for  all  the  expense  connected  with  the 
creation  of  these  decorations. 

As  above  stated,  these  decalcomanias  are  lithographic  prints  and 
nothing  but  lithographic  prints  and  can  not  be  considered  as  any- 
thing else,  and  in  support  of  this  contention  we  beg  to  refer  to  the 
following  Treasury  and  Appraisers'  decisions: 

Treasury  decision  24748 ;  Treasury  decision  25312,  paragraph  1486 ; 
Treasury  decision  25385,  paragraph  1868;  Treasury  decision  25482, 
paragraph  2353 ;  Treasury  decision  24827 ;  Treasury  decision  1765 ; 
General  Appraisers  3700 ;  Treasury  decision  17669 ;  Treasury  decision 
17897;  Treasury  decision  25863;  General  Appraisers  5873;  Treasury 
decision  25676,  paragraph  3723;  General  Appraisers  5445;  Treasury 
decision  25848;  General  Appraisers  5459 — 

And  therefore  claim  and  maintain  that  the  present  reclassification  of 
lithographic  transfers  as  surface-coated  paper  is  erroneous  and  abso- 
lutely misleading. 

Surface-coated  paper  is  a  material  produced  from  ordinary  mill 
paper  and  covered  with  coloring  matter  intended  to  remain  perma- 
nent on  the  paper,  and  is  used  for  binding,  covering,  and  general 
manufacturing  purposes,  and  the  term  "  surface-coated  paper "  is 
never  used  to  apply  to  lithographic  work,  as  the  application  of  color 
is  not  obtained  by  means  of  a  lithographic  stone. 

This  reclassification  obtained  by  the  domestic  manufacturer  was 
based  upon  a  court  decision  rendered  in  the  absence  of  any  contesting 
testimony,  in  the  absence  of  the  importing  interests,  no  evidence 
having  been  furnished  by  the  importers.  At  the  hearings  before  the 
Board  of  General  Appraisers  no  witness  produced  by  the  Government 
had  other  than  a  "  general  knowledge  "  of  what  a  decalcomania  was, 
with  one  exception — the  treasurer  of  the  American  Lithographic 
Company,  who  stated,  speaking  from  forty  years'  experience,  that 
"  decalcomania  process  is  a  lithographic  process  entirely,  although 
the  prints  axe  generally  known  as  decalcomanias." 


6184  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPEES,   AND    BOOKS. 

We  importers  are  confident  that  if  we  would  have  had  any  knowl- 
edge of  the  proceedings  before  the  court  in  Philadelphia  and  if  we 
would  have  offered  our  testimony;  that  the  decision  of  the  court 
would  have  been  to  the  effect  that  decalcomanias  are  lithographic 
prints;  however,  we 'are  contemplating  an  appeal  to  a  higher  court, 
but  since  a  new  tariff  bill  appeared  imminent,  we  decided  to  let  the 
.matter  stand  until  we  could  submit  our  side  of  the  case  to  the  Ways 
and  Means  Committee. 

"  Surface-coated  paper  "  and  "  decalcomania,"  both  articles  have  a 
well-defined  commercial  meaning.  Decisions  .of  the  court  have  been 
uniform  in  holding  as  a  settled  rule  of  construction  of  revenue  laws 
that  the  duty  to  be  imposed  on  an  article  is  according  to  the  designa- 
tion of  such  an  article  as  understood  and  known  in  the  commerce  of 
the  United  States  and  not  with  reference  to  the  materials  of  which 
it  may  be  composed  or  to  the  use  to  which  it  may  subsequently  be  put. 

As  said  above,  these  decalcomanias  are  lithographic  prints  from  stone, 
which  can  be  proven  beyond  doubt  by  explaining  the  method  of 
manufacture,  the  process  being  identically  the  same  as  in  the  manu- 
facture of  lithographic  prints  provided  for  in  paragraph  400,  as  the 
following  will  illustrate: 

The  intended  floral  or  figure  designs  are  first  produced  by  artists 
in  the  form  of  a  water-color  sketch ;  this  sketch  is  then  turned  over 
to  the  lithographer,  who,  following  the  general  lithographic  process, 
will  make  the  drawings  provided  for  each  color  on  lithographic  stone. 
When  all  the  drawings  are  completed,  the  stones  are  etched  in  the 
same  manner  as  applied  to  all  lithographic  processes,  and  then  from 
the  stones  so  prepared  impressions  are  taken  and  are  transferred  to 
large  lithographic  stones,  which  are  used  in  the  lithographic  press 
for  printing.  The  process  of  printing  is  exactly  the  same  as  the  proc- 
ess used  for  printing  every  lithographic  picture,  and  the  same 
machines  are  used  here  in  America  as  well  as  in  Europe. 

We  submit  samples  showing  the  procedure  which  is  followed  in  the 
manufacture  of  those  prints  in  the  different  stages  of  color  applica- 
tion, and  we  also  submit  samples  of  lithographic  prints  and  decalco- 
manias showing  the  same  design.  Both  are  printed  from  the  same 
stone.  The  lithographic  print  or  chromo  is  printed  with  ordinary 
printing  colors,  while  decalcomania  is  printed  with  ceramic  colors, 
but  they  are  both  printed  from  the  same  stone,  and  neither  technically 
nor  commercially  is  there  any  difference  between  the  two  lithographic 
prints. . 

In  consideration  of  the  above  facts,  we  think  that  there  can  not  be 
any  doubt  that  decalcomanias  are  lithographic  prints  and  should  be 
assessed  as  such  when  imported,  and  it  is  the  desire  of  the  importers 
and  dealers  in  decalcomania  to  have  these  goods  specifically  mentioned 
under  the  head  of  lithographic  prints,  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding,  in 
the  future,  disputes  as  to  the  classification  of  these  goods,  which  dis- 
putes not  only  handicap  the  importers,  but  which  have  proven  a  seri- 
ous drawback  to  the  cpnsiur^rs  of  our  goods,  mainly  the  American 
potters,  who  are  the  principal  users  of  this  raw  material. 

While  we  admit  the  contention  that  the  domestic  producer  should 
be  protected  as  far  as  possible,  the  American  potters  have  always 
looked,  and  are  now  looking,  to  the  importers  for  their  decorations, 
for  the  reason  of  their  variety  and  their  artistic  conception  and  being 
the  outcome  of  the  combined  talents  in  Europe  of  artists  employed  by 


LITHOGRAPHIC   PRINTS OTTO    PALM,   JR.,   ET  AL.  6135 

the  European  decalcomania  manufacturers  and  in  the  foremost  Euro- 
pean china  factories.  The  ideas  and  suggestions  offered  by  these 
foreign  artists  have  enabled  the  importers  of  foreign  decalcomanias  to 
give  to  American  potters  the  immediate  benefit  of  European  talent 
and  art  for  application  on  their  own  wares,  thus  enabling  the  Ameri- 
can potter  to  enter  into  immediate  competition  with  the  imported 
article.  Should  these  decorations  be  excluded  in  the  future  by  reason 
of  an  excessive  tariff,  it  will  mean  a  severe  setback  for  the  American 
potters,  as  they  will  no  longer  be  able  to  compete  with  the  foreign 
product,  and  any  increase  in  duty  on  the  decalcomania,  which  increase 
would  immediately  be  followed  by  a  proportionate  increase  in  the 
price  of  the  domestic  article,  would  reduce  the  protection  of  staple 
productions  in  the  pottery  line,  for  which  there  is  a  most  popular  de- 
mand. Such  an  increase  in  duty  on  decalcomania  would  afford  greater 
advantages  for  the  importation  of  foreign  goods,  thus  defeating  the 
principle  of  protection  for  the  benefit  of  a  comparatively  small  indus- 
try, employing  at  the  utmost  100  people,  at  the  expense  of  crippling 
an  industry  employing  25,000  people  and  involving  a  yearly  output  of 
about  $18,000,000. 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  that  conditions  for  some  years 
past  have  been  adverse  to  the  American  pottery  industry.  It  has 
been  confronted  by  conditions  in  foreign  competition  that  were  not 
foreseen  ten  years  ago.  It  is  a  safe  assertion  that  the  opportunity 
afforded  him  to  use  foreign  decalcomania  transfers,  thus  greatly  im- 
proving the  style  and  variety  of  his  decorations,  is  the  only  important 
thing  that  has  kept  him  in  the  market  with  comparative  success 
against  a  most  vigorous  and  aggressive  foreign  competition. 

Just  at  this  time  the  American  potters  are  entering  into  a  new 
field,  developing  their  goods  technically  and  artistically  by  making 
translucent  wares,  equal  in  quality  to  the  European  china,  and. 
furthermore,  by  producing  fancy  specialties  besides  the  common 
staple  goods.  It  is  imperative  and  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
American  potters  that  their  future  goods  are  decorated  as  perfectly 
and  artistically  as  the  European  goods,  and  in  order  to  do  so  the 
American  potter  absolutely  needs  the  foreign  decalcomanias,  made 
by  the  same  artist  who  produces  the  decorations  for  the  European 
china  factories.  No  greater  hindrance  could  be  thrown  in  his  way  to 
the  front  than  by  laying  a  prohibitively  high  duty  on  the  most  im- 
portant raw  material  which  he  uses  to-day. 

The  foregoing,  perhaps,  represents  the  sentimental  reasons  why 
decalcomania  transfers  should  be  brought  in  under  a  favorable  duty 
regarding  them  as  an  essential  raw  material  in  the  manufacture  of 
American  pottery,  but,  aside  from  this,  decalcomania  is  in  the  strictest 
technical  sense  a  lithographic  print,  and  altogether  aside  from  any 
interest  the  American  potter  may  have  in  this  subject,  it  is  entirely 
consistent  and  proper  that  decalcomania  transfers  and  lithographic 
prints  should  be  assessed  an  identical  duty. 

Therefore  in  conclusion  of  the  above  we  respectfully  beg  to  submit 
our  argument,  resting  briefly  upon  the  two  facts:  First,  a  printing 
from  a  lithographic  stone  can  be  nothing  but  a  lithographic  print, 
no  matter  to  what  purposes  that  printing  may  be  applied  subse- 
quently to  the  impressions  being  taken  upon  some  yielding  surface; 
second,  these  lithographic  prints  are  the  most  important  and  essential 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 24 


6136  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND    BOOKS. 

raw  material  used  solely  by  the  American  pottery  manufacturers,  and 
as  such  should  receive  a  favorable  consideration  when  embodied  in  a 
new  tariff  act. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

THE  COMMITTEE  OF  IMPORTERS  AND  MANUFACTURERS 

OF  DECALCOMANIA  TRANSFERS. 
CERAMIC  TRANSFER  Co., 

21  Washington  Place,  New  York. 
RUDOLF  GAERTNER, 

299  Broadway,  New  York. 
THE  PALM  BROS.  Co., 
OTTO  PALM,  Jr.,  President, 

148  Chambers  St.,  New.  York. 


EDWARD  P.  NORTH,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  SUGGESTS  A  DUTY  OF  ONE 
CENT  EACH  ON  IMPORTED  POST  CARDS. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  November  18, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  am  a  dissatisfied,  would-be  consumer  under  what  I 
consider  an  injustice  to  Americans  in  the  present  tariff  law. 

I  have  friends  in  Europe  who  send  me  picture  postal  cards.  The 
Italians  send  me  postals  made  in  Italy,  the  French  those  made  in 
France,  and  the  British  those  made  in  England. 

When  I  wish  to  return  the  compliment  I  am  forced  to  send  some- 
thing "  made  in  Germany."  This  discrimination  against  the  art  of 
my  country  I  object  to  essentially. 

The  difficulty  is  said  to  lie  in  the  fact  that  cards  made  in  Germany, 
due  to  the  low  wages  of  lithographers  there,  are  cheaper  than  those 
made  in  this  country. 

As  ornamental  postal  cards  are  a  luxury,  and  as  such  palpably 
subject  to  a  revenue  tax,  I  hope  your  honorable  committee  will  see  its 
way  clear  to  impose  a  specific  duty  of  1  cent  each  on  lithographed  or 
otherwise  ornamented  postal  cards.  Then  your  petitioner  will  be 
able  to  return  the  civilities  of  his  European  friends  with  pride  and 
pleasure. 

Very  respectfully  submitted. 

EDWARD  P.  NORTH. 


THE  CROXALI  CHEMICAL  AND  SUPPLY  COMPANY,  EAST  LIVER- 
POOL, OHIO,  ASKS  TO  HAVE  DUTY  REMOVED  FROM  DECALCO- 
MAITIA  TRANSFERS. 

EAST  LIVERPOOL,  OHIO,  November  18, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE. 

Chairman  Ways  ana  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  0. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  beg  to  respectfully  call  your  attention  to  the  sched- 
ule under  which  decalcomania  transfers  used  by  pottery  manufac- 


LITHOGRAPHIC    PRINTS J.    T.    CROXALL,.  6137 

turers  are  scheduled.  The  Dingley  bill  provided  for  a  specific  duty 
of  20  cents  per  pound.  These  goods  have  been  brought  into  this 
country  under  this  ruling  until  August  last,  when  the  same  was 
changed  by  an  order  from  the  court  in  Philadelphia. 

******* 

The  judge  decided  that  they  were  surface-coated  papers,  and  duty 
has  been  paid  under  protest  on  shipments  arriving  since  that  time. 

These  decalcomania  transfers  can  only  be  construed  as  raw  mate- 
rials. It  is  necessary  for  them  to  go  through  a  process  with  the 
American  potter  before  they  are  a  finished  product.  To  deprive  the 
American  pottery  manufacturer  of  the  privilege  of  going  abroad  and 
procuring  the  works  of  the  old  masters  to  decorate  his  ware  in  com- 
petition with  the  European  pottery  manufacturer  would  be  more 
deplorable  or  equally  so  at  least  than  a  reduction  in  the  present  tariff 
schedule  on  pottery. 

The  pottery  business  of  this  country  is  one  that  every  American 
citizen  can  feel  proud  of.  It  is  rapidly  growing  notwithstanding  the- 
fact  that  but  very  few  have  made  any  money  in  the  past  several  years 
owing  to  the  still  keen  competition  with  the  European  potters.  You 
will  therefore  see  that  to  deny  him  of  the  privilege  of  using  the 
European  transfers  to  decorate  his  ware  to  compete  with  the  foreign 
potters  would  be  most  disastrous  in  its  results  as  it  is  the  decorated 
effect  which  eventually  sells  the  goods. 

The  decalcomania  transfer  industry  is  insignificant  and  of  very 
small  importance  in  comparison  with  the  enormous  interests  in  the 
pottery  industry.  The  total  output  of  decalcomania  transfers  would 
not  exceed  in  value  the  output  of  one  fair-sized  pottery. 

We  believe  that  every  effort  will  be  made  by  European  pottery 
manufacturers,  especially  the  Germans,  to  see  that  a  high  tariff  is 
placed  on  decalcomania  transfers  so  that  the  American  potter  can  not 
afford  to  use  the  foreign  article,  and  consequently  cripple  him  in  his 
own  market  in  competition  with  the  German  goods. 

In  support  of  this  belief  we  are  in  receipt  of  a  communication  from 
Germany  from  a  confidential  source,  the  original  of  wrhich  we  would 
be  pleased  to  submit  to  your  honorable  body,  in  which  they  inform  us 
that  a  movement  has  been  started  to  increase  the  duty  on  decalco- 
mania by  German  potters  in  the  United  States,  as  they  fear  that  the 
American  potters  are  becoming  more  serious  competitors  to  them, 
especially  by  means  of  the  high-classed  decalcomania  of  which  they 
are  large  consumers  and  obtain  the  choicest  selections,  and  that  they 
have  succeeded  in  inducing  the  German  Government  to  advocate  a 
high  duty  on  decalcomania,  and  will  have  the  assistance  of  importers 
of  china  ware  in  this  country. 

In  conclusion  we  sincerely  trust  that  this  matter  will  be  thor- 
oughly looked  into,  feeling  confident  that  you  will  realize  the  impor- 
tance of  keeping  this  under  the  schedule  as  provided  for  in  the  Dingley 
bill,  namely,  at  20  cents  per  pound,  and  that  to  increase  the  duty  on 
this  article  would  be  a  gross  injustice  to  the  mammoth  American 
enterprise  such  as  this  pottery  business  is. 
Very  respectfully, 

J.  T.  CROXALL, 
For  CROXALL  CHEMICAL  AND  SUPPLY  COMPANY. 


6138  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND    BOOKS. 

STATEMENT  OF  GEORGE  R.  MEYERCORD,  CHAIRMAN  TARIFF 
COMMITTEE  OF  THE  NATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  EMPLOYING 
LITHOGRAPHERS,  CHICAGO,  ILL. 

SATURDAY,  November  81,  1908. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Mr.  Chairman  and  members  of  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee,  I  represent  the  tariff  committee  of  the  National 
Association  of  Employing  Lithographers,  representing  over  350  fac- 
tories, employing  a  capital  of  over  $50,000,000,  and  employing  over 
20,000  workmen,  and  desire  to  present  the  necessity  of  radical  changes 
regarding  the  import  duties  on  lithographic  products  of  all  de- 
scriptions. 

The  paragraphs  of  the  present  law  affecting  the  lithographic  in- 
dustry are  398  and  400,  which  read  as  follows : 

398.  Surface  coated  papers  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  Act,  two  and 
one-half  cents  per  pound  and  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem;  if  printed,  or 
wholly  or  partly  covered  with  metal  or  its  solutions,  or  with  gelatin  or  flock, 
three  cents  per  pound  and  twenty  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  parchment  papers, 
two  cents  per  pound  and  ten  per  centum  ad  valorem;  plain  basic  photographic 
papers  for  albumenizing,  sensitizing,  or  baryta  coating,  three  cents  per  pound 
and  ten  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  albumeuized  or  sensitized  paper  or  paper 
otherwise  surface  coated  for  photographic  purposes,  thirty  per  centum  ad 
valorem. 

400.  Lithographic  prints  from  stone,  zinc,  aluminum,  or  other  material, 
bound  or  unbound  (except  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands,  lettered  or  otherwise, 
music  and  illustrations  when  forming  a  part  of  a  periodical  or  newspaper  and 
accompanying  the  same,  or  if  bound  in  or  forming  a  part  of  printed  books,  not 
specially  provided  for  in  this  act),  on  paper  or  other  material  not  exceeding 
eight  one-thousandths  of  one  inch  in  thickness,  twenty  cents  per  pound;  on 
paper  or  other  material  exceeding  eight  one-thousandths  of  one  inch  and  not 
exceeding  twenty  one-thousandths  of  one  inch  in  thickness,  and  exceeding 
thirty-five  square  inches,-  but  not  exceeding  four  hundred  square  inches  cut- 
ting size  in  dimensions,  eight  cents  per  pound;  exceeding  four  hundred 
square  inches  cutting  size  in  dimensions,  thirty-five  per  centum  ad  va- 
lorem; prints  exceeding  eight  one-thousandths  of  one  inch  and  not  exceeding 
twenty  one-thousandths  of  one  inch  in  thickness,  and  not  exceeding  thirty-live 
square  inches  cutting  size  in  dimensions,  five  cents  per  pound;  lithographic 
prints  from  stone,  zinc,  aluminum,  or  other  material,  on  cardboard  or  other 
material,  exceeding  twenty  one-thousandths  of  one  inch  in  thickness,  six  cents 
per  pound:  lithographic  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands,  lettered  or  blank,  printed 
from  stone,  zinc,  aluminum,  or  other  material,  if  printed  in  less  than  eight 
colors  (bronze  printing  to  be  counted  as  two  colors),  but  not  including  labels, 
flaps,  and  bands  printed  in  whole  or  in  part  in  metal  leaf,  twenty  cents  per 
pound.  Labels,  flaps,  and  bands,  if  printed  entirely  in  bronze  printing,  fifteen 
cents  per  pound;  labels,  flaps,  and  bands  printed  in  eight  or  more  colors,  but 
not  including  labels,  flaps,  and  bands  printed  in  whole  or  in  part  in  metal  leaf, 
thirty  cents  per  pound ;  labels,  flaps,  and  bands  printed  in  whole  or  in  part  in 
metal  leaf,  fifty  cents  per  pound.  Books  of  paper  or  other  material  for  chil- 
dren's use,  containing  illuminated  lithographic  prints,  not  exceeding  in  weight 
twenty-four  ounces  each,  and  all  booklets  and  fashion  magazines  or  periodicals 
printed  in  whole  or  in  part  by  lithographic  process  or  decorated  by  hand, 
eight  cents  per  pound. 

We  ask  that  section  400  be  amended  to  read  as  follows — this  is  the 
proposed  amendment  to  paragraph  400: 

Lithographic  prints,  from  stone,  zinc,  aluminum,  or  other  material,  bound 
or  unbound,  not  elsewhere  specified,  and  any  article  made  up  in  chief  value  of 
lithographic  prints. 

These  are  additions  to  that  particular  part  of  the  paragraph.  The 
object  of  this  is  to  take  any  ambiguity  out  of  the  law. 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS — GEORGE  R.   MEYERCORD  ET  AL.       6139 

The  CHAIRMAN.  1  think  the  word  "  and  "  should  be  used  in  place 
of  the  word  "  or,"  as  the  court  might  interpret  that  to  involve  all 
those  items. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  It  reads: 

and  any  article  made  up  in  chief  value  of  lithographic  prints. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  mean  in  the  first  clause  "  or  other  material " 
should  read  "  and  other  material."  You  read  it,  "  lithographic  prints, 
from  stone,  zinc,  aluminum,  or  other  material."  The  court  might  con- 
strue that  to  involve  all  of  those  items  before  collecting  any  duty. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  I  thank  37ou  for  the  suggestion,  Mr.  Chairman. 

The  schedule  is: 

Rate  of  duty 
(cents  per  pound K 

On  paper  or  other  material  not  exceeding  y^j  inch  In  thickness__~ 30 

If  embossed  or  die  cut uo 

If  both  embossed  and  die  cut 30 

Exceeding  y^  inch  and  not  exceeding  1$$$  inch  in  thickness 20 

If  embossed  or  die  cut 22 

If  both  embossed  and  die  cut 24 

On  cardboard  or  other  material  exceeding  T§£ff  inch  in  thickness 12 

If  embossed  or  die  cut 1H 

If  both  embossed  and  die  cut 14 

It  then  goes  on  with  the  former  schedule.  "  Lithographic  cigar 
labels  "  we  have  changed  to  read  "  lithographic  labels,  flaps,  and 
bands,  lettered  or  blank,  printed  from  stone,  zinc,  aluminum,  or  other 
material." 

We  have  eliminated  the  word  "  cigar  "  and  have  made  it  read 
"  lithographic  labels,"  the  reason  for  that  being  that  perfume  labels, 
etc.,  produced  under  the  same  general  method  of  manufacture  re- 
ceive only  2  per  cent  or  3  per  cent  protection  under  the  Dingley  laAV. 
On  account  of  the  fact  that  they  are  very  small  and  high  class  and  in 
every  respect  identical  in  manufacture  to  the  cigar  label,  we  elimi- 
nate the  word  "  cigar  "  and  make  it  read : 

Lithographic  labels,  flaps,  and  bands,  lettered  or  blank,  printed  from  stone, 
zinc,  aluminum,  or  other  material. 

The  schedule  itself  reads : 

Rate  of  duty 
(per  pound  i. 

Labels  and  flaps,  if  printed  in  less  than  8  colors  (bronze  printing  to  be 
counted  as  three  colors),  but  not  including  metal  leaf  printing $0.30 

Bands  printed  in  less  than  8  colors  (bronze  printing  to  be  counted  as 
three  colors),  but  not  including  metal  leaf  printing .60 

Labels  and  flaps  printed  in  S  or  more  colors  (bronze  printing  to  be 
counted  as  three  colors),  but  not  including  metal  leaf  printing • .40 

Bands  printed  in  8  or  more  colors  (bronze  printing  to  be  counted  as 
three  colors),  but  not  including  metal  leaf  printing .80 

Labels  and  flaps  printed  in  whole  or  in  part  in  metal  leaf  and  not  over 

five  additional  printings .  50 

Labels  and  flaps  printed  in  whole  or  in  part  in  metal  leaf  and  over  five 
additional  printings .75 

Bands  printed  in  whole  or  in  part  in  metal  leaf  and  not  over  five  addi- 
tional printings 1. 00 

Bands  printed  in  whole  or  in  part  in  metal  leaf  and  over  five  additional 
printings 1.  50 

For  any  embossed  label,  flap,  or  band  add .10 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  doubling  the  duty,  generally? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  That  will  be  explained  later,  Mr.  Chairman. 


6140  SCHEDULE   M— PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  ask  you  if  that  is  not  a  fact,  that  it  is  doubling 
the  duty? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  In  some  instances  and  not  in  others. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  hope  you  will  explain  what  effect  that  would 
have  on  the  industries  which  use  these  things. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir. 

Decalcoinania  transfers:  Ceramic  prints  on  simplex  paper,  $2.50  per  pound. 

It  might  be  well  for  the  committee  to  see  a  sample. 
The  CHAIRMAN.  We  understand  about  that.     That  is  not  a  new 
subject. 
Mr.  MEYERCORD: 

Ceramic  prints  on  duplex  paper,  70  cents  per  pound. 

Simplex  is  the  single  sheet.  Duplex  is  the  double  sheet  in  the  form 
it  is  printed  [exhibiting  sample]. 

Decalcomania  transfers  backed  with  metal  leaf,  70  cents  per  pound. 
All  other  decalcomania  transfers,  45  cents  per  pound.  ' 

Here  is  an  amendment  to  the  present  schedule  which  reads : 

If  any  article  in  schedule  is  manufactured  of  lithographic  prints  of  different 
thicknesses,  the  major  portion  in  size  shall  control  the  rate. 

The  object  of  that  is,  sometimes  there  are  two  types  of  lithographs 
pasted  together — one  is  thin  stock  and  the  other  thick  stock — and 
they  come  within  different  divisions  of  the  schedule  on  account  of 
the  unit  of  thickness.  We  take  the  major  portion  in  size  as  the 
dividing  line  as  to  which  class  it  shall  come  under.  The  object  of 
that  is  to  prevent  any.  ambiguity  in  the  schedule  or  in  the  classi- 
fication. 

A  further  recommendation  which  we  make  reads : 

We  recommend  that  paragraph  398  be  amended  to  exclude  all  papers  printed 
by  lithographic  process,  so  that  all  lithographic  products  will  fall  within  the 
purview  of  paragraph  400  as  amended  herein. 

There  have  been  numerous  court  decisions  and  great  confusion  as 
to  paragraph  400.  It  is  probably  one  of  the  most  confusing  para- 
graphs to  interpret  in  the  entire  Dingley  tariff  act.  We  seek  to 
eliminate  that  confusion  and  bring  every  item  of  lithography  under 
the  purview  of  paragraph  400. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  much  would  that  increase  the  duty? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  That  would  be  about  a  stand-off,  in  some  cases 
lowering  and  in  some  cases  raising  the  duty.  You  might  cite  in- 
stances where  paragraph  400  will  even  apparently  double  the  duty, 
will  put  some  items  at  a  very  small  ad  valorem  and  other  items  at  a 
prohibitive  rate;  but  the  general  intent  is  to  clarify  the  air  in  the 
sense  of  seeking  to  adhere  to  practically  a  uniform  standard  of 
protection. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Why  not  bring  those  items  in  under  paragraph 
398? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Simply  because  there  are  provisions  here  that 
cover  them  in  paragraph  400,  under  eight  one-thousandths  of  an  inch 
in  thickness.  In  other  words,  the  surface-coated  paper  lithographic 
prints  represent  a  sheet  form  of  product  that  comes  in  intended  to  be 
used  on  the  outside  of  candy  boxes  and  the  like,  and  the  same  process 
of  manufacture  would  be  used  for  a  print  that  would  come  under 
that  part  of  the  paragraph  reading,  "  not  exceeding  eight  one-thou- 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS GEORGE  E.  MEYEBCOBD  ET  AL.       6141 

sandths  of  1  inch  in  thickness."  It  is  the  same  principle  and  there 
is  no  sense  in  having  that  come  under  a  new  schedule  entirely. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  We  had  here  the  other  day,  when  the  tea  schedule 
was  under  discussion,  some  exhibits  of  very  elaborate  packages  in 
which  the  tea  was  imported,  some  of  them  being  very  elaborately 
engraved  and  lithographed,  which  were  admitted  free,  as  they  claimed. 
Does  this  amendment  cover  the  use  of  those  packages? 

Mr  MEYERCORD.  That,  I  should  say,  would  come  under  the  dis- 
tinctly administrative  section,  it  being  the  wrapper  that  contains  the 
tea  shipped  to  this  country. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  turns  out  that  was  an  entire  mistake  and  that 
that  is  amply  provided  for. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  This  industry  is  somewhat  more  than  100  years 
old ;  originated  in  Germany  and  from  there  has  spread  to  all  coun- 
tries of  the  world.  It  has  assumed  a  very  considerable  magnitude 
and,  like  most  industries  carried  on  in  this  country  (but  to  a  greater 
extent  than  most  others) ,  the  workmen  have  prospered,  receiving  large 
remuneration  for  their  services,  thereby  becoming  self-respecting, 
thrifty  citizens. 

The  present  tariff  is  a  most  inequitable  one.  It  is  most  crudely  de- 
vised, not  properly  divided  into  classes  of  work,  making  it  very  diffi- 
cult for  the  government  officers  to  determine  as  to  what  class  the  work 
belongs,  and  on  many  classes  of  importation  affords  absolutely  no 
protection  at  all. 

From  almost  all  of  the  States  of  Europe,  particularly  from  the 
German  Empire,  imports  come,  the  reason  for  this  being  that  the 
lithographers  in  Germany  receive  less  wages  than  those  of  other  States 
of  Europe. 

We  should  have  revision  because  wages  paid  in  the  lithographic  in- 
dustry in  the  German  Empire  are,  stated  broadly,  at  the  rate  of  1 
mark  (say  24  cents)  to  $1  paid  here. 

In  Germany  a  lithographic  artist  is  paid  32  to  36  marks  ($8  to  $9) 
per  week ;  a  man  of  like  ability  in  this  country  is  paid  from  $30  to  $35 
per  week. 

In  Germany  a  steam-press  printer  is  paid  from  20  to  32  marks  ($5 
to  $8)  per  week,  and  from  $20  to  $35  per  week  in  this  country.  - 

In  Germany  feeders  (female  labor)  are  paid  from  $3  to  $4  per  week, 
while  the  minimum  in  this  country  (male  labor)  is  $10.50  per  week 
on  the  smallest  press  and  running  up  to  $17  per  week  on  the  largest 
press. 

A  like  proportion  holds  good  in  every  branch  of  the  industry. 

The  industry  in.  Germany  is  fostered  by  States  or  municipalities. 
Schools  of  art  and  drawing  are  established  and  maintained  at  the  cost 
of  the  State  or  municipality,  thereby  placing  more  efficient  workmen 
in  the  trade  than  is  possible  at  present  in  this  country. 

The  unions  connected  with  the  lithographic  industry  in  this  country 
have  established  a  minimum  weekly  wage  for  artists,  engravers,  trans- 
ferers,  provers,  and  printers  of  $20  per  week.  The  employers'  organ- 
ization have  accepted  this  as  their  own,  and  there  is  no  member  of  an 
employers'  association  in  the  United  States  at  the  present  time  paying 
less  than  the  minimum  scale  of  wages ;  on  the  contrary,  they  are  pay- 
ing very  much  larger  wages. 

In  the  printing  department  the  employers  are  paying  a  minimum 
rate  on  Xos.  1,  2,  and  3  ston«  presses  of  $20  per  week;  Nos.  3£  and  4£, 


6142  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,   PAPERS,   AND    BOOKS. 

$22  per  week;  Nos.  5  and  5|,  $25  per  week;  one-color  rotary,  $25  per 
week;  two-color  rotary,  $27  per  week;  three-color  rotary,  $30  per 
week,  while  the  wages  paid  are  generally  much  higher  than  the  mini- 
mum rate. 

Transferors  and  provers  are  paid  very  much  higher  wages  than  the 
minimum  adopted  by  the  union,  few  in  the  larger  cities  working  for 
less  than  $25  per  week,  and  from  that  up  to  $40  per  week. 

The  minimum  for  stone  artists  is  $20  per  week,  but  the  great  ma- 
jority of  artists  are  paid  above  $25  per  week,  their  wages  running  up 
to  $60  per  week,  while  sketch  artists  are  paid  from  $25  to  $100  per 
week,  or  more. 

The  workmen  in  other  branches  of  the  industry  are  paid,  as  stated 
above,  at  least  four  times  as  much  as  is  paid  in  Germany.  This  is 
particularly  noticeable  in  the  employment  of  female  labor.  It  can  be 
stated  that  there  are  few,  if  any,  work  girls  in  this  country  in  our  in- 
dustry paid  less  than  the  minimum  wage  of  $5  per  week,  the  great 
majority  being  paid  much  higher  wages,  while  the  wages  paid  in  Ger- 
many for  like  labor  is  from  $1  to  $1.50  per  week. 

A  bulletin  recently  issued  by  the  United  States  Census  Bureau 
shows  that  the  average  weekly  wage  paid  to  all  those  engaged  in  the 
lithographic  industry,  whether  skilled  or  unskilled,  amounts  to  $16.45 
per  week,  there  being  only  one  vocation  (that  of  lapidary)  which  is 
paid  higher. 

Because  the  manufacturers  of  lithographic  prints  in  Germany  sell 
goods  in  this  country  below  the  market  price  for  the  same  goods  in 
Germany,  and  in  some  cases  bill  goods  to  their  own  branch  offices  in 
this  country  at  less  than  the  market  price  there. 

If  you  would  like  to  have  me  qualify  that  statement  I  can  show 
you  how  it  is  done. 

A  common  practice  being  that  the  cost  for  the  designing  and  draw- 
ing on  stone  is  not  included,  but  this  portion  of  the  cost  is  calculated 
upon  the  price  for  the  European  market;  the  value  of  such  work  is 
in  many  cases  greater  than  the  cost  of  printing  and  paper  and  is  not 
included  in  the  exporters'  invoice.  These  practices  result  in  making 
the  figures  of  our  Treasury  Department  very  inaccurate  and  unre- 
liable as  to  what  the  present  specific  duty  on  lithographic  prints  pro- 
duces in  ad  valorem  equivalent.  The  computations  made  by  the 
Treasury  Department  are  based  on  the  values  given  on  the  foreign 
exporters'  invoices,  which,  as  above  stated,  are  not  the  true  value  of 
the  goods  abroad. 

Importations  of  lithographic  prints  (exclusive  of  those  articles, 
very  large  in  number,  which  were  classified  as  "  manufactures  of 
paper  ")  amounted  in  the  year  1899  to  $799,475 ;  in  the  year  1907  to 
$3,968,542;  in  1908.  the  last  fiscal  year  ending  in  July,  to  $4,911,102. 
There  were  several  million  dollars  additional  to  that  not  included 
under  paragraph  400.  Approximately  $7,000.000  worth  of  paper 
was  imported  in  the  last  twelve  months. 

You  will  notice  that  we  do  not  give  the  importations  prior  to  1899, 
and  regret  that  we  can  not  do  so,  which  is  due  to  the  fact  that  all  arti- 
cles in  the  paper  schedule,  including  lithographs,  parchment  papers, 
etc.,  were  combined  in  one  item  in  previous  reports  of  the  Treasury 
Department.  These  importations  were  not  segregated  until  the  enci 
of  the  fiscal  year  1899. 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS GEORGE  R.  MEYERCORD  ET  AL,.       6143 

Based  on  the  figures  furnished  by  the  Treasury  Department,  the 
specific  duty  transferred  to  an  ad  valorem  rate  (computed  on  the  er- 
roneous values  given  in  the  invoices)  amounted  to  0.1923  per  cent. 

To  illustrate :  In  certain  articles,  such  as  cigar  bands,  the  European 
manufacturers  have  taken  the  largest  part  of  the  market  out  of  our 
hands,  and  a  number  of  American  manufacturers  have  been  obliged 
to  import  the  articles  instead  of  doing  the  work  in  this  country,  owing 
to  the  lower  cost  of  production  abroad. 

We  give  figures  showing  what  the  percentage  of  wages,  paper, 
materials,  etc.,  is  to  entire  cost  of  production,  as  also  the  duty  we 
have  to  pay  under  the  present  tariff  law. 


Percentage 
of  total  cost 
of  produc- 
tion. 

Duty  under 
present 
tariff. 

Wages 

41 

Per  cent. 

Paper,  surface-coated 

29J 

0.555 

Materials      -          -            -- 

16 

20  to  45 

Insurance,  rent,  and  power 

7 

Color 

3 

30 

Bronze  and  metal  leaf 

I] 

23j  to  .909 

Superintendence  -.  .      

2 

100 

The  yearlv  value  of  the  product  of  the  industry  in  the  United 
States  is  not  less  than  $25,000.000. 

Computed  on  the  official  statistics  of  importations  published  by  the 
Treasury  Department  for  the  fiscal  year  1907  the  specific  and  ad 
valorem  duties  were  equal  to  0.1923  per  cent.  The  wages  in 
the  United  States  equaling  41  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  production 
stated  at  $17,500.000  would  amount  to  $7,175,000,  while  the  wages 
paid  in  Germany  would  amount  to  $1,793,750,  showing  increased 
wages  paid  in  the  United  States  of  $5,381,250  on  a  production  at  cost 
of  $17,500.000,  which  shows  that  the  specific  rate  in  the  present  tariff 
laws,  which  only  produced  0.1923  per  cent  ad  valorem,  does  not  pro- 
tect the  workingman  in  the  United  States. 

That  we  are  losing  business  under  the  present  tariff  at  a  rapid  rate 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  during  the  depression  in  business  in  1908  the 
production  in  the  United  States  has  decreased  about  25  per  cent,  while 
the  imports  during  the  same  period  have  increased  nearly  30  per  cent, 
thus  depriving  our  workmen  of  employment. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  total  production  in  the  United 
States? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  About  $25.000.000. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  how  much  do  the  imports  amount  to? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  About  $7,000,000.  which  after  the  duty  is  paid  and 
the  cost  of  marketing,  which  is  very  large,  makes  it  run  to  $11,000,000 
or  $12,000,000. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  am  talking  about  the  amount  of  importations. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  About  $7,000.000. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  do  the  exports  amount  to? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  I  have  not  those  figures,  but  I  do  not  believe  they 
amount  to  more  than  $1,000.000. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Where  do  you  send  the  foreign  shipments  to? 


6144  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND    BOOKS. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Where  do  we  export  to? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Largely  to  Mexico,  Canada,  and  Cuba;  just  our 
close  markets. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  you  come  in  competition  in  those  countries 
with  this  class  of  paper  made  in  this  country,  or  is  it  paper  shipped 
from  abroad? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Largely  paper  shipped  from  abroad. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  would  suggest,  Mr.  Underwood,  that  you  permit 
the  witness  to  finish  his  statement,  as  there  is  a  larger  number  of  peo- 
ple to  be  heard  to-day  than  yesterday. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Very  well;  that  is  entirely  satisfactory  to  me. 
I  thought  he  nad  finished  his  statement. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  It  is  deemed  wise  to  separate  decalcomania,  and 
give  it  a  separate  schedule  entirely.  The  Hon.  J.  B.  Keynolds, 
Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  suggested  this  be  done;  also 
numerous  customs  officers  deem  it  necessary.  And,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  decalcomania  is  a  separate  article  of  commerce,  bought  and  sold, 
and  has  a  different  use  than  lithographs,  and,  further,  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  industry  represents  several  millions  a  year  in  sales,  it  is 
important  enough  to  be  separately  classified.  There  are  a  number  of 
factories  that  manufacture  decalcomania  in  this  country. 

Decalcomania  is  a  transfer  picture  printed  either  on  simplex  or 
double  paper.  It  is  transferred  from  this  paper  to  furniture,  ma- 
chinery, pottery,  glass,  and  the  like,  and  consists  of  three  distinct 
types  for  the  purpose  of  customs  classification. 

Ceramic  prints  are  all  printed  on  duplex  paper,  but  can  be  turned 
into  simplex  by  stripping  the  tissue  from  the  heavier  backing  paper, 
and  hence  when  in  tissue-paper  form  would  weigh  very  little,  only 
20  to  28  pounds  per  thousand  sheets.  Ceramic  decalcomania  is  used 
for  decorating  china  and  glassware,  and  is  composed  of  metallic 
colors,  which  metallic  colors  are  almost  entirely  imported,  and  now 
pay  30  per  cent  ad  valorem  tariff.  Duplex  paper  never  has  been  made 
in  this  country,  and  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  make  it  in  this 
country,  and  pays  35  per  cent  ad  valorem.  It  was  originally  classified 
under  the  Dingley  law  under  paragraph  403  at  25  per  cent  ad  valorem, 
but  advanced  to  35  per  cent  ad  valorem,  as  a  result  of  a  court  deci- 
sion, and  classified  under  paragraph  407,  as  a  manufacture  of  paper. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  metal  leaf  used  is  aluminum  leaf,  and 
at  6  cents  per  hundred  leaves,  the  tariff  is  equivalent  to  70  per  cent 
on  the  value,  and  as  metal  leaf  represents  a  large  proportion  of  the 
cost  of  the  article,  and  as  it  weighs  practically  nothing,  the  duty  is 
placed  at  70  cents  per  pound. 

The  other  than  ceramic  decalcomania  transfers  prints  can  not  be 
successfully  shipped  as  tissue  stock,  hence  there  is  no  need  of  men- 
tioning the  word  simplex  or  duplex  in  connection  with  same. 

The  brief  is  signed  by  Robert  M.  Donaldson,  Horace  Reed,  and 
myself. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  know  what  the  domestic  production  under 
paragraph  400  was  in  1905,  according  to  the  census  of  that  vear? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  About  $25.000.000,  lithographs  of  all  kinds. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  importations  last  year  were  $3,930,000 — 
about  $4,000,000? 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS — GEORGE  R.  MEYERCORD  BT  AL.      6145 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  I  find  that  I  have  skipped  a  number  of  years,  but 
the  importations  were  $3,968,000  in  1907  and  $4,911,000  in  1908. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  proportion  of  that  is  used  by  the  manufac- 
turers ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  The  manufacturers  and  jobbers  consume  prac- 
tically all  of  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  do  not  care  about  the  jobbers.  I  want  to  find 
out  about  the  manufacturers,  what  proportion  of  this  product  they 
consume. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  I  venture  to  say  that  they  consume  90  per  cent 
of  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  So  that  the  general  heavy  increase  you  propose 
would  necessitate  a  readjustment  of  the  tariff  duties  to  the  manufac- 
turers who  use  the  same  article,  providing  they  have  not  any  more 
than  a  sufficient  protection  now  ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  This  is  a  widespread  industry.  There  is  a  multi- 
tude of  small  consumers;  about  350  factories. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  They  sell  wholesale.  Take  the  crockery  people. 
We  have  already  heard  some  rumbles  from  them  on  what  they  have 
to  pay  now. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir.  They  receive  a  protection  of  30  per  cent 
on  color  and  35  per  cent  on  paper,  and  there  is  a  very  large  differ- 
ential against  us — of  nearly  20  per  cent.  We  have  to  pay  a  premium 
to  do  business  in  our  own  country. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  crockery  people  receive  60  per  cent  protec- 
tion ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  They  say  that  they  do  not  receive  over  30  per  cent 
on  an  honest  valuation? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  That  is  up  to  them ;  I  am  not  knocking  them. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  am  only  telling  you  what  they  claim.  I  am  not 
a  crockery  man.  You  have  not  considered  the  effect  on  the  other 
industries  ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  It  would  be  very  small,  Mr.  Chairman ;  and,  fur- 
thermore, it  is  a  luxury ;  and  if  the  manufacturer,  for  instance,  who 
pays— 

The  CHAIRMAN  (interrupting).  The  manufacture  of  crockery  is 
hardly  a  luxury. 

Mr.  MEYERCQRD.  That  is  a  different  article.  I  am  talking  about  the 
lithographic  label  used  for  advertising.  He  can  use  other  means, 
but  if  he  desires  a  lithographic  label  he  can  adopt  it  as  a  matter  of 
pride,  as  representative  of  a  higher  class  of  stuff  that  he  has  put  out 
as  an  advertisement. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Where  did  you  get  your  prices  of  labor? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  From  statistics  in  signed  letters  from  manufac- 
turers abroad,  giving  the  rate  they  pay. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Please  file  them  with  the  committee. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  I  have  some  copies  and  some  originals.  I  will 
file  the  originals  with  the  committee. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  will  print  the  copies  in  the  hearing  and  have 
the  originals  for  the  use  of  the  committee. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir.  It  is  a  national  industry.  For  instance, 
out  in  Indiana  we  have  a  good  many  manufacturers.  We  have  three 
or  four  in  Indianapolis.  We  have  some  Down  East — in  New  England. 


6146  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,   AND    BOOKS. 

St.  Louis  is  very  well  represented.  The  State  of  Missouri  has  15  or 
20  factories,  and  there  are  manufacturers  down  in  Texas,  in  the  Caro- 
linas,  in  Georgia,  and  in  Louisiana.  They  are  scattered  from  ocean 
to  ocean. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  manufacturers  have  been  able  to  get  some 
profit  in  the  past? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  You  must  understand,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  there 
is  a  large  part  of  this  business  that  is  orders  for  original  designs  and 
must  be  delivered  quicker,  hence  impossible  to  import ;  but  on  dupli- 
cate orders  where  six  months'  time  can  be  given  the  importer  com- 
petes. It  is  on  this  duplicate  order  business  or  the  staple  end  of  the 
game  that  the  importer  is  now  getting  very  much  the  better  of  the 
American  manufacturer. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  must  get  more  than  that  or  the  amount  of  the 
American  production  would  not  be  so  large. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  The  domestic  production  of  color  lithography  has 
decreased  and  imports  have  increased  about  1,000  per  cent  under  the 
Dingley  law. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  increase  is  taken  from  the  figures  you  have 
quoted? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  There  is  a  large  increase  ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Wages  are  41  per  cent  of  the  total  cost  of  Ameri- 
can manufacture.  We  require  as  a  differential  for  labor,  protec- 
tion of  31  per  cent,  for  the  difference  in  labor  alone.  On  the  ma- 
terial or  our  raw  product  the  average  duty  is  about  40  per  cent.  That 
raw  material  is  50  per  cent  of  our  cost  of  manufacture.  Thus  we  re- 
quire a  protection  of  40  per  cent  on  this  50  per  cent,  or  20  per  cent 
net  differential,  to  cover  difference  in  cost  of  our  raw  material.  We 
therefore  require  50  per  cent  net  protection  to  really  be  on  a  free- 
trade  basis  in  our  own  home  market. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Please  file  a  statement  of  the  principal  materials 
you  use,  the  percentage  compared  with  the  whole  amount  used — by 
dollars,  not  by  quantity. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  different  classes  of  material. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  We  have  that  all  figured  out  now. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  How  much  of  this  entire  production  consists  of  the 
illuminated  postal  cards,  Christmas  cards,  Easter  cards,  etc.  ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORO.  Of  the  imports,  approximately  $2,000,000. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  How  much  is  the  domestic  production  ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Not  one-quarter  of  that. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  The  reason  I  asked  that  question  was  because  wher- 
ever I  see  these  illuminated  postal  cards  they  say,  "  Made  in  Munich  " 
or  "  Made  in  Nuremberg." 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir.  That  is  a  product  that  is  only  paying 
about  14  per  cent.  I  will  illustrate  to  yon  how  that  is  arrived  at. 
For  instance:  The  German  manufacturer  makes  for  the  German, 
French,  or  English  market  a  series  of  40  pictures.  He  puts  the  Ger- 
man lettering  on  those  for  the  German  market.  He  can  then  give 
these  plates  a  slight  alteration  by  changing  the  wording  suitable  to 
the  American  market  and  print  up  a  limited  quantity  and  ship  to 
America;  thus  naming  a  price  eliminating  the  cost  of  the  plates, 
which  may  have  cost  four  times  as  much  as  the  bill  of  printed  paper 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS GEORGE  R.  MEYERCORD  ET  AL,        6147 

is  worth.  Yet  the  American  manufacturer  would  of  necessity  had 
to  pay  for  the  plates,  and  that  is  where  the  erroneous  valuation  of 
import  invoices  conies  in. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  What  I  am  trying  to  get  at  is,  where  a  man  in  Mu- 
nich makes  a  large  series  of  postal  cards — views  of  Pittsburg,  Chi- 
cago, and  other  cities — how  does  he  get  his  photographs?  Do  they 
pay  any  duty  on  entering  Germany  ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  No;  he  can  enter  them  by  saying  that  they  are 
for  foreign  work. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  What  I  want  to  get  at  is  whether  the  German  can 
get  all  the  material  for  making  the  postal  cards  into  Germany  freej 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir;  they  are  admitted  for  export  work  free. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Then  they  send  the  postal  cards  back  and  we  pay  the 
full  duty  on  them? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  If  we  can  collect  here  the  ad  valorem  duty  on  a 
fair  valuation  of  those  goods,  would  the  protection  under  the  present 
law  be  somewhere  near  adequate  ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  No,  sir;  absolutely  not.  There  is  31  per  cent 
differential  right  on  the  wages  in  favor  of  the  foreign  manufacturer 
at  this  moment. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  say  on  a  fair  valuation. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  You  can  really  say  it  is  a  fair  valuation  on  the 
cost  of  printing. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Suppose  the  valuation  was  fixed  at  the  wholesale 
price  in  this  country? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  That  is  a  peculiar  situation  in  the  industry.  A 
man  can  use  these  plates  that  he  has  on  stone  and  print  up  a  job  for 
one-quarter  of  what  the}7  can  be  made  for  across  the  street  even  in 
Germany,  just  because  he  has  already  received  pay  for  the  plates  or 
engravings  from  another  customer.  The  plate  is  the  pattern,  and  if 
a  man  has  the  pattern  he  can  go  ahead  and  make  up  the  cards  for 
almost  nothing,  but  if  he  has  to  make  the  pattern  then  he  has  an 
awful  job  before  him. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  the  same  with  all  manufacturers. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  The  plate  is  what  brings  the  valuation  erroneously 
so  very  low,  and  even  at  the  specific  duty  paid  there  is  only  19  per 
cent  protection  under  the  Dingley  law.  The  hearings  on  the  Dingley 
law  would  indicate  that  this  product  was  to  get  more  than  twice  that. 
That  was  the  intent,  but  the  importers  were  so  much  better  posted 
lhat  the  schedule  was  made  to  suit  them,  and  the  thing  has  worked 
out  until  the  American  manufacturer  receives  only  about  19  per  cent 
protection. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  statistics  seem  to  show,  aside  from  the  postal- 
card  business,  which  you  say  is  about  $2,000,000,  that  you  have  not 
been  driven  entirely  out  of  the  market. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  But  you  must  understand  that  there  are  photo- 
graph postals  and  various  other  processes  than  lithograph  postals. 
The  most  expensive  postals  get  the  same  protection  that  the  other 
types  receive.  The  consequence  is  that  the  postal-card  industry  on 
high-class  colored  stuff  is  all  German  make.  The  cheaper  grades  of 
picture  work  are  made  here.  The  lithographer  requires  on  postal 
cards  about  30  per  cent  additional  protection  to  put  him  on  an  equal- 
ity or  free  trade  basis  in  his  own  home  market. 


6148  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Which  is  used  by  the  manufacturers,  the  high- 
class  work  or  the  low-class  work? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  That  depends  on  the  taste  of  the  fellow. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  proportion  of  high-class  work  is  used  by  the 
manufacturers  ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  They  buy  the  best. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  So  that  all  that  is  used  by  the  manufacturers  is  the 
high-class  work? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Usually.  It  depends  on  whether  the  manufac- 
turer is  selling  high-class  goods. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Practically  all? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMP  ACKER.  Is  there  anything  in  the  quality  of  the  imported 
article  that  gives  it  an  advantage  over  your  article? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD^  No,  sir.  There  are  manufacturers  in  this  country 
who  make  the  finest  there  is  in  the  world. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  There  is  no  superiority  in  point  of  work  or  qual- 
ity in  the  imported  article? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  No,  sir;  except  in  the  ability  of  the  American 
salesman  in  competing  at  a  disadvantage  to  induce  the  customer  to 
allow  him  to  cheapen  the  plates  so  that  he  can  get  in  on  the  deal. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Are  there  any  manufacturers  or  consumers  in 
this  country  who  buy  the  foreign  article  because  it  is  made  abroad  ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir.  That  is  according  to  the  ability  of  the 
salesman  of  the  importer  to  convince  him  that  it  is  better. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  You  want  the  tariff  high  enough  so  as  to  practi- 
cally compel  them  to  buy  American  goods? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Give  us  free  trade  in  our  own  home  market.  That 
is  all  we  want  and  we  will  lick  him. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  If  you  had  the  increase  in  the  schedule  of  tariff 
you  ask  for  it  would  probably  prohibit  the  importation  of  any  foreign 
product,  would  it? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  We  want  free  trade  in  our  home  market;  that  is 
all  we  want.  I  am  a  free  trader  above  the  51  per  cent  basis. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  You  say  that  the  importer  of  the  foreign  product 
in  this  market  has  actually  the  same  footing  as  you  under  existing 
conditions  ? 

Mr.  MErERcoRD.  He  has  a  better  footing  by  25  per  cent. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  And  yet,  notwithstanding  that,  you  control 
about  85  per  cent  of  all  the  product? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  No,  sir.  Of  colored  work  about  50  per  cent.  There 
is  a  great  amount  of  work  that  is  not  produced  abroad,  the  letter- 
heading  work. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  The  total  amount  of  the  production  in  1905  was 
$25,000,000. 

Mr.  MEFERCORD.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  And  the  total  importations  were  about 
$4,000,000.  So  it  seems  from  your  statement  that  you  have  almost 
a  monopoly  of  the  market  and  that  you  are  not  at  such  a  disad- 
vantage ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  That  is  one  way  of  looking  at  it.  The  imports 
under  paragraph- 400  alone  were  $5.000,000  European  value.  Under 
paragraphs  398  and  407  several  million  additional  arrived  at  Eu- 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS GEORGE  R.  MEYERCORD  ET  AX,.       6149 

ropean  value.  You  must  take  the  American  market  price.  Last  year 
it  must  have  amounted  to  $11,000,000  or  $12,000,000. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  You  stated  that  the  importations  under  the 
Dingley  tariff  law  had  increased  1,000  per  cent. 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Has  the  domestic  production  increased  1,000  per 
cent? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  It  has  stood  still  practically. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Has  there  not  been  an  enormous  increase  in  the 
issue  of  these  prints  during  the  last  several  years  ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  In  the  twelve  years  of  the  Dingley  law  American 
lithograph  production  has  advanced  possibly  20  per  cent.  All  of  it 
on  noncompetitive  quick  delivery  work.  On  the  imported  product 
1,000  per  cent  at  the  same  time  under  the  Dingley  law. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  At  the  time  that  the  Dingley  law  was  enacted 
the  importations  were  of  necessity  very  small? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Because  we  had  reasonable  protection.  We  had 
larger  protection  under  the  Wilson-Gorman  Act. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  The  rates  were  higher  under  the  Wilson-Gorman 
Act  than  under  the  Dingley  law? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Paragraph  400  is  manifestly  a  very  complicated 
one? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  It  has  been  in  operation  for  nearly  twelve  years? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  I  presume  all  of  its  provisions  have  been  applied 
and  interpreted  so  that  there  is  practically  no  uncertainty  about  it 
now? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  And  decisions  have  been  made  covering  prac- 
tically every  provision? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  So  although  the  decisions  may  not  be  satisfac- 
tory to  you  the  questions  have  been  settled  ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  And  if  the  changes  you  suggest  should  be  made 
it  would  open  up  a  new  field  of  controversy  which  would  probably 
take  ten  years  to  settle  ? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  No,  sir.  We  have  gotten  it  to  a  point  where  all 
questions  will  rest  on  just  about  three  general  propositions. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Would  it  not  be  better  if  Congress  decided  to  in- 
crease the  rates  of  tariff,  to  simply  increase  the  rates  provided  in  the 
Dingley  law  than  to  enact  a  lot  of  new  provisions? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  They  are  not  new  provisions.  There  are  very  few 
changes,  and  if  you  submit  this  suggested  amendment  to  the  law  di- 
vision of  the  customs  bureau  I  venture  to  say  that  they  will  report 
that  every  suggestion  that  we  have  made  tends  to  clarify  the  at- 
mosphere on  paragraph  400. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  I  have  no  further  questions. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  There  are  49  names  of  gentlemen  on  the  list  to  be 
heard  to-day.  Mr.  Meyercord  has  presented  his  case  very  fully  and 
given  facts  very  fully  covering  the  whole  case,  and  I  want  to  know  if 


6150  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND    BOOKS. 

you  gentlemen  can  not  select  one  or  two  others  of  the  delegation  to 
make  the  oral  argument  in  addition  to  what  Mr.  Meyercord  has  said 
and  then  content  yourselves  with  filing  briefs  as  to  the  balance  ? 

Mr.  BLANEY.  I  was  going  to  say,  with  the  idea  of  saving  your  time 
and  the  committee's  time,  that  I  have  made  some  suggested  changes 
in  a  brief  which  I  will  file  with  the  committee  so  as  to  save  your  time, 
and  my  remarks  will  not  exceed  five  minutes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  difficulty  is  that  you  will  talk  for  ten  minutes 
and  then  the  committee  will  ask  you  questions  for  an  hour  on  some- 
thing that  is  in  your  brief. 

Mr.  BLANEY.  I  will  not  read  my  brief,  but  I  will  submit  it  and  it 
can  be  taken  up  at  the  leisure  of  the  committee. 


STATEMENT  OF  FRANK  J.  BLANEY,  REPRESENTING  FORBES 
LITHOGRAPH  MANUFACTURING  CO.,  BOSTON,  MASS. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  BLANEY.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  I 
appear  on  behalf  of  the  Forbes  Lithograph  Manufacturing  Company, 
of  Boston,  Mass.,  a  large  concern.  It  is  not  a  member  of  the  National 
Association,  as  is  Mr.  Meyercord,  but  we  indorse  in  every  particular 
the  brief  he  has  submitted,  with  a  few  minor  changes  which  we 
believe  would  be  clearer. 

This  imported  work  is  not  used  very  largely  on  manufactured 
products.  Imported  work  is  used  principally  as  advertising.  It  is 
not  work  where  if  there  were  a  little  increase  in  the  price  it  would 
make  any  material  difference  to  the  manufacturer  in  the  cost  of  his 
product,  and  if  the  statement  shall  be  made  that  the  imported  product 
is  brought  into  this  country  because  the  American  lithographer  can 
not  produce  it  as  good  as  it  is  done  abroad,  I  will  submit  these  sam- 
ples (exhibiting  samples)  of  our  commercial  work  in  contradiction. 

We  ask  most  earnestly  that  in  making  this  law  the  old  paragraph 
400  shall  be  ignored  entirely,  so  far  as  its  present  provisions  are  con- 
cerned, since  they  are  so  radically  wrong.  For  instance,  under 'the 
present  provision  a  show  card,  16  by  24,  on  paper  eight  one-thou- 
sandths of  1  inch  in  thickness,  should  bear  a  certain  rate.  If  you 
go  up  to  just  10  pounds  more  on  the  same  size  sheet  you  get  a  still 
different  rate,  a  rate  of  8  cents  a  pound.  If  you  go  still  further  to 
16  by  26,  thereby  having  a  square-inch  area  of  over  four  hundred, 
you  will  get  another  different  rate.  It  applies  from  a  specific  rate 
of  20  cents  on  paper  not  exceeding  eight  one-thousandths  of  an  inch 
in  thickness  to  an  ad  valorem  rate,  and  it  has  been  practically  im- 
possible to  get  a  fair  valuation  on  the  importations  while  the  ad 
valorem  rate  remains,  and  the  briefs  that  have  been  submitted  by 
Mr.  Meyercord  and  the  one  I  shall  file  with  you  seek  to  make  it  so 
clear  that  there  will  be  no  question  as  to  the  interpretation  of  the 
custom  officials. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  import  all  your  material? 

Mr.  BLANEY.  We  import  part  of  the  ink  and  all  of  the  bronze  and 
metal  leaf  that  are  used  in  printing. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  percentage  do  you  import  ? 


CIGAB  LABELS FRANK   J.   BLANEY.  6151 

Mr.  BLANEY.  We  import  all  the  inks  and  metal  leaf  that  are  used 
in  printing. 

This  is  a  very  widespread  industry.  There  are  350  establishments, 
and  the  competition  would  keep  down  any  arbitrary  advance  in  price 
to  the  manufacturers.  There  is  no  trust  in  the  business,  and  all  we 
ask,  Mr.  Chairman,  is  a  sufficient  protection  that  will  cover  the  differ- 
ence between  the  wages  paid  abroad  and  the  wages  paid  in  this  coun- 
try, plus  a  reasonable  profit. 


BRIEF  SUBMITTED  FOR  THE  FORBES  LITHOGRAPH  MANUFAC- 
TURING COMPANY,  BY  FRANK  J.  BLANEY,  DIRECTOR,  RELA- 
TIVE TO  LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  November  SO,  1908. 
To  Hon.  SEBENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIB  :  The  Forbes  Lithograph  Manufacturing  Company,  of  Boston,  lithog- 
raphers, established  at  that  point,  respectfully  present  the  following  recom- 
mendations as  an  amendment  to  the  schedule  proposed  on  lithographic  material 
(paragraph  400)  by  the  tariff  committee  of  the  National  Association  of  Em- 
ploying Lithographers. 

We  ask  that  section  400  of  the  1897  tariff  be  amended  to  read  as  follows : 

Proposed  amendment  to  paragraph  400. 

Lithographic  prints  from  stone,  zinc,  aluminum,  or  other  material,  bound  or 
unbound  (except  cigar  labels,  flaps,  bands,  or  other  small  labels),  not  elsewhere 
specified,  or  any  article  made  up  in  chief  value  of  lithographic  prints : 

Per 
pound. 
On  paper  or  other  material  not  exceeding  ten  one-thousandths  inch  in 

thickness $0.30 

If  embossed  or  die  cut .33 

If  both  embossed  and  die  cut .36 

Exceeding  ten  one-thousandths  inch  and  not  exceeding  twenty  one-thou- 
sandths inch  in  thickness .  25 

If  embossed  or  die  cut .  27 

If  both  embossed  and  die  cut .  29 

On  cardboard  or  other  material  exceeding  twenty  one-thousandths  inch 

in  thickness  .15 

If  embossed  or  die  cut .16 

If  both  embossed  and  die  cut .17 

Lithographic  labels,  flaps,  and  bands,  lettered  or  blank,  printed  from 
stone,  zinc,  aluminum,  or  other  material : 

Labels  and  flaps,  exceeding  10  square  inches,  if  printed  in  less  than  8 
colors  (bronze  printing  to  be  counted  as  3  colors),  but  not  including 
metal-leaf  printing .  30 

Small  labels  and  bands,  less  than  10  square  inches,  printed  in  less  than  8 
colors  (bronze  printing  to  be  counted  as  3  colors),  but  not  including 
metal-leaf  printing .60 

Labels  or  flaps,  exceeding  10  square  inches,  printed  in  8  or  more  colors 
(bronze  printing  to  be  counted  as  3  colors),  but  not  including  metal- 
leaf  printing .40 

Small  labels  and  bands,  less  than  10  square  inches,  printed  in  8  or  more 
colors  (bronze  printing  to  be  counted  as  3  colors),  but  not  including 
metal-leaf  printing .  80 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 25 


6152  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPEBS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Per 

pound. 
Labels  and  flaps,  exceeding  10  square  inches,  printed  in  whole  or  in  part 

in  metal  leaf  and  not  over  5  additional  printings $0.50 

Labels  and  flaps,  exceeding  10  square  inches,  printed  in  whole  or  in  part 

in  metal  leaf  and  over  5  additional  printings .  75 

Small  labels  and  bands,  less  than  10  square  inches,  printed  in  whole  or  in 

part  in  metal  leaf  and  not  over  5  additional  printings 1.00 

Small  labels  and  bands,  less  than  10  square  inches,  printed  in  whole  or  in 

part  in  metal  leaf  and  over  5  additional  printings 1.  50 

For  any  embossed  label,  flap,  or  band  add .10 

The  reasons  for  our  dissenting  from  the  recommendations  of  the  tariff  com- 
mittee referred  to  are  as  follows : 

On  the  item  of  "  Paper  or  other  material "  they  recommend  eight  one-thou- 
sandths inch  in  thickness  as  the  dividing  point.  This  is  not  a  logical  point  at 
which  to  make  the  difference  in  thickness,  for  the  reason  that  the  same  class 
of  material — that  is,  hangers,  calendars,  etc. — are  printed  on  paper  60,  70,  80, 
90,  and  100  pounds  to(  the  ream  of  500  sheets,  size  22  by  28.  The  tariff  com- 
mittee of  the  employers'  association  took  this  arbitrary  division  from  the  tariff 
now  in  force,  and  this  is  entirely  wrong,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following 
facts : 

For  an  importation  of  100,000  show  cards  or  hangers,  size  16  by  24,  litho- 
graphed on  stock  eight  one-thousandths  inch  in  thickness,  which  is  88  pounds 
to  the  ream  of  500  sheets,  basis  22  by  28,  the  weight  on  the  shipment  would 
be  11,000  pounds,  and  at  the  rate  recommended  by  the  committee — 30  cents 
per  pound — the  duty  on  the  importation  would  be  $3,300,  whereas  if  stock 
nine  one-thousandths  of  an  inch  in  thickness  were  used,  weighing  100  pounds 
to  the  ream  of  500  sheets,  size  22  by  28,  it  would  then  pass  to  the  rate  sug- 
gested by  the  committee — of  20  cents  per  pound — thus  making  the  weight  of  the 
shipment  of  100,000  hangers,  16  by  24,  12,400  pounds;  and  at  the  20-ceut  per 
pound  rate  specified  by  the  committee  for  this  thickness  it  would  make  the 
revenue  $2,480,  as  against  $3,300  on  the  lighter  stock,  thus  saving  the  importer 
$820  duty  for  a  show  card  made  on  a  thicker  stock,  which  would  be  more 
desirable  for  his  purpose,  and  the  increase  he  would  have  to  pay  for  the 
increase  in  cost  of  stock,  owing  to  heavier  weight,  would  be  at  the  rate  of  6 
cents  per  pound — $84 — and  the  increased  freight  would  not  be  over  $6,  so  that 
the  increase  in  the  cost  on  account  of  the  heavier  stock  would  not  exceed  $90, 
which  would  thus  give  a  net  saving  of  $730  by  reason  of  having  the  hangers 
on  a  heavier  stock ;  and  this,  of  course,  would  be  a  corresponding  loss  to  the 
Government  on  revenues. 

The  division  we  have  suggested  is  ten  one-thousandths  of  an  inch,  and  instead 
of  dropping  from  30  to  20  cents  per  pound  (as  suggested  by  the  tariff  com- 
mittee referred  to)  we  recommend  the  rate  we  have  named  above,  25  cents 
per  pound,  which  is  a  drop  of  5  cents,  owing  to  the  increased  thickness. 

In  connection  with  the  item  under  the  heading  of  "  Lithographed  labels, 
flaps,  and  bands,"  we  take  occasion  to  include  small  labels  not  exceeding  10 
square  inches,  and  the  reason  for  this  is  that  the  same  policy  which  properly 
prevails  in  providing  a  suitable  rate  per  pound  on  cigar  bands,  owing  to  the 
small  size  and  the  large  number  to  a  pound,  should  dictate  that  any  label, 
no  matter  for  what  purpose  it  may  be  used,  should  receive  the  same  protection 
as  the  cigar  band.  In  explanation  of  this  and  to  illustrate  our  contention  we 
attach  hereto  a  sheet  marked  "A,"  on  which  we  pasted  impressions  of  dies 
used  on  labels  for  perfumery  bottles  and  other  small  articles,  to  show  size  to 
which  labels  are  cut.  On  the  same  sheet  we  have  attached  cigar  bands,  show- 
ing that  the  cigar  band  is  in  many  cases  larger  than  the  small  labels  used  for 
perfumery  and  other  articles.  Owing  to  the  inadequate  protection  afforded  the 
American  lithographers  on  these  small  labels,  a  large  quantity  are  imported, 
and  foreign  houses  dealing  almost  exclusively  in  this  branch  of  business  main- 
tain agencies  here.  On  100,000  labels,  size  2£  by  4,  the  weight  would  be  185 
pounds  if  printed  on  stock  basis  50  pounds  to  the  ream  of  500  sheets,  size  22  by 
28 — and  this  is  the  heaviest-weight  paper  that  is  used  for  this  purpose — and 
in  many  cases  a  lighter  paper  is  used.  One  hundred  thousand  such  labels 
made  in  America,  if  in  10  printings  of  a  grade  usually  used  for  this  work, 
would  be  sold  at  approximately  $3.50  per  thousand,  or  $350  for  the  100,000, 
whereas  at  the  rate  of  wages  shown  to  prevail  abroad,  as  given  in  detail  by 
the  tariff  committee  of  the  National  Association  of  Lithographers,  even  the 
rate  of  tariff  suggested  by  them  would  not  represent  the  full  difference  between 
the  cost  of  production  here  and  abroad. 


CIGAR  LABELS FRANK   J.   BLANEY. 


6153 


With  the  changes  suggested  above,  we  heartily  indorse  the  recommendations 
of  the  tariff  committee  referred  to,  but  believe  in  incorporating  the  following 
clause  as  a  section  under  this  heading  of  "  Lithographic  imports :  " 

"  Lithographs  cased  with  other  products :  Xo  box,  case,  or  other  package 
containing  any  .importation  to  this  country,  not  included  in  this  paragraph, 
shall  contain  any  lithographic  prints  from  stone,  zinc,  aluminum,  or  other 
material,  or  other  items  or  goods  listed  in  this  section." 

The  purpose  of  this  is  to  prevent  foreign  exporters  or  manufacturers  from 
including  1,  2,  3,  or  other  small  number  of  show  cards  or  other  lithographed  or 
advertising  matter  in  the  cases  or  packages  containing  the  product  they  are 
sending  to  this  country  to  sell.  As  foreign  importations  of  certain  goods 
amount  in  the  aggregate  to  a  large  number  of  cases,  the  inclusion  of  show  cards, 
lithographs,  etc.,  in  the  case  or  package  containing  the  commodity  not  only 
is  a  source  of  loss  to  the  lithographic  industry  of  the  United  States,  but  also 
is  a  very  large  loss  of  revenue  to  the  Government,  and  the  above  paragraph, 
if  adopted,  would  cause  the  importer  to  bring  his  lithographed  or  other  adver- 
tising matter  into  the  country  in  separate  cases,  thus  causing  a  duty  to  be 
levied  on  same,  with  a  corresponding  amount  of  revenue  to  the  Government. 


( Submitted  by  The  Forbes  Lithograph  Manufacturing  Company,  Boston,  Mass., 
to  show  that  small  labels  for  any  purpose  should  have  same  pound  rate  as 
cigar  bands,  on  account  of  size.) 

Legend. 

We  recommend  that  the  following  be  incorporated  into  the  new  law  : 
Kncli  and  every  label,  band,  wrapper,  show  card,  or  other  lithographic  print 
from  stone,  zinc,  aluminum,  or  other  material,  shall  bear  on  the  face  of  same, 


6154  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

printed  in  legible  letters  in  English,  the  legend  "  Printed  in  -     — ,"  the  name 
of  the  country  of  origin  to  follow  the  words  "  Printed  in." 

Maximum  and  minimum. 

Should  the  committee  in  its  wisdom  incorporate  the  principle  of  the  "  maxi- 
mum and  minimum  tariff,"  we  earnestly  pray  that  the  foregoing  rates  shall  be 
adopted  as  the  minimum  rates,  and  that  the  maximum  rates  shall  be  20  per 
cent  in  excess  thereof  on  each  and  every  item. 

Lithographic  industry  in  the  United  States. 

We  have  refrained  from  entering  into  a  general  discussion  of  the  merits  of 
the  matter,  believing  same  to  be  covered  by  the  brief  submitted  by  the  tariff 
committee  referred  to,  and  would  only  add  as  a  conclusion  that  the  litho- 
graphic industry  opens  up  a  very  large  opportunity  for  American  art,  inasmuch 
as  the  different  establishments  are  constantly  buying  the  works  of  many  noted 
artists  in  this  country,  and  the  young  artists  especially  are  to  a  considerable 
extent  dependent  upon  the  trade  for  their  support  and  encouragement. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

THE  FORBES  LITHOGRAPH  MANUFACTURING  Co., 
By  FRANK  J.  BLANEY, 

A  Director  of  the  Company. 


STATEMENT  OF  OTTO  PALM,  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY,  RELATIVE  TO 
DUTIES  ON  DECALCOMANIA  TRANSFERS. 

SATURDAY,  November  SI,  1908. 

Mr.  PALM.  If  the  committee  will  permit,  I  would  like  to  say  a  few 
words  in  reply  to  the  arguments  or  statements  that  were  made  by  Mr. 
Meyercord  on  decalcomanias.  Of  course,  I  think  it  is  a  mistake  on 
our  part  to  occupy  the  attention  of  this  committee  on  such  a  small 
matter. 

Decalcomania  is  a  very  small  item  going  into  the  lithograph  para- 
graph. Decalcomania  is  not  an  article  that  is  used  indiscriminately 
as  other  lithographic  prints  are,  because  a  lithographic  print  when  it 
comes  to  this  country  is  simply  sold  as  a  lithographic  print,  as  a 
postal  card,  visiting  card,  New  Year's  card,  Christmas  card,  or  chromos 
or  calendars.  Decalcomania  is  something  entirely  different.  Decal- 
comania as  it  is  imported  or  made  here  is  not  perfect  in  itself;  it  is 
simply  an  article  that  goes  into  the  manufacture  of  other  articles, 
without  which  decalcomania  is  of  no  use  whatever.  For  instance, 
the  pottery  industry  in  the  United  States  consumes  about  one-half  of 
the  decalcomania.  "Now,  if  you  want  to  foster  the  industry  of  pottery, 
it  is  necessary  to  bring  the  decalcomania  into  this  country  and  manu- 
facture it  here  as  low  as  possible  in  order  to  compete  with  the 
pottery  that  is  imported  from  foreign  countries.  Of  course  pottery  is 
not  the  only  item  on  which  the  decalcomania  is  used.  There  are  a  num- 
ber of  other  items  on  which  it  is  used,  but  the  pottery  industry  is 
Jarticularly  interested  in  this  provision.  As  far  as  we  are  concerned, 
think  we  all  agree  that  we  are  satisfied  to  let  the  duty  on  decal- 
comania remain  as  it  is  now.  We  do  not  ask  for  any  reduction  or  any 
increase. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Please  explain  how  you  use  it  in  pottery? 

Mr.  PALM.  Here  is  a  lithograph  that  is  printed  on  decalcomania 
paper,  or,  in  other  words,  transferring  paper.  [Exhibiting.]  Cer- 


CIGAR  LABELS OTTO   PALM.  6155 

tain  colors  are  printed  on  this  transfer  paper.  The  paper  is  then  sold 
to  the  potters  and  they  transfer  the  colors  from  the  transfer  paper 
to  the  different  articles  of  pottery  requiring  decoration.  The  pottery 
is  then  fired  once  more.  Without  the  decalcomania  the  pottery  in- 
dustry in  America  could  not  exist  to-day. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  would  have  to  be  done  by  hand? 

Mr.  PALM.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Have  you  a  specimen  there  where  it  has  been 
transferred  ? 

Mr.  PALM.  There  is  the  material  right  on  the  pottery.  [Exhibit- 
ing.] That  is  transferred. 

We  contend  that  the  potter  in  America  can  not  exist  without  de- 
calcomania. He  must  have  decalcomania,  otherwise  he  is  not  in  it. 
If  you  want  to  foster  and  help  the  pottery  industry  of  America,  this 
committee  should  put  decalcomania  on  the  free  list  instead  of  increas- 
ing the  duty,  although  we  do  not  ask  that.  We  are  satisfied  as  it  is 
to-day. 

The  imports  of  decalcomania  into  this  country  do  not  exceed  $400,- 
000.  It  is  a  mere  bagatelle.  I  have  been  amazed  at  the  statements 
that  have  been  made.  It  is  like  Colonel  Sellers's  "  There  are  millions 
in  it."  Decalcomania  is  a  little  item,  and  the  potter  uses  more  than 
any  other  manufacturer  in  the  world.  The  imports  into  this  country 
of  decalcomania  amount  to  about  $400.000  a  year.  The  consumption 
here  is  in  the  neighborhood  of  between  $600,000  and  $800,000,  just  a 
small  matter.  We  have  been  in  business  for  a  number  of  years.  We 
could  not  compete  by  importing  the  decalcomania  with  the  selling 
prices  here,  and  consequently  we  had  to  open  a  factory,  and  we  are 
running  factories,  and  a  number  of  others  are  also  running  factories. 
The  item  of  decalcomania  is  so  small  that  it  does  not  cut  any  ice,  and 
if  you  make  any  change  in  the  duty  you  will  simply  hamper  and 
jeopardize  the  manufacturers  of  America. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  think  you  have  stated  your  point. 

Mr.  PALM.  Yes,  sir.  If  you  put  a  prohibitive  duty  on  decalcomania, 
you  would  simply  give  employment  to  about  400  people  more  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  you  would  probably  knock  out  5,000  people  in  the 
pottery  business  and  several  hundred  thousand  people  in  some  of  the 
ether  branches,  if  you  want  to  go  that  far. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  rate  of  duty  now? 

Mr.  PALM.  Under  paragraph  400  it  was  20  cents  a  pound.  The 
duty  has  been  changed.  Decalcomania  has  been  kicked  about  like  a 
football.  It  has  been  35  per  cent,  25  per  cent,  and  20  per  cent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  it  now  ? 

Mr.  PALM.  The  duty  on  decalcomania  has  been  placed  by  one  of  the 
courts  of  Philadelphia,  under  paragraph  898,  at  20  per  cent  ad  va- 
lorem and  3  cents  a  pound. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  have  access  to  those  decisions. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  does  it  amount  to  to-day,  the  20  per  cent 
ad  valorem  and  the  3  cents  a  pound  duty? 

Mr.  PALM.  It  depends  on  what  kind  of  goods  you  import.  If  the 
goods  are  very  expensive  goods  it  would  amount  to  more  than  20 
cents  per  pound.  If  the  goods  are  cheaper  it  would  not  amount  to 
20  cents  per  pound.  That  is  under  the  clause  which  is  20  per  cent 
ad  valorem. 


6156  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Is  the  rate  20  per  cent  on  everything  with  the  3 
cents  added? 

Mr.  PALM.  The  rate  is  20  per  cent  and  3  cents  per  pound,  under 
section  398.  Previous  to  that  decision  it  was  under  section  400  at 
20  cents  per  pound. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  say  that  the  ad  valorem  rate  is  about  20  per 
cent? 

Mr.  PALM.  The  ad  valorem  rate? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  PALM.  Yes,  sir.  Now  they  have  changed  it  to  20  per  cent  and 
3  cents  per  pound. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  rate  of  duty  you  are  paying  on  this 
stuff  when  it  comes  into  the  country? 

Mr.  PALM.  Twenty. per  cent  and  3  cents  a  pound  under  the  new 
ruling  under  paragraph  398. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  does  that  amount  to  as  an  ad  valorem  rate  ? 

Mr.  PALM.  As  an  ad  valorem  rate? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  PALM.  The  ad  valorem  rate  is  20  per  cent.  The  3  cents  a 
pound  does  not  amount  to  much ;  it  is  the  20  per  cent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  say  that  about  half  of  the  product  is  made 
in  this  country  and  about  one-half  imported  ? 

Mr.  PALM.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  long  has  that  been  the  condition  ? 

Mr.  PALM.  Well,  during  the  last  four  or  five  years,  since  several  of 
these  factories  have  established  themselves  and  we  have  established 
ourselves. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Has  the  business  steadied  down  to  a  condition 
where  one-half  of  the  product  is  produced  in  this  country  and  the 
other  half  imported  ? 

Mr.  PALM.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Where  is  your  factory? 

Mr.  PALM.  In  Cincinnati. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  How  large  a  place  have  you? 

Mr.  PALM.  It  is  a  pretty  good-sized  place. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Is  yours  one  of  the  large  ones  or  one  of  the  small 
ones? 

Mr.  PALM.  Ours  is  one  of  the  larger  ones.  There  are  only  three 
or  four  others. 


STATEMENT  OF  JOHN  G.  DUFFY,  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY,  RELATIVE 
TO  CIGAR  LABELS,  FLAPS,  AND  BANDS. 

SATURDAY,  November  21, 1908. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Mr.  Duffy,  do  you  want  to  be  heard  on  cigar 
labels? 

Mr.  DUFFY.  Yes,  sir ;  on  the  labels,  flaps,  and  bands. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Proceed. 

Mr.  DUFFY.  Very  well. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Can  you  not  file  a  brief  statement? 

Mr.  DUFFY.  Yes,  sir.  There  [indicating]  is  the  brief,  and  I  will 
be  as  brief  as  possible. 


CIGAE  LABELS JOHN    G.   DUFFY.  6157 

We  desire  to  state,  first,  in  answer  to  what  has  been  said  to  the 
committee,  that  it  is  not  true,  at  least  of  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands, 
that  they  are  not  exported.  We  have  with  us  here  a  foreign  manu- 
facturer of  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands  who  testifies  that  they  meet 
a  very  sharp  competition  abroad  from  the  American  lithographer. 
It  is  also  a  fact  that  there  has  not  been  a  single  year  under  the  Ding- 
ley  tariff  when  there  was  imported  into  this  country  $200,000  worth 
of  this  item  of  lithographic  prints.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  the  tariff 
of  1894  did  not  treat  any  more  indulgently  lithographic  prints  than 
they  were  treated  in  the  tariff  act  of  1897.  The  cigar  bands  were  thus 
treated  in  the  tariff  act  of  1894;  they  were  made  dutiable  under  a 
number  of  colors,  the  lowest  rate,  20  cents  a  pound,  being  applicable 
to  10  colors  or  less.  The  act  of  1897  did  not  change  the  rate,  but  it 
did  change  the  classification  by  saying  "  eight  colors  "  or  "  less  than 
eight  colors." 

Now,  we  think  we  have  some  standing  before  this  committee  on 
the  proposition  that  it  would  be  an  advantage  to  allow  the  importa- 
tion of  cigar  labels  for  the  use  of  cigar  manufacturers  to  be  increased. 
Except  for  the  bands,  the  cigar  labels  and  flaps  have  not  increased 
proportionately  to  the  normal  increase  of  business  under  this  Dingley 
act.  We  represent  a  gentleman,  Mr.  Louis  T.  Wagner,  who  is  the 
largest  importer.  It  is  a  very  small  industry,  the  importing  of  cigar 
labels,  flaps,  and  bands.  There  are  only  four  or  five  firms  engaged 
in  it.  Mr.  Wagner,  after  twenty  years  devoted  to  building  up  the 
business,  is  now  the  largest  importer. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  do  you  say  the  imports  were? 

Mr.  DUFFY.  Not  over  $200*.000  in  value. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Of  domestic  production  is  it  much  larger  ? 

Mr.  Louis  C.  WAGNER.  Considerably  so.  Nine-tenths  of  the  cigar 
labels  are  produced  in  this  country  and  only  about  one-tenth  im- 
ported. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  have  a  pretty  good  protection  on  cigars? 

Mr.  WAGNER.  I  know  nothing  about  the  protection  on  cigars. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  did  not  know  what  you  considered  good. 

Mr.  GAINES.  He  said  he  is  not  a  cigar  maker.  He  is  an  importer 
of  labels. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  will  hear  you  briefly  on  this.  You  say  it  is 
not  a  very  important  matter? 

Mr.  DUFFY.  It  is  important  to  our  clients.  I  think  I  may  point 
out  here  also,  in  answer  to  what  has  been  stated,  that  the  present  rate 
of  duty  on  cigar  labels,  as  you  will  find  on  page  4  of  our  brief,  is  from 
44  per  cent  up  to  73  per  cent,  while  just  immediately  above  that  you 
will  see  that  the  ad  valorem  equivalent  of  the  other  lithographic 
print  duties  runs  to  27  per  cent  on  the  average.  There  is  a  clear 
injustice  there.  And  now  I  want  to  come  to  the  particular  feature 
about  cigar  labels. 

This  is  a  cigar  label  [submitting  specimens].  These  things  are 
generally  about  half  paper. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  have  seen  them. 

Mr.  DUFFY.  Yes.  The  paper  costs  about  8  cents  a  pound,  and 
they  put  on  that  blank  paper  duties  of  from  20  to  50  cents  a  pound. 
We  propose  in  the  act  to  make  a  separate  provision  for  labels  and 
flaps,  and  a  just  provision,  not  grouping  with  them  the  bands.  The 
bands  are  completely  coveivd  with  lithographic  work,  and  have  to  be 


6158  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

cut  to  shape  besides.  The  label  is  usually  more  than  half  paper  and 
not  more  than  half  lithography.  We  propose  these  rates,  following 
the  phraseology  of  the  law  exactly :  "  Lithographic  cigar  labels  and 
flaps,  lettered  or  blank,  printed  from  stone,  zinc,  aluminum,  or  other 
material,  if  printed  in  less  than  eight  colors  (bronze  printing  to  be 
counted  as  two  colors),  but  not  including  labels  and  flaps  printed  in 
the  whole  or  in  part  in  metal  leaf,  ten  cents  per  pound;  if  printed 
in  eight  or  more  colors,  but  not  printed  in  whole  or  in  part  in  metal 
leaf,  fifteen  cents  per  pound ;  if  printed  in  whole  or  in  part  in  metal 
leaf,  thirty  cents  per  pound.  Cigar  bands,  if  printed  in  colors  and 
bronze,  fifteen  cents  per  pound;  if  printed  in  colors  and  metal  leaf, 
forty  cents  per  pound." 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  much  does  one  of  those  labels  cost  on  a  box 
of  cigars? 

Mr.  WAGNER.  It  depends  entirely  on  the  number  of  pieces. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  mean,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest? 

Mr.  WAGNER.  If  a  set  of  four  pieces  is  considered,  which  is  an  in- 
side and  an  outside  label  and  a  flap  and  tag,  the  cost  is  about  4£ 
cents  a  box,  sometimes  more. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  may  proceed,  Mr.  Duffy. 

Mr.  DUFFY.  We  make  the  same  classification  on  cigar  labels  printed 
in  less  than  eight  colors,  bronze  printing  to  be  counted  as  two  colors, 
but  not  including  labels  and  flaps  printed  in  whole  or  in  part  in  metal 
leaf,  ten  cents  a  pound.  This  is  on  page  8  of  our  brief.  But  if 
printed  in  eight  or  more  colors,  but  not  printed  in  whole  or  in  part 
in  metal  leaf,  fifteen  cents  a  pound.  If  printed  in  whole  or  in  part 
in  metal  leaf,  thirty  cents  per  pound.  Cigar  bands,  if  printed  in 
colors  and  bronze,  fifteen  cents  per  pound;  if  printed  in  colors  and 
metal  leaf,  forty  cents  per  pound. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  need  not  read  your  brief.  That  will  be 
filed.  We  will  read  that. 

Mr.  DUFFY.  I  trust  the  committee  will. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Now,  if  you  have  any  other  matters  to  state  out- 
side, please  state  them. 

Mr.  DUFFY.  We  just  desire  to  file  some  samples. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  To  the  same  effect? 

Mr.  DUFFY.  Yes. 


STATEMENT  OF  LOUIS  C.  WAGNER,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  ON  THE 
SUBJECT  OF  CIGAR  LABELS  AND  DUTIES  THEREON. 

SATURDAY,  November  SI;  1908. 

Mr.  WAGNER.  I  beg  to  submit,  Mr.  Chairman,  samples  of  the  labels 
made  in  Germany  and  samples  from  some  designs  copied  from  the 
German  and  made  in  this  country;  made  in  this  country  because 
you  can  no  longer  import  them  because  of  the  existing  high  rate  of 
duty.  These  samples  will  show  that  the  labels  are  the  same  in  work- 
manship in  every  respect.  For  instance,  I  submit  here  a  sample  of  a 
label  called  "Alexander  Humboldt."  This  is  it,  right  here.  [Sub- 
mits sample.] 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  ask  to  have  it  put  on  the  free  list  ? 

Mr.  WAGNER.  No,  sir;  I  am  a  protectionist.  I  believe  in  protec- 
tion, but  I  do  not  believe  in  prohibitive  rates.  I  want  a  decrease  in 
the  rate  because  I  think  I  am  justified  in  asking  for  it.  "Alexander 


CIGAR  LABELS LOUIS   C.    WAGNER.  6159 

Humboldt "  costs  in  Germany  $13.50  a  thousand  sets  for  an  edition 
of  50.000  sets.  That  is  the  cost  in  Germany,  and  including  the  duty, 
it  will  make  the  cost  $23.40.  The  same  design,  sample  F,  which  is 
composed  of  the  same  number  of  pieces — in  fact  one  additional  sheet, 
if  we  had  made  that  additional  back  strip  originally — costs  $15  in 
Germany,  and  with  the  duty  paid  they  cost  $25.65,  and  they  are  being 
sold  and  printed  here  for  $16.15  per  thousand  sets. 

Now,  if  the  importers  had  furnished  this  additional  back  strip,  the 
cost  on  the  other  side,  including  the  duty,  would  be  $25.65,  and  with- 
out the  duty  $15 ;  but  that  is  sold  right  here  to  the  trade  for  $16.15. 

Here  is  another,  "  La  Elegancia."  That  consists  of  three  pieces,  and 
the  foreign  cost  of  50,000  sets  is  $9  per  thousand.  The  duty  added 
makes  it  $13.80.  The  foreign  cost  of  the  flap,  which  is  the  third  piece, 
is  $3.50,  and  the  duty  included  makes  the  total  cost  of  $5.90.  In  other 
words,  the  German  cost  of  these  pieces  is  $12.50,  and  with  the  duty 
added,  $19.60.  The  same  design  on  this  box  [indicating]  is  sold 
by  the  domestic  lithographer  to  the  trade  at  less  than  $10  per  1,000 
sets  against  a  foreign  cost  of  $12.50,  or,  with  duty  added,  $19.60. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Have  you  that  all  written  out? 

Mr.  WAGNER.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Kindly  file  it  with  your  brief.  We  have  not  time 
for  that. 

Mr.  WAGNER.  All  right. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  say  you  are  a  protectionist,  but  not  a  mo- 
nopolist? 

Mr.  WAGNER.  No.  I  say  I  am  a  protectionist,  but  I  do  not  believe 
in  prohibitive  rates. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  is  monopoly. 

Mr.  WAGNER.  We  contend  that  from  the  time  we  get  the  first  edi- 
tion of  labels  from  abroad  we  can  not  get  orders  for  subsequent 
editions,  because  the  designs  are  being  copied  in  this  country  and 
sold  for  less  than  we  can  import  them  for.  We  go  to  the  expense 
of  making  costly  sketches  and  from  these  the  lithography  on  stone 
is  made  by  experts,  while  in  copying  the  imported  design  here  from 
a  printed  label  there  is  no  expense  for  sketches,  and  the  lithography 
from  printed  copies  is  usually  made  by  apprentices  at  a  cost  of  only 
one-half  that  if  made  from  sketches. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  You  claim  that  the  duty  is  prohibitive? 

Mr.  WAGNER.  Yes;  that  the  duty  is  prohibitive  so  far  as  reprints 
go,  but  not  for  the  first  edition. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  You  want  it  reduced  so  that  the  German  and  the 
American  can  come  into  competition  with  each  other? 

Mr.  WAGNER.  That  I  ask  for  a  reduction  to  enable  us  to  import 
duplicate  editions  of  every  design  originally  our  own  but  being 
copied  in  domestic  work  and  sold  to  the  trade  below  the  cost  of  Ger- 
man goods,  and  not  because  we  want  to  compete  with  domestic  work. 
That  is  not  at  all  possible  under  existing  duties  and  even  without  any 
duty  at  all,  larger  editions  will  be  excluded  anyway. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  do  you  want  the  duty  reduced  to? 

Mr.  WAGNER.  The  20-cent  rate  to  10  cents  and  the  30-cent  rate  to 
15  cents,  and  those  at  50  cents  to  30  cents. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  think  that  would  be  fair  competition? 

Mr.  WAGNER.  These  rates  would  still  be  more  than  ample  protec- 
tion to  domestic  industry  for  small  lots  and  yet  excessively  high  for 
larger  lots. 


6160  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPEKS,  AND   BOOKS. 

My  predecessor  speaks  of  bronze  printing  as  being  counted  as  three 
colors.  The  commercial  term  for  bronze  printing  is  one  and  one-half 
colors.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  three  colors  at  all. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  all,  I  think. 

Is  there  any  other  gentleman  who  can  present  anything  new  on 
this  subject  that  has  not  already  been  said? 

Mr.  WAGNER.  Shall  I  leave  these  samples? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  File  your  brief  there. 

Mr.  WAGNER.  Just  one  moment.  It  was  said  a  while  ago  by  my 
predecessor  that  there  were  no  cigar  labels  exported  to  Europe.  I 
have  here  some  samples  of  the  American  Lithographic  Company 
showing  their  agent  in  Holland,  another  one  showing  their  agent  in 
London,  and  another  one  showing  their  agent  in  Hamburg.  They 
do  export  their  cigar  labels  right  into  England  and  Germany  in 
competition  with  those  made  in  those  countries. 


BEIEF  SUBMITTED  IN  BEHALF  OF  KAPPLER  &  MEEEILLAT  AND 
OTHERS  RELATIVE  TO  CIGAR  LABELS. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  81, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  the  matter  of  the  revision  of  paragraph  400  of  the 
tariff  act  of  1897,  so  far  as  said  paragraph  applies  to  cigar'  labels, 
flaps,  and  bands. 

BRIEF   FOR   IMPORTERS. 

Cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands  are  produced  by  ordinary  lithograph- 
ing processes.  Labels  and  flaps  are  interchangeable  names  for  prints 
attached  to  any  part  of  a  cigar  box.  Bands  are  small  lithographs 
wrapped  around  cigars. 

Prior  to  the  tariff  act  of  1894  no  distinction  was  made  between  this 
class  of  merchandise  and  other  lithographic  prints.  In  that  act  (par- 
agraph 308)  separate  provision  was  made  for  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and 
bands  at  rates  much  higher  than  those  prescribed  for  lithographic 
prints.  This  distinction  was  retained  in  paragraph  400  of  the  tariff 
act  of  1897  and  even  a  more  unfair  differential  in  rates  was  created. 

An  abstract  of  the  provisions  of  both  acts  follows : 

A ct  of  1894.  Act  of  1897. 

Lithographic  prints  not  exceed-  Lithographic  prints  not  exceed- 
ing .008  of  an  inch  ing  .008  of  an  inch 

per  pound  20  cents.  per  pound  20  cents. 

exceeding  .008  of  an  inch  but  not  exceeding  .008  of  an  inch  but  not 
exceeding  .020  of  an  inch,  and  ex-  exceeding  .020  of  an  inch,  and  ex- 
ceeding 35  square  inches  cutting  ceeding  35  square  inches  but  not 
size  exceeding  400  square  inches  cut- 

per  pound  8  cents.  ting  size 

per  pound  8  cents. 

exceeding  400  square  inches  cut- 
ting size 

35  per  cent. 


CIGAE  LABELS — LOUIS  0.   WAGNER. 


6161 


Act  of  1894 — Continued. 

not   exceeding   35   square   inches 
cutting  size 

per  pound  5  cents. 

exceeding  .020  of  an  inch 
per  pound  6  cents. 

Cigar    labels    and    bands,    less 
than  10  colors 

per  pound  20  cents. 


10  or  more  colors,  or  in  bronze 
printing 

per  pound  30  cents. 

printed  wholly  or  partly  in  metal 
leaf 

per  pound  40  cents. 


Act  of  1897— Continued. 

not   exceeding  35   square   inches 
cutting  size 

per  pound  5  cents. 

exceeding  .020  of  an  inch 
per  pound  6  cents. 

Cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands 
less  than  8  colors  (bronze  print- 
ing to  be  counted  as  2  colors) 
per  pound  20  cents. 

printed  entirely  in  bronze  printing 
per  pound  15  cents. 

printed  in  8  or  more  colors 
per  pound  30  cents. 

printed  wholly  or  in  part  in  metal 
leaf 

per  pound  50  cents. 


Except  for  the  addition  of  a  provision  for  prints  exceeding  400 
square  inches  cutting  size,  the  tariff  act  of  1897  reenacted  the  rates 
prescribed  for  lithographic  prints  in  the  act  of  1894. 

Cigar  labels  and  bands  were  much  differently  dealt  with.  The 
line  of  classification  was  changed  from  ten  colors  to  eight,  increasing 
the  duty  on  a  large  line  that  had  been  admitted  at  20  cents  per  pound 
to  30  cents,  an  increase  of  50  per  cent.  Goods  printed  wholly  or  in 
part  in  metal  leaf  were  made  to  pay  50  cents  instead  of  40  cents  per 
pound — 25  per  cent  increase. 

Mr.  Louis  C.  Wagner,  who  appears  before  this  committee  now  and 
who  was  here  in  1897,  testifies  that  this  unfair  distinction  represents 
neither  the  views  of  the  House  nor  of  the  Senate  of  that  time,  nor  of 
either  of  the  committees  who  had  the  Dingley  bill  in  charge.  As 
originally  passed  by  both  Houses  the  bill  eliminated  the  distinction, 
but  it  was  returned  from  conference  in  its  present  form.  Being  a 
measure  of  great  importance  it  was  enacted  without  further  delay. 

The  subjoined  table,  referring  to  samples  submitted,  shows  the  op- 
eration of  paragraph  400  of  the  present  act  on  these  two  classes  of 
lithographic  prints : 

Lithographic  prints  other  than  cigar  labels. 


Samples. 

Cost  In 
Germany 
per  1,000. 

Weight 
per  1,000. 

Duty  per 
pound. 

Total 
duty  per 
1,000. 

Ad  valo- 
rem 
equiva- 
lent. 

A  and  B              -  - 

$48.  00 

Pounds. 
130 

Cents. 
8 

$10.40 

Per  cent. 
22 

0          ..    —  . 

30.00 

122 

6 

7.32 

24} 

D 

12.75 

62J 

6 

3.75 

29J 

6162  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPEKS,   AND   BOOKS. 

Cigar  labels. 


Cost  in 

Ad  valo- 

Samples. 

Germany 
per  1,0<)0 

Weight 
per  1,000. 

Duty  per 
pound. 

duty  per 
1  000 

rem 
equiva- 

sets. 

lent. 

Alexander    Humboldt   set   E.   50M  sets  of  five 

Pounds. 

Cents. 

Per  cent. 

$13.50 

33 

30 

$9.90 

73 

La  Elegancia  setG.    50M  sets  of  two  pieces  to  set. 

9.90 

16 

30 

4.80 

53 

Flap  A    M    O.    50M  pieces 

3.50 

12 

20 

2.40 

69 

9.00 

16 

30 

4.80 

63 

Copies  K.     Leila.    12M  sets,  two  pieces  to  set  

11.50 

17 

30 

5.10 

44 

Copies   L.    Havana  American.    50M    sets,  five 

pieces  to  set  

21.00 

33 

50 

16.50 

79 

Our  proofs  show : 

(1)  That  cigar  labels  (small  editions)  produced  in  this  country  are 
sold  to  the  trade  for  almost  the  cost  of  foreign  goods,  without  duties 
added. 

Example :  Samples  K,  "  Leila."  The  German  cost  for  duplicate 
prints  is  $11.50  per  1,000  sets;  duty  added,  cost  $16.60.  A  domestic 
firm  is  now  making  a  first  edition  of  these  labels,  including  outlay  for 
lithography  and  embossing  die,  and  selling  the  same  at  $16.50,  agree- 
ing to  furnish  subsequent  editions  at  $12.50,  against  the  foreign  cost 
for  like  subsequent  editions  which,  with  duty  added,  is  $16.60. 

(2)  If  cigar  labels  were  free  of  duty  the  larger  editions,  comprising 
the  most  profitable  part  of  the  trade,  could  not  be  imported  and  sold 
here  without  loss  as  low  as  like  goods  can  be  profitably  sold  by  domes- 
tic lithographers. 

Examples. — "  La  Elegancia,"  samples  G,  three  pieces :  Foreign  cost 
for  50M,  insides  and  outsides,  $9  per  1,000;  duty,  $4.80;  total,  $13.80. 
Foreign  cost  for  flaps  "A.  M.  C.,"  $3.50;  duty,  $2.40;  total,  $5.90. 
Total  German  cost  for  set,  $12.50 ;  duty,  $19.70. 

This  same  design  will  be  found  on  and  inside  of  cigar  bo*x  sub- 
mitted, made  in  New  York,  copied  from  the  imported  and  sold  b}7 
the  maker  at  not  more  than  $10  per  1,000  sets,  including  the  extra 
end  label  or  color  mark. 

Recapitulation. — Foreign  cost  for  three  pieces,  $12.50.  with  duty, 
$19.70,  against  the  selling  price  of  not  over  $10  for  domestic  work  of 
four  pieces. 

There  are  submitted  samples  of  cigar  labels  originally  made  for 
Mr.  Wagner  in  Germany  and  samples  of  the  exact  labels  copied  later 
by  lithographers  in  New  York.  "Alexander  Humboldt "  set,  col- 
lection E,  five  pieces  to  the  set,  made  abroad  in  50M  sets,  at  $13.50 
per  1,000  sets;  adding  duty  makes  the  actual  cost  $23.40. 

The  same  designs,  samples  F,  are  domestic  work  copied  from  the 
imported.  This  set  has  six  pieces,  an  additional  long  back  strip,  and 
the  manufacturers'  selling  price  to  the  trade  is  $16.15  per  1,000  sets 
of  six  pieces.  If  the  importers  had  furnished  this  additional  back 
strip  the  German  cost  would  be  $15,  or,  with  duty  added,  $25.65, 
against  the  selling  price  of  $16.15  for  domestic  work. 

Samples  H,  foreign  work,  cost  $10;  with  duty  added,  $14.80. 
Samples  J,  domestic  work,  copied  from  the  imported  goods,  is  sold 
at  less  than  $10. 

The  loose  samples  of  Mi  Favorita  and  La  Gira  labels  submitted 
German  work.  The  inside  label  Mi  Favorita  and  the  set  La 


are 


Gira  are  printed  in  metal  leaf.    The  same  designs  which  appear  on 


CTGAE  LABELS LOUIS   C.    WAGNER.  6163 

and  inside  of  cigar  box  and  covers  are  domestic  work,  also  printed  in 
metal  leaf  and  copied  from  the  imported.  These  samples  demon- 
strate that  metal-leaf  work  is  produced  in  America  with  the  same 
facility  and  excellence  as  abroad,  and  the  testimony  will  show  that 
these  specimens  can  no  longer  be  imported  in  competition  with  do- 
mestic work. 

The  present  duty  of  50  cents  per  pound  on  this  class  of  label  aver- 
ages 73  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

The  foregoing  data  are  drawn  from  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Wagner, 
whose  business  is  importing  and  selling  cigar  labels. 

We  direct  especial  attention  to  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Jacob  Laux, 
of  Chas.  Stutz  Co.,  purchasers  of  American  goods  as  well,  which  we 
summarize. 

Sample  No.  1,  originally  made  in  Germany  and  bought  here  at 
$27.50  per  M  sets,  was  afterwards  reproduced  here  at  $17.50  per  M. 

Sample  No.  2,  sold  in  Germany,  including  duty,  at  $22.50  per  M 
sets ;  reproduced  here  at  $13.50  per  M. 

Sample  No.  3  was  made  here  and  sold  to  Chas.  Stutz  Company  in 
200  M  lots,  ins  and  outs,  at  $5.40  per  M.  The  very  best  price  made 
on  this  set  abroad  in  same  quantities  was  $8  per  M;  if  duty  were 
added,  the  cost  would  be  $12.80  per  M. 

Sample  No.  4  was  bought  in  May,  1901,  from  domestic  lithograph- 
ers by  Charles  Stutz  Co.,  in  an  edition  of  50  M  (ins,  outs,  and  flaps) , 
which  was  reproduced  from  an  imported  design,  at  $12.85  per  M  for 
the  three  pieces.  This  was  a  reproduction  of  the  La  Elegancia  set 
and  flap  "A.  M.  C."  referred  to  in  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Wagner, 
the  total  German  cost,  plus  duty,  being  $19.70  per  M. 

The  testimony  shows: 

That  the  samples  offered  are  typical  of  the  whole  line. 

That  the  importation  of  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands  is  confined  to 
not  over  four  or  five  firms,  of  which  the  witnesses  represent  the  most 
important. 

That  in  no  single  year  under  the  present  act  have  the  importations 
totaled  in  value  $200,000. 

It  needs  no  argument  to  demonstrate  that  here  is  what  might  be  an 
important  source  of  revenue  cut  off  by  the  prohibition  rates  of  the 
present  act. 

At  the  same  time,  the  importing  firms,  one  of  which,  after  twenty 
years  of  effort,  has  constructed  a  business  occupied  solely  with  these 
lines,  are  being  threatened  with  ultimate  extinction. 

It  is  also  shown  that  American  lithographers,  besides  possessing  a 
practical  monopoly  of  the  trade  in  cigar  labels  on  this  side,  have  for 
many  years  invaded  the  foreign  markets,  particularly  Germany, 
where  imported  labels  are  produced. 

The  lithography  and  printing  of  cigar  labels,  it  is  shown,  have 
made  such  great  advances  in  the  last  twelve  years  that  the  present 
rates,  if  at  any  time  justifiable,  are  now  clearly  exorbitant. 

Furthermore,  German  labor  in  this  industry,  it  appears,  is  much 
slower  than  American,  4,000  sheets  of  paper  constituting  a  day's  run 
there  against  6.000  to  7,000  sheets  here  in  the  same  space  of  time. 

Another  difficulty  the  importers  labor  under  is  presented  by  the 
domestic  imitations  of  their  original  designs,  saving  the  American 
lithographer  the  expense  of  an  original  painting  or  sketch,  and  the 
work  of  the  artist-lithographer  who  draws  such  design  on  stone.  The 


6164  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

testimony  shows  the  great  saving  effected  by  copying  a  design  from 
the  printed  label. 

The  high  specific  duties  forbid  the  foreign  label  being  printed  on 
the  same  weight  of  paper  as  used  in  the  domestic  goods,  which  show 
the  embossing  to  better  advantage  after  the  label  is  pasted  on  the  box 
by  reason  of  the  thicker  stock. 

More  particularly  referring  to  cigar  bands,  it  is  shown  that  these 
goods  are  made  by  domestic  lithographers  and  sold  to  the  trade  at 
practically  the  same  prices  as  they  are  sold  for  in  Germany  for  ex- 
port, excluding  duty. 

It  is  submitted  that  the  provisions  of  paragraph  400  of  the  tariff 
act  of  1897,  relating  to  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands  should  be  re- 
vised as  follows: 

Lithographic  cigar  labels  and  flaps,  lettered  or  blank,  printed  from  stone,  zinc, 
aluminum,  or  other  material,  if  printed  in  less  than  eight  colors  (bronze  printing 
to  be  counted  as  two  colors),  but  not  including  labels  and  flaps  printed  in  whole 
or  in  part  in  metal  leaf,  10  cents  per  pound;  if  printed  in  eight  or  more  colors, 
but  not  printed  in  whole  or  in  part  in  metal  leaf,  15  cents  per  pound ;  if  printed 
in  whole  or  in  part  in  metal  leaf,  30  cents  per  pound.  Cigar  bauds,  if  printed  in 
colors  and  bronze,  15  cents  per  pound ;  if  printed  in  colors  and  metal  leaf,  40 
cents  per  pound. 

The  provision  of  paragraph  400,  calling  for  bronze  printing  only,  is 
purposely  omitted,  there  being  no  such  class  of  goods  imported. 

As  the  samples  submitted  in  evidence  show,  about  one-half  the  space 
of  a  label  or  flap  is  blank  paper. 

The  value  of  such  paper,  it  is  shown,  runs  about  8  cents  per  pound, 
for  which  paper,  under  the  present  provision,  the  same  duty  is  exacted 
as  if  the  whole  were  covered  by  a  design,  as  in  the  case  of  ordinary 
lithographs. 

A  separate  provision  is  therefore  suggested  for  cigar  bands,  which 
are  entirely  covered  with  printing  and  are,  moreover,  cut  to  shape. 

The  testimony  offered  fully  supports  the  revision  asked  and  shows 
that  the  rates  suggested  to  this  committee  are  entirely  in  accord  with 
ample  protection  to  American  industry. 
Dated,  Washington,  November  21,  1908. 

KAPPLER  &  MERILLAT, 

Washington,  D.  0. 
KAMMERLOHR  &  DUFFY, 

New  York. 
Louis  C.  WAGNER  &  Co., 

New  York. 
CHARLES  STUTZ  Co., 

New  York. 


AFFIDAVITS  RELATIVE  TO  CIGAR  LABELS  SUBMITTED  BY  JOHN 
G.  DUFFY  AND  LOUIS  C.  WAGNER. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 
CITY  AND  COUNTY  OF  NEW  YORK,  State  of  A7e?e  York.  **.• 

Jacob  Laux,  being  duly  sworn,  says:  I  am  a  member  of  the  Charles  Stutz 
Company,  of  New  York ;  the  business  of  said  company  is  the  manufature  of 
cigar  boxes  and  the  sale  thereof,  together  with  cigar  labels  and  flaps,  to  the 
trade.  T.  have  read  the  brief  submitted  to  the  committee  on  the  21st  instant  and 
do  declare  that  the  figures  stated  therein  with  reference  to  specimen  labels  sub- 


CIGAR  LABELS.  6165 

mitted  to  the  committee,  marked  Sample  No.  1,  No.  2,  No.  3,  and  No.  4,  are 
correct  and  true  within  my  knowledge;  that  said  specimens  were  obtained  by 
me  in  the  ordinary  course  of  trade  and  that  the  prices  set  forth  were  the  actual 
prices  paid  by  us  in  ordinary  course  of  business;  that  our  company  purchases 
domestic  labels  as  well  as  the  imported  ones,  and  that  we  find  that  the  domestic 
article  is  and  has  been  for  some  years  crowding  the  imported  labels  out  of  this 
market.  So  much  is  this-true  that  the  importation  of  cigar  labels  is  now  car- 
ried on  by  not  over  four  or  five  firms,  whereas  there  has  been  a  great  increase  in 
their  consumption  within  recent  years. 

I  was  present  at  the  hearing  of  the  committee  on  the  21st  instant  and  heard 
the  statement  of  George  R.  Meyercord,  the  first  gentleman  heard  that  day.  The 
congestion  of  business  before  the  committee  prohibited  niy  having  a  hearing, 
and  I  desire  now  to  contradict  certain  statements  of  Mr.  Meyercord.  He  said 
that  in  some  instances  the  rates  he  proposed  were  double  the  present  rates,  but 
that  this  would  not  be  so  in  others.  With  only  three  exceptions,  the  rates  pro- 
posed by  him  on  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands  would  be  double,  treble,  or  quad- 
ruple the  present  duties.  He  proposed  an  additional  duty  of  10  cents  per  pound 
on  all  goods  showing  an  embossing.  In  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  one  hundred 
domestic  as  well  as  imported  labels  are  embossed,  and  every  cigar  band,  with- 
out exception,  is  embossed. 

Many  labels  are  imported  printed  in  five  colors  and  bronze,  the  bronze  print- 
ing under  the  present  tariff  counting  as  two  colors,  though  the  actual  com- 
mercial value  of  such  printing  has  never  been  considered  more  than  one  and 
one-half  colors.  This  class  of  labels  is  now  classified  as  printed  in  seven  colors, 
duty  at  20  cents  per  pound.  Under  Mr.  Meyercord's  schedule  it  would  be  con- 
sidered eight  colors  and,  with  the  additional  duty  for  embossing,  dutiable  at  50 
cents  per  pound. 

Cigar  bands  printed  in  five  colors  and  bronze  and  embossed,  dutiable  at 
present  at  20  cents  per  pound,  would  pay  90  cents  per  pound  according  to  Mr. 
Meyercord.  It  is  so  evident  that  Mr.  Meyercord's  entire  schedule  is  out- 
rageously high  that  I  forbear  going  through  the  list  of  rates  and  classifications 
proposed  by  him  on  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bauds. 

Referring  to  the  statement  of  Mr.  Meyercord  that  European  manufacturers 
have  taken  the  largest  part  of  the  market  from  domestic  lithogaphers,  I  have  to 
state  that  it  is  my  experience  that  cigar  bands,  as  weJl  as  labels  and  flaps,  are 
produced  and  sold  by  domesic  manufacturers  at  about  ihe  same  price  as  similar 
goods  would  cost  us  in  Germany. 

I  do  not  believe  the  statement  of  Mr.  Meyercord,  in  answer  to  Mr.  Crnm- 
packer's  question,  that  an  importer  of  these  goods  "  has  a  better  footing  by  :.Ti 
per  cent "  than  the  domestic  manufacturer.  As  I  have  stated,  domestic  work 
is  produced  and  sold  to  the  trade  at  the  same  prices  and  in  many  cases  lov\or 
than  the  foreign  cost  of  like  goods.  Besides,  the  importation  of  cigar  labels  in 
the  last  ten  or  twelve  years  has  not  increased,  but  has  rather  decreased,  s<-  that 
Mr.  Meyercord  can  not  be  referring  to  this  class  of  work  when  he  makes  The 
statement  that  imports  have  increased  1,000  per  cent  under  the  Diugley  Act. 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  Meyercord  admits  that  the  Wilson-Gorman  Act  allowed 
the  American  lithographers  reasonable  protection.     As  the  present  rates  in 
Dingley  Act  are  higher  on  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands  than  they  were  in  the 
Wilson-Gorman  Act,  any  advance  now  would  immediately  destroy  the  entire 
importing  business  in  this  line. 

JACOB  LATJX. 

Sworn  to  before  me  this  30th  day  of  November,  1908. 

LSEAL.]  I'I.TEK  J.  HALPIN, 

Notary  Public,  \o.  265,  X.  Y.  County. 


CITY  AND  COUNTY  OF  NEW  YORK,  fflntc  of  ycir  York.  .s.<r: 

Louis  C.  Wagner,  being  duly  sworn,  says:  I  am  the  Louis  C.  Wagner  men- 
tioned in  the  brief  for  importers  of  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands.  I  have  care- 
fully examined  the  figures  in  the  tabulation  and  do  declare  of  my  own  knowl- 
edge that  the  same  are  correct  and  true ;  that  said  figures'  represent  the  actual 
selling  prices  in  Germany  of  the  labels  and  prints  referred  to.  I  have  also  ex- 
amined the  comparison  of  cost  and  selling  prices  here  and  in  Germany  between 
the  domestic  and  imported  labels  referred  to  in  said  brief  as  Samples  K,  G,  E, 
F,  and  H,  or  otherwise  described  by  their  particular  names,  e.  g.,  "  Mi  Favor- 


6166  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

ita,"  and  do  declare  that  the  same,  as  actually  current  in  the  market,  are  cor- 
rectly set  forth  in  said  brief,  and  further  that  these  labels  represent  the  whole 
line  of  such  merchandise  as  now  dealt  in.  I  am  the  largest  importer  of  cigar 
labels,  flaps,  and  bands.  Beside  .myself  there  are  at  most  four  other  firms  en- 
gaged in  this  business,  in  which  under  the  Dingley  tariff  act  the  importations 
have  in  no  single  year  equaled  $200,000  value. 

I  unqualifiedly  deny  the  statement  of  Mr.  Meyercord  so  far  as  the  same 
relates  to  cigar  labels  and  flaps,  which  statement  reads: 

"  Mr.  MEYERCOED.  You  must  understand,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  there  is  a  large 
part  of  this  business  that  is  original  orders,  quick  delivery,  duplicates,  with  only 
six  months'  time  given.  It  is  the  duplicate  business,  or  the  staple  end  of  the 
game,  that  the  importer  is  now  getting  the  better  of  the  American  manu- 
facturer." 

The  situation  in  my  trade  is  precisely  the  reverse  of  what  Mr.  Meyercord 
alleges.  Orders  for  duplicate  editions  are  made  here  almost  entirely,  being 
copied  from  the  imported  designs.  This  is  because  of  the  present  excessive 
duties. 

-     Louis  C.  WAG  NEK. 

Sworn  to  before  me  this  30th  day  of  November,  1908. 

[SEAL.]  CHABLES  C.  SHIELDS, 

Notary  Public. 


CITY  AND  COUNTY  OF  NEW  YORK, 

State  of  New  York,  ss: 

Hugo  Briining,  being  duly  sworn,  says :  I  am  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Hein- 
rich  &  August  Briining,  manufacturers  of  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bauds,  whose 
place  of  business  is  at  Hauau,  Germany.  I  happen  to  be  at  this  time  making 
a  tour  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  seeking  to  obtain  orders.  I  have  met 
Louis  C.  Wagner  and  Jacob  Laux,  of  this  city,  who  have  acquainted  me  with 
the  pending  revision  of  the  tariff,  and  I  desire  to  make  a  brief  statement  under 
oath,  which  I  was  prepared  to  do  on  the  21st  instant  before  the  committee 
at  Washington  but,  because  of  the  lack  of  time  at  the  committee's  disposal, 
I  could  not  be  heard.  , 

It  is  a  fact  that  foreign  manufacturers  find  it  very  difficult  to  sell  in  this 
country  any  cigar  labels  and  flaps  other  than  first  editions;  these  we  are  able 
to  sell  in  some  measure,  for  the  reason  that  we  present  novel  designs  which 
make  a  strong  appeal  to  the  trade.  Once  our  first  edition  is  produced  here  the 
American  lithographer  easily  copies  it,  and  is  able  to  sell  subsequent  editions 
of  the  same  design  well  under  our  figures.  It  is  rare  that  we  can  market  in 
this  country  an  edition  exceeding  10,000  sets,  whereas  editions  of  50,000  form 
a  very  large  proportion  of  the  sales  made  here.  Abroad  the  foreign  lithog- 
rapher is  meeting  active  competition  from  American  goods  which  are  put  out 
there  at  prices  lower  than  I  find  quoted  here  in  New  York  by  the  same  manu- 
facturers, and  even  lower  in  many  cases  than  we  are  able  to  sell  at.  The 
duties  on  such  work  in  continental  countries  are  generally  so  trivial  as  not 
substantially  to  figure  in  the  cost  of  marketing  the  goods. 

With  regard  to  the  conditions  in  German  factories  (where  all  imported  cigar 
labels,  flaps,  and  brands  are  made),  I  desire  to  state,  speaking  from  my  ex- 
perience: The  workmen  there  are  not  as  quick  as  American  workmen;  their 
usual  day's  run  is  between  3,500  and  4,000  sheets,  but  never  over  4,000;  they 
work  eight  and  one-half  hours  every  day  except  Saturday,  when  the  time  is 
seven  and  one-half  hours.  In  the  United  States  a  day's  run  is  from  6,000  to 
7,000  sheets. 

In  answer  to  some  of  the  statements  I  heard  Mr.  Meyercord  make  before 
the  committee,  I  declare :  Wages  of  lithographic  workers  in  Germany  are  not 
lower  than  those  prevailing  elsewhere  on  the  Continent ;  they  are  as  follows : 
Lithographic  artists,  32  to  45  marks  per  week  (eight  hours  per  day  and  seven 
hours  on  Saturday);  press  printers,  27  to  40  marks  per  week;  feeders,  17 
marks  per  week  average.  There  are  no  free  artists'  schools  for  lithographers 
maintained  in  Germany,  as  alleged  by  Mr.  Meyercord.  Only  the  evening 
schools,  such  as  are  common  in  this  country,  are  maintained  by  the  state  with- 
out charge.  The  labor  unions  have  a  strong  organization  in  Germany  and  have 
succeeded  in  many  factories  in  limiting  the  number  of  apprentices  to  be  em- 
ployed, which  has  and  will  continue  to  have  as  a  natural  result  the  steady 
growth  of  wages  in  this  industry.  If  the  differences  between  wages  here  and 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS.  6167 

abroad  alleged  by  Mr.  Meyercord  actually  existed  that  fact  would  long  since 
have  been  evidenced  by  substantial  emigration  to  this  country  of  German 
lithographers.  I  know  that  no  such  emigration  has  occurred. 

HUGO  BBUNINQ. 

Sworn  to  before  me  this  28th  day  of  November,  1908. 

[SEAL.]  CHARLES  C.  SHIELDS, 

Notary  Public. 


STATEMENT  OF  I.  WOLF,  JR.,  OF  PHILADELPHIA,  RELATIVE  TO 
DUTIES  ON  LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS. 

SATURDAY,  November  81,  1908. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  do  you  wish  to  talk  about,  Mr.  Wolf  ? 

Mr.  WOLF.  I  just  want  to  make  one  or  two  remarks  in  reference  to 
the  importation  and  manufacture  of  lithographic  prints  in  this  coun- 
try and  abroad.  We  are  one  of  the  largest  producers,  I  believe,  of 
American  lithographic  goods  in  this  country,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
largest  importers  of  foreign  goods.  The  question  of  increasing  the 
business  has  been  largely  on  account  of  postal  cards  in  the  last  few 
years — that  is,  the  large  increase  in  the  lithographic  business  in  the 
last  few  years  has  been  a  question  of  postal  cards,  and  we  are  import- 
ing them  in  very  large  quantities,  but  we  find  that  now  within  the 
last  year  the  product  in  America  is  becoming  very  large,  and  we  can 
not  with  the  foreign  goods  compete,  as  against  the  American  goods. 
In  other  words,  we  are  buying  goods  in  Europe  which  cost  us  8  marks, 
or  $1.94,  a  thousand  in  lots,  and  we  can  buy  the  same  goods  produced 
in  this  country  for  $1.65,  and  the  lithographers  here  give  equally 
good  work  as  we  get  abroad.  The  duty  on  postal  cards  is  5  cents  a 
pound,  and  they  weigh  about  10  pounds  to  the  thousand,  and  that 
would  be  50  cents  a  thousand.  In  other  words,  the  goods  that  cost  us 
8  marks  in  Germany,  and  figuring  the  duty  at  50  cents,  would  make 
the  imported  goods  stand  us  $2.44. 

We  can  submit  to  you  gentlemen  estimates  and  samples  of  both  the 
foreign  and  American  production,  and  I  think  we  are  fully  protected 
in  the  American  market  by  the  duty  now  existing. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Do  you  want  any  change  made  in  the  duty  ? 

Mr.  WOLF.  No,  sir ;  we  do  not  want  it  reduced. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  You  do  not  want  it  reduced  ? 

Mr.  WOLF.  We  will  take  a  reduction,  but  we  do  not  ask  for  it.  The 
printers  are  fully  protected,  and  we  think  the  present  mode  is  a  very 
just  mode  of  assessing  the  duty.  When  the  duty  was  at  the  Dingley 
rate  a  number  of  foreign  manufacturers  would  fix  the  price  so  that 
it  was  difficult  to  arrive  at  the  value.  It  was  very  difficult  to  get  at 
the  proper  value,  and  the  American  lithographers  at  the  time  the 
last  bill  was  passed  met  and  agreed  upon  this  bill;  we  agreed  upon 
this  bill  ourselves,  and  agreed  that  it  was  the  most  fair  arrangement 
that  could  be  made,  so  that  the  United  States  Government  could  col- 
lect the  same  rate  of  duty  from  everybody,  and  not  give  the  foreign 
manufacturers  any  advantage,  so  far  as  the  rate  of  duty  was  con- 
cerned. 

Mr.  HILL.  Are  your  goods  admitted  free  now  to  Germany  ? 

Mr.  WOLF.  Yes. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Do  you  send  any  of  your  goods  to  Germany  f 

Mr.  WOLF.  Comparatively  little. 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 26 


6168        SCHEDULE  M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  HILL.  France  does,  does  she  not  ? 

Mr.  WOLF.  France  sends  some  to  Germany. 

Mr.  HILL.  And  they  go  in  free  ? 

Mr.  WOLF.  Yes. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Do  we  send  any  to  France  and  Germany? 

Mr.  WOLF.  The  exportation  is  very  little.    The  French  have  not 

g>ne  into  the  art  work  in  that  line.  The  class  of  goods  imported  from 
ermany  to  America  are  lithographic  prints,  which  are  compara- 
tively art  reproductions,  and  also  things  used  for  advertising  purposes. 
The  American  market  up  to  the  present  time  has  occupied  itself 
largely  with  lithographic  prints  for  advertising  purposes.  They  are 
going  largely  into  calendars  and  advertisements,  which  go  into  for- 
eign countries. 

Mr.  HILL.  What  countries  do  you  export  to? 
Mr.  WOLF.  To  England  and  to  Germany. 


THE   ROSE    COMPANY,    PHILADELPHIA,    PA.,    ASKS    INCREASED 
DUTY  ON  POST  CARDS,  CALENDARS,  AND  PICTURES. 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  November  85, 1908. 
CHAIRMAN  COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  We  beg  to  submit  to  you  the  following,  relative  to  the 
duty  on  post  cards,  calendars,  and  pictures: 

When  the  present  tariff  was  established  there  was  no  post  card  and 
very  little  domestic  calendar  industry  in  this  country,  therefore  no 
tariff  was  arranged  to  protect  it.  Since  that  time  the  business  has 
developed  enormously,  and  millions  of  cards  are  now  being  manu- 
factured every  month.  Far  greater  quantities  of  cards  are  being  im- 
ported than  are  manufactured  here,  however,  and  for  obvious  reasons. 
Our  cost  for  labor  is  far  in  excess  of  the  European  cost,  and  Euro- 
pean manufacturers  have  the  advantage  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
old  plates  that  they  are  utilizing  on  cards  shipped  to  this  country. 

European  manufacturers  of  post  cards,  pictures,  and  calendars 
openly  state  that  American  manufacturers  have  made  great  progress 
within  the  past  few  years,  and  are  strong  competitors,  but  that  they 
are  safe  so  far  as  the  better  class  of  work  is  concerned,  because  the 
cost  of  American  labor  will  not  permit  the  production  of  the  higher 
class  of  work  at  prices  to  compete  with  the  foreign  production.  This 
is  manifestly  true,  because  the  duty  of  5  cents  per  pound  is  absurd. 
A  thousand  post  cards  weigh  about  8  pounds,  and  the  duty  of  5 
cents  per  pound  is  very  little  protection  on  a  cheap  card,  and  on  a 
high-priced  article  the  duty  is  absolutely  no  protection  whatever. 

If  American  manufacturers  and  publishers  were  given  fair  protec- 
tion, it  would  mean  tremendous  strides  toward  the  oetterment  of  the 
industry.  It  would  be  a  great  encouragement  to  thousands  of  artists, 
engravers,  printers,  pressmen,  and  to  manufacturers  of  cardboard 
and  paper. 

Work  produced  during  the  past  year  by  many  of  the  American 
publishers  proves  beyond  question  that  so  far  as  quality  of  work  is 
concerned  there  will  be  no  difficulty  whatever  in  producing  it  if  rea- 


POST  CARDS.  6169 

sonable  protection  is  assured.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  tariff 
should  not  be  raised.  This  class  of  work  is  not  a  necessity,  but  a 
luxury.  If  the  prices  were  slightly  increased  to  the  consumer,  it 
would  work  no  hardship  to  anyone,  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there 
would  be  no  increase  in  the  retail  selling  prices,  and  very  little,  if 
any,  in  the  wholesale  prices. 

During  the  past  year,  owing  to  the  business  depression  in  Europe, 
post  cards,  calendars,  and  pictures  have  been  thrown  into  this  country, 
millions  at  a  time,  at  prices  so  low  that  American  manufacturers 
could  not  possibly  produce  them  at  the  price.  A  few  American  job- 
bers have  been  the  gainers  by  this,  and  foreign  manufacturers  and 
mechanics  have  been  enormously  benefited,  but  thousands  of  Ameri- 
can artisans  have  suffered  and  have  been  thrown  out  of  employment. 

We  feel  that  in  the  interest  of  the  advancement  of  art,  in  the  im- 
provement of  methods  and  workmanship,  and  in  the  interest  of  the 
many  thousands  of  people  now  employed  in  this  industry,  and  the 
many  thousands  more  who  will  be  employed  if  the  change  is  made, 
this  matter  should  be  given  a  favorable  consideration. 

We  ask  for  a  duty  of  not  less  than  50  per  cent  on  printed,  engraved, 
or  lithographed  pictures,  calendars,  and  post  cards. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

THE  ROSE  COMPANY. 
H.  M.  KOSE. 


SAN  FRANCISCO  MAKERS  OF  POST  CARDS  ADVOCATE  A  DUTY 
OF  ONE-FOURTH  OF  ONE  CENT  PER  CARD. 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL.,  November  28,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WATS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of 'Representatives ,  Washington,  D.  0. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  undersigned  manufacturers  of  picture  postal 
cards  hereby  petition  your  committee  that  in  the  revision  of  the 
Dingley  tariff  protection  be  given  to  the  manufacture  of  picture 
postal  cards  in  the  United  States  by  imposing  on  all  imported  picture 
postal  cards  a  duty  of  one-fourth  of  1  cent  per  card. 

Some  forty  odd  years  ago  the  publishing  of  picture  postal  cards 
started  in  Europe  in  a  small  way  and  grew  slowry  for  the  succeeding 
twenty  years  or  more.  Thereafter  this  industry  made  tremendous 
strides,  so  that  now  some  of  the  foreign  factories  are  as  large  as  our 
woolen  mills,  some  of  them  employing  as  many  as  5,000  workmen. 
The  official  estimate  of  the  number  of  souvenir  postal  cards  passing 
through  the  British  post-offices  last  year  was  500,000,000,  and  the 
value  placed  on  these  cards  was  estimated  at  $5,000,000. 

In  the  United  States  picture  postal  cards  became  a  fad  first  about 
fifteen  years  ago.  They  have  grown  in  favor  rapidly, until  to-day  we 
probably  use  more  picture  postal  cards  than  any  other  country.  It  is 
estimated  that  as  much  as  $200,000  a  day  is  spent  for  these  cards  in 
the  United  States.  Unfortunately,  however,  only  a  very  small  per- 
centage of  these  cards  is  made  in  this  country  at  the  present  time.  We 
imported  from  Germany  alone  during  the  year  1907,  725,560,000 
cards,  which  is  more  than  half  the  total  export  from  Germany. 
Owing  to  the  big  lead  obtained  by  foreign  manufacturers,  American 


6170  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

manufacturers  made  slow  progress  at  first,  but  by  degrees  they  have 
been  able  to  increase  their  business  in  spite  of  foreign  competition. 
Being  nearer  the  market,  knowing  the  correct  coloring  of  local  views, 
and  having  other  small  advantages,  it  was  possible  for  the  American 
manufacturer  to  increase  the  size  of  Ms  runs.  By  making  large 
editions  it  was  possible  to  improve  the  work  and  reduce  the  prices; 
but  every  time  the  American  manufacturer  lowered  his  prices  the 
foreign  manufacturer  cut  under  him,  until  now  the  foreign  manufac- 
turer makes  a  much  lower  price  to  American  importers  than  that  at 
which  he  sells  at  home.  The  greatly  increased  use  of  picture  postal 
cards  has  been  the  main  factor  in  enabling  the  American  manufac- 
turer to  progress  at  all,  as  the  demand  appears  to  be  greater  than  the 
supply.  There,  however,  appears  to  be  no  good  reason  why  every 
card  that  is  used  in  America  should  not  be  manufactured  here,  and 
this  can  be  done  if  the  American  manufacturer  is  given  reasonable 
protection.  A  few  years  ago  picture  postal  cards  were  on  sale  in 
about  100  stores  and  shops  in  the  United  States;  to-day  they  may  be 
had  in  80,000  different  places. 

With  protection  the  American  manufacturer  could  not  only  make 
scenic  postal  cards,  to  the  manufacture  of  which  he  is  now  practically 
confined,  but  could  also  manufacture  art,  novelty,  and  special  day 
cards.  The  demand  for  cards  is  tremendous,  as  we  have  already 
shown,  and  with  American  manufacturers  enabled  to  supply  this 
demand  employment  would  be  given  to  thousands  of  employees  at 
good  wages,  with  reasonable  hours,  doing  artistic  and  congenial  work 
that  would  make  the  employees  not  only  prosperous  but  happy  and 
contented.  Such  protection  would  work  no  hardship  on  anyone 
excepting  the  foreign  manufacturer  and  would  prevent  the  sending 
of  millions  of  dollars  out  of  the  country  every  year.  It  is  not  the 
purpose  of  the  American  manufacturer  to  raise  the  price  of  picture 
postal  cards,  but  it  is  to  enable  him  to  meet  with  foreign  competition 
that  protection  is  asked. 

The  principal  item  entering  into  the  cost  of  picture  postal  cards  is 
wages.  In  the  United  States  the  manufacturers  of  these  cards  pay 
their  employees  four  and  five  times  the  amount  paid  to  men  of  the 
same  relative  capacities  in  Europe,  and  pay  their  employees  as  many 
dollars  per  day  as  the  manufacturers  in  Japan  pay  cents.  Japan  has 
recently  commenced  manufacturing  picture  postal  cards. in  a  large 
way,  and  competition  from  that  source  will  soon  be  so  keen  and  fos- 
tered by  such  favorable  conditions  to  the  Japanese  manufacturer  in 
the  lowness  of  their  wages  there  that  the  American  manufacturer 
without  protection  can  not  hope  to  compete  successfully.  In  foreign 
countries  the  working  day  is  10  hours  or  longer,  while  in  America  it  is 
8  hours,  and  the  American  manufacturer,  in  addition,  pays  time  and 
a  half  for  overtime  and  gives  double  pay  for  Sundays  and  holidays. 
Another  element  entering  into  the  cost  of  picture  postal  cards  is  the 
price  of  materials,  which  is  much  higher  hi  America  than  in  foreign 
countries. 

At  the  present  time  picture  postal  cards  have  no  distinct  classifi- 
cation; the  result  is  that  no  uniform  duty  is  charged  on  them  at  the 
various  ports  of  entry.  The  custom-house  inspectors  vary  the  charge 
in  different  ports,  some  passing  picture  postal  cards  as  printed  matter 
at  25  cents  ad  valorem,  others  as  lithographed  cards  at  5  cents 
per  pound,  and  a  few  others  at  still  higher  rates  under  various 
classifications.  Picture  postal  cards  should  have  a  separate  and  dis- 


LITHOGRAPHIC   PRINTS.  617 1 

/ 

tinct  classification  of  their  own,  so  that  the  rate  of  duty  thereon  could 
be  uniform.  This  duty  might  be  figured  by  the  pound  or  by  an  ad 
valorem  tax  or  by  a  fixed  amount  per  card.  The  first  two  methods 
would  doubtless  make  it  necessary  to  grade  the  quality  of  the  work, 
making  a  lower  rate  on  printed  cards,  an  intermediate  rate  on  cards 
that  were  partly  printed  and  partly  lithographed,  and  a  higher  rate 
on  straight  lithographed  work.  A  tax  of  a  fixed  amount  on  each 
card  appears  to  be  the  most  satisfactory  tax,  as  it  eliminates  all  ques- 
tion as  to  the  exact  process  by  which  the  cards  were  made,  whether 
printed,  lithographed,  or  made  by  both  processes,  and  would  thus 
make  it  impossible  to  deceive  inspectors. 

This  method  also  has  the  advantage  of  being  the  method  already 
adopted  in  the  Dingley  tariff  with  reference  to  playing  cards,  whicn 
pay  a  duty  of  10  cents  per  deck;  each  deck  contains  52  cards,  so 
that  this  rate  is  almost  exactly  one-fifth  of  1  cent  per  card.  Picture 
postal  cards  could  easily  bear  a  rate  of  one-quarter  of  1  cent  per  card 
if  playing  cards  bear  a  rate  of  one-fifth  of  1  cent  a  card.  The  result 
of  protecting  playing  cards  has  been  seen  in  the  great  development 
of  factories  making  playing  cards  in  the  United  States  and  the  in- 
creased employment  of  workmen  in  these  factories.  The  same  result 
would  follow  a  protection  given  to  picture  postal  cards. 

The  Government  would  be  justified  in  making  the  rate  on  picture 
postal  cards  higher  than  the  rate  on  playing  cards,  because  the  Gov- 
ernment itself  derives  a  return  from  the  use  of  postal  cards.  Under 
the  present  rates  of  postage  the  Government  receives  an  income  of  32 
cents  per  pound  from  domestic  letters,  while  postal  cards  pay  a  reve- 
nue to  the  Government  of  over  $1  per  pound. 

The  phrase  "-picture  postal  cards"  has  been  used  throughout  this 
brief,  as  it  is  a  phrase  that  clearly  covers  and  describes  the  sort  of 
cards  for  which  protection  has  been  asked.  The  technical  name  for 
these  cards  as  established  by  law  and  international  agreement  is  "post 
cards,"  which  distinguished  the  picture  postals  from  the  ordinary 
postal  cards  printed  by  the  Government. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

EDW.  H.  MITCHELL. 

BRITTON  &  RET. 

SCHMIDT  LITHOGRAPH  Co. 

THE  UNION  LITHOGRAPH  Co., 

B.  S.  HUBBARD,  President. 

GALLOWAY  LITHOGRAPHING  Co., 

WM.  HAGEN. 

Louis  ROESCH  COMPANY, 

Louis  ROESCH,  President. 


THE  LITHOGRAPHERS'  INTERNATIONAL  PROTECTIVE  AND  BENE- 
FICIAL ASSOCIATION  ASKS  TARIFF  PROTECTION. 

JERSEY  CITY,  N.  J.,  November  28,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C., 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  T  am  aware  that  your  time  is  very  limited;  neverthe- 
less, as  I  represent  an  organization  the  members  of  which  will  b« 


6172  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

very  much  affected  b^  any  mistakes  made  or  by  an  unjust  revi- 
sion of  the  tariff,  I  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  these  few  lines 
to  you. 

The  very  principle  of  a  protective  tariff  is  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
tecting the  investment  of  American  capital  and  to  permit  such  wages 
to  be  paid  as  will  allow  our  wage-earners  to  live  up  to  the  American 
standard  of  living.  And  whensoever  this  issue  has  been  placed  be- 
fore the  American  people  for  a  decision  it  has  been  sustained  by  an 
overwhelming  majority. 

It  appears  to  me  that  those  who  are  at  the  present  shouting  loudest 
for  a  revision  of  the  tariff  should  draw  aside  the  mask  so  as  to  show 
their  true  colors  as  advocates  of  free  trade.  To-day  we  find  our 
country  flooded  with  foreign  lithographs,  which  is  not  due  to  any 
overcharges  or  monopoly  of  the  American  lithographer,  but  which 
is  due  to  the  difference  in  the  methods  of  living  between  the  American 
and  German  wage-earner. 

His  wants  are  fewer,  and  consequently  his  earnings  satisfy  his  wants. 
Have  him  make  America  his  home,  and  his  wants  increase.  He  looks 
to  be  better  clothed,  his  home  is  brightened  with  the  custom  of 
American  homes,  his  increased  wants  require  better  wages,  and  it 
is  this  in  turn  that  keeps  the  wheels  of  machinery  going. 

Our  country  owes  its  greatness  only  to  the  fact  that  the  wage- 
earner  has  been  able  to  get  something  more  than  a  mere  existence, 
and  to  change  those  conditions  means  a  defeat  of  the  party  that  is 
responsible  for  the  same. 

I  will  not  on  this  occasion  touch  upon  the  figures.  They  can  be 
obtained  by  your  committee.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  the  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  dollars  worth  of  lithographs  that  are  brought  into  our 
country  should  be  done  here  by  our  workmen,  who  in  turn  will  spend 
their  earnings  for  American  manufactured  goods. 

Hoping  this  will  receive  your  attention,  I  remain, 
Very  truly,  yours, 

FRANK  GEHRING, 
General  President  Lithographers'  International  Protective  and 

Beneficial  Association  of  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

Letters  in  similar  vein  to  the  above,  asking  additional  protection 
for  post  cards,  calendars,  sample  cards,  and  the  like,  were  received 
from  the  following:  Chilton  Printing  Company,  Philadelphia,  Pa.; 
Eugene  A.  Behr,  29  Mercer  street,  New  York  City;  J.  C.  Marble  & 
Son,  Mangum,  Okla 


GARTNER  &  BENDER,  CHICAGO,  ILL.,  ASK  A  DUTY  OF  THIRTY- 
FIVE  CENTS  PER  POUND  ON  POST  CARDS. 

CHICAGO,  November  SO,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  are  informed  that  some  action  will  be  taken  in 
the  next  session  of  Congress  on  the  tariff,  and  that  the  matter  of  the 
duty  on  post  cards  will  be  taken  up.  We  are  publishers  of  souvenir 

S^st  cards  and  are  of  course  interested  in  this  matter  very  much, 
ur  greatest  competition  is  European-made  cards. 


CALENDARS  AND  POST  CARDS.  6173 

We  find  that  the  protection  offered  American  publishers  of  souve- 
nir post  cards  is  not  sufficient,  mainly  because  European  labor  is 
considerably  cheaper  than  American  labor,  and  the  duty  of  5  cents 
per  pound  is  not  sufficient  protection  for  American  publishers  to 
overcome  the  diff^ence  in  the  labor.  The  industry  in  this  country 
is  still  in  its  infancy  and  should  be  encouraged.  European  compe- 
tition is  becoming  keener,  because  foreigners  now  realize  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  American  market. 

For  the  past  two  seasons  we  have  attempted,  hi  competition  with 
European  makers,  to  manufacture  what  is  known  as  "season's 
goods" — that  is,  Christmas,  New  Year,  valentine,  and  Easter  souve- 
nir post  cards.  This  class  of  goods  is  now  being  offered  to  us  by  for- 
eigners at  such  prices  that  it  is  not  profitable  for  us  any  longer  to 
manufacture  them.  This  will  necessarily  lead  to  the  discharge  of  a 
certain  number  of  the  employees  now  in  the  engraving  and  the  print- 
ing departments.  We  believe  this  condition  prevails  also  among 
other  color  printers  and  lithographers.  All  first-class  color  printers 
and  lithographers  will  probably  take  up  publishing  of  souvenir  post 
cards  if  these  conditions  are  bettered  and  they  are  protected  from 
foreign  competition,  and  thus  a  great  many  thousand  people  will  be 
benefited. 

We  sincerely  trust  that  a  favorable  tariff  will  be  obtained.     A  5- 
cent  per  pound  duty  is  ridiculous.     A  rate  of  35  cents  per  pound 
would  be  desirable  and  proper  protection  for  domestic  manufacturers. 
Yours,  respectfully, 

GARTNER  &  BENDER. 


THE  CRESCENT  EMBOSSING  COMPANY,  PLAINFIELD,  N.  J.,  ASKS 

MORE  PROTECTION  FOR  CALENDARS  AND  POST  CARDS. 

• 

PLAINFIELD,  N.  J.,  November  SO,  1908. 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  As  color  printers  and  embossers,  we  are  interested  in  the 
tariff  on  calendars,  post  cards,  etc.  When  the  present  tariff  was 
enacted  this  business  amounted  to  practically  nothing  in  this  country, 
but  it  has  since  grown  to  very  large  proportions  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  German  manufacturers  have  been  dumping  large  quantities  of 
their  stock  at  sacrifice  prices  on  the  American  market.  This  has 
especially  been  the  case  during  the  last  twelve  months  on  account  of 

feneral  business  depression  everywhere,  and  it  has  also  been  especially 
ard  on  the  American  manufacturers  during  that  time. 
With  the  return  of  business  prosperity  now  setting  in,  the  manu- 
facture of  post  cards,  pictures,  and  calendars  in  this  country  can  be 
developed  wonderfully,  if  foreign  goods  are  made  to  pay  a  reasonable 
duty.  The  present  duty  on  post  cards  is  only  5  cents  per  pound, 
which  is  practically  nothing  on  high-priced  cards,  as  it  amounts  to  but 
about  35  cents  to  40  cents  per  1,000,  and  it  seems  a  shame  that  the 
post  cards  representing  views  of  all  American  cities  should  be  made 
almost  entirely  in  Germany,  as  they  are  at  present.  We  do  not  feel 
that  the  American  manufacturers  are  going  out  of  business  if  the 
tariff  is  not  made  more  protective,  but  we  do  feel  that  a  reasonable 
increase  in  the  tariff,  amounting  to  25  cents  to  35  cents  per  pound, 


6174 


SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 


would  result  in  a  wonderful  development  of  the  industry  in  this 
country. 

Very  truly,  yours,  CRESCENT  EMBOSSING  Co., 

FRED  C.  LOUNSBURY,  President. 


GEORGE  R.  MEYERCORD,  CHICAGO,  ILL.,  FILES  SUPPLEMENTAL 
STATEMENT  RELATIVE  TO  LABOR  IN  FOREIGN  LITHOGRAPH- 
ING ESTABLISHMENTS. 

CHICAGO,  December  1, 1908. 
WILLIAM  K.  PAYNE, 

Clerk  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  Washington,  D.  C. 
DEAR  SIR:  On  Saturday,  November  21,  the  chairman  asked  me  to 
file  some  statistics  as  to  where  we  got  our  prices  on  labor  shown  in 
the  brief. 

We  inclose  herewith  two  original  letters,  one  from  the  firm  of  G. 
Lowensohn,  a  lithographer  in  Furth,  Bavaria,  South  Germany;  also 
a  letter  from  Segitz  &  Neidhardt,  who  quoted  the  rate  of  wages  paid 
by  his  customer,  Richard  Fuchs,  a  lithographer  in  Berlin.  I  also 
inclose  translated  copies  of  both  letters. 

Comparison  of  these  wages  with  the  schedule  paid  by  the  National 
Association  of  Employing  Lithographers  will  show  the  rate  to  be 
exactly  one-fourth,  as  we  claim.  I  may  state  that  I  will  probably 
secure  a  copy  of  the  agreement  between  the  employers  association 
and  the  union  in  Germany.  Failing  in  that,  I  will  probably  secure  a 
printed  copy  of  the  official  scale  of  either  the  employers  or  the  unions 
in  Germany. 

I  further  desire  to  make  this  offer:  The  Ways  and  Means  Commit- 
tee can,  at  their  pleasure,  send  a  special  agent  to  any  member  of  the 
National  Association  of  Employing  Lithographers,  who  will  throw 
open  his  books  for  an  investigation  as  to  wages  paid  and  the  per- 
centage of  gross  sales  they  bear,  and  to  arrive  at  an  average  the  spe- 
cial agent  is  perfectly  at  liberty  to  go  into  a  dozen  or  more  firms 
belonging  to  our  association  and.  investigate  anything  he  wishes,  and 
thus  corroborate  our  statements.  We  will  throw  wide  open  the  books 
of  any  member  of  our  association.  The  special  agent  can  pick  at 
random  whichever  firms  he  wishes. 

I  also  inclose  copy  of  the  official  publication  of  our  association, 
giving  shop  rules  and  quoting  wage  statistics. 

The  chairman  asks  us  to  file  by  dollars,  not  by  quantities,  the  per- 
centage compared  to  the  whole  amount  of  the  various  items  entering 
into  the  manufacture.  I  quote  this  list  below : 


Percentage 
of  total  cost 
of  pro- 
duction. 

Duty  under 
present 
tariff. 

Amount  In 
dollars  of 
total  cost  of 
production. 

Wages          

Per  cent. 
41 

$7,175,000 

Paper  (surface  coated) 

29J 

$0  555 

5.162,500 

Color                   

3 

.30 

525,000 

Bronze  powders  and  metal  leaf  . 

11 

.  23J-.  909 

262,500 

All  other  materials  

16 

.20-.  45 

2,800,000 

Insurance,  rent,  and  power  

7 

1,225,000 

Superintendence...  

2 

350,008 

17,500,000 

LITHOGRAPHIC   FEINTS GEORGE   R.    MEYERCORD. 


6175 


Trusting  this  information  is  satisfactory  and  what  the  chairman 
wishes,  I  am, 

Yours,  very  truly,  'GEO.  R.  MEYERCORD, 

THE  MEYERCORD  Co., 

Decalcomania  Transfers. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

FURTH  (BAYERN),  September  1,  1908. 
Mr.  CARL  NEIDHARD, 

Care  Segttz  <&  Neidhard: 

In  answer  to  your  letter,  I  am  pleased  to  give  you  herewith  the 
wages  paid  to  our  lithographic  help. 

The  minimum  wages  paid  after  the  expiration  of  the  apprenticeship 
of  the  lithographic  artists  as  well  as  for  the  lithographic  printers  and 
transferrers  in  Germany  are  19  marks,  or  equal  to  $4.75  per  week.  In 
general,  the  lithographic  artists  are  paid,  in  accordance  to  ability, 
from  22  to  33  marks,  or  from  $5.50  to  $8.25  per  week.  Lithographic 
printers  are  paid  directly  after  the  time  of  their  apprenticeship  19 
marks,  or  $4.75  per  week,  and  later  on,  in  accordance  with  their 
ability,  22  to  33  marks,  or  $5.50  to  $8.25  per  week;  lithographic 
transferrers  from  25  to  30  marks,  or  from  $6.25  to  $7.50  per  week. 
The  help  for  sticking  up  transfer  impressions  and  for  finishing  up  the 
transfer  from  25  to  33  marks,  or  $6.25  to  $8.25  per  week. 

A  regular  scale  of  wages  does  not  exist  with  us,  for  the  reason,  as 
explained  above,  the  rate  of  wages  is  in  accordance  with  the  ability 
of  the  help  in  the  different  departments. 

With  kindest  regards,  G.  LOWENSOHN. 


EXHIBIT  B. 

SEPTEMBER  5,  1908. 
Mr.  FRANK  A.  STECHER,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

DEAR  MR.  STECHER  :  I  have  just  received  from  one  of  my  customers, 
Mr.  Richard  Fuchs,  a  large  lithographic  establishment  in  Berlin, 
Germany,  the  following  information  as  to  the  scale  of  wages  paid  to 
the  German  lithographic  workmen: 


Per  week. 

Marks. 

Dollars. 

Lithographic  artists,  one  year  after  expiration  of  apprenticeship  

21 
25 

30-35 
50  or  more. 

30-40 
25-35 
24-^30 
25-35 
40  or  more. 

5.25 
6.25 
7.  50-8.  75 
12.50 

7.  50-10.  00 
6.  25-8.  75 
6.00-7.50 
6.  25-8.  75 
10  or  more. 

Average  workmen  

Better  class  of  workmen  

Highest  class  of  workmen  or  foremen 

Lithographic  pressmen  and  transferrers: 
Pressmen  

Provers  

For  sticking  up  transfers  

Transferrers  

Foremen  in  printing  room  ..   . 

We  find  the  average  number  of  hours  of  work  to  be  the  same  as  in 
the  United  States,  eight  hours  for  the  artists,  and  nine  for  the  printers 
and  transferrers.  In  comparing  the  wages  of  the  lithographic  work- 


6176  SCHEDULE  M — PTJLP,  PAPEKS,  AND   BOOKS. 

men  in  Germany  with  those  that  are  being  paid  in  the  United  States, 
we  notice  that  the  average  for  artists,  printers,  and  transferrers  is 
30  marks,  or  equal  to  $7.50,  while  that  paid  in  the  United  States  is 
$25  per  week,  or  340  per  cent  higher  than  in  Germany. 
Yours,  truly, 

SEGITZ  &  NEIDHAKDT, 

Fuerih,  Bavaria. 


EXHIBIT  C. 

SHOP  RULES  OF  THE  NATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OP  EMPLOYING  LITHOGRAPHERS,  AH 

AMENDED  MAY  10,  1907. 

2  A.  Foremen. — The  foremen  employed  in  the  shops  shall  at  no  time  be  in 
any  manner  affiliated  with  any  labor  union  whatsoever,  but  shall  be  nonunion 
men  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  term. 

1.  No  journeyman  shall  be  employed,  after  the  adoption  of  these  rules,  unless  he 
signs  the  antistrike  contract.     [The  board  of  directors  ordered,  May  10,  1907,  that 
each  workman  signing  an  antistrike  contract  shall  receive  the  protection  contract.] 

2.  Time. — The  hours  of  work  of  commercial  artists,  engravers,  and  designers  shall 
be  forty-eight  hours  per  week,  excepting  in  shops  where  forty-seven  and  one-half 
hours  have  been  the  rule,  in  which  cases  the  houses  shall  have  the  privilege  of  con- 
tinuing these  hours;  all  other  lithographic  departments,  fifty-three  hours  per  week. 

Overtime  is  any  time  other  than  the  regular  working  hours  of  the  establishment, 
even  though  the  employee  may  not  have  worked  the  full  regular  time  of  the  week  in 
question,  except  when  the  regular  time  lost  was  due  to  the  voluntary  action  of  the 
employee.  It  shall  be  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  time  and  one-half.  Legal  holidays  and 
Sunday  work  shall  be  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  double  time. 

All  employees  must  be  at  their  machines  or  benches  ready  to  work  at  the  starting 
signal  and  remain  there  until  the  stopping  signal. 

3.  Pressmen. — Pressmen  shall  run  two  presses  when  required.     In  such  case  he 
shall  receive  extra  pay,  which  shall  be  40  per  cent  of  the  minimum  scale  price  of  the 
extra  press  which  he  shall  run. 

4.  Pressmen,  feeders,  and  tenders  must  do  any  work  required  to  be  done  about  the 
press  in  order  to  get  it  running. 

When  presses  are  not  running,  feeders  and  tenders  must  do  any  work  required  of 
them. 

5.  Transferrers  and  provers. — Journeymen  transferrers  and  provers  shall  work  with 
such  help  as  the  employer  may  provide. 

6.  Rotation  in  employment. — Journeymen  may  be  employed  to  do  either  trans- 
ferring or  proving  or  running  a  press  from  time  to  time  as  may  be  required,  but  no 
man  is  to  be  paid  less  than  the  scale  for  the  kind  of  work  that  he  may  be  doing,  nor 
shall  his  regular  wages  be  reduced  on  account  of  such  rotation  of  employment. 

7.  Bonuses. — Bonuses  or  premiums  may  be  paid  at  the  discretion  of  the  employer 
only  to  employees  who  have  been  continuously  employed  for  one  year  in  the  estab- 
lishment paying  the  bonus,  but  no  bonuses  shall  be  used  to  determine  a  man's  rate 
of  wages. 

8.  Piece  and  contract  work. — Piece  work  shall  be  allowed  in  the  designing,  art,  and 
engraving  departments.    Contract  work  may  be  done  also;  but  where  a  contractor  in 
the  employ  of  the  members  engages  men  under  him,  he  must  agree  to  conform  to  all 
association  rules,  as  if  he  were  a  member  of  this  association,  provided  that  all  piece- 
work and  contract  men  shall  have  an  established  rate  of  wages. 

9.  Apprentices. — Operation  suspended  until  further  order  of  the  board  of  directors, 
in  accordance  with  recommendation  made  at  annual  meeting  National  Association  of 
Employing  Lithographers,  May  8,  1907,  to  the  effect  that  the  exact  ratio  of  appren- 
tices be  fixed  by  the  board  of  directors  and  be  put  in  operation  at  such  time  as  the  board 
shall  determine. 

After  the  annual  meeting  of  May,  1907,  apprentices  shall  be  as  follows  (these  ratios 
not  to  be  exceeded): 

One  apprentice  transferrer  to  each  three  journeymen  or  major  fraction  thereof. 
One  apprentice  prover  to  each  three  journeymen  or  major  fraction  thereof. 


UTHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS GEORGE  R.   MEYERCORD.  6177 

One  apprentice  engraver  or  artist  to  each  four  journeymen  or  major  fraction  thereof. 

One  apprentice  pressman  to  each  four  journeymen  or  major  fraction  thereof. 

Provided,  however,  that  one  apprentice  shall  be  employed  in  each  department  in 
each  shop. 

In  any  shop  on  above  date  where  the  apprentice  ratio  exceeds  the  above  no  further 
apprentices  shall  be  employed  until  the  ratio  is  reduced  to  the  above. 

Apprenticeship  term. — For  designers,  artists,  and  engravers,  five  years;  for  provers, 
transferrers,  and  pressmen,  four  years. 

It  is  recommended  that  every  apprentice,  other  than  for  designer,  artist,  or  engraver, 
first  serve  a  probationary  term  as  feeder  for  six  months,  except  the  graduates  of  the 
Winona  Trade  School. 

The  apprenticeship  term  of  graduates  of  the  Winona  Trade  School  shall  in  all  depart- 
ments be  two  years. 

It  is  recommended  that  the  following  apprentice  scale  of  wages  be  adopted  through- 
out the  country,  but  each  group  may  determine  upon  a  scale  for  itself: 

For  apprentice  designers,  artists,  and  engravers: 

Per  week. 

First  six  months $3 

Second  six  months 4 

Third  six  months 5 

Fourth  six  months 6 

Fifth  six  months 7 

Sixth  six  months 8 

Seventh  six  months 9 

Eighth  six  months 10 

Ninth  six  months 12 

Tenth  six  months . .         14 

For  apprentice  provers,  transferrers,  or  pressmen: 

Per  week. 

First  six  months $4 

Second  six  months 5 

Third  six  months 6 

Fourth  six  months 7 

Fifth  six  months 8 

Sixth  six  months 9 

Seventh  six  months 10 

Eighth  six  months 12 

(This  entire  section  in  reference  to  apprentices  is  suspended  pending  action  of  the 
board  of  directors,  in  accordance  with  the  notice  printed  at  the  beginning  of  this 
section.) 

10.  Scale  of  wages. — The  following  minimum  scale  of  wages  is  hereby  established 
for  journeymen: 

Per  week. 

For  proving  and  transfer  departments $20 

Artists 20 

Commercial  engravers 20 

Map  and  mechanical  engravers 15 

In  the  printing  department: 

For  Nos.  1,  2,  and  3  stone  presses 20 

For  Nos.  3£-4| 22 

For  Nos.  5-5£ 25 

For  one-color  rotary < 25 

For  two-color  rotary 27 

For  three-color  rotary 30 

Feeders  and  stone  grinders. — Groups  may  establish  their  own  minimum  scale  of 
feeders'  and  stone-grinders'  wages. 

Feeders  shall  be  at  the  press  ten  minutes  before  starting  time  in  order  to  oil  up, 
place  the  rollers  in  the  press,  etc.,  and  shall  remain  fifteen  minutes  after  the  stopping 
time  in  order  to  thoroughly  "wash  up." 

For  this  extra  twenty-five  minutes  per  day  they  shall  be  paid  $1  extra  per  week,  or 
at  overtime  rate. 

Houses,  if  they  prefer,  may  employ  oilers  or  cleaners  to  do  this  work. 

Groups  shall  have  the  privilege  of  modifying  the  method  of  feeders'  work  and  time 
to  suit  their  local  requirements,  but  they  should  be  uniform  in  each  group. 


6178  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

THE  ROSE  COMPANY,  OF  PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  SUGGESTS  A  FIFTY 
PER  CENT  DUTY  ON  PICTURE  POST  CARDS. 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  December  1, 1908. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  beg  to  supplement  our  letter  of  the  25th  ultimo, 
as  follows: 

The  post  cards  that  are  now  being  imported  under  a  duty  of  25 
per  cent  should  be  included  hi  the  same  classification  as  other  post 
cards. 

Holiday  cards,  such  as  Christmas,  New  Year's,  Thanksgiving,  etc., 
whether  post  cards  or  not,  should  come  under  the  same  classification. 

We  beg  to  refer  you  to  the  report  of  Vice-Consul  James  L.  A. 
Burrell,  of  Magdeburg,  Germany. 

According  to  the  Statistisches  Jahrbuch  fur  das  Deutsche  Reich,  the  value  of  pic- 
ture post  cards  exported  from  Germany  to  the  United  States  during  1907  was  13,190,000 
marks  ($3,139,220),  as  opposed  to  4,080,000  marks  ($971,040)  in  1906.  The  total  value 
of  the  post  card  export  of  Germany  to  all  countries  is  given  as  25,835,000  marks 
($6,148730)  for  1907,  and  as  11,628,000  marks  ($2,767,464)  for  1906. 

According  to  this  report,  during  the  year  1907,  in  round  figures, 
$2,600,000  worth  of  post  cards  were  imported  from  Germany  alone 
hi  one  year  at  an  average  of  $4  per  thousand,  which  is  as  nearly  cor- 
rect as  any  estimate  can  be.  The  duty  on  these  cards  on  a  basis 
of  8  pounds  at  5  cents  per  pound  or  40  cents  per  thousand,  would 
total  $260,000,  and  the  average  cost  to  the  importer  was  $4.40  per 
thousand,  or  $2,860,000. 

If  a  duty  of  50  per  cent  were  levied  and  only  $520,000  worth  of 
cards  were  imported,  the  United  States  Government  would  receive 
a  revenue  fully  as  large  as  it  did  receive  during  the  time  specified. 
It  is  certain  that  no  matter  what  duty  is  levied  some  cards  will  be 
imported  on  account  of  originality  of  design,  novelty  hi  make-up, 
or  some  other  extremely  attractive  feature,  and  we  think  the  above 
estimate  is  a  very  fair  one. 

On  the  above  basis,  over  $2,000,000  worth  of  cards  would  have  to 
be  manufactured  in  this  country  to  supply  the  deficiency  hi  impor- 
tation from  Germany  alone.  The  make-up  of  cost  in  post  cards  is 
as  follows: 

Per  cent. 

Stock,  cardboard 10 

Inks,  etc 5 

Labor  for  making  plates,  drawings,  presswork,  cutting,  putting  up,  etc 85 

Total *. 100 

You  can  readily  see  from  this  what  a  tremendous  boom  a  high 
tariff  on  these  goods  would  be  for  the  laboring  men. 
Trusting  you  will  take  this  into  consideration,  we  are, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

THE  ROSE  COMPANY. 


LITHOGRAPHIC   PRINTS.  6179 

VIRGIL   LAMONT   JOHNSON,  GERMANTOWN,  PA.,  STATES    THAT 
AMERICAN  POST  CARDS  ARE  INFERIOR. 

22  WESTVIEW  AVENUE,  GERMANTOWN,  PA., 

December  1,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  of  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D,  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  notice  that  some  postal-card  publishers  have  appeared 
before  your  committee  and  asked  for  an  increase  in  tariff  on  postal 
cards.  I  wish  to  say  that  I  am  a  large  purchaser  of  postal  cards,  but 
owing  to  the  inferior  quality  in  this  country  I  am  forced  to  order  all 
my  cards  from  Germany.  If  you  can  find  any  of  the  publishers  who 
can  furnish  as  good  a  product  as  the  foreigners  you  will  do  me  a  favor 
by  placing  him  in  communication  with  me. 
Yours,  respectfully, 

VIRGIL  L.  JOHNSON. 


PALM,  FECHTELER  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK,  RECOMMEND  SPECIFIC 
DUTIES  FOR  DECALCOMANIA  TRANSFERS. 

NEW  YORK,  December  2,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  Palm,  Fechteler  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  manufacturers 
and  importers  of  decaicomania,  established  here,  respectfully  present 
the  following  brief  for  consideration. 

Decaicomania  is  divided  into  two  classes,  as  follows: 

Cold  decaicomania,  such  as  used  for  ornamenting,  decorating, 
putting  on  trade  marks,  lettering,  etc.,  on  farm  machinery,  wagons, 
sewing  machines,  typewriters,  and  general  merchandise. 

Ceramic  decaicomania,  such  as  used  solely  by  manufacturers  of 
porcelain,  china,  glass,  and  enameled  ware. 

The  present  duty  levied  under  the  decision  of  the  Philadelphia 
courts,  viz,  20  per  cent  ad  valorem  and  3  cents  per  pound,  is  not  a 
fair  duty,  because  if  goods  are  honestly  entered  the  cheaper  grade 
goods  and  the  higher  grade  goods  are  the  only  two  reallv  affected; 
it  raises  the  cost  of  the  cheaper  grade  and  the  higher  grade,  and  the 
medium  grade — of  which  by  far  the  greatest  quantity  is  used  and 
imported — is  not  affected  in  this  way,  but  this  line  is  even  a  little 
cheaper  to  import.  For  that  reason  the  duty  is  not  fairly  distrib- 
uted over  all  grades. 

The  duty  as  formerly  levied,  before  the  Philadelphia  decision,  viz, 
20  cents  per  pound,  is  the  fairest  duty  (providing  no  stripped  goods 
are  imported  in  ceramic  transfers)  as  it  averages  35  per  cent,  and 
this  is  adequate  for  all  purposes. 

Stripped  goods,  and  by  this  we  mean  goods  that  have  been  manu- 
factured on  duplex  paper  at  the  factories  abroad  and  after  the  work 
is  finished  the  thin  paper  is  stripped  from  the  heavy  and  the  thin 
only  imported,  in  such  cases  the  duty  instead  of  netting  35  per  cent 
nets  about  5  per  cent  to  the  Government;  consequently  it  would  be 
fair  for  all  importers  if  it  were  forbidden  to  import  decaicomania 


6180  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPEKS,  AND   BOOKS. 

stripped,  and  then  in  that  case  the  average  duty  would  be  on  this 
class  of  goods  35  per  cent,  figuring  the  duty  at  20  cents  per  pound. 

A  specific  duty  is  by  all  means  the  fairest  for  all  concerned,  as  it 
would  do  away  with  undervaluations  which  in  this  line  could  easily 
be  done.  The  reason  is,  that  the  cost  of  manufacture  is  never  the 
same  in  any  two  factories  manufacturing  this  line  of  goods.  As  we 
represent  the  largest  number  and  most  important  factories  of  Europe, 
and  are  manufacturers  ourselves  in  this  country  on  the  largest  scale, 
we  can  demonstrate  this  fact  upon  request. 

Domestic  manufacturers  or  decalcomania.  This  industry  was 
started  in  this  country  in  1866  by  the  firm  of  Pfeil  &  Weiss,  Phila- 
delphia. In  1868  Wells  &  Hope,  Philadelphia,  and  Tuchfaber  &  Co., 
Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Then  in  1888  Pfeil  &  Golz,  Camden,  N.  J.,  and 
since  1893  the  following  manufacturers  have  been  established  in  this 
country  and  have  been  successful: 

American  Decalcomania  Company,  which  is  now  the  American 
Decalcomania  Works,  Weehawken,  N.  J.,  owned  by  us  and  which  is 
a  large  industry  and  growing  every  year. 

Meyercord  Company,  Chicago,  111.,  which  is  a  large  industry  and 
started  in  a  very  modest  way,  and  has  grown  to  its  present  propor- 
tions under  existing  conditions. 

National  Decalcomania  Company,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Armour  Lithographing  Company,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

U.  S.  Decalcomania  Company,  Chicago,  111.,  which  concern  has 
been  reorganized  and  is  now  manufacturing  under  the  name  of  "The 
Decalcomania  Company." 

Karle  Lithographing  Company,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Wolf  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Palm  Brothers  Company,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

In  addition  to  this  there  are  many  others  that  are  in  this  industry 
but  not  of  great  importance. 

This  list  of  names  will  show  you  that  all  of  these  manufacturers 
have  established  themselves  in  this  country  and  are  growing  from 
year  to  year  under  the  present  conditions. 

Increase  of  duty. — This  would  affect  the  pottery  industry  in  this 
country  more  than  any  others,  as  it  would  increase  the  cost  of  the 
ceramic  decalcomania  to  them,  and,  as  the  ceramic  decalcomania 
has  been  the  means  of  bringing  the  American  pottery  up  to  its  present 
high  standard  because  the  decalcomania  as  furnished  to  them  is  the 
same  quality,  style,  design,  etc.,  as  used  by  the  foreign  potters; 
therefore,  decalcomania  is  a  raw  material  and  absolutely  necessary 
in  this  particular  branch  of  American  industry. 

Ceramic  transfers  as  made  in  this  country  are  of  a  very  mediocre 
quality,  and  no  domestic  manufacturer  of  decalcomania  in  the  ceramic 
line  has  as  yet  been  able  to  produce  decalcomania  in  the  lowest, 
medium,  or  high-grade  goods  anything  that  equals  the  foreign  manu- 
facture; so,  any  increase  of  duty  on  these  goods  would  not  benefit 
the  domestic  manufacturer  and  would  only  increase  the  cost  of  this 
article  to  the  user  in  this  country. 

We  would  also  state  that  decalcomania,  though  made  by  the  litho- 
graph process,  is  not  a  lithograph  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word,  and 
would  recommend  that  a  separate  paragraph  be  devoted  to  this  one 
particular  branch,  so  as  to  avoid  complications  such  as  have  arisen  in 


LITHOGRAPHIC   PRINTS.  6181 

the  past,  and  by  this  we  refer  now  to  the  decision  of  the  Philadelphia 
court,  under  which  rule  the  new  duty  is  being  levied  and  this  decision 
is  being  now  fought  out  in  the  courts. 

For  the  above  reasons  we  respectfully  recommend  as  follows: 

First.  A  specific  duty  for  decalcomania. 

Second.  The  duty  to  be  20  cents  per  pound. 

Third.  That  no  stripped  goods  be  permitted  to  be  imported,  and,  if 
it  is  permitted  to  import  stripped  goods,  that  in  that  case  these  goods 
to  pay  a  duty  equal  to  what  the  difference  would  be  on  regular  duplex 
paper,  and  this  would  then  mean  that  the  duty  would  be  $1  per 
pound. 

Fourth.  That  decalcomania  be  placed  under  a  separate  paragraph, 
and  entirely  free  from  the  schedule  of  lithographic  material. 

Very  respectfully  submitted. 

PALM,  FECHTELEE  &  Co., 
By  S.  MOSLEN, 

Managing  Partner. 


THE    DETROIT    (MICH.)    PUBLISHING    COMPANY   ASKS   A    CON- 
SIDERABLE INCREASE  IN  DUTY  ON  POST  CARDS. 

DETROIT,  MICH.,  December  2,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  have  a  factory  located  at  Detroit,  Mich.,  and 
respectfully  ask  an  increase  in  the  tariff  imposed  upon  souvenir  post 
cards  imported  into  this  country.  We  ask  it  because  of  ruinous 
competition  due  to  foreign  importations  of  this  article. 

HISTORY   OF   THE    TRADE. 

As  it  bears  upon  the  present  situation,  we  allude  briefly  to  the 
history  of  the  trade.  The  souvenir  post-card  trade  of  the  United 
States  is  of  a  recent  development.  Prior  to  1898  the  total  cards 
used  were  negligible  and  the  importations  of  no  moment.  Our  com- 
pany was  the  first  to  develop  the  business  here  on  a  large  scale,  com- 
mencing in  1898.  It  was  not  until  four  or  five  years  later  that  the 
trade  attained  a  real  magnitude.  Since  then  the  consumption  has 
grown  every  year,  and  from  three  or  four  companies  publishing  these 
cards  originally  the  number  has  increased  to  over  one  hundred  com- 
panies. There  are  some  manufacturers  of  cards  within  the  United 
States,  but  most  publishing  houses  have  their  cards  made  abroad. 
Also,  several  of  the  foreign  manufacturers  maintain  agencies  here 
both  for  taking  orders  and  for  distribution  of  their  stock  designs. 
Other  foreign  houses  send  travelers  over  to  take  orders  to  be  manu- 
factured abroad. 

Foreign  cards  are  made  in  a  variety  of  processes — three-color,  half 
tone,  lithography,  gravure,  and  collotype.  The  trade  uses  more  and 
more  the  foreign  lithographed  card,  principally  because  the  duty  on 
that  card  is  negligible. 

Millions  of  these  foreign-made  cards  are  imported,  and  the  number 
used,  as  compared  with  the  domestic-made  cards,  is  constantly  increas- 


6182  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

ing.  The  Treasury  Department  is  unable  to  give  the  number  imported, 
on  account  of  their  not  being  separately  classed.  The  writer  knows  no 
way  by  which  exact  figures  can  be  presented  to  your  committee. 
Certain  it  is,  however,  that  an  overwhelming  proportion  are  of  foreign 
manufacture.  Most  of  the  German-made  cards  bear  the  German 
imprint,  and  an  examination  of  the  sources  of  distribution  will  show 
on  an  average  four  German  cards  alone  to  one  of  domestic  manufacture. 
During  the  last  five  years  there  has  been  a  constantly  increasing  ratio 
of  the  use  of  the  foreign  card  compared  with  the  domestic  card. 
Again  and  again  customers  buy  abroad  who  say  they  prefer  to  buy  at 
home,  but  can  not  afford  the  prices  American  makers  must  ask. 

COST   OF   MANUFACTURE. 

The  cost  of  making  the  home  card  is  very  much  in  excess  of  the 
cost  of  the  foreign  card.  Several  items  contribute,  but  labor  is  the 
greatest  factor.  It  is  conservative  to  say  that  the  average  labor 
employed  on  this  industry  abroad  is  paid  one-third  that  of  labor  in 
the  United  States  for  equivalent  work.  Here  is  an  illustration:  A 
German  lithographic  pressman  engaged  in  this  work  will  receive  from 
$7.50  to  $12  per  week,  as  against  the  American  pressman,  who  receives 
$22  to  $35  per  week.  A  draftsman  will  receive  from  $6  to  $10,  as 
against  $20  to  $35  here.  There  are,  of  course,  men  in  both  vocations 
here  and  abroad  who  are  receiving  both  more  and  less  than  the  above 
rates,  but  these  figures  are  for  equivalent  grades,  with  the  American 
rates,  if  anything,  understated.  In  large  cities  of  the  United  States 
the  rates  are  still  higher  in  proportion  as  the  quality  of  wprk  increases. 
For  unskilled  work,  women  are  often  employed  in  capacities  which 
are  unusual  in  the  United  States  and  at  equal  discrepancies. 

There  is  a  great  variation  in  the  cost  of  this  product,  dependent 
upon  the  quality  of  work  and  size  of  edition.  Any  schedules  of  cost, 
therefore,  which  do  not  go  fully  into  these  two  factors  are  sure  to 
be  misleading,  and  such  schedules  could  not  be  properly  presented 
within  a  letter.  Averaging  the  range  of  these  conditions,  which  are 
very  wide,  we  believe  that  the  cost  allotted  to  an  imported  card  under 
the  conditions  most  commonly  occurring  will  vary  from  one-third  to 
two-fifths  of  the  cost  of  the  equivalent  American  card.  As  indi- 
cating something  of  the  range  of  the  product,  cards  are  sold  all  the 
way  from  $1.50  per  thousand  to  $50  per  thousand. 

PRESENT   COST   OF    IMPORTATION. 

Cards  made  by  engraving  or  gravure  are  assessed  25  per  cent  duty, 
but  cards  made  by  lithography  are  assessed  5  cents  per  pound.  This 
means  an  import  duty  of  not  more  than  50  cents  per  thousand  cards, 
which  is  no  restriction  whatever,  considering  the  enormous  difference 
in  manufacturing  cost.  The  low  duty  results  from  this  fact.  They 
are  imported  as  lithographic  cards  under  paragraph  400  and  under  the 
specifications  of  "not  exceeding  twenty-thousandths  of  an  inch  in 
tnickness  and  not  exceeding  35  square  inches,  cutting  size,  in  dimen- 
sions." To  show  the  absurdity  of  the  schedule,  the  same  cards  if 
imported  in  the  sheet  before  cutting  up  would  pay  35  per  cent  duty, 
but  because  they  are  cut  up  before  importation  (thus  completing  the 
manufacture)  they  fall  under  the  5  cents  per  pound  rate.  It  is  impor- 


POST   CARDS DETROIT   PUBLISHING  CO.  6183 

tant  to  note  that  the  schedule  was  made  before  the  existence  of  the 
souvenir-card  business  in  this  country.  They  are  imported,  there- 
fore, under  a  rate  designed  to  cover  another  article.  We  are  not 
sure  enough  to  state  what  it  was  designed  for,  but  we  think  it  probable 
it  was  intended  to  cover  a  form  of  lithographic  label  and  not  the 
pictorial  work  now  known  as  a  souvenir  mailing  card.  Certainly  at 
the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  tariff  the  trade  did  not  exist  and 
American  houses  were  not  engaged  in  such  manufacture.  The  trade 
has  been  a  development  of  the  last  eight  years. 

RESULTS  OF  SUCH  IMPORTATION. 

As  above  stated,  we  are  one  of  the  first  American  makers  of  these 
cards,  and  therefore  feel  competent  to  speak  with  assurance  about  the 
trade.  It  was  difficult  to  get  the  American  educated  to  the  use  of  the 
card,  but  when  its  merits  were  realized  the  growth  of  the  business  was 
extremely  rapid.  As  soon  as  a  real  market  was  created  here  at  the 
cost  of  the  home  manufacturer,  the  foreign  companies  invaded  the 
field,  and  that  invasion  has  constantly  progressed  until  they  are  domi- 
nant in  the  trade.  The  foreign  manufacturer  has  a  much  larger  field 
at  home  than  the  United  States,  and  he  considers  surplus  orders  he 
takes  for  the  American  market  as  so  much  insurance  against  dull  busi- 
ness in  his  home  market  and  as  tending  to  cut  down  his  "overhead" 
expense.  He  will  take  orders  in  this  market  at  less  than  his  cost,  or  at 
barely  cost,  in  order  to  reduce  his  home  expense.  In  short,  we  are 
used  as  a  dumping  ground  for  the  foreign  makers.  During  the  last  five 
years  there  has  been  a  continual  decrease  in  the  price  of  these  goods, 
due  to  increased  importations.  The  business  we  are  able  to  hold  at 
home  is  due  to  special  considerations  having  no  relation  to  the  cost  of 
the  article,  and  even  then  we  are  compelled  to  make  rates  which  can 
not  be  continuously  endured. 

REMEDY. 

In  order  to  give  the  American  manufacturer  an  equal  chance  with 
the  foreign  manufacturer  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  have  a  very 
considerable  increase  in  the  import  duty.  Without  this  he  will  be 
forced  to  give  up  the  business.  As  to  the  form  that  import  duty  should 
take,  we  respectfully  ask  the  following:  We  believe  there  should  be  a 
specific  tax  per  card  in  addition  to  an  ad  valorem  duty,  the  same  as 
exists  in  the  present  tariff  on  playing  cards.  In  that  case  there  is  a 
specific  duty  of  10  cents  per  pack  of  cards  plus  20  per  cent.  In  the  case 
of  the  souvenir  mailing  card  we  think  there  should  be  a  specefic  duty  of 
not  less  than  one-fourth  cent  per  card  ($2 .50  per  thousand  cards)  plus  the 
highest  percentage  rate  applied  to  other  prints  of  the  same  medium  in 
any  size.  Illustration :  Suppose  that  in  the  amended  tariff  the  highest 
rate  of  duty  upon  lithographs  in  large  size  is  50  per  cent.  A  litho- 
graphed card  would  then  be  imported  upon  payment  of  $2.50  per 
thousand  cards  plus  50  per  cent  upon  the  assessed  value.  If  the  card 
were  an  engraved  card,  then  it  would  be  imported  at  the  percentage 
for  engravings  plus  $2.50  per  thousand.  Quite  apart  from  this  sub- 
ject, we  believe  the  rates  on  lithographs  should  be  greatly  increased, 
out  as  figures  on  that  matter  will  be  given  you  separately  we  confine 
ourselves  here  solely  to  the  question  of  souvenir  mailing  cards. 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 27 


6184        SCHEDULE  M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

We  will  be  glad  to  give  further  details  if  desired  and  also  give  fur- 
ther support  to  the  above  statements. 
All  or  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

DETROIT  PUBLISHING  COMPANY. 

W.  A.  LIVINGSTONE,  Manager. 


THE  GRAY  LITHOGRAPH  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  ASKS  PRO- 
TECTION FROM  FOREIGN-MADE  POST  CARDS. 

NEW  YORK,  December  2,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  The  tremendous  increase  in  imports  of  post  cards,  cal- 
endars, etc.,  in  the  last  few  years,  combined  with  the  lack  of  work  for 
the  workmen  in  this  country  who  produce  similar  material,  proves 
conclusively  that  the  millions  of  dollars  invested  in  the  lithographic 
plants  in  this  country  and  the  thousands  of  employees  in  the  litho- 
graphic line  in  this  country  are  being  sacrificed,  all  for  the  benefit  of 
the  foreign  lithographers  whose  product  is  turned  out  on  a  scale  of 
wages  that  will  average  about  one-third  of  the  w^ages  which  have  been 
paid  to  the  workmen  employed  in  the  lithographic  plants  in  the  United 
States. 

The  ingenuity  and  skill  of  the  lithographic  manager  and  employer 
are  such  that  with  proper  protection  he  can  quickly  put  the  thousands 
of  workmen  hi  the  lithographic  line  to  work  who  are  now  idle,  and  do 
so  without  the  hardship  of  cutting  their  wages  down  while  food 
products,  etc.,  are  going  upward  in  their  cost. 

A  new  and  very  important  line  in  the  lithographic  industry — the 
manufacturing  of  post  cards — would  add  millions  of  dollars  in  work 
every  year  to  the  lithographic  plants  of  this  country,  and  the  American 
taste  and  style  would  be  preferred  to  the  foreign  product.  The 
American  product  will  be  purchased  provided  the  foreign  product  is 
not  allowed  to  be  put  into  this  market  at  the  very  low  rate  at  which 
it  is  now  delivered  here,  as  against  the  rate  made  necessary  for  the 
American  product  by  reason  of  the  rate  of  wages  now  paid  to  workmen 
in  this  country. 

While  many  of  the  workmen  in  Europe  receive  from  $5  to  $8  per 
week  in  wages,  the  workmen  doing  the  same  class  of  work  in  the  United 
States  receive  from  $18  to  $25  per  week. 

This  rate  of  wages  is  only  in  keeping  with  the  wages  paid  to  work- 
men of  the  same  general  intelligence  and  ability  employed  in  other 
lines  of  trade.  There  is  every  reason,  therefore,  why  the  wages  of 
workmen  in  the  lithographic  line  should  not  work  downward. 

It  is  absolutely  necessary,  therefore,  to  have  a  strong  protective 
tariff  on  all  lithographic  product,  particularly  calendars,  post  cards, 
show  cards,  etc.,  to  enable  the  lithographic  employer  to  properly  use 
the  large  plants  already  erected  in  this  country  and  to  properly 
employ  at  living  rates  of  wages  the  large  number  of  employees  who 
can  be  given  steady  employment  in  this  important  branch  of  industry 
in  the  United  States. 


LITHOGRAPHIC   FEINTS.  6185 

We  beg,  therefore,  of  you  to  consider  the  matter  most  carefully  and 
adjust  the  tariff  with  a  view  to  properly  protecting  the  American 
workmen  and  the  American  employers  in  the  lithographic  line. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

THE  GRAY  LITHOGRAPH  COMPANY, 
O.  D.  GRAY,  President. 


THE  FORBES  LITHOGRAPH  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY,  BOS- 
TON, MASS.,  SUBMITS  SUPPLEMENTAL  BRIEF  RELATIVE  TO 
LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  December  2,  190S. 
lion.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

House  of  Representatives,  Wasliington,  D.  C. 

SIR:  The  Forbes.  Lithograph  Manufacturing  Company,  of  Boston, 
begs  to  file  this  brief  as  an  addition  to  the  brier  submitted  by  it  at  the 
hearing  held  before  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  November  21, 
1908. 

WAGES    IN    GERMANY. 

The  chairman  asked  that  any  information  as  to  wages  in  Germany 
be  filed  with  the  committee.  The  following  is  a  copy  of. letter  from 
Mr.  Gustav  Herrmann,  dated  Niirnberg,  June  30,  1908.  Mr.  Herr- 
mann is  a  manufacturer  of  bronze  powder  at  Niirnberg  and  comes  in 
contact  with  the  lithographic  industry  in  that  country.  Copy  of 
his  letter  foUows: 

NURNBERG,  June  SO,  1908. 
Messrs.  THB  FORBES  LITHOGRAPH  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY, 

Boston. 

GENTLEMEN:  Your  favor  of  the  13th  instant  to  hand.  I  beg  to  say  I  tried  with 
various  firms  here  like  E.  Nister,  Mayer's  Kunstanstalt,  like  the  largest  transfer  pic- 
ture manufacturer  C.  A.  Pocher,  to  get  the  information  you  want. 

I  am  very  sorry  to  say  every  one  of  them  refused  to  give  such  information,  although 
I  am  on  friendly  terms  with  them.  All  the  German  lithographic  firms  came  to  a 
mutual  understanding  to  inform  nobody  any  more  about  the  details  of  their  business. 

As  I  saw  there  was  no  use  to  push  that  side  any  more,  I  went  to  the  headquarters  of 
the  social-democratic  party  here,  trusting  that  the  employees  would  give  me  the  infor- 
mation which  was  refused  by  the  employers.  I  am  pleased  to  say  that  I  can  serve  you 
with  the  following  details  received  quite  openly  by  the  president  of  the  social-demo- 
cratic workmen's  department  for  wages,  who  happens  to  have  been  a  working  lithog- 
rapher himself  before  he  took  that  position  of  national  economy  (Nationalokonomie). 

Lithograph  stipple  artists,  lithograph  crayon  artists,  lithograph  engravers,  trans- 
ferrers,  lithograph  pressmen,  zinc  or  aluminum  pressmen  on  rotary  presses  are  all 
eimply  classed  as  lithographers  without  any  distinction  as  to  their  specialty  of  work. 

The  minimum  wages  for  them  after  they  have  served  their  apprenticeship  (which 
lasts  four  years)  is  18  marks  per  week  all  over  Germany.  There  is  a  supplementary 
allowance  from  1  to  5  marks,  depending  upon  how  a  German  town  is  rated  for  its  expenses 
of  living  (Teuerungszulage).  For  example:  The  minimum  wage  in  Niirnberg  is  18 
marks  plus  1  mark— 19  marks  in  all — as  living  is  cheaper  than  in  Berlin,  where  the  mini- 
mum wages  are  18  marks  plus  6  marks — 24  marks  in  all. 

The  average  wages  for  a  lithographer  are  about  30  marks  per  week.  Some  highly 
skilled  lithographers  earn  as  much  as  45  marks  per  week. 

The  arrangement  with  foremen  in  the  lithographic  department  varies.  As  a  rule 
lithographic  foremen  are  paid  from  60  marks  to  80  marks  per  week. 

There  is  no  standard  in  wages  for  foremen.  You  may  judge  yourselves,  if  I  tell 
you,  for  instance,  that  Nister  has  a  superintendent  in  the  lithographic  department 
whose  name  is  Prof.  Ludwig  Kiihu,  a  man  who  is  practically  a  well-known  portrait 


6186  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPEKS,  AND   BOOKS. 

painter  of  a  fairly  great  reputation  for  painting  other  subjects,  too.  Professor  Kiihn  is 
not  limited  at  all  to  any  number  of  hours  of  working  in  the  factory.  He  may  come  and 
go  as  it  pleases  him,  and  I  believe  he  is  paid  about  8,000  marks  a  year  simply  for  super- 
vising the  artistic  part  of  lithography. 

All  over  Germany  the  lithographers  work  eight  hours  a  day;  the  printers  nine  hours 
a  day. 

Stone  polishers,  stone  grinders  or  polishers,  zinc  or  aluminum-plate  polishers  are  not 
considered  as  skilled  laborers.  Therefore  they  are  paid  by  special  agreement  varying 
in  each  town  and  often  in  each  workshop. 

The  minimum  wage  for  those  is  in  Niirnberg  3.10  marks  a  day;  that  means  18.60 
marks  per  week  (girls  get  1.70  marks  a  day  in  Niirnberg;  thatmeans  10. 20  marks  a  week). 

The  social-democratic  party  issues  every  year  a  book  showing  the  details  of  wages. 
The  last  information  concerning  lithographic  work  did  appear  in  1905  edition.  The 
things  have  changed  since. 

If  there  will  be  another  book  issued  this  year  showing  anything  about  your  trade,  I 
shall  be  pleased  to  send  you  one,  as  you  understand  the  German  language. 

If  I  can  serve  you  with  any  more  information  or  in  any  other  way,  please  dispose  of 
my  service. 

Yours,  most  respectfully,  GUSTAV  HERRMANN. 

P.  S. — Nearly  90  per  cent  of  the  lithographers  in  Germany  belong  to  an  organized 
union.  While  serving  four  years'  apprenticeship  the  apprentice  may  get  a  few  marks 
a  week  as  pocket  money  during  the  first  year.  That  pocket  money  may  rise  to  8  or  10 
marks  per  week  during  the  third  or  fourth  year.  Nothing  definite  is  settled  about  that. 
A  smart,  intelligent  apprentice  may  earn  at  the  finish  10  marks,  whereas  a  less  pushing 
fellow  may  not  get  8  marks  a  week. 

The  original  of  this  letter  we  have  attached  to  this  brief. 

In  connection  with  obtaining  this  information,  we  attach  hereto  a 
clipping  from  the  Boston  Daily  Advertiser,  November  30,  1908,  which 
is  dated  Berlin,  November  29,  and  explains  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
from  manufacturers  in  Germany  the  wages  paid  in  that  country.  We. 
however,  vouch  entirety  for  Mr.  Herrmann,  and  are  confident  that  the 
information  contained  in  his  letter  attached  hereto  is  correct.  This 
shows,  as  you  will  note,  the  average  wages  for  lithographers  to  be 
about  30  marks  per  week,  or  $7.13,  whereas  in  our  own  establishment 
the  average  wages  of  sketch  artists,  lithographic  artists  drawing  on 
stone,  transferors,  and  printers  is  at  least  four  times  this  amount. 
This  letter  of  Mr.  Herrmann's  wa§  sent  to  us  in  response  to  one  we 
wrote  him  asking  that  he  secure  information  as  to  the  prevailing  fates 
of  wages  in  Germany. 

It  will  also  be  seen  by  reference  to  Mr.  Herrmann's  letter  that  the 
apprentice  serves  four  years,  receiving,  possibly,  a  few  marks  per  week 
as  pocket  money  during  the  first  year  and  getting  8  to  10  marks,  or 
$1.90  to  $2.38,  per  week  during  the  third  or  fourth  year.  Apprentices 
would  get  in  this  country  as  an  average  for  the  four  years'  service  at 
least  ten  times  this  amount. 

We  also  give  below  copy  of  letter  received  from  Mr.  Charles  Hell- 
muth,  dated  New  York  City,  July  27 : 

f Charles  Hellmuth,  lithographs,  orinting  inks,  and  dry  goods,  New  York  office  and  factory,  154-158  West 

Eighteenth  street.] 

NEW  YORK,  July  27,  1908. 
THE  FORBES  LITHOGRAPH  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY, 

Boston,  Mass. 

GENTLEMEN:  Referring  to  your  favor  of  June  13,  we  have  obtained  the  scale  of 
wages  and  time  of  working  in  Germany,  and  submit  same  as  follows: 

BERLIN. 

Marks  per 
month. 

Lithograph  stipple  artist 8-hour  day. .  100-170 

Lithograph  crayon  artist do 100-170 

Lithograph  engraver do. .   .  100-170 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS — FORBES  LITHOGRAPH  MFG.  co.    6187 

Marks  per 
week. 

Transferrers 9-hour  day..  25-30 

Transferrers,  first  class do 33-36 

Pressmen do 33 

Pressmen  on  zinc  or  aluminum,  rotary do 36-40 

Stone  grinders  and  polishers  of  zinc  or  aluminum '. do 16-18 

STUTTGART. 

Marks  per 
week. 

Lithograph  stipple  artist 9-hour  day. .  14 

Lithograph  crayon  artist 8-hour  day. .  30 

Lithograph  engraver do 30 

Transferors 9-hour  day. .  28 

Stone  polisher  of  aluminum  or  zinc do 21 

Pressmen  on  stone  or  zinc  and  aluminum,  rotary do .  30 

Nine  hours  appears  to  be  the  prevailing  working  time  except  for  artists. 
Hoping  this  information  will  be  of  use  to  you,  we  remain, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

CHARLES  HELLMUTH. 

This  corroborates  in  all  essential  details  Mr.  Hermann's  letter, 
referred  to.  Original  letter  is  attached. 

The  German  lithographer  also  has  the  advantage  of  cheaper  rents 
and  nearness  to  the  source  of  supply  for  various  raw  material,  such 
as  lithographic  stones  (all  of  which  come  from  Bavaria),  colors, 
bronze,  and  metal  leaf. 

The  German  lithographer  also  has  an  important  advantage  owing 
to  the  facilities,  supported  by  the  various  state  and  municipal  govern- 
ments, of  technical  and  trade  schools,  which  serve  constantly  to 
supply  a  large  source  from  which  to  secure  employees  in  the  litho- 
graphic trade. 

The  statement  was  made  at  the  hearing  on  November  21  that 
the  printing  presses  abroad  run  4,000  sheets  of  paper  per  day,  as 
against  6,000  to  7,000  sheets  of  paper  per  day  in  the  United  States. 
This  is  not  a  fact  at  the  present  time.  The  foreign  lithographers 
get  practically  the  same  product  as  a  lithographer  in  this  country. 
The  American  lithographer  also  has  an  important  item  of  expense 
owing  to  the  dampness  of  the  atmosphere  in  this  country,  with  which 
the  German  lithographer  does  not  have  to  contend.  The  dampness 
causes  variation  in  the  paper  from  day  to  day  while  the  work  is  in 
progress  of  printing,  causing  misregister  of  the  colors,  and  is  an 
item  of  large  expense  to  the  American  lithographer  by  reason  of  the 
loss  in  product. 

Whether  a  piece  of  paper  imported  is  entirely  covered  by  litho- 
graphic matter  or  part  of  same  is  blank  makes  practically  no  differ- 
ence in  the  cost  of  production.  Any  statement  made  to  the  contrary 
is  made  with  the  full  knowledge  that  it  is  misleading  and  intended  to 
mislead  the  committee.  A  sheet  of  paper  a  certain  size  goes  through 
the  press,  and  whether  it  be  covered  in  part  or  entirely  with  litho- 
graphic matter  makes  practically  no  difference  as  regards  the  cost  of 
production,  except  the  small  additional  cost  of  ink  used. 

In  reply  to  the  question  of  why  Germans  do  not  come  to  this  country 
to  secure  the  higher  wages,  would  state  that  a  large  number  of  em- 
ployees in  American  lithograph  establishments  are  Germans.  There 
would  be  a  large  increase  in  this  number  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that 
the  alien  labor  contract  law  prevents  any  contract  or  promise  of  a 


6188  SCHEDULE    M PULP,  PAPERS,   AND    BOOKS. 

position  to  be  made  while  the  laborer  is  abroad.  The  uncertainty  of 
conditions  here  prevents  many  foreign  workmen  taking  the  chances 
of  securing  quick  emplojinent  on  their  arrival.  Also,  the  cost  of 
living  is  much  higher  in  this  country,  and  it  is  to  protect  the  American 
workingman  and  to  enable  him  to  continue  his  present  standard  of 
living  that  it  is  necessary  to  have  the  increased  rates  of  duty  asked 
for,  and  which  will  amount  to  only  the  difference  in  cost  of  labor  here 
and  abroad  plus  a  reasonable  profit  for  the  manufacturer. 

WHO  WOULD  SUFFER  BY  AN  INCREASE  IN  RATES? 

At  the  hearing  on  the  21st  of  November  the  question  was  asked, 
"What  effect  would  the  increased  rates  asked  for  have  on  the  Amer- 
ican manufacturer  who  uses  lithograph  products?" 

The  matter  of  decalcomania  transfers  will  be  covered,  we  believe, 
by  the  tariff  committee  of  the  National  Association  of  Employing 
Lithographers,  and  with  the  exception  of  decalcomania  transfers 
practically  all  the  lithographic  material  imported  is  used  as  pictures 
or  postcards  or  as  advertising  material.  Much  the  larger  propor- 
tion imported  is  used  for  advertising  purposes.  The  increase  in 
rates  asked  for  will  have  practically  no  effect  on  the  cost  of  the  mate- 
rial to  the  buyer  of  same.  The  number  of  establishments  in  this 
country  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  lithographic  prints  (nearly 
350),  and  all  under  separate  and  distinct  management,  will  serve 
to  prevent  any  undue  raising  of  prices.  The  principal  reason  that 
there  would  be  no  material  increase  in  cost  to  the  user  is  that  at 
present  the  foreign  lithographer  does  not  ship  and  invoice  the  material 
to  the  American  purchaser  direct,  except  in  comparatively  rare  cases. 
Foreign  lithographs  are  imported  by  the  branch  houses  of  foreign 
manufacturers  maintained  in  this  country,  or  importing  houses  deal- 
ing in  this  class  of  work  almost  entirely,  and  it  is  the  foreign  manu- 
facturer or  his  branch  house  that  now  obtains  the  benefit — not  the 
American  user  or  buyer — for  the  foreign  lithographs  are  sold  to  the 
American  buyer  at  a  price  only  slightly  less  than  American  litho- 
graphs. On  account  of  the  time  necessary  to  get  foreign  goods,  the 
American  manufacturer  imports  but  very  little  in  the  way  of  labels, 
wrappers,  tickets,  or  other  lithographed  material  entering  directly 
into  the  manufacturing  cost  of  his  product. 

THE  MATTER  OF  CIGAR  BANDS  AND  SMALL  LABELS. 

In  re  statement  of  Mr.  John  G.  Duffy,  appearing  for  Louis  C.  Wagner 
&  Co.,  of  New  York,  and  Charles  Stutz  Company,  of  New  York. 

The  matter  of  cigar  bands,  we  think,  will  be  taken  up  in  detail  by  the 
tariff  committee  of  the  National  Association  of  Employing  Lithog- 
raphers, and  we,  therefore,  shall  refer  only  to  the  small  labels  not 
exceeding  10  square  inches,  referred  to  in  our  brief  filed  with  the  com- 
mittee on  November  21.  In  our  brief  we  asked  for  a  duty  on  labels, 
flaps,  bands,  and  small  labels,  as  follows: 

Per  pound. 

Lithographic  labels,  flaps,  and  bands,  lettered  or  blank,  printed  from  stone, 
zinc,  aluminum,  or  other  material: 

Labels  and  flaps,  exceeding  10  square  inches,  if  printed  in  less  than  8 
colors  (bronze  printing  to  be  counted  as  3  colors),  but  not .  including 
metal-leaf  printing $0.  30 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS FORBES  LITHOGRAPH  MFG.  CO.       6189 

Lithographic  labels,   flaps,  and  bands,  etc. — Continued.  Per  pound. 

Small  labels  and  bands,  less  than  10  square  inches,  printed  in  less  than  8 
colors  (bronze  printing  to  be  counted  as  3  colors),  but  not  including 
metal-leaf  printing $0.  60 

Labels  or  flaps,  exceeding  10  square  inches,  printed  in  8  or  more  colors 
(bronze  printing  to  be  counted  as  3  colors),  but  not  including  metal -leaf 
printing 40 

Small  labels  and  bands,  less  than  10  square  inches,  printed  in  8  or  more 
colors  (bronze  printing  to  be  counted  as  3  colors),  but  not  including  metal- 
leaf  printing 80 

Labels  and  flaps,  exceeding  10  square  inches,  printed  in  whole  or  in  part 
in  metal  leaf  and  not  over  5  additional  printings ._ .50 

Labels  and  flaps,  exceeding  10  square  inches,  printed  in  whole  or  in  part  in 
metal  leaf  and  over  5  additional  printings .75 

Small  labels  and  bands,  less  than  10  square  inches,  printed  in  whole  or  in 
part  in  metal  leaf  and  not  over  5  additional  printings 1.  00 

Small  labels  and  bands,  less  than  10  square  inches,  printed  in  whole  or  in 
part  in  metal  leaf  and  over  5  additional  printings 1.  50 

For  any  embossed  label,  flap  or  band,  add 10 

Mr.  Duffy  suggested  a  rajte  of  15  cents  per  pound  for  cigar  bands 
printed  in  colors  and  bronze. 

This  would  be  wholly  inadequate  for  the  reason  that  the  label  or 
band  is  so  small  and  so  many  are  required  to  make  the  weight  of  1 
pound.  The  label  we  referred  to  in  our  brief,  size  2£  by  4,  would 
weigh,  for  100,000,  about  185  pounds,  if  printed  on  stock  22  by  28, 
50  pounds,  the  heaviest  paper  used  for  the  purpose  of  labels  for  per- 
fumery and  other  articles.  At  the  rate  recommended  by  Mr.  Duffy, 
15  cents  per  pound,  this  would  give  a  duty  on  100,000  labels  of  $27.75. 
One  hundred  thousand  labels  made  in  this  country  would  cost,  ap- 
proximately, $350.  If  made  in  Germany,  the  same  label  would  cost 
laid  down  in  New  York,  including  freight  and  duty  paid,  not  exceed- 
ing $200. 

Most  of  these  labels,  instead  of  being  printed  on  paper  basis  22  by 
28,  50  pounds,  are,  however,  printed  on  paper  basis  22  by  28,  35 
pounds  to  the  ream  of  500  sheets.  This  would  make  the  weight  of 
100,000  labels  about  130  pounds,  and  at  15  cents  per  pound  the  duty 
would  be  only  $19.50. 

It  is,  therefore,  absolutely  essential  in  order  to  give  the  American 
lithographer  a  fair  chance  in  the  home  market  that  rates  not  less  than 
we  have  recommended  shall  be  adopted. 

RECIPROCITY. 

We  beg  that  no  provision  shall  be  made  that  will  provide  for  reci- 
procity in  lithograph  products  between  the  United  States  and  any 
European  country,  for  there  is  no  opportunity  of  exporting  to  Eng- 
land, France,  Italy,  or  Germany  lithographic  products  in  amount  of 
any  consequence. 

SCHEDULE. 

It  was  asked  at  the  hearing  of  November  21  that  in  view  of  the 
many  court  decisions  that  had  been  secured  as  to  the  interpretation 
of  section  400,  as  applied  to  lithographic  prints,  "Would  it  not  be 
better,  if  Congress  decided  to  increase  the  rate  of  tariff,  to  simply 
increase  the  rates  provided  in  the  Dingley  law  than  to  enact  a  lot  of 
new  provisions?" 

In  reply  we  beg  to  state  that  the  schedule  we  have  proposed  is 
entirely  on  a  specific  basis,  and  the  same  is  the  case  on  the  schedule 


6190  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND    BOOKS. 

submitted  by  the  National  Association  of  Employing  Lithographers, 
and  we  believe  that  the  provisions  suggested  are  so  clear  that  it  will 
be  unnecessary  to  resort  to  courts  for  interpretation. 

LITHOGRAPHS    CLASSED    WITH    OTHER   PRODUCTS. 

We  again  beg  to  urge  the  incorporation  in  the  new  tariff  of  the 
following  clause  as  a  section  under  this  heading  of  "  Lithographic 
imports:  " 

Lithographs  cased  with  other  products. — No  box,  case,  or  other  package  containing 
any  importation  to  this  country,  not  included  in  this  paragraph,  shall  contain  any 
lithographic  print  from  stone,  zinc,  or  aluminum,  or  other  material,  or  other  items  or 
goods  listed  in  this  section. 

The  purpose  of  this  is  to  prevent  foreign  importers  or  manufacturers 
from  including  1,  2,  3,  or  other  small  number  of  show  cards  or  other 
lithographed  or  advertising  matter  in  the  cases  or  packages  contain- 
ing the  product  they  are  sending  to  this  country  to  sell.  As  foreign 
importations  of  certain  goods  amount  in  the  aggregate  to  a  large 
number  of  cases,  the  inclusion  of  show  cards,  lithographs,  etc.,  in  the 
case  or  package  containing  the  commodity,  not  only  is  a  source  of 
loss  to  the  lithographic  industry  of  the  United  States,  but  also  is  a 
very  large  loss  of  revenue  to  the  Government,  and  the  above  para- 
graph, if  adopted,  would  cause  the  importer  to  bring  his  litho- 
graphed or  other  advertising  matter  into  the  country  in  separate 
cases,  thus  causing  a  duty  to  be  levied  on  same,  with  a  corresponding 
amount  of  revenue  to  the  Government 

LEGEND. 

We  recommend  that  the  following  be  incorporated  into  the  new 
law: 

Each  and  every  label,  band,  wrapper,  show  card  or  other  lithographic  print  from 
stone,  zinc,  aluminum  or  other  material,  shall  bear  on  the  face  of  same,  printed  in 

legible  letters,  in  English,  the  legend  "Printed  in ,"  the  name  of  the  country 

of  origin  to  follow  the  words,  "Printed  in." 

MAXIMUM    AND   MINIMUM. 

Should  the  committe  in  its  wisdom  incorporate  the  principle  of 
the  "maximum  and  minimum  tariff,"  we  earnestly  pray  that  the 
rates  submitted  in  our  brief  of  November  21,  1908,  shall  be  adopted 
as  the  minimum  rates,  and  that  the  maximum  rates  shall  be  20  per 
cent  in  excess  thereof  on  each  and  every  item. 

We  attach  hereto  copy  of  our  brief  of  November  21,  also  copy  of  the 
brief  of  the  tariff  committee  of  the  National  Association  of  Employing 
Lithographers,  referred  to. 
Respectfully,  yours, 

THE  FORBES  LITHOGRAPH  MANUFACTURING  Co 
FRANK  J.  BLANEY. 


LITHOGRAPHIC   PRINTS CHARLES   W.   HARRISON.  6191 

CHARLES  W.  HARRISON,  TRENTON,  N.  J.,  WRITES  RELATIVE  TO 
CERAMIC  DECALCOMANIA  TRANSFERS. 

TRENTON,  N.  J.,  December  3,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  Having  been  engaged  in  the  importation  and  sale  of 
decalcomania  transfers  for  decorating  china  and  earthenware  for  the 
last  ten  years,  I  beg  leave  to  lay  before  you  in  a  few  words  some  facts 
connected  with  these  goods.  It  appears  to  me  that  an  attempt  has 
been  made  to  impress  the  committee  of  which  you  are  the  head  with 
the  importance  of  the  domestic  manufactures  of  the  same  by  confus- 
ing them  with  general  lithography. 

The  total  amount  of  the  ceramic  transfers  imported  does  not,  as  far 
as  my  information  goes,  exceed  $400,000  per  annum,  and  the  value 
of  those  made  in  this  country  about  $100,000. 

These  goods  differ  from  general  lithographic  goods  in  that  they  are 
not  hi  themselves  a  finished  article  or  used  as  such,  but  are  used  solely 
in  the  decorating  of  crockery,  and  to  a  very  small  extent  in  decorating 
glass.  Nearly  all  of  the  pottery  ware  made  in  this  country  is  now 
decorated  with  these  transfers. 

Everyone  who  knows  anything  of  the  pottery  industry  in  this  coun- 
try is  alive  to  the  fact  that  the  American  potters,  who  have  already 
a  hard  struggle  to  hold  their  own,  would  find  their  difficulties  vastly 
increased  if  their  supply  of  imported  decorations  were  shut  off  or 
even  seriously  restricted,  and  that  they  simply  could  not  compete 
with  the  imported  ware  if  forced  to  rely  on  the  decorations  of  domes- 
tic manufacture. 

The  latter  are,  in  fact,  confined  entirely,  or  almost  entirely,  to  copies 
of  the  imported  patterns.  I  can  myself,  if  desired,  lay  before  the 
committee  of  which  you  are  the  head  a  sheet  produced  by  the  factory 
in  England  whose  goods  I  handle,  and  a  sheet  printed  by  a  factory 
in  this  country,  which  is  an  exact  copy  of  same  and  which  is  sold  here 
at  several  cents  a  sheet  less  than  the  price  at  which  I  can  sell  the 
original,  which  makes  it  difficult  to  see  upon  what  ground  an  appeal 
is  made  for  further  protection. 

In  view  of  all  the  facts,  I  beg,  sir,  to  respectfully  suggest  that  the 
interests  of  the  pottery  manufacturers  demand  that  no  further  diffi- 
culties be  placed  in  the  way  of  their  obtaining  the  best  decorations 
that  can  be  obtained,  and  that  the  least  disturbance  would  be  caused 
to  this  important  industry  by  fixing  the  duty  at  the  rate  that  was 
levied  from  1897  until  the  early  part  of  the  present  year,  when  by  a 
decision,  procured  without  the  knowledge  of  myself  and  other  import- 
ers and  without  our  side  of  the  question  being  heard,  the  goods  were 
removed  from  clause  400,  which  imposed  a  specific  duty  of  20  cents 
per  pound  weight,  to  clause  398,  which  imposes  an  ad  valorem  duty  of 
20  per  cent  and  3  cents  per  pound  weight.  This  duty  we  are  now  pay- 
ing under  protest,  but  I  submit,  sir,  that  in  view  of  the  peculiar 
nature  of  these  goods  and  the  difficulty  of  fixing  upon  each  sheet  an 
equitable  valuation,  that  a  specific  duty  is  the  most  equitable  and 
the  most  easily  levied  and  the  least  easily  evaded,  and  therefore  the 
most  desirable. 


6192  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Since,  however,  it  is  notorious  that  the  intention  of  the  framers  of 
the  act  of  1897  has  been  evaded  and  that  large  numbers  of  sheets  have 
been  imported  at  about  a  fourth  of  the  duty  which  they  should  have 
paid  by  the  simple  expedient  of  stripping  the  sheets  from  the  white 
backing  on  which  they  are  printed,  I  submit,  sir,  that  sheets  which 
have  been  stripped  from  their  backing  should  be  subject  to  four  times 
the  amount  of  the  specific  duty  levied  on  the  complete  or  duplex 
sheets,  which  would  result  in  all  sheets  of  the  same  size  paying  the 
same  rate  of  duty. 

Trusting,  sir,  that  the  status  of  these  goods  may  be  defined  in  a  way 
that  will  prevent  a  repetition  of  the  uncertainty  that  has  so  hampered 
business  in  the  past, 

Yours,  very  respectfully,  CHAS.  W.  HARRISON. 


THE  ARMOR  LITHOGRAPHING   COMPANY,   OF  PITTSBURG,  PA., 
WRITES  RELATIVE  TO  DECALCOMANIA  TRANSFERS. 

PITTSBURG,  PA.,  December  10,  1908. 
Hon.  JOHN  DALZELL,  M.  C., 

Member  of  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  are  interested  in  the  revision  of  the  present  tariff 
law  so  far  as  it  applies  to  lithographic  decalcomania  prints,  for  the 
reason  that  we  do  not  consider  it  equitable,  and  because  it  is  not  prop- 
erly classified,  and  in  a  number  of  cases  it  is  very  difficult  for  the 
officers  of  our  Government  to  be  able  to  clearly  ascertain  and  deter- 
mine with  any  degree  of  certainty  as  to  what  class  the  different 
articles  and  materials  properly  belong. 

Decalcomania  is  a  transfer  printed  on  either  simplex  or  duplex 
paper.  It  is  then  transferred  from  this  paper  to  stone,  china,  pottery, 
and  glass,  furniture,  machinery,  etc.,  and  consists  of  three  distinct 
classes. 

First.  Cold  decalcomania,  wholly  or  partly  covered  by  metal  leaf. 

Second.  Cold  decalcomania,  not  covered  by  metal  leaf. 

Third.  Ceramic  decalcomania,  printed  in  mineral  colors  for  china 
and  glass. 

These  three  should  be  separated  and  treated  separately  in  the  tariff 
schedule  for  customs  classification. 

We  are  especially  interested  in  the  ceramic  decalcomania  prints, 
which  under  the  present  tariff  law  are  imported  into  our  country  as 
surface-coated  paper  wholly  or  partly  covered  with  metal  or  its  solu- 
tion, which  under  paragraph  No.  398  is  dutiable  at  rate  of  3  cents  per 
pound  and  20  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Duplex  paper. — Ceramic  decalcomania  prints  are  all  printed  on 
duplex  paper.  This  paper  is  composed  of  two  sheets  of  paper.  The 
coated  sheet  upon  which  the  printing  is  done  is  a  sheet  of  very  thin 
tissue  pa.per.  The  other  sheet,  or  the  back  sheet,  is  much  heavier 
paper  and  is  only  for  service  during  the  process  of  printing  or  litho- 
graphing on  the  thin  tissue  sheet,  as  the  sheet  of  the  heavy  paper 
stiffens  and  strengthens  the  thin  tissue  sheet.  The  two  sheets  of 
paper  are  not  placed  together  permanently,  but  can  be  easily  separated 
after  the  printing  is  completed  on  the  thin  tissue  sheet,  after  which  it 


LITHOGRAPHIC    FEINTS ARMOR   LITHOGRAPHING    CO.        6193 

is  removed  from  the  heavier  sheet.  The  thin  or  tissue  sheet  is  alone 
made  use  of  in  transferring  the  prints,  the  thinness  of  this  paper 
permitting  the  design  to  readily  conform  itself  to  the  shape  of  the 
article  to  be  decorated. 

By  reason  of  the  numerous  patents  and  processes  which  are  owned 
and  controlled  by  the  paper  manufacturers  of  Europe,  duplex  paper 
has  not  and  will  never  be  successfully  manufactured  in  this  country; 
and  since  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  use  duplex  paper  in  the  manu- 
facture of  ceramic  decalcomania,  we  are  compelled  to  import  this 
paper  from  Europe  and  pay  a  duty  of  35  per  cent  ad  valorem  upon 
the  same. 

We  are  also  compelled  to  import  nearly  all  the  mineral  colors  which 
are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  ceramic  decalcomania,  and  on  these 
colors  we  are  also  obliged  to  pay  a  duty  of  30  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

The  mineral  colors  and  the  duplex  paper  are  both  manufactured  in 
Germany,  and  the  German  manufacturer  of  decalcomania  has  there- 
fore the  advantage  in  purchasing  both  these  materials  in  his  home 
market,  thus  having  no  tariff  duty  or  transportation  charges  to  pay 
on  the  same. 

The  German  manufacturers  are  our  principal  competitors,  who, 
instead  of  shipping  the  decalcomania  prints  into  this  country  as 
they  are  originally  produced  on  duplex  paper,  separate  the  two 
sheets  of  paper,  and  while  they  retain  the  heavy  or  back  sheet  they 
only  ship  to  this  country  the  thin  or  tissue  sheet  upon  which  the 
metallic  colors  are  printed.  This  thin  or  tissue  sheet  or  paper  approx- 
imately weighs  only  about  20  or  25  pounds  per  1,000  sheets,  whereas 
the  duplex  paper,  including  both  the  tissue  sheet  and  the  heavier 
back  sheet,  approximately  weighs  from  115  to  120  pounds  for  every 
1,000  sheets;  thus  by  stripping  and  separating  the  thin  from  the 
heavier  sheet  there  is  a  direct  saving  on  the  duty  alone  that  is  paid 
by  the  German  manufacturer  on  from  90  to  100  pounds  on  every 
1,000  sheets. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  German  manufacturers  of  litho- 
graphic prints  ship  and  export  such  prints  into  this  country  and  sell 
them  below  the  market  price  of  this  same  class  of  prints  in  Germany, 
and  in  many  cases  invoice  the  same  to  their  own  branch  offices  and 
houses  in  this  country  at  less  than  the  market  price  in  Germany. 

Many  of  the  designs  and  prints  for  ceramic  decalcomania  are  origi- 
nally made  for  use  in  the  German  market,  and  their  surplus  of  same  is 
shipped  by  them  into  this  country. 

It  is  a  common  practice  that  the  cost  and  expense  of  designing  and 
drawing  on  stone  in  Germany  is  not  calculated  and  included  in  the 
cost  of  prints  of  those  which  are  shipped  into  this  country,  the  afore- 
said cost  only  being  calculated  and  added  to  the  cost  of  such  prints 
which  are  sold  in  Germany  and  other  European  markets. 

The  wages  for  labor  paid  by  German  manufacturers  are  very  much 
lower  than  similar  class  of  labor  is  paid  for  in  this  country,  as  the  fol- 
lowing comparison  will  show: 

Lithographic  artists  in  Germany  get  from  32  to  36  marks,  or  $8  to  $9  per  week. 
Steam-press  printers  in  Germany  get  from  20  to  32  marks,  or  $5  to  $8  per  week. 
Presf  feeders  (female)  in  Germany  get  from  $3  to  $4  per  week. 
Transfer  printers  in  Germany  get  from  22  to  35  marks,  or  $5.50  to  $8  per  week. 
Lithographic  artists  in  this  country  get  from  $22  to  $45  per  week. 
Steam-press  printers  in  this  country  get  from  $22  to  $35  per  week. 
Press  feeders  in  this  country  get  from  $10  to  $17  per  week. 
Transfer  printers  in  this  country  get  from  $22  to  $35  per  week. 


6194  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

We  would  respectfully  call  your  attention  to  a  brief  filed  with,  your 
committee  by  a  committee  from  the  National  Association  of  Employ- 
ing Lithographers,  which  in  a  brief  way  makes  a  comparison  between 
the  American  and  European  productions  and  the  amendments  to 
paragraphs  398  and  400  as  suggested  and  recommended  by  them, 
which  in  our  opinion  would  be  equitable  and  proper  for  the  protection 
of  the  decalcomania  industry  of  this  country. 

In  conclusion  permit  us  to  say  that  we  have  endeavored  to  make  our 
explanation  as  brief  and  concise  as  possible,  and  hope  it  will  materially 
aid  and  assist  you  in  determining  the  fairness  and  equity  of  our  claim 
and  contention  on  the  question  of  the  revision  of  the  present  tariff 
law  so  far  as  it  relates  to  "ceramic  decalcomania." 

Hoping  you  will  give  this  matter  your  most  thoughtful  considera- 
tion, and  after  doing  so  that  you  may  see  your  way  clear  to  give  the 
same  your  earnest  support,  we  are, 
Yours,  very  respectfully, 

ARMOR  LITHOGRAPHING  COMPANY  (LIMITED), 
JOHN  WILHELM,  Jr.,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 


STATEMENT  MADE  BY  JAMES  ARTMAN,  MARKET  AND  FORTY- 
NINTH  STREETS,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  RELATIVE  TO  COLORED 
VIEW  POST  CARDS. 

THURSDAY,  December  17,  1908. 

(The  witness  was  duly  sworn  by  the  chairman.) 

The  CHAIRMAN.  This  subject  has  been  pretty  well  covered.  Have 
you  a  brief  or  could  you  file  a  brief  covering  what  you  want  to  say  ? 

Mr.  ARTMAN.  No,  sir;  I  haven't  got  any  brief. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  much  time  do  you  want  ? 

Mr.  ARTMAN.  Five  minutes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  may  have  five  minutes. 

Mr.  ARTMAN.  Mr.  Rose  spoke  to  you  this  morning  on  post  cards. 
He  represented  the  fancy  post  cards.  We  represent  the  colored- view 
post  card. 

I  want  to  supplement  what  Mr.  Rose  said  about  post  cards. 

The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  the  colored  view  cards  are  pretty 
nearly  all  printed  in  Germany.  In  fact  about  90  per  cent  of  them  are 
printed  in  Germany  and  of  the  700,000,000  or  800,000,000  post  cards 
that  were  imported  in  1907, 75  per  cent  were  colored  view  cards — about 
600,000,000.  That  represents  a  business  of  about  $15,000,000,  and  only 
about — well,  I  guess  $1,000,000  worth  of  post  cards  are  printed  in 
this  country. 

We  have  been  trying  to  get  a  foothold  in  that  business  for  the  last 
two  years.  Our  experience  has  been  that  we  can  only  sell  to  those 
people  who  can  not  wait  for  postal  cards  to  come  from  Germany  or 
do  not  know  that  they  can  get  them  cheaper  from  Germany. 

The  Germans  can  land  post  cards  in  this  country  for  $9  per  thou- 
sand, and  in  lots  of  2,000  they  can  deliver  them  for  $7.25,  and  in  lots 
of  3,000  they  can  deliver  them  for  $4.75,  and  in  lots  of  5,000  they  can 
deliver  them  here  for  $3.50. 

The  lowest  we  can  produce  them  for  in  this  country  is  $18  for  the 
first  thousand,  $10  for  a  2,000  lot,  $7  when  they  come  in  lots  of 
3,000,  and  $4.50  for  5,000  lots. 


POST   CABDS JAMES  ARTMAN.  6195 

One  of  the  points  that  I  want  to  make  is  that  the  duty  on  litho- 
graphic matter  being  5  cents  a  pound  is  unjust,  because  the  small 
quantities  pay  only  about  2  or  3  per  cent  duty,  whereas  large  quanti- 
ties come  up  to  15  or  20  per  cent  duty. 

The  point  I  want  to  make  is,  where  the  hand  labor  enters  into  the 
cost  the  difference  is  very  much  greater  than  where  they  are  pro- 
duced by  machinery. 

The  first  cost  of  a  post  card  is  engraving,  and  that  is  where  the 
labor  enters  into  it.  In  the  small  editions  is  where  the  great  differ- 
ences are,  in  lots  from  one  to  five  thousand,  and  that  is  where  the  bulk 
of  the  sales  are  made. 

There  are  only  a  few  places  in  the  country  where  they  can  use  an 
edition  of  over  5,000  cards.  Such  places  as  Washington,  New  York, 
Chicago,  and  Niagara  Falls  will  use  a  large  edition,  but  nine  out  of 
ten  localities  will  use  smaller  editions — editions  of  from  3,000  to 
5,000  cards— and  there  is  where  we  do  not  get  a  show. 

The  lithographing  is  very  similar  to  printing.  Lithograph  cards 
pay  a  duty  of  5  cents.  Printed  cards  pay  a  duty  of  25  per  cent,  and 
it  takes  an  expert  to  tell  the  difference  between  the  two.  Even  experts 
sometimes  are  unable  to  tell  the  difference,  and  it  is  not  a  just  thing 
to  put  a  different  duty  on  lithographing  from  that  on  printing. 

Another  point  is  that  cardboard  pays  a  duty  of  25  per  cent.  Litho- 
graphic stones,  engraved,  pay  a  duty  of  25  per  cent.  Printing  plates, 
engraved,  pay  a  duty  of  45  per  cent.  In  other  words,  all  the  things 
that  enter  into  the  manufacture  of  post  cards  pay  a  duty  of  from  25 
to  45  per  cent,  whereas  post  cards  themselves  pay  5  cents  a  pound, 
which  averages  from  4  to  15  per  cent,  according  to  the  quantity. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  would  it  strike  you  to  cut  down  the  tariff  on  the 
ingredients  ? 

Mr.  ARTMAN.  As  far  as  we  are  concerned,  it  would  strike  us  all 
right;  that  is  to  say,  if  we  could  buy  our  engraving  abroad  and 
bring  it  here  and  our  cardboard  abroad  and  bring  it  here  we  would 
be  satisfied;  we  think  we  could  compete.  But  the  cardboard  manu- 
facturer would  not  be  satisfied  nor  the  other  manufacturer — 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  am  not  asking  you  what  he  wants,  but  what  you 
want.  It  comes  to  the  same  thing  in  the  end,  whether  we  cut  down 
somewhere  or  raise  somewhere,  does  it  not  ? 

Mr.  ARTMAN.  Taking  the  duty  off  cardboard  and  engravings  would 
only  help  us  on  the  large  editions,  which  are  the  exception.  On  the 
small  editions,  which  comprise  the  great  bulk  of  the  business,  we 
could  not  compete  with  the  foreign  cards,  even  though  we  should 
bring  cardboard  and  engravings  in  free.  On  1,000  editions  our  cost 
is  double  theirs,  including  duty,  and  on  2,000  and  3,000  editions  it  is 
50  per  cent  greater  than  theirs,  including  duty,  and  on  5,000  it  is 
30  per  cent  greater.  The  25  per  cent  reduction  on  cardboard  would 
not  amount  to  much,  as  the  cost  of  cardboard  is  a  small  part  of  the 
total  cost  of  small  editions.  To  reduce  the  duty  on  photo-engravings 
or  to  put  them  on  the  free  list  would  be  of  very  doubtful  assistance  to 
us  on  account  of  the  delays  in  bringing  these  from  abroad,  and  to  put 
them  on  the  free  list  would  be  disastrous  to  American  photo-engravers. 
We  do  not  believe  it  is  the  intention  of  your  committee  to  protect  one 
industry  at  the  expense  of  another,  and  therefore  we  do  not  suppose 
the  reduction  on  duty  of  cardboard  and  photo-engravings  will  be  con- 


6196  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND    BOOKS. 

sidered.  Almost  all  color-view  post  cards  are  now  brought  in  as 
lithographed  matter  at  the  5-cents-a-pound  duty.  Five  cents  a  pound 
means  35  cents  a  thousand  on  a  1,000  lot ;  this  is  less  than  4  per  cent. 
On  a  2,000  lot  it  amounts  to  70  cents — about  5  per  cent;  on  a  3.000 
lot  it  amounts  to  $1.05 — about  8  per  cent;  and  on  5,000,  $1.75,  or  10 
per  cent.  Thus  the  small  editions,  which  should  have  the  most  pro- 
tection, have  had  the  least  protection.  Therefore,  a  duty  based  on 
weight  is  a  very  poor  one  for  protection  purposes,  and  the  ad  valorem 
duty  is  much  better.  While  a  50  per  cent  duty  on  colored  view  cards 
would  afford  us  protection  on  editions  of  5,000  and  over,  it  would  not 
held  us  on  the  small  editions,  and  we  therefore  urge  that,  if  possible, 
a  higher  duty  be  placed  on  small  editions,  say  75  per  cent,  which 
would  give  us  a  chance  on  all  editions  except  the  very  smallest  ones, 
and  with  the  increased  production  we  might  find  it  possible  to 
compete  on  the  smallest  quantities  as  well. 


STATEMENT  MADE  TO  COMMITTEE  BY  MATTHEW  WOLL  RELA- 
TIVE TO  PHOTO-ENGRAVING  AND  POST  CARDS. 

THURSDAY,  December  17,  1908. 

The  witness  was  duly  sworn  by  the  chairman. 

Mr.  WOLL.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  want  to  talk  in  regard  to  the  photo- 
engravers. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  understand  you  want  about  ten  minutes. 

Mr.  WOLL.  Yes,  ten  minutes  will  be  sufficient  time  to  plead  my 
case. 

I  appear  here  in  behalf  of  the  photo-engravers  and  in  the  interest 
of  the  workers. 

This  post-card  proposition  which  has  been  spoken  of  to  the  com- 
mittee is  one  which  seriously  affects  the  workman  of  the  photo-en- 
graving craft.  The  photo-engraving  craft  is  a  very  new  craft;  it 
has  not  been  very  long  in  existence,  about  twenty  years  or  less  than 
that  since  it  has  been  of  commercial  value  in  this  country. 

In  our  early  period  we  had  no  foreign  competition  to  speak  of, 
but  since  the  development  of  the  craft,  the  skill  of  the  members,  we 
have  realized  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  competition  from  the 
foreign  shores,  particularly  in  the  post-card  and  in  the  calendar 
work. 

That  has  been  due  to  the  development  of  the  craft,  and  it  has  not 
been  until  in  recent  years  that  we  have  come  to  our  legislators  to  seek 
remedial  legislation  to  protect  the  American  workmen. 

Now,  in  the  post-card  trade  and  the  calendar  trade,  the  photo- 
engravers  are  affected  particularly,  inasmuch  as  the  post  card  and 
calendar  trade  is  a  business  which  has  been  used  heretofore  to  fill  in 
the  idle  time  of  those  engaged  in  that  work.  In  other  words,  the 
photo-engravers  have  nothing  to  sell  but  their  skill.  They  can  not 
accumulate  any  stock  in  trade,  and,  as  the  nature  of  the  business  is,  it 
is  confined  largely  to  making  photo-engravings  for  -advertising  pur- 
poses. Advertising  as  a  rule  is  usually  done  in  two  seasons  of  the 
year,  that  is,  this  is  work  that  comes  periodically  once  or  twice  a  year. 
Our  busy  seasons  are  in  the  fall  and  in  the  spring.  During  the 


LITHOGRAPHIC   PRINTS MATTHEW   WOLL.  6197 

winter  time  and  during  the  summer  time  we  are  very  slack  in  our 
work. 

Now,  those  times  have  always  been  taken  up  with  this  post-card 
work  and  this  other  illustrating  work,  which  has  given  our  men  em- 
ployment during  the  entire  year.  But  now,  with  the  competition 
from  Europe,  we  find  that  even  that  work  has  left  us.  That  is  the 
post-card  work.  Under  the  conditions  that  exist  now  they  can  pro- 
duce that  work  abroad  much  cheaper  than  we  can  here,  and  there- 
fore it  has  thrown  many  of  our  men  out  of  employment  during  those 
seasons  of  the  year. 

Not  only  is  the  post-card  work  affected  disadvantageously  in  this 
matter,  but  that  also  refers  to  the  calendar  work  that  we  formerly  did. 

We  are  not  only  suffering  on  account  of  the  idleness  of  our  men, 
caused  by  the  things  I  have  stated,  but  we  also  find  that  our  men  are 
affected  in  another  way*  Calendar  work  is  of  a  high  class,  it  is 
artistic  work,  and  it  is  a  great  disadvantage  to  our  workmen  to  be 
deprived  of  that  high  character  of  work.  The  calendar  work  is,  as  I 
have  said,  artistic  work,  and  we  feel  that  inasmuch  as  it  is  our  aim 
to  have  as  high  an  ideal  as  possible,  to  have  a  high  standard  of  work 
and  to  come  up  to  that  standard  as  far  as  possible,  we  want  to  be 
given  the  inducement  that  we  find  in  this  calendar  work  and  other 
work  like  that.  That  sort  of  work  increases  our  skill,  and  unless  we 
can  get  that  work  we  can  not  in  any  other  way  well  acquire  that 
high  grade  of  skill.  We  can  not  get  it  simply  by  reading  books  and 
studying ;  we  can  only  get  it  by  doing  the  actual  work. 

Therefore,  we  think  we  need  some  protection  from  the  legislature 
in  that  matter. 

In  the  post  card  and  calendar  work  is  where  we  need  protection. 
We  do  not  ask  protection  on  the  other  kinds  of  work — the  catalogue 
work,  or  the  periodical  Avork,  or  the  magazine  work.  In  work  of  that 
kind  the  conditions  themselves  give  us  protection,  because  the  imme- 
diate demand  for  that  kind  of  work  will  not  permit  it  to  be  sent  out 
to  foreign  countries  to  be  done.  But  as  to  post  card  work,  which  is 
merely  like  what  we  might  call  stock  in  trade,  that  can  be  sent  to 
foreign  countries  and  done  over  there,  and  in  that  way  our  workmen 
are  deprived  of  employment  at  a  time  of  year  when  they  would  es- 
pecially like  to  have  it. 

I  do  not  care  to  consume  any  more  of  the  time  of  the  committee 
unless  there  are  some  questions.  I  understand  that  a  gentleman  was 
here  this  morning,  and  he  stated  the  case  of  the  publishers  from  the 
publishers'  viewpoint. 

Mr.  LONGWORTH.  What  do  you  ask? 

Mr.  WOLL.  That  our  protection  be  higher,  that  a  higher  duty  be 
placed  on  this  printed  matter.  If  the  committee  wants  any  statis- 
tical information  on  this  I  will  be  very  glad  to  furnish  it. 

I  was  passing  through  the  city  here,  and  I  was  glad  to  take  this 
opportunity  to  appear  before  you  and  speak  for  my  craftsmen. 
Those  are  the  facts.  We  feel  particularly  that  this.work,  which  has 
always  been  done  by  engravers,  is  a  sort  of  filling-in  work,  to  keep 
our  men  employed  continually;  is  work  that  it  is  very  desirable  for 
us  to  continue  to  have.  We  have  now  been  deprived  of  that  work. 
Also,  as  I  have  said,  because  it  fixes  the  price  which,  once  fixed,  is 
going  to  affect  the  other  work. 


6198  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

As  for  the  calendar  work,  the  same  tendency  is  noticeable  there. 
That  work  is  not  work  that  has  to  be  done  in  such  a  hurry.  They 
can  wait  months  for  it.  Because  they  can  wait  that  length  of  time 
for  it,  they  send  to  the  foreign  importers  to  have  that  work  done. 
Naturally  we  feel  that  we  ought  to  do  that  work,  not  only  to  keep  our 
men  employed,  but  also  to  give  us  the  opportunity  of  bettering  our 
craft. 

The  laws  of  this  country,  I  understand,  are  meant  to  develop  the 
artistic  instincts  of  the  people;  and,  as  I  have  said,  in  no  way  can 
our  high  standard  of  work  be  kept  up  so  well  as  by  doing  this  most 
artistic  work ;  we  can  not  accomplish  the  same  thing  by  studying,  or 
in  any  other  way. 

If  we  have  a  chance  to  do  this  work  I  am  sure  that  we  will  gain 
more  than  by  merely  having  other  people  make  those  cards  and  we 
simply  observing  them. 

I  think  that  practically  concludes  our  case,  the  case  of  the  photo- 
engravers.  We  are  not  asking  any  protection  to  build  up  any  indus- 
try, but  we  do  ask  protection  to  maintain  the  industry  that  we  have 
already  built  up  in  the  last  few  years. 

Unless  we  get  what  we  ask  we  will  have  serious  competition.  It 
will  make  it  hard  for  the  employers,  as  well  as  for  the  workmen,  for 
this  reason:  In  the  photo-engraving  trade  the  cost  of  production  is 
largely  the  cost  of  labor.  Recently  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
determine  the  actual  price  of  production.  This  committee  reported 
that  between  60  and  70  per  cent  of  the  cost  in  photo-engraving  is 
the  cost  of  labor.  You  can  readily  see  how  we  are  affected  by  this 
proposition.  It  means  a  great  deal  to  the  members  of  our  craft. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  wages  do  you  make? 

Mr.  WOLL.  The  photo-engravers'  wages  range  from  $18  to  $30  a 
week. 

Mr.  LONGWORTH.  And  what  do  the  Germans  get? 

Mr.  WOLL.  In  marks,  almost  the  same  figures. 

Mr.  LONGWORTH.  That  would  be  about  four  times  as  much  as  you 
get,  then? 

Mr.  WOLL.  Yes;  if  you  consider  that  they  get  the  same  figure  in 
marks.  Wfc  feel  that  with  the  training  that  is  required  to  produce 
photo-engraving  and  the  conditions  under  which  we  must  work — be- 
cause we  are  a  sort  of  artistic  craft — we  feel  that  the  wages  are  not 
any  too  high,  and  it  surely  will  not  relieve  us  or  give  us  an  oppor- 
tunity to  better  the  craft  by  cutting  down  the  wages,  which  we  have 
now,  and  compelling  us  to  separate  the  craft  still  more  and  prac- 
tically do  away  with  the  artistic  part  of  it. 

If  there  are  any  questions  as  to  the  photo-engravers,  I  will  be  glad 
10  try  to  answer  them. 


CALENDARS,   PICTURES,   AND  POST   CARDS.  6199 


STATEMENT  OF  H.  M.  ROSE,  THE  ROSE  COMPANY,  606  SANSOME 

STREET,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  RELATIVE  TO  CALENDARS,  PIC- 
TURES, AND  POST  CARDS. 

THURSDAY,  December  17,  1908. 

Mr.  Rose  was  duly  sworn  by  the  acting  chairman,  Mr.  Dalzell. 

Mr.  ROSE.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  I  intended  to  call  your  at- 
tention to  the  difference  in  the  hours  of  labor  of  employment  here  and 
in  foreign  countries,  and  the  difference  in  the  scale  of  wages. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Before  you  proceed,  will  you  please  tell  us  whom 
you  represent? 

Mr.  ROSE.  The  Rose  Company,  of  Philadelphia,  publishers  and 
printers  of  calendars,  pictures,  and  post  cards.  I  find  that  the  com- 
mittee has  been  rather  fully  informed  as  to  the  difference  in  wages  for 
printers  and  pressmen  in  this  country  and  Europe,  so  I  will  simply 
say  that  the  United  States  Government  in  its  own  printing  shop  has 
established  wages  and  hours  of  labor  which  are  very  difficult  for  us 
to  follow,  while  at  the  same  time  the  market  in  our  class  of  goods 
has  been  thrown  open  to  foreign  countries,  with  practically  no  duty 
whatever;  countries  where  the  rate  of  wages  is  from  one-quarter  to 
one-third  the  rate  paid  by  us. 

I  am  stopping  at  one  of  your  principal  hotels.  I  went  to  the  news 
stand  this  morning  on  the  way  up  here,  and  I  find  that  the  only 'post 
cards  of  the  United  States  Capitol,  the  White  House,  and  all  of  the 
views  of  Washington,  are  made  in  Germany.  We  imported  from 
Germany  alone  in  1907  nearly  800,000,000  cards. 

Now  the  cost  of  making  those  cards — speaking  of  post  cards, 
although  we  manufacture  the  other  lines,  and  they  all  come  or  should 
come  under  one  general  heading — the  initial  cost  of  a  set  of  post 
cards,  usually  eight  designs,  which  is  the  popular  number,  for  draw- 
ings, and  designs,  and  plates,  is  from  $300  to  $500.  Of  this  fully  95 
per  cent  is  the  cost  of  labor.  The  only  material  used  is  a  little  cop- 
per and  wood  on  which  the  plates  are  made.  Following  that,  the 
cost  of  the  cardboard  is  about  75  cents  per  thousand ;  ink  25  cents  a 
thousand,  labor  $1.50  a  thousand.  On  the  number  of  post  cards 
imported  from  Germany  alone  in  1907,  the  wages  that  we  would 
have  had  to  pay  would  have  amounted  to  about  $1,200,000,  or  work 
for  a  year  for  2,000  men  and  women  at  the  rate  of  $12  a  week.  In 
addition  to  that  there  would  be  about  half  a  million  dollars  for  plates, 
practically  all  of  which  was  labor;  and  then  about  $800,000  for  card- 
board and  ink.  The  amount  of  labor  on  that  I  am  not  familiar 
with.  We  want  to  pay  the  wages  that  we  are  paying  now,  and  we 
want  to  increase  them.  The  publishers  of  books,  and  the  other  print- 
ers are  going  to  do  it  on  the  1st  of  January,  and  we  can  not  do  it. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  You  have  given  us  the  American  wages;  can  you 
give  us  the  corresponding  cost  abroad? 

Mr.  ROSE.  I  have  in  my  pocket  a  brief  presented  to  you  by  the 
American  Typothetse,  which  gives  that  exactly.  I  will  read  it  to 
you  if  you  want  me  to  do  so. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  No ;  that  is  already  in  the  hearing. 

7r,<>41— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 28 


6200  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PA±>EItS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  ROSE.  I  can  not  give  you  any  different  information  than  that. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Do  you  indorse  these  statements? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Yes. 

There  is  one  other  thing  that  I  want  to  say  to  you,  referring  to  these 
two  cards  that  I  brought  here  this  morning.  The  cost  of  a  set  of  plates 
before  putting  them  on  the  press  at  all  in  this  country  is  $12.50.  Those 
foreign  cards  will  be  sold,  delivered  in  America,  duty  paid,  card- 
board, printed,  plates  and  all,  for  from  $9  to  $10. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  What  do  you  charge  for  them  ? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Two  for  5  cents. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  You  can  not  sell  these  at  that  price.  They  would 
be  sold  anywhere  for  a  nickel  apiece  ? 

Mr.  ROSE.  No ;  not  at  all.  The  idea  is  this :  A  set  of  plates  like  this 
costs  us  $12.50.  The  printing  would  cost  about  $2.  These  people 
sell  the  cards,  delivered  in  this  country  complete,  freight  and  duty 
paid,  for  $9  and  $10  a  thousand ;  that  is,  in  small  quantity.  In  large 
quantities  they  will  sell  them  as  low  as  $3  a  thousand. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  What  can  you  sell  them  for  and  make  a  reason- 
able profit  on  the  production. 

Mr.  ROSE.  In  lots  of  5,000  we  could  sell  those  at  $4  a  thousand. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  And  they  sell  them  at  $9? 

Mr.  ROSE.  No;  they  sell  1,000  at  $9,  and  that  is  what  kills  us. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  'What  can  they  sell  them  for  in  5,000  lots? 

Mr.  ROSE.  About  $3  or  $3.50.  The  idea  of  the  thing  is  this :  Nobody 
would  buy  those  in  5,000  lots  if  they  can  buy  1.000. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  I  suppose  they  are  sold  to  wholesalers  in  large 
lots  at  low  prices,  and  they  send  them  around  to  the  retailers,  do 
they  not? 

Mr.  ROSE.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Do  you  sell  directly  to  the  retailer? 

Mr.  ROSE.  We  do  not  sell  on  this  class  of  goods,  but  these  people  do. 
We  could  not  produce  a  thousand  cards  like  this  for  less  than  $18 
or  $20. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Of  course,  if  you  produced  1,000;  but  when  you 
make  a  print  of  that  kind  you  would  print  nine  or  ten  thousand, 
would  you  not? 

Mr.  ROSE.  No ;  we  do  not  because  those  people  will  sell  1,000,  con- 
sequently the  American  buyer  will  not  buy  larger  quantities  from  us. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  But  a  city  like  this  would  probably  take  a 
thousand,  and  we  have  a  great  many  cities  of  this  size. 

Mr.  ROSE.  But  that  does  not  help  us.  It  is  the  quantity  of  this  one 
card,  it  is  not  the  general  number. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKEE.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  a  thousand  of  this  one 
card  would  supply  the  United  States? 

Mr.  ROSE.  No;  that  is  not  the  method  of  manufacture.  These 
goods  are  made  to  order,  and  the  view  cards  of  Washington  will  sell 
in  Washington. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  I  do  not  understand  that  you  are  complaining  of  the 
German  cards  that  represent  American  cities,  but  post  cards  gen- 
erally ? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Generally,  yes.  But  following  this  one  subject,  while  I 
am  at  it,  I  had  occasion  to  investigate  the  price  paid  for  labor  on 
plates  in  Germany  as  compared  with  America,  They  pay  their 


CALENDARS,  PICTURES,  AND  POST  CARDS H.   M.  ROSE.       6201 

artists  from  18  to  35  marks  per  week ;  35  marks  is  about  the  pay  for 
the  best  men  they  have  over  there.  We  pay  for  the  same  class  of  labor 
from  $15  to  $35  per  week.  There  the  etchers  receive  from  24  marks 
to  30  marks  a  week,  while  ours  receive  from  $24  to  $30  a  week;  in 
other  words,  we  are  paying  more  than  four  times  as  much  for  labor  as 
they  are,  and  it  is  absolutely  impossible  for  us  to  compete  with  them. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  The  duty  now  is  5  cents  a  pound. 

Mr.  ROSE.  Five  cents  a  pound;  yes. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  What  do  you  suggest  the  duty  ought  to  be? 

Mr.  ROSE.  The  duty  on  these  cards  ought  to  be  not  less  than  50  to 
75  per  cent  ad  valorem,  or  35  cents  per  pound. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Does  that  make  a  prohibitive  duty? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Not  at  all;  no,  sir.  Thirty -five  cents  per  pound  would 
amount  to  $2.80  a  thousand  cards. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  say  that  they  can  lay  a  thousand  cards  down 
for  $9? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  can  you  produce  them  for? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Eighteen  to  twenty  dollars. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  With  $2  a  thousand,  you  would  not  be  any  better 
off  than  you  are  now? 

Mr.  ROSE.  It  would  be  $2.80  a  thousand,  and  that  would  make  quite 
a  big  difference. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  $11.80  as  compared  to  $18  cost  in  this  country? 
That  is  a  strong  argument  for  a  revenue  duty,  I  must  admit,  but  for 
a  protective  duty  I  do  not  see  where  you  would  come  in. 

Mr.  ROSE.  We  would  come  in  in  this  way,  and  particularly  on  the 
other  style  of  cards.  I  am  more  interested  in  other  cards  than  I  am 
in  these.  We  do  not  publish  these  at  all.  We  publish  Christmas 
cards,  holiday  cards,  general  greeting  cards,  and  nrt  cards.  In  cards 
of  that  kind,  where  we  print  the  stock,  it  would  be  a  very  fine  pro- 
tection. 

Mr.  GAINES.  On  the  cards  kept  in  stock,  the  duty  would  protect 
you,  would  it  not? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Very  much;  it  would  be  a  fine  protection. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  On  the  cards  kept  in  stock  now,  what  is  the 
volume  of  business  in  this  country? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Well,  I  suppose  there  are  made  in  this  country  several 
million  dollars'  worth. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  are  the  importations  on  cards  kept  in  stock  ? 

Mr.  ROSE.  It  is  very  difficult  for  me  to  answer  that,  because  post 
cards  come  in  as  post  cards,  without  any  classification  at  all. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  total  importation  of  this  class  of 
cards,  post  cards  and  all? 

Mr.  ROSE.  All  post  cards  from  Germany  alone,  in  1907,  were 
755,000,000  and  some  odd  thousand. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  In  dollars  and  cents,  what  was  it? 

Mr.  ROSE.  I  do  not  know,  but  I  can  tell  you  about  what  it  would  be. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  About  what? 

Mr.  ROSE.  About  six  or  seven  million  dollars,  I  should  say.  That 
is  only  an  estimate,  you  understand. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  percentage  of  that  are  postal  cards;  can 
you  make  an  estimate? 


6202  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND    BOOKS. 

Mr.  ROSE.  All  postal  cards;  nothing  but  postal  cards. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  does  not  include  the  cost  of  the  stock  cards 
then  at  all;  you  have  no  information  as  to  the  amount  of  cards  that 
come  in  in  stock? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Those  are  what  we  call  stock  cards.  There  is  another 
class  of  cards — if  you  would  like,  I  can  show  you  the  class  of  cards 
to  which  I  refer. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Let  us  see  them  so  that  we  may  understand  it. 

Mr.  HILL.  Just  a  moment.  How  much  does  a  thousand  of  this 
class  of  cards  weigh  [showing  German  view  card]  ? 

Mr.  ROSE.  From  7  to  15  pounds. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  I  see,  Mr.  Rose,  that  when  post  cards  were  before 
us  before  complaint  was  made  that  there  was  no  uniformity  of  duty 
at  the  various  custom-houses.  At  some  places  they  came  in  at  5 
cents  a  pounds  as  printed  matter,  others  as  lithographed  cards  at  25 
per  cent  ad  valorem,  and  at  other  places  still  higher  rates  under 
various  classifications.  What  do  you  know  about  that? 

Mr.  ROSE.  I  know  that  some  come  in  at  5  cents  a  pound. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Where  have  you  had  experience  upon  that? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Through  importers  of  certain  cards. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  At  what  port? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Philadelphia. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Is  it  5  cents  per  pound  there? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Five  cents  a  pound  there,  as  a  rule ;  yes. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Is  there  any  distinction  made  between  the  cards  ? 
I  see  some  of  these  contain  mottoes. 

Mr.  ROSE.  Yes. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Are  those  admitted  as  printed  matter? 

Mr.  ROSE.  They  all  come  in  as  post  cards;  everything  as  a  post 
card. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  There  is  no  such  classification  in  the  tariff  law  as  a 
"post  card?" 

Mr.  ROSE.  Or  as  lithographed  matter.  These  are  the  ordinary  two- 
for-5-cents  post  cards,  so  called  [handing  samples  of  cards  to  mem- 
bers of  the  committee]. 

Mr.  McCALL.  They  do  not  come  in  as  works  of  art  ? 

Mr.  ROSE.  No;  I  do  not  think  they  do.  Here  is  another  class  of 
card.  Here  is  a  card  that  comes  in  at  5  cents  a  pound  also.  These 
are  what  we  call  air-brush  cards  [handing  cards  to  members  of  the 
committee]. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Is  this  a  foreign  card  [indicating]  ? 

Mr.  ROSE.  That  is  made  in  my  shop — all  made  in  my  place. 

Now,  you  asked  me  what  I  know  about  the  tariff.  There  is  a  hand- 
made card  [indicating],  and  it  comes  in,  I  suppose,  under  the  head 
of  manufactures  of  silk,  and  supposed  to  pay  a  duty  of  50  per  cent. 
On  Tuesday  of  this  week  I  was  in  New  York  and  I  showed  that  card 
[indicating]  to  an  importing  house.  He  told  me  that  he,  at  certain 
prices,  imported  similar  cards.  I  asked  him  how  it  was  possible  for 
him  to  import  those  cards  at  that  price  at  a  duty  of  50  per  cent.  He 
said  that  he  got  them  through  the  post-office  in  small  lots  and  did  not 
have  to  pay  duty.  Of  course,  I  do  not  know  how  he  did  it,  but  it 
seems  that  he  did. 


CALENDARS,  PICTURES,  AND  POST  CAEDS H.   M.  HOSE.       6203 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  is  your  duty  on  cards  similar  to  that  ?  [Show- 
ing lithographed  card.] 

Mr.  ROSE.  Five  cents  a  pound. 

Mr.  GAINES.  How  many  in  a  pound? 

Mr.  ROSE.  From  7  to  8  pounds  a  thousand. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  do  they  sell  for? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Two  for  5  cents  for  the  card  that  I  showed  you.  These 
are  the  handmade  cards. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Was  any  duty  paid  on  these  cards  that  came 
through  the  mails? 

Mr.  ROSE.  He  told  me  that  he  didn't  have  to  pay  the  50  per  cent 
duty.  What  he  did  pay  I  do  not  know. 

Mr.  HILL.  What  is  the  duty  on  that  [indicating]  ? 

Mr.  ROSE.  If  properly  classified,  that  is  supposed  to  come  in  under 
the  50-cent  duty  as  silk  goods. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Is  this  one  of  the  kind  that  came  in  through  the 
mails  without  duty  [indicating]  ? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Without  duty.  I  suppose. 

Now,  as  to  these  handmade  cards,  they  ought  not  to  come  in  under 
75  per  cent  duty.  That  is  practically  all  labor,  every  bit  of  it,  and 
that  is  the  class  of  labor,  the  particular  class,  that  certainly  ought  to 
have  protection  more  than  any  other  class.  Men  can  take  care  of 
themselves,  but  that  labor  certainly  should  be  taken  care  of. 

Mr.  LONGWORTH.  Is  this  card  mailed  [indicating]  as  it  is? 

Mr.  ROSE.  No ;  those  are  put  in  a  little  box,  with  the  words  "  post 
cards  "  labeled  on  the  box.  They  are  called  post  cards,  but  they  are 
not  post,  they  are  greeting  cards. 

Mr.  HILL.  Did  I  understand  you  to  say  that  you  imported  800,- 
000,000  last  year? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Oh,  no ;  I  did  not  import  2,000. 

Now,  this  is  another  class  of  work  [handing  samples  of  cards  to 
members  of  the  committee].  That  comes  in  under  the  same  heading. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  This  is  not  a  post  card.  Does  this  pay  the  same 
duty  as  a  post  card  ? 

Mr.  ROSE.  It  pays  5  cents  a  pound. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  I  do  not  see  why  it  should.     Is  it  printed  matter  ? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Lithographed  matter.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  that  partic- 
ular thing  is  an  air-brush  card.  It  is  all  hand  work,  but  they  let  them 
come  in  as  lithographed  matter. 

Now,  here  is  a  sample  of  the  calendar  work  [showing]. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Does  this  come  in  under  the  same  duty,  this  card 
that  I  have? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Five  cents  a  pound.  That,  however,  comes  in  at  25  per 
cent  duty.  [Showing  a  printed  calendar.] 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  What  particular  port  does  that  come  in? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Through  any  port  or  the  appraiser,  I  suppose. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  But  pardon  me,  I  do  not  think  you  understand.  Do 
you  mean  to  say  that  one  appraiser  would  admit  that  at  5  cents  a 
pound  and  another  will  charge  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  ? 

Mr.  ROSE.  They  seem  to  do  it.  There  seems  to  be  some  doubt  as  to 
what  is  lithographed  and  what  is  printed;  but  most  of  that  stuff  in 
New  York  comes  in  at  5  cents  a  pound. 

Mr.  HILL.  They  can  not  come  in  at  5  cents  a  pound  under  the  law 
now? 


6204  SCHEDTTLE   M PUXP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  But  he  says  that  they  do. 

Mr.  LONG  WORTH.  What  is  that  called  [indicating]  ? 

Mr.  ROSE.  That  is  hand  worked.  That  would  come  in  either  as 
lithographed  matter  or  as  printed  matter  at  a  duty  of  25  per  cent, 
and  we  can  not  compete  with  a  25  per  cent  duty. 

Mr.  HILL.  The  25  per  cent  duty  is  limited  to  not  to  exceed  35  square 
inches,  while  that  is  a  good  deal  more. 

Mr.  ROSE.  Then  what  rate  would  they  come  in  on  ? 

Mr.  HILL.  I  have  not  discovered  that  yet,  but  I  think  they  would 
come  in  at  8  cents. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Could  you  make  a  description  of  these  various  things 
that  would  differentiate  them  so  that  proper  duties  could  be  put  on  ? 

Mr.  ROSE.  Certainly,  yes;  for  instance,  if  that  card  [indicating] 
came  in  at  8  cents,  it  would  not  have  any  protection  whatever. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  I  understand,  but  will  you  file  with  the  committee 
such  a  description  of  these  various  things  as  would  enable  us  to  differ- 
entiate them  in  the  tariff  bill? 

Mr.  ROSE.  I  will  do  that,  although  probably  they  will  all  come  in 
under  one  heading. 

Mr.  HILL.  The  question  as  to  whether  it  is  8  cents  or  35  cents  ad 
valorem  is  dependent  upon  the  thickness  of  the  paper,  and  I  have 
no  knowledge  of  what  the  thickness  of  this  paper  is,  whether  it  is 
one  one-thousandth  or  twenty  one-thousandths  of  an  inch. 

Mr.  ROSE.  I  can  not  tell  you  myself.  I  can  give  you  an  idea  of 
what  we  have  to  contend  with  in  the  way  of  labor.  Here  is  some- 
thing that  I  bought  right  here  in  Washington  [indicating].  We 
pay  for  a  set  of  paintings  like  that  from  $15  to  $25  apiece.  That  is 
artists'  work.  We  buy  them  in  Germany  from  $2  to  $3  apiece.  If 
there  is  any  industry  on  earth  that  ought  to  be  protected,  it  seems 
to  me  that  anything  that  adds  so  much  to  art  and  the  education  of 
the  American  public  is  entitled  to  consideration. 

If  we  have  this  market,  or  at  least  the  share  of  it  that  we  are 
entitled  to,  there  would  be  ten  times  as  many  artists  and  designers 
here  as  there  are  now.  The  United  States  Government  certainly 
would  not  be  any  loser  by  marking  this  tariff  what  I  claim  it  should 
be,  because  there  will  always  be  more  or  less  cards  imported  on 
account  of  novelty  of  design,  irrespective  of  price.  The  dealer  would 
not  have  to  pay  any  more  and  the  consumer  will  not  have  to  pay  any 
more  for  the  cards.  There  are  popular  prices  at  which  the  con- 
sumer buys  post  cards — two  for  5  cents,  1-cent  cards,  the  5-cent  card, 
and  a  few  at  higher  prices.  There  are  established  prices  to  the 
jobbers  and  established  prices  to  the  retail  dealers  for  this  class  of 
cards. 

There  is  an  initial  cost  of  from  $300  to  $500  for  drawing  and  mak- 
ing the  original  plate.  If  we  print  1  card  or  1,000,000  this  initial 
cost  of  preparation  is  the  same.  If  we  print  a  smaller  quantity  the 
proportion  of  cost  is  larger  than  if  we  print  a  larger  quantity.  No- 
body will  be  hurt  by  this  duty,  except  the  foreign  laborers  and  manu- 
facturers and  the  importers,  of  whom  there  are  about  25  to  50  in 
this  country.  The  importers  do  nothing  except  to  sell  goods.  They 
only  have  a  few  clerks  and  salesmen.  They  are  of  no  help  to  industry 
or  labor.  They  go  around  the  country  and  say  that  they  can  take 
orders  cheaper  than  our  home  manufacturers  can  make  the  goods. 
Unfortunately  that  is  true,  and  we  can  not  deny  it. 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS.  6205 

Unfortunately  it  is  true,  also,  that  there  is  only  one  place  in  Amer- 
ica where  the  American  manufacturer  is  protected,  and  that  is  in 
Canada.  We  have  33  per  cent  better  duties  in  Canada  as  against 
the  Germans,  and,  as  a  consequence  of  that,  Canada  is  a  better  market 
than  the  United  States  itself. 

I  want  to  call  attention  to  this  [showing  sheet  of  cards]  and  to  say 
that  if  a  duty  is  made  on  post  cards,  it  should  include  post  cards  that 
are  impored  in  sheets,  ready  to  print. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Is  this  specifically  named  in  the  tariff  bill  ? 

Mr.  EOSE.  Yes,  sir. 


IMPORTERS   OF  LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS  TTRGE  RETENTION  OF 
METHOD  AND  FORM  OF  THE  DINGIEY  ACT. 

NEW  YORK,  December  18,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

^Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  On  behalf  of  the  leading  importers  of  lithographic 
prints  of  the  United  States,  I  beg  to  submit  the  following  brief  with 
reference  to  the  duties  to  be  provided  in  the  proposed  new  tariff  act 
for  this  class  of  goods  now  covered  by  paragraph  400  of  the  existing 
law.  Specifically,  this  brief  is  intended  as  an  answer  to  the  request 
made  by  the  National  Association  of  Employing  Lithographers, 
through  the  chairman  of  their  tariff  committee,  Mr.  George  R. 
Meyercord,  presented  to  the  committee  on  November  21,  1898,  and 
reported  in  Tariff  Hearings. 

The  parties  whom  I  represent  are  the  firms  of  Messrs.  E.  P.  Dutton 
&  Co.,  Raphael  Tuck  &  Sons  Company  (Limited),  International  Art 
Publishing  Company,  W.  Hagelberg  &  Co.,  Art  Lithographic  Pub- 
lishing Company,  Kaufmann  &  Strauss  Company,  of  New  York  City, 
and  Wolf  &  Co.,  of  Philadelphia. 

The  American  manufacturers,  who  admit  that  they  now  control 
five-sixths  of  the  trade  in  this  business — Mr.  Meyercord  admitted  that 
the  domestic  production  in  1905  was  $25,000,000  and  the  total  im- 
portations about  $4,000,000 — are  certainly  modest  in  their  demands, 
for  the  increases  they  suggest  would,  as  will  be  hereafter  shown,  make 
the  duties  on  many  of  these  articles  200  and  300  per  cent  ad  valorem, 
and  thus  of  course  prohibitory.  In  this  connection  the  following 
questions  and  answers  are  significant: 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  You  want  the  tariff  high  enough  BO  as  to  practically  compel 
them  to  buy  American  goods? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  Give  us  free  trade  in  our  own  home  market;  that  is  all  we  want 
and  we  will  lick  him. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  If  you  had  the  increase  in  the  schedule  of  tariff  you  ask  for,  it 
would  probably  prohibit  the  importation  of  any  foreign  product,  would  it? 

Mr.  MEYERCORD.  We  want  free  trade  in  our  home  market;  that  is  all  we  want. 
I  am  a  free  trader  above  the  51  per  cent  basis. 

Mr.  Meyercord  begins  by  stating: 

There  have  been  numerous  court  decisions  and  great  confusion  as  to  paragraph  400. 
It  is  probably  one  of  the  most  confusing  paragraphs  to  be  interpreted  in  the  entire 
Dingley  tariff  act. 

It  would  seem  that  if  it  had  been  confusing,  and  numerous  court 
decisions  had  been  made  under  it,  that  the  confusion  would  have 


6206  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPEKS,  AND   BOOKS. 

been  nearly,  if  not  wholly,  clarified.  Mr.  Meyercord's  proposition 
is  to  introduce  an  entirely  new  and  complex  scale  of  duties,  which 
would  certainly  make  confusion  worse  confounded. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  there  is  no  confusion  about  paragraph  400 
excepting  in  Mr.  Meyercord's  imagination. 

Prior  to  1890  lithographic  prints,  like  other  printed  matter,  were 
dutiable  at  25  per  cent.  The  McKinley  tariff  act,  which  was  con- 
sidered a  protective  tariff,  put  all  these  goods  on  a  basis  of  35  per 
cent  duty.  When  the  Wilson  tariff  act  was  framed  the  paragraph 
corresponding  with  paragraph  400  (paragraph  308,  act  of  1894)  was 
framed  after  a  conference  between  the  manufacturers  and  the  import- 
ers held  in  Washington,  and  the  draft  was  made  under  the  super- 
vision of  General  Appraiser  Sharretts,  an  expert  assisting  the  com- 
mittee in  the  preparation  of  the  bill. 

There  is  little,  if  any,  difference  between  the  provisions  of  the 
Wilson  bill  and  the  provisions  of  the  Dingley  bill.  These  latter  pro- 
visions were  also  the  result  of  an  agreement  between  the  domestic 
manufacturers  and  the  importers. 

W'hen  Mr.  Meyercord  suggests  there  is  great  confusion  in  para- 
graphs which  were  twice  agreed  on  by  all  conflicting  interests,  and 
which  in  the  first  instance  were  put  in  form  by  a  tariff  expert  and  a 
member  of  th'e  Board  of  General  Appraisers,  he  ought  to  cite  some 
proof  in  support  of  his  assertion. 

In  answer  to  a  question  of  Mr.  Crumpacker,  Mr.  Meyercord 
stated  that  the  domestic  manufacturers  had  larger  protection  under 
the  Wilson-Gorman  Act  and  that  the  rates  were  higher  in  that 
act  than  under  the  Dingley  law.  One  has  only  to  read  paragraph 
308  of  the  act  of  1894  and  paragraph  400  of  the  act  of  1897  to  see 
for  himself,  without  being  an  expert,  that  Mr.  Meyercord's  state- 
ment is  without  foundation.  Mr.  Meyercord  states  that  the  manu- 
facturers of  lithographic  prints  in  Germany  sell  goods  in  this  country 
below  the  market  price  for  the  same  goods  in  Germany,  and  in  some 
cases  bill  goods  to  their  own  branch  offices  in  this  country  at  less 
than  the  market  price  there.  As  the  duties  on  these  goods  are 
specific  and  the  duty  is  in  nowise  affected  by  the  value,  tnere  is  no 
reason  why  the  foreign  manufacturers  should  undervalue  their  goods, 
and  as  to  how  the  price  they  sell  them  here  compares  with  the  price 
at  which  they  sell  them  in  Germany,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  the 
Government  is  concerned  with  it. 

The  ground  assigned  by  the  American  lithographers  for  the  enor- 
mous increase  of  duties  which  they  propose  will  not  bear  investiga- 
tion, and  we  desire  to  submit  the  following  reply  to  it: 

(1)  They  say  that  the  volume  of  importations  is  constantly  increas- 
ing. This  would  furnish  no  ground  for  their  application  even  if  it 
were  true.  As  they  admit  the  importers  have  only  about  one-sixth 
of  the  business,  there  would  be  no  occasion  for  alarm  or  drastic  tariff 
legislation  even  if  the  importers'  share  was  increasing  to  one-third  or 
one-naif,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  statement  is  misleading. 

The  imports  of  Christmas  cards,  calendars,  booklets,  and  novelties 
are  not  increasing,  but  are  decreasing.  There  has  been  a  very  con- 
siderable increase  of  rate  in  the  importations  of  post  cards,  because 
the  craze  for  these  articles,  which  ran  its  course  in  Europe  and  is  now 
dying  out,  has  been  very  great  in  this  country,  especially  during  the 
past  year.  The  importations  of  post  cards  during  the  past  year  have 


LJTHOGKAPHIC   FEINTS W.    WICKHAM   SMITH.  6207 

been  $3,000,000  worth,  but  the  demand  is  decreasing;  the  popularity 
of  these  articles  is  on  the  wane,  and  it  is  a  question  only  or  time  and 
apparently  a  very  short  time  when  the  demand  will  drop  off  in  this 
country,  as  it  has  already  done  in  Europe. 

(2)  The  argument  based  on  labor  cost  is  wholly  misleading.     The 
statements  or  Mr.  Meyercord  as  to  the  cost  of  labor  in  Europe  are 
very  incorrect.     Mr.  Samuel  Gabriel,  of  the  firm  of  Raphael  Tuck  & 
Sons  Company,  who  has  been  visiting  Europe  annually  for  over 
twenty  years  and  knows  the  market  conditions  abroad  most  thor- 
oughly, can  testify  that  competent  pen  and  crayon  artists  receive 
from  80  to  100  marks  a  week,  and  not  from  32  to  36,  as  stated  by  Mr. 
Meyercord.     Corresponding  artists  in  this  country  earn  from  $30  to 
335  per  week.     It  can  be  abundantly  shown  that  Mr.  Meyercord's 
figures  for  foreign,  labor  should  be  at  least  50  per  cent  higher.     Mr. 
John  Macrae,  vice-president  of  Messrs.  E.  P.  Dutton  &  Co.,  a  firm  of 
the  highest  standing,  which  has  been  in  business  for  fifty  years  in  the 
city  or  New  York,  states  that  the  wages  paid  in  the  factory  in  Nurem- 
berg, which  supplies  this  firm  with  goods  are  from  30  to  100  per  cent 
higher  than  Mr.  Meyercord's  estimates.     Moreover,   the  American 
workman  is  so  much  quicker  and  more  efficient  than  the  foreign 
workman  that  he  can  do  double  the  quantity  of  work  in  a  given  time. 

Not  only  are  the  actual  wages  paid  in  Germany  hip-her  than  as 
stated  by  Mr.  Meyercord,  but  the  owners  of  factories  there  have  to 
pay  certain  insurance  and  hospital  taxes,  which  further  increase  the 
actual  cost  of  labor  in  the  production.  The  correctness  of  our  state- 
ments and  the  incorrectness  of  Mr.  Meyercord's  on  this  phase  of  the 
question  are  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  the  importers  are  unable  to 
compete  wTith  the  domestic  manufacturers  on  all  but  the  highest 
class  of  goods;  that  the  domestic  manufacturers  have  five-sixths  of 
the  business,  and  finally  by  the  fact  that  during  the  recent  strike  of 
lithographers  in  this  city  the  employers  made  every  effort  to  per- 
suade European  artists  to  come  to  America,  offering  them  special 
inducements.  These  artists  investigated  the  matter  of  relative 
wages  in  their  own  country  and  in  this,  and  not  a  single  one  of  them 
was  induced  to  run  away  from  the  starvation  wages  abroad.  The 
same  was  true  of  the  transferrers  and  feeders. 

(3)  In  this,  as  in  many  other  cases,  the  American  manufacturer  is 
seeking  to  establish  rates  of  duty  which  will  be  prohibitory  of  impor- 
tation on  goods  that  are  not  made  here  at  all,  and  thus  dimmish  the 
revenues  without  any  'corresponding  benefit  to  themselves.     Such 

foods  as  Christmas  cards,  fancy  calendars  for  retail  stationers  and 
ooksellers,  Christmas  booklets,  valentines,  and  Easter  booklets, 
cards,  and  novelties  have  never  been  successfully  made  in  this  coun- 
try, and  the  American  lithographers  now  propose  rates  of  duty  on 
them  from  100  to  300  per  cent  higher  than  the  present  rate,  which 
would  largely,  if  not  wholly,  exclude  their  importation. 

(4)  The  American  lithographers  propose  that  post  cards  shall  in 
future  be  assessed  as  "material  not  exceeding  eight  one- thousandths 
of  an  inch  at  30  cents  a  pound."     The  present  rate  of  duty  is  5  cents 
a  pound,  so  they  are  asking  to  have  it  multiplied  by  six.     One  of  my 
clients,  Messrs.  Raphael  l\ick  &  Sons  Company,  are  large  importers 
of  this  class  of  goods.     They  cost,  to  make  abroad,  8  marks,  or  $2, 
per  thousand.     The  weight  is  12  pounds  to  the  thousand.     The  pres- 
ent duty  at  5  cents  a  pound  is  therefore  60  cents  a  thousand,  or  about 


6208  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

30  per  cent.  The  proposed  rate,  being  six  times  this,  would  be  about 
180  per  cent.  It  would  amount  to  $3.60  a  thousand.  Now,  it  hap- 
pens that  the  firm  to  which  I  have  referred  has  a  number  of  cards 
printed  here  by  domestic  lithographers.  Two  of  these,  the  Niagara 
Lithographic  Company  and  the  American  Lithographic  Company,  are 
members  of  the  association  represented  by  Mr.  Meyercord.  A  third 
firm,  the  J.  Ottmann  Lithographing  Company,  are  doing  a  large  busi- 
ness in  the  United  States.  I  append  as  Exhibit  A  post  cards  made 
by  these  domestic  lithographers,  with  their  bills  for  the  same,  which, 
as  will  be  seen,  are  from  $1.25  to  $1.75  per  thousand,  so  that  without 
any  regard  to  the  foreign  cost  of  these  cards  or  the  expense  of  getting 
them  here,  or  any  profit  to  be  made  on  them  here,  the  American 
lithographers  are  asking  for  a  duty  which  is  more  than  double  the 
price  at  which  they  sell  their  own  product.  I  can  conceive  of  no 
more  impressive  proof  of  the  outrageousness  of  their  demands. 

(5)  The  loss  of  business  by  the  American  lithographers  is  not 
caused  by  the  cheapness  of  lithographic  work  abroad,  as  has  already 
been  shown.     It  is  largely  caused  by  the  fact  that  lithographic  goods 
are  to  an  increasing  extent  displaced  by  goods  which  are  not  litho- 
graphed, but  which  are  the  product  of  the  three  and  four  color 
process  of  printing  recently  invented.     Formerly  all  fine  color  work 
had  to  be  done  by  the  lithographic  process.     This  is  no  longer  the 
case.     Fine  goods  are  produced  by  this  three  and  four  color  process, 
and  these  goods  are  making  inroads  on  the  business  in  lithographic 
prints,  both  abroad  and  in  this  country.     No  increase  of  duty  on 
lithographic  prints  will  protect  the  domestic  manufacturer  from  this 
competition. 

(6)  The  American  lithographers  propose  to  increase  the  duty  on 
artistic  calendars  and  Christmas  cards  from  5  to  8  cents  a  pound, 
according  to  thickness  of  cardboard,  to  30  and  36  cents  a  pound. 
These  articles  are  not  and  never  have  been  made  here.     To  increase 
the  duties  on  them  from  350  to  500  per  cent  means  practically  to  pro- 
hibit their  importation.     They  are  bought  by  all  classes  of  people  at 
the  Christmas  season  and  have  come  to  be  looked  on  as  one  of  the 
most  attractive  features  of  Christmas  celebration.     Why  they  should 
be  utterly  barred  out  at  the  behest  of  people  who  have  nothing  to 
gain  by  this  act  of  vandalism  it  is  difficult  to  imagine. 

(7)  Mr.  Meyercord  tells  us  that  the  increase  of  lithography  in  Amer- 
ica amounts  to  just  25  per  cent,  as  against  an  increase  of  30  per  cent  in 
that  of  imported  lithographic  prints.     In  view  of  the  fact  tnat  Amer- 
ican lithographers,   according  to   their  figures,   turn  out   annually 
25,000,000,  while  the  imported,  including  every  conceivable  sort  of 
lithographic  prints,  amount,  according  to  their  own  figures,  to  less 
than  $5,000,000,  the  increase  in  actual  figures  amounts  to  25  per  cent 
of  $25,000,000,  equal  to  $6,250,000,  while  30  per  cent  of  $4,911,102 
amounts  to  less  than  $1,500,000.     This  increase  of  domestic  business, 
(more  than  four  times  the  increase  of  importations)  was  in  spite  of  the 
unusual  demand  for  post  cards  last  year  and  of  the  enormous  advance 
which  three  and  four  color  printing  has  made  in  the  United  States. 

In  conclusion,  I  respectfully  submit  that  the  present  form  and 
method  of  the  Dingley  Act  should  be  adhered  to  in  any  new  act  con- 
templated by  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee.  The  Dingley  litho- 
graphic schedule  is  the  result  of  years  of  investigation,  work,  and  com- 
promise of  the  American  lithographers,  the  importers  of  lithographic 


LITHOGRAPHIC   PRINTS.  6209 

goods,  and  of  tariff  experts.  The  specific  rate  of  duty  is  preferable, 
Because  it  avoids  any  possibility  of  undervaluation  and  removes  any 
suspicion  that  might  arise  in  the  minds  of  the  Government  or  of  the 
American  manufacturers  that  these  goods  are  undervalued. 

W.  WICKHAM  SMITH, 
For  Importers  of  Lithographic  Prints. 


E.  P.  BUTTON  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  URGE  MAINTENANCE  OF 
PRESENT  SCHEDULE  FOR  LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS. 

NEW  YORK,  December  18,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  of  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  We  take  the  liberty  of  writing  you  regarding  the  state- 
ment made  before  your  committee  by  Mr.  George  R.  Meyerconl, 
chairman  of  the  tariff  committee  of  the  National  Association  of 
Employing  Lithographers.  Mr.  Meyercord  and  his  committee  of 
American  lithographers  clearly  intend,  if  given  their  way,  to  make 
the  duty  on  lithographic  prints  prohibitive. 

Believing  that  it  is  your  intent  to  get  such  information  as  is  avail- 
able, and  to  prepare  a  tariff  schedule  that  will  be  just  and  fair  to 
all  interests  concerned,  we  appeal  to  you  regarding  this  lithographic 
schedule. 

The  high  standing  of  our  house  entitles  our  statements  regarding 
this  schedule  to  a  hearing  from  you  and  your  committee.  Our 
individual  imports  of  lithographic  articles  are  those  of  the  very  high- 
est order  of  workmanship.  The  lithographic  goods  imported  by 
us  are  practically  all  souvenirs  for  Christmas,  Valentine,  Easter,  and 
birthday  remembrances.  They  consist  of  calendars,  booklets,  cards, 
and  novelties.  The  class  of  goods  imported  by  us  are  such  as  have 
never  been  made  to  any  extent  in  this  country,  and  it  is  not  likely 
they  will  be  made  here. 

If  Mr.  Meyercord's  proposals  should  be  incorporated  in  your 
coming  revision  of  the  tariff,  it  would  increase  the  rates  of  goods 
imported  by  us  from  40  per  cent  to  300  per  cent.  The  duties  would 
range  from  45  per  cent  at  the  very  minimum  and  range  to  100  per 
cent.  We  estimate  the  average  about  60  per  cent  ad  valorem. 
You  are  doubtless  aware  of  the  history  of  import  duties  on  litho- 
graphic materials. 

Prior  to  the  McKinley  Act  the  lithographic  goods  were  imported 
as  printed  matter,  with  a  duty  of  25  per  cent.  The  McKinley  bill 
separated  the  lithographic  products  and  assessed  a  duty  of  35  per 
cent  ad  valorem.  The  American  manufacturers  and  the  Government 
were  continually  feeling  that  certain  importers  of  these  products 
undervalued  them. 

When  the  Wilson  bill  came  up  for  discussion  there  was  a  long  and 
bitter  struggle  concerning  the  lithographic  schedule.  Finally  Chair- 
man Jones,  at  the  request  of  Senator  Gorman,  notified  both  the 
importers  and  the  American  manufacturers  that  they  must  come 
together  and  harmonize  on  an  equitable  rate  of  duty,  fair  to  the 
pnncipal  interests  on  both  sides.  The  Wilson-Gorman  tariff  was 
the  result,  and  the  principal  parties  on  both  sides  signed  an  agree- 


6210  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

ment  in  Washington,  and  their  suggested  schedule — with  certain 
modifications — was  finally  passed  by  Congress. 

When  the  Dingley  tariff  came  up  for  discussion,  many  of  the  mor« 
prominent  American  manufacturers  and  importers  had  a  conference 
in  New  York,  and  agreed  after  considerable  discussion  to  request 
Mr.  Dingley  and  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  to  incorporate  the 
Wilson  tariff  practically  as  it  stood  in  the  new  Dingley  tariff.  This 
was  practically  done,  with  some  modifications. 

Later,  however,  there  was  considerable  dissatisfaction,  and  the 
schedule  was  made  and  remade  a  number  of  times.  After  a  good  deal 
of  hard  feeling  and  bitterness  and  fighting  on  both  sides,  the  prin- 
cipal interests  of  American  manufacturers  and  importers  met  in 
Washington  and  signed  an  agreement  to  accept  the  present'schedule 
paragraphs  398  and  400 — as  practically  satisfactory  to  the  interests 
concerned.  The  American  lithographers  had  a  very  strong  influence, 
and  practically  had  everything  that  Congress  could  possibly  feel  was 
just  given  them  in  the  McKinley  bill,  the  Wilson  bill,  and  the  Dingley 
bill.  The  agreement  made  and  signed  for  the  Dingley  tariff,  I  am 
informed,  is  still  in  existence,  in  the  hands  of  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment in  Washington  or  at  the  appraisers'  stores  in  New  York. 

I  take  the  liberty  of  giving  you  somewhat  of  the  history  of  this 
lithographic  schedule,  to  show  you  that  the  present  schedule  is  the 
result  or  many  years  of  work,  dissension,  and  discussion  by  all  parties 
concerned.  The  American  lithographers  are  amply  protected  by  the 
present  schedule.  In  fact,  in  many  instances  the  protection  is 
overhigh. 

Owing  to  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  lithographic  business,  it  is  well- 
nigh  impossible  for  the  Government,  or  individuals,  to  know  what 
the  foreign  value  of  these  articles  is.  The  question  of  originals, 
which  varies  so  tremendously  between  artists,  and  the  question  of 
the  difference  between  an  edition  of,  say,  1,000  or  50,000,  makes  the 
determining  of  values  well-nigh  impossible  from  an  ad  valorem 
standpoint. 

The  specific  rate  of  duty  puts  all  importers  on  an  equal  basis. 
The  question  of  size,  thickness,  and  weights  is  paid  for  equally  by  all, 
and  the  American  manufacturer  knows  just  what  the  duties  would 
be  under  certain  conditions. 

We  can  speak  most  positively  that  the  lithographic  imports  of  our 
house  are  less  now  than  they  were  prior  to  the  Dingley  Act.  We  are 
informed  by  most  of  the  other  large  importers  of  litliographic  prints 
that  their  imports  of  lithographic  prints  has  decreased  rather  than 
increased. 

There  has  been  a  large  volume  of  imports  of  picture  post  cards. 
We  are  told  that  something  over  $2,000,000  per  year,  for  several  years, 
have  been  imported  in  this  line  alone.  The  picture  post  card  busi- 
ness has  been  a  great  craze  in  Europe,  but  is  now  rapidly  dying  out. 
The  picture  post  card  business  here  has  also  been  a  craze,  but  has,  in 
our  judgment,  reached  its  height,  and  we  are  importing  practically 
no  general  view  post  cards  and  a  limited  number  of  Christmas,  valen- 
tine, and  Easter  postals.  We  feel  assured  that  the  importation  of 
picture  post  cards  will  materially  decrease  in  the  next  few  years. 
This  post  card  business  more  than  accounts  for  any  increase  in  the 
lithographic  schedule  during  the  past  few  years. 


LITHOGKAPHIC   PRINTS E.   P.   BUTTON    &   CO.  6211 

The  reason  why  certain  American  lithographers  have  felt  dissat- 
isfied with  their  net  earnings  in  recent  years  is  largely  traceable  to 
the  rise  of  three  and  four  color  printing.  Formerly  all  good  color 
work  had  to  be  done  by  the  lithographic  process.  Now  some  of  the 
finest  color  work  done  is  of  the  three  and  four  color  process.  Pic- 
tures, illustrations  for  books,  children's  color  books,  toy  books,  post 
cards,  and  all  kinds  of  color  work  are  done,  and  done  successfully,  by 
the  three  and  four  color  process.  Even  the  most  technical  and  diffi- 
cult of  the  famous  old  masters'  paintings  have  been  and  are  repro- 
duced by  this  three  and  four  color  process. 

Mr.  Meyercord  and  his  associate  members  overstate  the  supposed 
amount  of  lithographs  imported  into  the  country,  and  they  largely 
understate  the  actual  wages  paid  to  foreign,  especially  German,  lith- 
ographers and  labor  connected  with  the  lithographic  trade. 

The  American  lithographers  are  constantly  reprinting  the  best  of 
our  designs,  and  using  them  in  whole  or  in  part  in  toto,  practically 
stealing  them  from  us  without  ever  so  much  as  "by  your  leave," 
and  are  able  to  produce  these  designs  and  sell  them  on  the  American 
market  at  prices  less  than  we  actually  pay  for  the  same  articles 
landed  in  New  York.  This  is  proof  positive  that  the  present  rate 
of  duty  is  more  than  sufficient  for  protection. 

As  the  present  schedule  is  the  result  of  years  of  work  and  compro- 
mise, as  it  now  stands  it  is  working  in  a  fairly  satisfactory  way  to 
the  importers,  and  by  Mr.  Meyercord's  own  statements  it  is  producing 
certainly  all  the  protection  that  the  American  lithographers  are 
entitled  to. 

We  earnestly  petition  you  that  you  maintain  the  present  schedule, 
and  if  you  feel  it  necessary  to  make  certain  changes  to  make  those 
changes  on  the  basis  of  the  present  schedule.  Since  the  enactment 
of  the  Dingley  tariff  we,  and  all  the  importers,  have  had  considerable 
difficulty  in  the  working  of  the  schedule.  These  various  disputes 
have  from  time  to  time  been  taken  into  the  courts  and  before  the 
Board  of  General  Appraisers,  and  have  now  practically  all  been 
decided,  so  that  both  the  importers  and  the  American  lithographers 
know  just  the  results  of  the  working  of  the  Dingley  Act. 

If  you  contemplate  making  any  change  in  the  Dingley  Act,  we 
earnestly  hope  you  will  give  us  an  opportunity  of  presenting  our 
case  before  you  and  your  committee.  There  is  one  part  of  the  Ding- 
ley  Act — that  part  specially  referring  to  books  for  children's  use 
containing  illuminated  lithographic  prints  weighing  under  16  ounces — 
that  should  be  changed.  These  children's  color  books  are  manufac- 
tured principally  in  Germany,  and  are  of  the  highest  art  color  work. 
The  present  rate  of  8  cents  per  pound  is  practically  prohibitive, 
shutting  out  all  but  a  few  of  the  very  highest  order.  We  believe 
this  duty  should  be  reduced  from  8  cents  per  pound  to  5  cents  per 
pound. 

In  conclusion,  we  emphasize  again  the  fact  that  what  Mr.  Meyer- 
cord  and  his  committee  ask  for  is  not  protection  but  prohibition, 
and  we  assure  you  and  the  gentlemen  of  your  committee  that  the 
rates  asked  for  would  prove  prohibitive. 

We  refer  to  the  schedule  as  specifically  applying  to  lithographic 
prints,  as  we  know  nothing  concerning  the  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and 
bands  and  have  no  interest  whatever  in  these  items,  or  in  any  form 
of  labels. 


6212  SCHEDULE   M PTJJjP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Thanking  you  in  advance  for  the  courtesy  of  receiving  this  protest, 
we  are, 

Faithfully,  yours,  E.  P.  BUTTON  &  Co., 

Importers. 


SUPPLEMENTAL  BRIEF  FILED  BY  THE  NATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

OF  EMPLOYING  LITHOGRAPHERS,  CHICAGO,  ILL.,  RELATIVE  TO 

LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS. 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  December  21,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  present  herewith  the  sr^plementary  brief  of  the 
National  Association  of  Employing  Lithographers  to  make  clearer 
some  of  the  statements  and  answers  made  by  our  chairman,  Mr. 
George  R.  Meyercord,  as  also  to  answer  the  briefs  and  statements  of 
those  opposed  to  our  proposed  substitute  for  paragraph  400. 

Mr.  Underwood  asks: 

What  is  the  total  production  in  the  United  States? 

Mr.  Meyercord  answers: 

About  $25,000,000. 

While  this  $25,000,000  is  correctly  stated,  yet  it  is  also  a  fact  that 
the  selling  value  of  lithographic  color  work  in  this  country,  in  which 
there  is  competition  with  German  lithographers,  is  not  more  than 
$12,000,000. 

The  Treasury  Department  statistics  show  that  in  the  fiscal  year 
1908  there  was  imported  under  paragraph  400  lithographs  to  the  value 
of  $4,911,102.  In  addition  to  which  it  is  estimated  that  there  was 
also  imported  under  paragraphs  398,  403,  and  407  lithographs  to  the 
value  of  over  $2,000,000. 

It  may  therefore  be  stated  that  the  total  imports  for  the  fiscal 
year  1908  amounted  to  at  least  $7,000,000.  Specific  and  ad  valorem 
duties  transformed  to  ad  valorem  equivalent  would  equal  in  round 
figures  20  per  cent,  while  freight,  insurance,  selling  expense  and  profit 
would  certainly  add  at  least  30  per  cent  more;  therefore  the  com- 
parison of  the  selling  value  in  the  United  States  of  imported  litho- 
graphic color  work  and  domestic  lithographic  color  work  is  as  $11,- 
000,000  imported  to  $12,000,000  produced  in  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Underwood  again  asks: 

What  do  the  exports  amount  to? 

Mr.   Meyercord  answers: 

I  have  not  those  figures,  but  I  do  not  believe  they  amount  to  more  than  $1,000,000. 

The  probabilities  are  (although  we  have  not  the  exact  figures)  that 
they  do  not  amount  to  more  than  $150,000.  A  very  considerable 
part  of  this  is  in  advertising  matter  for  American  manufacturers  to 
advertise  their  products  abroad,  and  not  for  lithographic  work  for 
foreign  consumption  or  manufacture. 

The  chairman  asks: 

What  proportion  of  the  domestic  production  is  used  by  manufacturers? 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS ROBERT  M.  DONALDSON  ET  AL.       6213 

Mr.  Meyercord  answers: 
I  venture  to  say  they  consume  90  per  cent  of  it. 

This  answer  should  be  amplified  by  stating  that  fully  60  per  cent 
of  all  lithographic  color  work  produced  in  the  United  States  is  used 
by  the  manufacturers  for  advertising  purposes,  and  does  not  enter 
directly  into  the  cost  of  their  goods,  nor  are  they  compelled  to  use 
lithography;  there  are  many  other  processes  which  they  could  use 
if  they  so  desire;  while  another  20  per  cent  is  for  so-called  art  pro- 
ductions, leaving  only  20  per  cent  of  the  entire  product  used  by 
manufacturers  as  an  item  entering  into  costs  of  their  goods. 

(We  file  the  following  answers  to  brief  and  statement  of  Mr.  John  G. 
Duffy,  representing  Louis  C.  Wagner  &  Co.,  and  Charles  Stutz  Com- 
pany of  New  York,  and  to  the  statement  of  Mr.  Louis  C.  Wagner,  of 
New  York,  and  to  the  statement  of  Mr.  I.  Wolf,  of  Philadelphia,  made 
before  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, on  the  tariff  hearings,  on  Saturday,  November  21,  1908.) 

Mr.  Duffy  states : 

It  is  also  a  fact  that  there  has  not  been  a  single  year  under  the  Dingley  tariff  when 
there  was  imported  into  this  country  $200,000  worth  of  this  item  of  lithographic 
prints  [i.  e.,  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands]. 

The  statistics  of  the  custom-house  at  the  port  of  New  York  alone 
will  show  for  the  fiscal  year  ended  June  30,  1907,  there  were  imports 
of  lithographic  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands  (at  the  very  erroneous 
and  misleading  values  given  in  the  invoices  of  the  importers)  in  an 
aggregate  of  $342,834.80;  and  for  1908,  under  still  lower  invoice 
values  and  a  year  of  great  depression  in  business,  $337,016.04. 

Mr.  Duffy  states  that  the  duty  ran  from  44  per  cent  to  73  per  cent. 

Again,  the  statistics  of  the  custom-house  at  the  port  of  New  York 
will  show  for  the  fiscal  year  ended  June  30,  1907,  that  the  specific 
duty,  transformed  to  ad  valorem  equivalent,  ran  from  17.88  per  cent 
to  46.67  per  cent,  and  the  latter  figure  of  46.67  per  cent  was  on  im- 
portations to  the  value  of  exactly  $12,  while  the  largest  item  in 
importations  of  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands,  "printed  in  less  than 
eight  colors,  but  not  including  metal  leaf  printing,"  amounted  to 
$216,746.80,  which  at  the  specific  duty  of  20  cents  per  pound  trans- 
ferred to  its  ad  valorem  equivalent,  equaled  20.94  per  cent.  For  the 
year  1908  the  imports  of  cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands  printed  in  less 
than  eight  colors  amounted  to  $206,771.50,  which  at  the  specific  rate 
of  duty,  20  cents  per  pound,  transferred  to  its  ad  valorem  equivalent, 
equaled  23.95  per  cent.  This  seeming  increase  of  ad  valorem  equiv- 
alent in  1908  is  accounted  for  by  the  lower  valuations  in  the  invoices 
of  the  German  exporters,  for  while  the  weight  of  lithographs  in  1907 
amounted  to  226,886  pounds,  in  1908  the  weight  amounted  to  247,652 
pounds.  Under  a  specific  duty,  the  lower  the  valuation  the  higher 
will  be  the  ad  valorem  equivalent. 

Mr.  Duffy  also  states — 

A.  set  of  cigar  labels  costs  about  4  J  cents  a  box,  and  sometime  more. 

This  is  absolutely  incorrect  and  misleading.  The  average  cost  of 
labels,  flaps,  and  trimmings  of  a  box  is  less  than  40  cents  on  the  aver- 
age cost  of  $40  per  thousand  cigars;  therefore  if  the  cigars  were 
packed  50  in  a  box,  the  cost  would  be  2  cents  per  box. 


6214  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND    BOOKS. 

In  the  brief  by  Mr.  Duffy  for  Mr.  Louis  C.  Wagner  and  others  it 
is  stated — 

prior  to  the  act  of  1894  no  distinction  was  made  between  this  class  of  merchandise  (i.  e., 
cigar  labels,  flaps,  and  bands)  and  other  lithographic  prints. 

This  is  true  in  part,  for  there  were  practically  no  importations  of 
cigar  bands  in  1894,  nor  when  the  Dingley  tariff  act  was  enacted  in 
1 897.  If  there  had  been  any  quantity  of  such  merchandise  imported, 
it  would  have  been  properly  covered  in  the  Dingley  tariff  act.  We 
are  now  seeking  to  protect  an  industry  in  the  United  States  for  the 
production  of  this  class  of  lithographic  color  work. 

There  has  been  some  fear  that  giving  the  protection  asked  for  by 
the  lithographers  of  this  country  would  work  a  hardship  to  the  ulti- 
mate consumer.  This  is  best  answered  by  stating  that  the  average 
cost  to  the  cigar  manufacturer  for  cigar  bands  is  3  cents  for  each  box 
of  100  cigars.  The  manufacturers,  because  of  competition  with  each 
other,  have  been  compelled  to  use  these  cigar  bands,  so  that  each  par- 
ticular brand  of  cigar  is  identified  by  the  band. 

You  will  undoubtedly  note  that  this  brief  of  Mr.  Wagner's  was 
drawn  up  by  two  firms  of  attorneys  who  have  absolutely  no  knowledge 
of  the  subject  which  they  are  discussing. 

The  brief  for  Louis  C.  Wagner  &  Co.  and  Charles  Stutz  &  Co.,  of 
New  York,  was  intended  to  be  misleading ;  they  state : 

It  is  also  known  that  the  American  lithographers,  besides  possessing  a  practical 
monopoly  of  the  trade  in  cigar  labels  on  this  side,  have  for  many  years  invaded  the 
foreign  markets,  particularly  Germany,  where  imported  labels  are  produced. 

Mr.  Wagner  states: 

Just  one  moment.  It  was  said  a  while  ago  by  my  predecessor  that  there  were  no 
cigar  labels  exported  to  Europe.  I  have  here  some  samples  of  the  American  Litho- 
graphic Company  showing  their  agent  in  Holland,  another  one  showing  their  agent  in 
London,  and  another  one  showing  their  agent  in  Hamburg.  They  do  export  their 
cigar  labels  right  into  England  and  Germany  in  competition  with  those  made  in  those 
countries. 

In  answer  we  say  that  this  lithographic  establishment  is  the  only 
one  in  the  United  States  who  within  recent  years  has  exported  cigar 
labels  to  any  extent.  We  have  had  access  to  their  books  and  find 
the  exports  were  as  follows: 

To  Germany: 

1906,  12  months $559.  01 

1907,  12  months 370.  45 

1908,  11  months 273.  95 

$1, 203.  41 

To  England: 

1906,  12  months 995.  70 

1907,  12  months 1, 120.  79 

1908,  11  months 690.  46 

2,806.95 

To  Holland: 

1906,  12  months 4, 345.  79 

1907,  12  months 3, 343.  36 

1908,  11  months 2, 891.  98 

10,  581.  13 

Contrast  the  exports  during  the  year  1907,  amounting  to  $4,834.20, 
with  the  imports  for  the  year  1907,  amounting  to  $342,834.80,  and 
you  will  see  now  flagrantly  misleading  the  brief  for  Wagner  is,  as  also 
his  statement. 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS ROBERT  M.  DONALDSON  ET  AL.       6215 

In  the  brief  for  the  National  Association  of  Employing  Lithogra- 
phers they  do  not  ask  that  the  tariff  should  be  so  increased  as  to  produce 
a  reasonable  profit.  Owing  to  German  competition,  all  the  profits  of 
the  lithographic  industry  for  the  last  fifteen  years  have  gone  into  new 
machinery  in  an  effort  (so  far  futile),  by  the  aid  of  that  new  and 
improved  machinery,  to  meet  the  competition  of  Germany,  where 
wages  are  from  one-fifth  to  one-quarter  of  the  wages  paid  in  the 
United  States. 

ANSWER   TO   STATEMENTS    OF   MR.  I.  WOLF,  OF   PHILADELPHIA. 

Mr.  Wolf  has  not  attempted  any  answer  to  our  brief  asking  for  a 
duty  sufficient  to  protect  our  workmen  in  their  scale  of  wages,  which 
are  four  times  the  wages  paid  in  Germany. 

Mr.  Wolf  possibly  had  in  mind  that  certain  processes  (not  litho- 
graphic) used  in  producing  postcards  could  compete  with  postcards 
made  in  Germany,  but  we  positively  know  that  it  is  absolutely 
impossible  for  any  American  lithographer  to  compete  with  Germany 
in  producing  lithographic  postcards. 

The  statistics  or  the  custom  house  at  the  port  of  New  York  will 
show  that  for  the  fiscal  year  1907  (which  is  the  latest  records  we  have 
at  our  command)  there  were  importations,  under  the  clause  of  para- 
graph 400,  covering  postcards,  in  a  value  of  over  $2,000,000,  which  at 
the  specific  duty  of  5  cents  per  pound,  transferred  to  its  ad  valorem 
equivalent,  equals  15.89  per  cent.  As  we  have  shown  in  our  brief  that 
wages  are  41  per  cent  of  the  total  cost  of  our  product,  it  will  be  seen 
at  once  that  Mr.  Wolf  is  perfectly  satisfied  with  a  duty  which  pays 
15.89  per  cent  ad  valorem,  while  we  show  we  require  a  differential  of 
31  per  cent  alone  for  the  difference  in  wages  between  Germany  and  the 
United  States. 

DECALCOMANIA. 

In  the  tariff  hearings,  Mr.  Otto  Palm  states: 

Decalcomania  is  something  ent^eiy  different.  Decalcomania  as  it  is  imported  or 
made  here  is  not  perfect  in  itself.  It  is  simply  an  article  that  goes  into  the  manufac- 
ture of  other  articles. 

This  admission  by  Mr.  Palm  was  the  basis  for  the  decalcomania 
contest  before  the  board  of  appraisers  and  before  the  court  at  Phila- 
delphia, and  was  the  fundamental  principle  on  which  it  was  decided. 
In  the  brief  of  the  National  Association  of  Employing  Lithographers 
it  is  our  recommendation  that  they  be  separately  classified. 

Again,  Mr.  Palm  states: 

As  far  as  we  are  concerned,  I  think  we  (meaning  importers)  all  agree  that  we  are 
satisfied  to  let  the  duty  on  decalcomania  remain  as  it  is  now.  We  do  not  ask  any 
reduction  or  any  increase. 

The  above  paragraph  can  not  be  construed  as  anything  but  mean- 
ing the  supreme  satisfaction  with  which  the  importers  now  view  the 
duty  on  decalcomania.  It  shows  that  they  have  a  great  advantage. 

Mr.  Palm  also  states: 

If  you  want  to  foster  and  help  the  pottery  industry  of  America,  this  committee 
should  put  decalcomania  on  the  free  list  instead  of  increasing  the  duty,  although  we 
do  not  ask  that.  We  are  satisfied  as  it  is  to-day. 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 29 


6216  SCHEDULE  M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

In  analyzing  that  statement  from  the  standpoint  of  the  domestic 
manufacturer,  we  state  that  the  average  decalcomania  ornaments 
required  for  a  complete  100-piece  dinner  set  are  about  two  sheets. 
Average  American  selling  value,  15  cents  per  sheet.  _  Total  cost  of 
decalcomania  required  for  dinner  set,  30  cents.  An  increase  in  the 
duty  from  the  present  to  that  suggested  in  our  brief  would  amount 
to  from  6  to  7  cents  additional  per  dinner  set,  or  about  1  per  cent 
increase  in  factory  cost  to  the  potter. 

Mr.  Palm  says: 
The  imports  of  decalcomania  in  this  country  do  not  exceed  $400,000. 

He  is  correct  when  he  states  that  this  is  the  import  value  on  the 
foreign  invoices,  but  the  article  is  one  that  is — you  might  almost  use 
the  term — peddled  in  small  amounts.  The  selling  expense  closely 
approximates  the  factory  cost.  Fully  45  men  make  a  living  alone 
selling  the  article.  Many  offices  are  maintained.  The  domestic 
selling  price  of  the  imported  decalcomania  closely  approximates 
$800,000.  The  total  sales  of  domestic  manufacture  probably  equal 
the  sales  of  imported  decalcomania,  but  the  domestic  manufacture 
consists  largely  of  decalcomania  mounted  on  wood,  iron,  glass,  leather, 
and  the  like.  These  additional  processes  bulk  largely  in  the  amount 
of  the  domestic  sales.  -The  actual  sheets  of  imported  decalcomania 
sold  on  the  paper  on  which  it  is  printed  is  more  than  double  the 
domestic  production.  In  other  words,  only  one-third  of  this  decal- 
comania is  made  in  this  country,  fully  two-thirds  of  it  being  imported . 

In  the  brief  submitted  by  the  decalcomania  importers  the  importers 
again  confirm  the  view  of  the  court  that  a  decalcomania  is  a  separate 
article  of  commerce  bought  and  sold,  and  in  their  description  show 
that  it  is  a  transfer  picture. 

The  brief  states  "  that  it  was  only  in  1900  the  use  of  decalcomania 
became  quite  general  with  the  potters." 

The  domestic  manufacturers  of  decalcomania  as  early  as  1897  sold 
decalcomania  to  the  potteries,  introducing  the  process.  This  can  be 
readily  demonstrated  to  the  committee.  The  brunt  of  the  cost  of 
introduction  of  decalcomania  process  to  the  American  pottery  indus- 
try was  borne  by  the  domestic  manufacturer,  but  the  domestic  man- 
ufacturer lost  the  entire  grip  on  the  trade  through  the  absolute 
unfairness  of  the  tariff  laws  and  the  manipulations  of  the  importers. 

The  brief  states  the  following: 

With  the  growth  and  development  of  the  pottery  industry  the  importations  grew 
readily,  and  for  several  years  there  was  no  question  raised  as  to  the  propriety  of  classi- 
fying it  as  lithographic  prints,  under  paragraph  400. 

That  is  true,  but  rum  stared  the  American  manufacturer  in  the 
face  when  a  smart  importer  in  New  York  conceived  the  idea  of  strip- 
ping the  tissue  paper  from  the  heavier  paper  and  shipping  it  under 
the  weight  of  the  tissue,  thus  reducing  the  duty  to  2  per  cent  or  3  per 
cent  ad  valorem.  This  stripping  process  absolutely  drove  out  of 
business  nearly  all  of  the  decalcomania  manufacturers  of  America, 
notably,  the  Pittsburg  China  Decalcomania  Company,  Pittsburg  Pa. ; 
the  Scientific  Manufacturing  Company,  Highland  Park,  111.;  the 
United  States  Decalcomania  Company,  Chicago,  111.  (formerly  of 
Green  Bay,  Wis.);  Stang  &  Co.,  New  York  City.  There  were  also 
others. 


LITHOGEAPHIC  FEINTS — EOBEET  M.  DONALDSON  ET  AL.      6217 

The  Philadelphia  court  records  will  show  the  outrageous  situation 
brought  about  through  this  evasion  of  the  intent  of  paragraph  400. 

Again,  the  brief  states : 

When  decalcomania  was  first  used  by  the  potters,  there  was  absolutely  no  manu- 
facturer in  this  country. 

This  is  an  absolute  untruth,  as  the  printed  hearings  on  the  paper 
schedule  of  the  Dingley  law  will  show  that  domestic  manufacturers 
were  in  existence  at  that  time.  Also,  as  previously  stated,  one  Amer- 
ican manufacturer  was  in  the  field  in  1897  selling  to  the  potters.  To 
show  the  frightful  harm  done  by  the  Dingley  law,  the  books  of  the 
leading  domestic  decalcomania  manufacturer  will  show  that  the  firm 
did  a  business  with  the  potteries  four  years  ago  of  nearly  $200,000 
sales,  or  an  average  of  over  $15,000  monthly.  That  same  firm's 
books  will  show  less  than  one-twentieth  of  that  amount  of  sales  to 
the  potteries  last  year. 

Having  read  the  testimony  offered  by  those  opposed  to  our  pro- 
posed revision  of  sections  398,  400,  there  has  not  been  advanced  one 
good  reason  for  neglecting  to,  in  future,  distribute  among  the  work- 
men of  this  country  the  wages  part  of  that  1,000  per  cent  of  increase 
in  importations,  amounting  during  the  brief  period  from  1897  to  1908 
to  over  $20,000,000.  We  ask  your  honorable  committee  to  recom- 
mend such  a  revision  as  will  cause  this  enormous  sum  of  money  to  be 
paid  to  American  labor,  thus  insuring  that  lithograghs  used  in  the 
United  States  shall  be  made  in  the  United  States.  American  work- 
men wish  this,  as  do  American  manufacturers.  They  ask  you  to  pre- 
vent ever-increasing  millions  of  American  money  going  to  German 
manufacturers  and  workmen. 

Facts  previously  submitted,  that  talk  loudly,  are — 

Wages  approximate  $1  in  Germany  to  $4  in  the  United  States. 

Importations  under  present  law  estimated  at  over  $7,000,000  in 
1908;  $799,475  in  1897. 

We  specifically  deny  (1)  that  similar  manufacturing  is  or  can  be  as 
cheaply  conducted  hi  this  country,  or  that  the  present  tariff  produces 
an  equality;  (2)  that  American  lithographs  reach  foreign  countries 
in  appreciable  quantities. 

Germany,  the  home  of  the  industry,  favored  by  cheap  wages, 
cheap  living,  government  schools,  sells  in  all  countries;  whereas  we, 
with  high-cost  materials  and  wages,  can  sell  solely  in  this  country. 
Why  permit  Germans,  as  under  the  present  law,  to  increase  their 
United  States  trade  by  leaps  and  bounds?  Why  not  give  to  us  the 
trade  of  our  country?  Why  not  give  that  41  per  cent  of  cost,  in 
wages,  to  those  who  live  and  labor  in  the  United  States? 
Respectfully, 

ROBERT  M.  DONALDSON, 
HORACE  REED, 

GEORGE  R.  METERCORD,  Chairman, 
Tariff  Committee  National  Association  of  Employing  Lithographers. 


6218        SCHEDULE  M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

HON.  D.  S.  ALEXANDER,  M.  CM  SUBMITS  LETTER  OF  THE  GRAPHIC 
ARTS  CO.,  BUFFALO,  N.  Y.,  RELATIVE  TO  LITHOGRAPHS. 

BUFFALO,  N.  Y.,  December  21,  1908. 
Hon.  D.  S.  ALEXANDER,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  (3. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  the  imports  of 
lithographs,  which  a  careful  computation  shows  during  the  past  year 
to  have  been  $1,000,000  per  month,  and  during  this  time  the  industry 
in  this  country  has  been  at  a  standstill,  or,  in  other  words,  paralyzed 
by  foreign  competition. 

We  believe  that  the  tariff  on  imported  lithographs  should  be  raised 
fully  25  per  cent,  as  we  can  not  compete  with  foreign  countries  that 
pay  for  labor  about  one- third  what  we  pay  here. 

It  is  now  generally  known  that  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  of 
the  House  has  been  holding  meetings  on  this  subject  for  some  time 
past,  and  we  desire  that  you  .represent  us  in  this  matter,  and  voice  our 
sentiments. 

Trusting  you  will  give  this  matter  your  early  and  careful  attention, 
we  are 

Yours,  respectfully,  GRAPHIC  ARTS  COMPANY, 

WM.  D.  WEINIG. 


V.   C.  WARD,  IMPORTER,  NEW  YORK  CITY,   THINKS  PRESENT 
DUTIES  ON  LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS  PROHIBITIVE. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  December  22,  1908. 
WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  Having  been  an  importer  of  German  lithographic 
goods  for  twenty-five  years,  I  herewith  beg  to  present  a  few  items 
for  your  consideration  if  any  changes  are  contemplated  in  the  sched- 
ules for  tariff  on  such  goods  as  now  are  listed  under  article  400. 

I  submit  that  the  present  schedule  is  practically  prohibitive  on 
all  prints  which  are  scheduled  as  over  35  square  inches  in  dimensions ; 
that  the  5  cents  per  pound  rate  is  the  only  part  of  schedule  400  that 
is  supplying  any  considerable  revenue;  that  the  goods  now  coming 
in  under  that  schedule  were  originated  in  Germany,  and  the  demand 
for  them  built  up  entirely  by  the  importers  of  German  lithographic 
goods,  whose  former  business  had  been  ruined  by  the  excessive  duties 
called  for  by  both  the  tariff  laws  of  1894  and  1897;  their  former 
business  having  been  the  importing  of  souvenir  booklets,  souvenir 
albums,  and  calendar  views  of  scenic  and  resort  localities.  It  having 
become  impossible  to  import  the  old  styles  of  souvenir  goods,  they 
invented  the  post-card  idea  and  exploited  them  in  every  section  of 
America  where  their  souvenir  books  and  calendars  had  formerly 
been  sold. 

I  submit  further  that  the  only  reason  that  it  is  at  all  possible  to 
bring  into  America  these  post  cards  is  because  of  the  general  depres- 
sion that  has  chronically  existed  in  the  labor  market  now  for  a  long 
time  in  German  cities,  which  has  enabled  the  manufacturers  to  hire 
employees  at  all  but  starvation  wages. 


LITHOGRAPHIC   PRINTS V.   0.   WARD.  6219 

I  submit  further  that  the  present  prohibitive  tariff  on  lithographic 

foods  has  enabled  the  American  lithographic  workmen  to  exact  the 
ighest  schedule  of  wages  paid  to  any  of  the  skilled  laborers  hi 
America.  (For  statistics  on  this  subject  see  the  very  able  paper  read 
before  your  committee  on  November  21  by  Mr.  George  R.  Meyercord, 
the  representative  of  the  National  Association  of  Employing  Lithog- 
raphers.) 

The  American  lithographers  are  asking  for  a  75  per  cent  tariff  on 
imported  goods  that  compete  with  them,  which  if  allowed  will  only 
still  further  increase  the  already  enormous  scale  of  lithographers' 
wages  in  America  at  the  expense  of  the  great  masses  of  the  American 
people  who  are  not  engaged  in  the  printing  of  pictures  but  who 
nevertheless  enjoy  the  luxury  of  buying  and  owning  pictures. 

The  American  farmers  are  the  ones  who  would  be  the  greatest  suf- 
ferers from  any  raise  in  the  tariff  on  German  goods,  because  German 
workmen  have  for  a  generation  been  neglecting  the  farms  for  the 
attractions  of  the  trades  in  the  cities,  and  if  we  destroy  their  market 
those  workmen  will  be  driven  back  again  to  the  farms  and  thus  pro- 
duce again  the  grain,  the  meat,  the  wool,  etc.,  that  they  are  then  no 
longer  able  to  buy  from  our  American  farmers. 

On  November  16,  in  the  German  Keichstag,  a  speech  was  made  by 
a  Mr.  M.  Boehm,  in  which  he  showed  that  500,000  German  workmen 
were  then  out  of  employment  and  that  in  many  localities  those  who 
were  employed  were  working  only  on  very  short  hours. 

In  the  harbor  of  Hamburg,  Germany,  are  now  hundreds  of  idle 
ships  that  were  formerly  engaged  in  transporting  the  vast  products 
of  the  factories  of  Germany  to  all  of  the  world's  markets. 

If  the  wages  that  the  German  workman  gets  have  really  given  him 
such  an  advantage  over  the  commerce  of  the  world  why  is  it  that 
such  conditions  exist  there? 

The  lithographic  business  of  the  United  States  is  no  longer  "an 
infant  industry."  With  the  claimed  investments  in  the  business  of 
$50, 000,000  and  with  the  highest  known  scale  of  wages  paid  to  its 
workmen,  its  desire  for  the  enormous  increase  in  tariff  schedules  to  a 
75  per  cent  basis  is  simply  a  piece  of  arrogant  effrontery. 

In  the  year  1892,  prior  to  the  enactment  of  the  present  almost 
prohibitive  tariff  on  lithographic  goods,  there  were,  in  the  city  of 
Leipzig,  Germany,  over  1,000  lithographic  presses — there  are  still 
more  there  to-day.  I  submit  that  for  this  country  to  enact  prohibi- 
tive duties  against  German-made  goods  would  do  more  damage  than 
for  us  to  bombard  the  German  cities;  and  that  the  damage,  though 
at  first  to  be  felt  only  by  the  German  public,  would  inevitably  soon 
fall  reflexively  upon  the  American  farmers  who  now  supply  so  large 
a  portion  of  the  food  that  the  German  workman  must  eat.  Gentle- 
men, instead  of  increasing  the  tariff,  if  you  need  revenue,  and  if  need- 
ing it,  you  expect  to  get  any  considerable  portion  of  it  from  the  class 
of  goods  that  compete  only  with  the  highest  priced  labor  in  America, 
reduce  the  tariff  on  German-made  goods  that  come  in  under  para- 
graph 400,  so  that  none  will  be  scheduled  at  over  25  per  cent  ad 
valorem. 

Before  closing  I  would  like  to  call  your  attention  to  one  feature  of 
the  importing  business  which  thus  far  in  the  arguments  before  your 
committee  has  been  overlooked:  American  lithographic  presses 
operate  about  three  times  as  fast  as  German  presses  do,  and  they  can, 


6220  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

in  a  given  time,  turn  out  about  three  times  as  much  work  as  a  German 
press,  with  the  same  number  of  laborers;  also,  quick  delivery  is  the 
great  obstacle  in  competition  that  the  German  can  not  overcome.  The 
American  buyer  to-day  likes  to  give  his  order  one  day  and  have  his 
goods  shipped  the  next  day.  He  knows  that  it  must  be  many  weeks, 
if  he  sends  nis  orders  to  Germany,  before  he  can  see  his  goods.  These 
advantages,  in  favor  of  the  American  lithographer,  are  so  great  that 
even  were  it  an  infant  industry  it  would  need  no  protective  duty. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

V.  C.  WARD, 
Agent  for  EmiL  Pinkau  &  Co.,  Leipzig. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

COLUMBUS,  OHIO,  December  11,  1908. 
Mr.  V.  C.  WARD,  New  York. 

DEAR  SIR:  Thanks  for  your  letter  of  10th.  Samples  will  likely  get 
in  to-morrow.  I  will  consider  them.  But  I  have  some  fine  American 
samples,  which  are  satisfactory,  and  much  better  than  the  Chicago 
sample  sent  you,  at  a  very  much  lower  price  than  you  quote.  Will 
want  100,000  of  our  buildings. 
Yours,  truly, 

THE  M.  C.  LILLET  &  Co., 
Per  Jos.  FALLEN. 


EXHIBIT  B. 

COLUMBUS,  OHIO,  December  19,  1908. 
Mr.  V.  C.  WARD,  New  Yorlc,  N.  Y. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  are  returning  sample  postals  by  this  mail.  We 
thank  you  for  your  quotations.  We  are  making  up  our  drawing  and 
expect  to  place  order  elsewhere  at  a  less  price  than  you  quote  for 
equal  work. 

Yours,  very  truly,  THE  M.  C.  LILLET  &  Co., 

FALLEN. 


THE  DETROIT  PUBLISHING  CO.  SUBMITS  SUPPLEMENTAL  STATE- 
MENT RELATIVE  TO  PICTORIAL  POST  CARDS. 

DETROIT,  December  28,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PATNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  Washington,  D.  C. 
SIR:  In  accordance  with  your  suggestion,  I  respectfully  submit 
this  memorandum  supplementing  letter  of  December  2. 

The  purpose  of  this  brief  is  to  make  clearer  important  points  alluded 
to,  but  not  fully  stated. 

To  avoid  repetition,  I  recapitulate  the  facts  already  stated,  giving 
you  the  necessary  references.     They  are: 


PICTORIAL  POST   CAEDS DETROIT   PUBLISHING   CO.  6221 

(a)  This  trade  did  not  exist  when  the  present  schedule  was  made, 
being  developed  in  the  last  ten  years  in  this  country. 

(6)  It  was  developed  at  the  expense  of  home  manufacturers  and 
only  reached  serious  volume  five  or  six  years  ago. 

(c)  When  we  had  created  a  market  sufficient  to  make  it  valuable, 
it  was  invaded  by  foreign  makers  who  have  reaped  nearly  all  the 
benefits  of  the  trade  without  incurring  the  costs  of  creation. 

(d)  In  spite  of  prices  which  have  constantly  fallen  for  six  years,  the 
proportion  of  trade  absorbed  by  the  foreigner  has  constantly  increased 
until  now  it  exceeds  four-fifths  of  the  total,  and  the  American  maker 
is  in  danger  of  being  driven  out  altogether. 

(e)  The  present  duty  is  negligible,  and  in  many  cases  is  from  one- 
third  to  one-seventh  that  of  other  articles  printed  in  the  same  medium 
having  no  greater  relative  value  and  even  a  lesser  percentage  of  labor 
cost. 

The  advantages  the  foreign  manufacturer  has  are: 

1 .  He  pays  wages  not  exceeding  one-third  the  American  rates,  and 
more  often  less. 

2.  The  cost  of  initial  designs  (which  is  apart  from  the  manufactur- 
ing cost  of  the  card  itself)  is  one-fifth  to  one-quarter  that  of  similar 
designs  made  here. 

3.  All  his  materials  are  lower. 

4.  Copyrights  at  considerable  cost  for  maintenance  are  necessary 
in  this  country  to  prevent  stealing  of  designs,  which  is  an  expense 
foreigners  save  because  of  different  laws  abroad. 

5.  The  nature  of  the  domestic  trade  and  the  fact  that  Americans 
have  no  foreign  markets  compel  making  very  much  smaller  average 
editions  in  this  country  than  abroad,  thereby  greatly  increasing  the 
cost  per  unit  manufactured  even  if  there  were  no  other  handicaps 
such  as  wages. 

Details  as  to  the  above  facts  will  be  found  in  the  statements  of — 

Mr.  George  R.  Meyercord,  November  21. 

Campbell  Art  Company. 

The  Albertype  Company. 

San  Francisco  maker. 

Detroit  Publishing  Company. 

The  Rose  Company. 

Forbes  Lithograph  Manufacturing  Company. 

The  greatest  difference  in  wages  noted  is  conservatively  stated  and 
can  be  easily  verified  further  if  any  doubt  remains  in  the  minds  of 
your  committee.  Disregarding  expense  of  initial  designs,  the  per- 
centage which  labor  and  overhead  cost  bears  to  the  total  in  this 
country  is  rarely  under  50  per  cent  and  on  an  average  not  under 
75,  and  even  runs  as  high  as  95  per  cent  of  the  total  on  some  work. 

The  foreign  maker  often  appropriates  our  designs,  and  even  where 
copyrights  exist  it  is  most  difficult  to  get  recourse. 

See  Exhibit  A,  which  includes  five  German  cards  all  by  different 
publishers  and  all  copied  from  photographs  or  designs  produced  and 
copyrighted  by  us  at  our  expense  and  stolen  by  the  makers. 

On  fancy  cards,  and  even  on  views  of  travel,  the  cost  of  the  initial 
design  is  a  large  factor  and  may  even  exceed  the  manufacturing  cost. 
The  very  low  rate  at  which  designs  are  obtained  abroad  is  not  only 
due  to  the  great  difference  in  all  wages  pertaining  to  the  graphic 
arts,  but  is  still  further  increased  by  the  large  numbers  of  art  students 


6222  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

abroad  who  support  themselves  at  very  low  rates  in  order  to  obtain 
educational  advantages. 

Copyrights  to  protect  designs  have  not  been  explained,  but  they 
are  no  small  tax.  It  may  be  answered  that  the  expense  of  registra- 
tion is  trivial,  but  that  expense  is  very  small  compared  with  the  cost 
of  maintenance  of  a  copyright  which  includes  making  sure  that  every 
copy  issued  has  the  proper  imprint.  The  inspection  and  verification 
and  other  technicalities  add  a  heavy  burden.  The  foreign  maker 
has  his  designs  protected  abroad  by  the  law  without  registration  and 
without  "notice"  or  "imprint"  requirements. 

Enough  stress  has  not  been  laid  upon  the  enormous  advantage  the 
foreigner  has  by  reason  of  his  large  average  editions.  When  he  only 
pays  one-third  our  wages  it  is  easy  to  see  this  advantage,  but  it  be- 
comes more  obscure  when  we  speak  of  size  of  editions.  In  the  first 
place,  the  foreign  maker  has  a  very  much  larger  market  to  draw  from, 
because  he  may,  and  in  fact  does,  manufacture  for  practically  the 
whole  world.  We  are  limited  to  this  country  alone.  On  all  designs, 
therefore,  which  have  an  international  use  he  makes  editions  for  all 
countries,  aggregating  the  whole  in  one  lot.  Where  different  type  is 
required,  he  merely  alters  it  for  that  section  of  the  edition.  As  this 
includes  nearly  all  the  "fancy  cards,"  his  advantage  in  that  trade  is 
overwhelming.  To  show  the  importance  of  edition  we  will  take  a 
type  of  card  which  can  be  manufactured  (exclusive  of  the  cost  of  the 
design)  for  $15  per  thousand  in  1,000  editions.  The  same  card  in 
5,000  editions  would  probablv  cost  $5  per  thousand.  The  addition 
of  the  cost  of  the  design  still  -further  increases  the  margin  against  the 
American  maker. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  fact  that  the  domestic  maker  is 
being  driven  out  of  competitive  business.  To  explain  what  we  mean 
by  this:  Where  a  customer  has  his  own  subjects,  it  is  clear  that  any- 
one may  bid  on  the  work,  and  the  customer  will  take  the  lowest 
price.  The  foreign  makers  now  have  almost  a  monopoly  of  this 
business,  If  the  American  maker  gets  out  designs  of  special  merit 
and  then  incurs  the  expense  of  copyright  and  maintenance  of  copy- 
right, he  can  preserve  the  business  on  those  designs  to  himself,  and 
it  becomes  in  a  measure  noncompetitive,  but  he  does  it  at  an  almost 
prohibitive  handicap  of  adverse  costs  and  at  the  risk  of  finding  that 
some  foreign  house  will  copy  the  designs,  altering  them  enough  to 
escape  technical  infringement  if  they  prove  salable. 

COST    OF   IMPORTATION. 

Cards  made  by  engraving  or  photogravure  of  photo-gelatin  work 
pay  a  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  duty.  Because  of  the  lower  duty 
upon  lithographed  cards,  which  is  practically  nil, '  all  cards  which 
can  be  forced  into  this  process  are  now  imported  in  that  state. 

Lithographed  cards  come  under  paragraph  400  as  lithographic 
prints  exceeding  eight-thousandths  of  an  inch  and  not  exceeding 
twenty-thousandths  of  an  inch  in  thickness  and  not  exceeding  35 
square  inches  cutting  size.  They  pay  5  cents  per  pound,  which 
(according  to  the  weight  of  the  card)  equals  from  35  to  55  cents  per 
thousand  cards.  Transportation  from  the  factories  abroad  to  New 
York  varies  from  20  to  30  cents  per  thousand,  so  that  the  total  cost 
of  duty  and  transportation  is  from  55  to  80  cents  per  thousand  cards. 


PICTORIAL  POST  CAEDS — DETROIT  PUBLISHING  CO.  6223 

This  is  irrespective  of  the  value.  If  this  same  work  exceeded  400 
square  inches  it  would  pay  35  per  cent  duty.  As  they  are  generally 
made  in  large  sheets  containing  from  30  to  70  cards  and  these  sheets 
are  subsequently  cut  up,  it  will  be  seen  that  if  they  were  imported 
before  the  manufacture  is  completed  they  would  pay  much  more  duty 
than  they  do  in  the  finished  condition.  To  show  the  further  absurd- 
ity, one  card  imported  may  cost  ten  times  that  of  another  and  yet 
the  duty  remains  the  same  for  all.  Playing  cards,  in  which  the  average 
percentage  of  labor  cost  is  lower,  pay  a  specific  duty  of  $1.92  per 
thousand  plus  a  20  per  cent  ad  valorem,  while  the  post  cards  pay 
rarely  to  exceed  50  cents  per  thousand  specific  duty  alone. 

WHAT   THE    NEW   DUTY    SHOULD    BE 

Your  committee  is  asked  by  a  number  of  interests  to  greatly 
increase  the  duties,  and  they  indicate  rates  varying  from  35  to  75  per 
cent  ad  valorem,  and  in  other  cases  a  specific  duty,  such  as  35  cents 
per  pound.  All  are  agreed  that  cards  should  have  a  special  class  by 
themselves,  irrespective  of  medium  employed.  We  believe  some 
specific  duty  is  necessary,  because  this  product  is  one  peculiarly  sus- 
ceptible to  even  honest  differences  of  opinion  as  to  values,  and  also  to 
intentional  evasions  on  the  part  of  makers.  To  illustrate :  A  foreign 
maker  will  print  an  edition  of  cards  for  England  or  Germany.  In  his 
first  order  he  includes  the  cost  of  designs  and  plates.  After  delivery 
he  figures  the  plates  are  on  hand  at  no  cost  to  himself.  He  then  gives 
an  American  importer  a  subsequent  edition  or  an  excess  from  the 
first  edition  without  any  allowance  for  cost  of  designs  or  plate  making, 
and  the  cards  are  valued  accordingly  for  import  purposes.  This 
recourse  is  not  open  to  the  domestic  maker,  because  costs  are  prohib- 
itive so  far  as  exporting  is  concerned.  Consequently  we  are  limited 
to  the  one  market.  While  a  specific  duty  is  necessary,  we  do  not 
believe  it  will  be  satisfactory  alone.  The  reason  is  this:  Cards  are 
imported  costing  as  high  as  $40  per  thousand.  It  is  evident  that  if  the 
specific  duty  were  fixed  at  $2.50  per  thousand,  what  might  be  a  satis- 
factory duty  on  a  card  costing  $3  is  no  protection  at  all  on  a  card  cost- 
ing $20.  We  strongly  urge  both  a  specific  and  an  ad  valorem  duty, 
the  same  as  now  applied  to  decks  of  playing  cards.  They  are  im- 
ported under  a  specific  duty  of  10  cents  per  pack  plus  20  per  cent  ad 
valorem  (equivalent  to  $1.92  per  thousand  cards  plus  20  per  cent). 
The  suggested  specific  rate  of  $2.50  per  thousand  on  the  post  cards 
would  be  relatively  a  lower  rate,  and  if  there  be  added  to  that  an  ad 
valorem  duty  equal  to  the  highest  percentage  rate  applied  to  the  proc- 
esses employed  in  the  article,  we  believe  the  result  would  not  only  be 
the  most  satisfactory  in  application,  but  the  fairest  that  can  be  devised. 
It  also  permits  fair  importation. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  an  initial  specific  duty  providing 
some  minimum  is  absolutely  necessary  in  order  to  equalize  the  great 
difference  in  the  average  editions  in  this  country  and  those  abroad,  and 
to  equalize  the  great  difference  in  cost  of  initial  designs,  and  also  to 
take  care  of  the  relative  undervaluing,  which  is  sure  to  occur  in  many 
cases  by  reason  of  designs  and  plates  being  already  considered  as  paid 
for  by  previous  editions.  In  fixing  an  ad  valorem  percentage,  it 
should  likewise  be  borne  in  mind  that,  in  proportion  to  its  value,  the 
quality  of  work  upon  most  pictorial  cards  is  of  a  very  high  order,  in- 


6224  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

volving  very  high  percentages  in  labor,  and  that  its  class  of  work- 
manship and  relative  expense  per  area  is  generally  equal  in  the  average 
to  the  highest  class  of  work  done  in  the  process.  That  is  why  we  say 
the  ad  valorem  duty  added  should  be  the  same  as  that  of  the  highest 
class  pertaining  to  the  medium  used.  Again,  it  should  also  be  borne 
in  mind  in  considering  the  minimum  that  there  is  difficulty  at  times  in 
determining  the  medium  used  in  the  manufacture.  This  is  especially 
the  case  where  more  than  one  medium  is  employed  on  the  same  card. 
Of  course,  we  are  aware  this  difficulty  is  a  strong  argument  in  favor  of 
a  specific  tax  only,  and  we  would  favor  it  alone  but  for  the  wide  range 
of  price  of  the  product  which  makes  a  combination  duty  imperative  to 
give  fair  protection.  To  show  your  committee  some  of  the  different 
mediums  employed  we  send  you  Exhibit  B  of  cards  covering  seven 
different  processes. 

It  may  be  asked  why  the  domestic  manufacturer  is  not  driven 
out  of  the  business  with  the  excessive  disadvantages  under  which  he 
labors.  The  answer  is  that  on  competitive  business  he  is  practically 
driven  out  now,  and  only  on  special  designs  which  he  controls  or  work 
requiring  a  quicker  delivery  than  can  be  gotten  abroad  is  he  able  to 
maintain  his  place.  This  is  the  smaller  market,  and  unless  he  is  given 
a  fair  share  of  the  larger  market  he  will  in  time  be  forced  out  alto- 
gether. 

QUALITY   OF   DOMESTIC    WORK. 

It  is  stated  that  purchases  are  made  abroad  because  the  quality 
of  the  domestic  work  is  not  sufficiently  good.  Such  statements  are 
false,  for  there  is  as  good  work  produced  in  this  country  as  any  abroad. 

DEFINITION   OF   PICTORIAL   POST   CARDS. 

Pictorial  post  cards  should  be  defined  to  include  all  cards  of  simi- 
lar size  and  character,  whether  having  the  post  card  imprint  or  not. 
Frequently  part  of  an  edition  is  printed  with  the  mailing  imprint  and 
part  in  blank,  using  the  surplus  for  "place"  or  "tally  cards"  and 
other  purposes.  If  the  definition  of  the  article  is  not  made  very 
inclusive,  then  importers  will  bring  it  in  without  the  mailing  imprint 
under  different  classifications  if  your  committee  decide  to  establish 
a  separate  class  for  all  mailing  cards  regardless  of  the  process  by 
which  they  are  made,  as  in  the  case  of  playing  cards. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

DETROIT  PUBLISHING  Co., 
W.  A.  LIVINGSTONE,  Mgr. 


THE  ROSE  CO.,  PHILADELPHIA,  SUBMITS  SUPPLEMENTAL  BRIEF 
ASKING  HIGHER  DUTIES  FOR  LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS. 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  December  24,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Following  your  request  that  I  submit  to  you  a  sched- 
ule of  classifications  and  desired  rates  of  duty,  with  reasons  for  asking 
same,  I  beg  to  submit  the  following : 

There  should  be  no  difference  in  duty  between  printed,  lithographed, 
stamped,  embossed,  or  engraved  post  cards,  and  there  should  be  no 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS — ROSE  COMPANY.  6225 

difference  between  printed,  lithographed,  stamped,  embossed,  or 
engraved  calendars  or  pictures.  The  present  duty  of  5  cents  per 
pound  on  lithographed  work  and  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  on  printed 
matter  of  the  same  character  is  confusing,  as  none  but  an  expert  could 
judge  the  difference,  and  even  the  expert  must  employ  powerful 
magnifying  glasses.  The  result  of  this  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  in 
some  ports  of  entry  5  cents  per  pound  is  charged  on  post  cards  and 
at  other  ports  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  for  the  same  goods. 

SCHEDULE. 

Engraved,  printed,  stamped,  embossed,  or  lithographed  post  cards 
in  sheets  or  single,  or  pictures  that  could  be  used  as  post  cards  by  the 
printing  of  the  address  on  post  card  side,  weighing  8  pounds  per  1 ,000 
or  more,  35  cents  per  pound,  or  an  ad  valorem  duty  of  50  to  75  per 
cent.  (See  Exhibits  Al,  A2,  A3,  Bl,  and  B2.) 

Engraved,  printed,  stamped,  embossed,  or  lithographed  post  cards, 
in  sheets  or  single  pictures  that  could  be  used  as  post  cards  by  the 
printing  of  post  card  side,  weighing  less  than  8  pounds  per  thousand 
cards,  50  cents  per  pound,  or  50  to  75  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Post  cards  made  of  cardboard  only,  air  brushed  or  hand  painted, 
in  sheets  or  single,  whether  printed  with  the  post  card  or  address  side 
or  not,  50  cents  per  pound,  or  50  to  75  per  cent  ad  valorem.  (See 
Exhibit  C.) 

Post  cards,  hand  made,  with  component  parts  of  silk,  satin,  plush, 
celluloid,  or  similar  materials,  metal,  feathers,  or  any  foreign  sub- 
stance other  than  cardboard,  75  per  cent  ad  valorem.  (See  Exhibit  D.) 

Holiday  or  season  cards,  gift  cards,  greeting  cards,  and  booklets 
should  come  under  the  same  duties  as  post  cards  and  under  the  same 
relative  classifications,  for  the  reason  that  the  only  difference  is  shape, 
size,  and  the  printing  of  the  post  card  or  address  side.  The  materials, 
methods,  labor  employed,  etc.,  are  identical  and  the  protection  should 
also  be  the  same.  (See  Exhibits  E,  F,  G,  H.) 

Calendars  and  calendar  backs,  printed  or  engraved,  embossed  or 
stamped,  or  lithographed  calendars  or  calendar  backs  or  pictures  suit- 
able tor  the  same  purpose,  35  cents  per  pound  if  on  cardboard,  60  cents 
per  pound  if  on  paper.  Fourteen-point  stock  and  heavier,  according 
to  Brown  &  Sharpe  Manufacturing  Company's  paper  gauge  micrometer 
caliper,  same  to  be  the  standard  for  cardboard;  anything  lighter  to  be 
classed  as  paper.  (See  Exhibits  I,  J,  K,  L.) 

Air-brushed  or  hand-colored  calendars  or  calendar  backs,  50  cents 
per  pound.  (See  Exhibit  N.) 

Hand-painted  or  hand-colored  calendars  or  calendars  of  which  the 
component  parts  or  decorations  are  of  materials  other  than  paper  or 
cardboard,  75  cents  per  pound.  (See  Exhibit  O.) 

I  beg  to  submit  herewith  exhibits  as  follows: 

EXHIBIT  A. 

Printed  and  lithographed  post  cards  of  the  ordinary  so-called  view 
post-card  styles,  showing  the  difficulty  in  deciding  whether  the  cards 
are  lithographed  or  printed. 


6226        SCHEDULE  M PULP,  PAPERS,,  AND  BOOKS. 

EXHIBIT  A  1.° 

Showing  printed  card. 

EXHIBIT  A  2.a 

Showing  lithographed  card. 

EXHIBIT  A  3.° 

Post  cards  imported  into  Philadelphia  within  the  past  four  months 
which  the  custom-house  here  declared  not  lithographed  and  therefore 
subject  to  25  per  cent  ad  valorem,  and  the  manufacturer,  as  per  letter 
attached,  declares  are  lithographed. 

EXHIBIT  B. 

Showing  regular  so-called  stock  post  cards;  that  is,  not  made 
specially  to  order;  B  1,  showing  lithographed  cards;  B  2,  showing 
printed  cards. 

EXHIBIT  C. 
Air-brushed  post  cards. 

EXHIBIT  D. 

Hand-made  post  card,  the  component  parts  of  which  are  not 
exclusively  cardboard. 

EXHIBIT  E. 
Season  card,  not  a  post  card. 

EXHIBIT  F. 
Season  booklet,  printed  or  lithographed. 

EXHIBIT  G. 
Season  booklet,  air-brushed. 

EXHIBIT  H. 

Season  booklets,  hand  made,  with  component  parts  not  exclusively 
of  cardboard  and  paper. 

EXHIBIT  I. 
Printed  calendar  back. 

EXHIBIT  J. 

Lithographed  calendar  back. 

EXHIBIT  K. 

Picture  on  cardboard  suitable  for  calendar  back, 
a  To  show  why  the  duty  on  printed  and  lithographed  cards  should  be  alike. 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS — ROSE  COMPANY.  6227 

EXHIBIT  L. 

Picture  on  paper  suitable  for  calendar  back  or  for  mounting  on 
same. 

EXHIBIT  M. 

Circular  of  foreign  manufacture. 

EXHIBIT  N. 
Air-brushed  calendar. 

EXHIBIT  O. 

Hand-painted  calendar  with  the  component  parts  not  of  card- 
board exclusively. 

The  reasons  why  these  duties  should  be  imposed  are  as  follows : 

Pressmen  and  printers  receive  in  this  country  from  three  to  four 
times  as  much  for  labor  as  is  paid  in  foreign  countries.  Artists  and 
photo-engravers  receive  as  much  in  dollars  in  this  country  as  is  paid 
in  marks  in  Germany  per  week.  For  instance,  artists  receive  in 
Germany  from  18  to  35  marks  per  week.  Our  artists  are  paid  from 
$18  to  S3 5  per  week.  In  addition  to  this,  the  hours  of  labor  in  Ger- 
many are  from  20  to  25  per  cent  longer  than  they  are  in  this  country. 

The  United  States  Government  in  its  own  printing  shop  has  estab- 
lished hours  of  labor  and  a  scale  of  wages  that  all  high-class  printers 
and  publishers  in  this  country  wish  to  follow,  but  it  will  be  impossible 
for  them  to  do  so  unless  reasonable  protection  is  accorded. 

The  question  naturally  arises,  What  is  reasonable  protection,  and 
who  would  be  the  gainers  and  who  the  losers  if  it  were  applied? 

Calendars,  pictures,  holiday  and  season  cards  and  post  cards  should 
come  under  the  same  category.  For  the  sake  of  brevity  I  will  confine 
my  statement  to  post  cards,  taking  for  example  the  ordinary  post 
card  of  which  the  largest  quantities  are  sold,  namely,  the  cards  that 
are  retailed  two  for  5  cents  hi  the  shops.  The  cost  of  production  is 
about  as  follows: 

For  first  cost  in  the  way  of  designs,  drawings,  plates,  $300  to  $500 
for  a  set  of  eight  designs,  which  is  the  popular  number. 

The  cost  of  cardboard  is  75  cents  per  thousand;  ink,  25  cents  per 
thousand;  labor,  SI. 50  per  thousand. 

In  the  year  1907  the  United  States  imported  from  Germany  alone 
nearly  800,000,000  post  cards.  This  would  mean,  for  labor  alone, 
$1,200,000,  or  employment  for  a  year  for  2,000  persons  at  the  rate  of 
$12  per  week.  This  does  not  include  between  $400,000  and  $500,000 
for  plates,  designs,  and  drawings,  and  $800,000  for  cardboards  and 
ink,  if  these  same  cards  had  been  printed  in  the  United  States. 

Of  the  amounts  credited  to  drawings,  designs,  and  plates  fully  95 
per  cent  is  for  labor  and  5  per  cent  only  for  material. 

The  hand-made  novelties  are  produced  in  foreign  countries  at  prices 
that  are  inconceivably  low.  This  class  of  work  is  certainly  deserving 
of  protection,  as  the  labor  employed  is  all  high  class  and  is  mostly 
performed  by  xvomen  of  education,  taste,  and  refinement,  who  are 
vastly  benefited  by  the  employment,  many  of  them  supporting  their 
families  by  this  means.  I  ask  your  special  consideration  of  this  item. 

I  beg  to  call  your  attention  to  the  view  post  cards  on  sale  at  the 
principal  hotels  and  news  stands  of  Washington.  You  will  find  there 


6228  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

the  United  States  Capitol,  the  White  House,  and  all  the  public  build- 
ings reproduced  on  post  cards,  every  one  of  which  is  stamped  on  the 
back  "Made  in  Germany."  The  cost  of  a  set  of  plates  for  any  one  of 
these  designs,  if  made  in  America,  is  $12.50.  In  addition  to  this  is  the 
cost  of  cardboard,  ink,  and  labor.  German  manufacturers  supply 
these  cards  in  lots  of  one  thousand  at  $9  per  thousand,  freight  and 
duty  paid.  Even  with  protection  we  could  not  supply  this  par- 
ticular card  in  thousand  lots  at  that  price,  but  with  the  foreign  work 
of  this  kind  under  a  fair  duty  the  quantities  of  domestic  cards  pur- 
chased would  be  so  large  that  American  manufacturers  would  gladly 
print  many  thousands  of  a  subject  at  a  time,  thereby  being  enabled  to 
sell  the  cards  at  the  same  price  as  the  foreign  goods,  and  prices  being 
equal,  American  dealers  would  prefer  American  goods. 

The  gainers  would  primarily  be  printers,  pressmen,  artists,  and 
engravers,  who  would  not  only  be  benefited  in  a  pecuniary  sense,  but 
in  the  matter  of  drawings  and  designs  the  art  would  be  advanced,  and 
many  people  with  a  talent  in  this  direction  would  find  an  outlet  and 
by  practice  obtain  the  experience.  The  increase  and  improvement 
in  these  arts  during  the  past  two  or  three  years  have  been  simply 
wonderful,  and  this  is  due  almost  entirely  to  the  increased  demand  for 
this  class  of  work. 

Through  the  protection  of  post  cards,  calendars,  and  other  art  work, 
as  already  enumerated,  the  United  States  Government  would  not  be 
a  loser,  for  the  reason  that  there  would  be  more  or  less  of  this  product 
imported,  irrespective  of  price  or  cost,  on  account  of  novelty  in  design 
or  unique  method  of  reproduction  and  appearance.  If  only  one-fifth 
of  the  number  of  cards  were  imported,  the  amount  of  duty  collected 
would  remain  the  same. 

The  dealer  and  the  consumer  would  not  be  the  losers  for  the  reason 
that  there  are  popular  prices  at  which  almost  all  of  these  products  are 
sold. 

The  consumer  pays  1  cent,  two  for  5  cents,  5  cents,  and  occasionally, 
for  a  novelty,  more.  These  prices  can  not  be  deviated  from  successfully. 
Prices  have  also  been  established  for  these  different  cards  to  the  retail 
dealer  and  the  jobber,  and  the  publishers  will  have  no  difficulty  in 
supplying  them  at  these  prices  and  possibly  for  very  much  less,  owing 
to  the  increased  output  reducing  the  cost  of  publication. 

The  only  losers  would  be  the  foreign  manufacturers  and  laborers, 
and  possibly  25  or  50  importers  of  this  class  of  goods.  These  men 
are  not  producers,  they  do  not  employ  labor,  they  occupy  small 
offices,  employ  two  or  three  clerks  and  a  few  salesmen,  as  they  have 
nothing  to  do  except  to  sell  the  goods  and  deliver  them,  and  very  often 
they  do  not  do  that;  they  have  the  goods  shipped  direct. 

It  is  the  boast  of  these  people  that  American  publishers  are  unable 
to  compete  with  their  prices,  and  this  is,  unfortunately,  only  too 
true.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  many  foreign  goods  are  sold  in 
this  country  for  very  much  less  than  the  price  at  which  they  are  sold 
where  they  are  produced,  and  arrangements  are  now  being  made  to 
very  largely  increase  the  output  in  America.  We  are  also  informed 
that  the  Japanese  printers  are  contemplating  large  series  of  cards  for 
the  American  market.  As  they  pay  their  laborers  as  much  in  pen- 
nies as  we  do  in  dollars,  the  result  would  undoubtedly  be  to  put  us 
out  of  business  or  else  to  reduce  the  prices  of  labor  in  this  country  in 
order  to  meet  competition. 


LITHOGRAPHIC  FEINTS.  6229 

It  may  interest  you  to  know  that  there  is  one  place  in  America 
where  domestic  manufacturers  have  protection,  and  this  is  in  Canada, 
where  these  goods,  if  made  in  the  United  States,  receive  a  prefer- 
ential of  33  J  per  cent  over  German  goods. 

In  conclusion,  I  beg  to  state  that  I  have  carefully  investigated  this 
matter  and  can  not  find  any  instance  in  which  anyone  in  this  coun- 
try— consumer,  dealer,  laborer,  or  the  Government  itself — is  bene- 
fited in  the  slightest  by  the  existing  low  duty,  nor  do  I  find  any 
direction  in  which  it  will  work  hardship  to  anyone  but  a  few 
importers  referred  to  above. 

The  above  statement  is  respectfully  submitted.  If  there  is  any- 
thing about  it  concerning  which  you  desire  further  information,  I 
will  be  pleased  to  supply  same  by  mail  or  stand  ready  at  any  moment 
to  go  to  Washington  and  enter  into  the  matter  in  detail  at  your 
convenience.  Should  you  wish  me  to  appear  before  you  again  at 
any  time,  kindly  give  me  one  or  two  days  notice,  and  oblige, 
Respectfully,  yours, 

THE  ROSE  COMPANY, 
H.  M.  ROSE. 


GEORGE  SCHLEGEL,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  PROTESTS  AGAINST  ANY 
REDUCTION  OF  DUTY  ON  CIGAR  LABELS. 

138  AND  140  CENTRE  STREET, 

New  York,  December  30, 1908. 
WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Being  one  of  the  largest  manufacturers  of  cigar  la- 
bels, flaps,  and  bands  in  the  city,  and  coming  constantly  in  competi- 
tion with  the  German  productions  in  this  line,  must  firmly  protest 
against  any  reduction  whatsoever  in  duty  on  these  goods.  The  prices 
the  Germans  give  now  in  New  York  City  are  so  remarkably  low 
that  any  further  reduction  will  put  all  the  business  in  their  hands 
and  throw  out  of  employment  a  great  many  skilled  workmen,  who 
would  not  have  any  other  work  that  would  pay  them.  Yes,  put  them 
out  of  business  completely;  have  been  in  this  business  thirty  years, 
and  the  prices  are  as  close  as  can  be  made. 

Yours,  very  truly,  GEORGE  SCHLEGEL. 


SUPPLEMENTAL  STATEMENT  OF  V.  C.  WARD,  NEW  YORK  CITY, 
RELATIVE  TO  LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS. 

ROOM  140,  No.  280  BROADWAY, 

New  York  City,  January  #,  1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Prices  and  excellence  of  lithographic  productions  do 
not  depend  so  much  upon  the  amount  of  protective  tariff  that  may  be 
imposed  upon  such  goods  as  are  imported  from  Germany  as  upon 
climatic  conditions  and  methods  employed  in  the  respective  countries. 


6230  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

In  the  United  States  most  of  the  lithographic  printing  works  are 
located  in  cities  bordering  upon  the  ocean  or  the  Great  Lakes,  at  all 
of  which  places  the  variations  in  the  humidity  of  the  atmosphere  are 
almost  disastrous  to  the  production  of  the  very  fine  work  that  must 
be  executed  in  a  large  number  of  tints,  for  the  very  easily  understood 
reason  that  papers  contract  and  expand  to  quite  a  considerable  degree 
with  the  changes  in  the  humidity  of  the  atmosphere,  which  changes 
in  such  cities  as  New  York,  Boston,  Buffalo,  Chicago,  and  Milwaukee 
(where  most  of  the  great  American  lithographic  plants  are  located) 
are  often  quite  sudden  and  prevent  the  possibility  of  such  fine  dupli- 
cation of  the  colors,  especially  in  small  pictures  like  scenic  post 
cards,  as  is  possible  in  such  interior  cities  of  Europe  as  Berlin, 
Leipzig,  Dresden,  Frankfort,  etc.,  where  they  have  not  only  a  more 
even  climate,  but  also  secret  devices  for  the  keeping  of  the  atmos- 
phere in  the  works  upon  an  even  state  of  humidity. 

The  methods  in  which  the  American  lithographers  are  behind  in — 
some  of  them — are  among  the  following : 

In  America  workmen  are  not  considered  as  "  expert "  unless  they 
can  be  put  to  work  at  almost  any  place  in  the  shop  and  at  any  part 
of  the  intricate  details  of  manufacture.  In  Europe  no  workman  is 
expected  to  be  expert  except  in  only  one  of  the  very  many  details  of 
manufacture,  and  thus  it  is  that  in  Europe  the  workman  becomes 
especially  expert  in  his  particularly  small  part  of  the  great  and 
intricate  mass  of  variety  of  the  labor  that  is  necessary  to  produce 
pretty  pictures.  For  instance,  one  man  will  be  devoted  only  to  the 
preparation  of  the  inks,  another  only  to  the  making  of  the  drawings 
for  certain  tints,  others  for  other  tints;  others  do  only  the  transfer- 
ring, others  only  the  feeding  of  the  presses,  others  only  the  adjusting 
of  the  printing  stones  in  the  presses;  others  never  do  anything  but 
the  cutting  of  the  sheets,  etc.  The  inevitable  result  of  the  European 
method  is  that  improvements  and  discoveries  and  labor-saving  appli- 
ances for  the  various  and  numerous  details  of  the  work  are  far  more 
frequent  among  workmen  who  have  only  to  devote  their  whole  lives 
to  perfecting  one  feature  of  the  work  than  in  America  where  every 
man  is  foolishly  expected  to  be  expert  in  too  many  departments. 

Gentlemen,  if  you  could  give  the  American  lithographer  a  better 
climate  and  could  impress  upon  him  the  need  for  the  adoption  of 
European  methods  of  apportioning  of  the  labor  among  employees 
you  would  not  need  to  provide  any  protective  tariff  at  all. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

V.  C.  WARD. 


THE  ULLMAN  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK  CITY, 
WRITES  RELATIVE  TO  LITHOGRAPHIC  AND  PHOTO  GELATIN 
PRINTS  AND  PICTURES. 

338,  340,  342  EAST  FIFTY-NINTH  STREET, 

New  York,  January  4,  1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

House  of  Representatives  United  States, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  you  in  reference  to 
the  tariff  revision  as  related  to  pictures,  post  cards,  and  other  pub- 
lications. 


LITHOGRAPHIC   PRINTS TJLLMAN    MFG.    CO.  6231 

We  are  American  publishers,  which  means  that  we  print  on  our 
premises  or  have  printed  by  contract  elsewhere  pictures  and  post 
cards,  which  we  sell  at  wholesale.  The  original  sketches,  which  are 
oil  paintings  or  water-color  drawings,  are  made  by  American  artists, 
and,  as  above  stated,  the  work  of  reproduction  is  all  done  entirely  in 
this  country. 

Some  of  our  competitors  have  their  sketches  made  in  this  country, 
but  have  the  lithographic  work  and  other  printing  done  abroad, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  they  can  be  produced  cheaper  than  in  this 
country.  We  have  been  in  this  line  of  business  for  more  than  twenty 
years  and  have  never  sent  any  of  our  work  to  be  done  outside  of 
the  country,  but  we  have  now  come  to  a  point  that  it  seems  impossible 
to  meet  the  prices  of  our  competitors,  owing  to  the  fact  that  they 
can  have  their  original  sketches  made  in  this  country,  so  as  to  get 
the  American  style  for  the  post  cards  or  pictures,  but  can  have  the 
mechanical  work,  which  means  lithographing  and  printing,  done 
abroad  at  a  price  very  much  cheaper  than  we  can  have  the  same  done 
here.  All  of  this  could  be  obviated  if  a  reasonable  duty  were  levied  on 
the  imported  article. 

At  the  present  time  the  duty  on  lithographed  pictures  ranges 
from  5  to  20  cents  per  pound,  and  the  majority  of  these  goods  passes 
through  the  customs-house  at  the  rate  of  5  cents  per  pound.  The 
duty  should  certainly  be  ad  valorem,  because  at  the  present  rate  a 
picture  or  post  card  of  the  finest  quality  pays  no  more  duty  than  a 
cheaper  article. 

Pictures  which  are  not  made  lithographic,  but  which  are  printed 
in  the  photo-gelatin  process,  now  pay  a  duty  of  25  per  cent,  which  is 
entirely  inadequate  and  is  absolutely  no  protection  to  the  American 
publishers  and  printers  in  this  line. 

The  rate  of  wages  in  Germany  and  other  foreign  countries  on 
lithographic  work  and  other  process  is  about  one-third  of  the  rate 
of  wages  in  this  country.  Statistics  in  regard  to  this  matter  have 
been  furnished  to  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  but  briefly 
stated,  they  are  about  as  above. 

Some  years  ago  our  Congress  passed  an  international  copyright 
law,  and  in  its  wisdom  inserted  a  clause  making  it  obligatory  on  the 
part  of  an  owner  of  a  copyright  to  print  his  pictures  within  the 
limits  of  the  United  States,  or  from  plates  or  drawings  on  stone  made 
within  the  limits  of  the  United  States.  This  was  an  excellent  pro- 
vision for  the  protection  of  American  mechanics  in  this  line,  but, 
unfortunately,  the  law  has  been  evaded  by  certain  publishers  who 
se  -ure  a  copyright  on  their  original  oil  paintings  or  photographs  and 
then  send  the  same  to  Europe  to  be  reproduced.  The  pictures  are 
then  marked,  "  From  copyrighted  painting,"  with  the  name  of  the 
publisher  and  the  date,  so  as  to  protect  the  copyright,  and  thousands 
of  these  pictures  have  passed  through  the  custom-house  each  year 
in  this  manner,  so  that  the  very  aim  of  the  law  has  been  defeated. 

We  do  not  know  whether  this  matter  comes  within  the  scope  for 
the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  but  if  it  does,  something  should  be 
done  to  prevent  the  continuance  of  this  subterfuge. 

We  do  not  desire  to  take  up  any  more  of  your  time  in  this  connec- 
tion, and  in  closing  simply  state  that  conditions  are  such  that  the 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 30 


6232  SCHEDULE   M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND    BOOKS. 

American  publishers  and  printers  will  eventually  be  forced  out  of 
their  own  market  by  the  competition  of  European  publishers  and 
printers,  unless  a  reasonable  duty  shall  be  imposed  upon  these  goods. 
We  think  that  a  duty  of  not  less  than  60  per  cent  on  all  pictures 
printed  by  the  lithographic,  photo-gelatin,  and  other  process,  and  the 
same  duty  on  post  cards  would  be  a  fair  and  reasonable  levy,  taking 
into  consideration  the  cost  of  labor  and  raw  material. 

Thanking  you  very  much  for  your  attention  to  this  matter,  and 
hoping  that  you  will  use  your  influence  in  our  behalf,  we  remain, 
Very  truly,  yours, 

THE  ULLMAN  MFG.  Co., 
L.  J.  ULLMAN,  Treas., 

Art  Publishers. 


HON.  A.  F.  DAWSON,  M.  C.,  FILES  LETTER  OF  THE  ECONOMY  AD- 
VERTISING CO.,  OF  IOWA  CITY,  IOWA,  RELATIVE  TO  DUTIES 
ON  LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS. 

IOWA  CITY,  IOWA,  January  5, 1909. 
Hon.  A.  F.  DAWSON, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  MR.  DAWSON:  We  understand  that  a  movement  has  been 
started  to  increase  the  duty  on  manufactured  paper  goods  from  35  to 
75  per  cent,  and  I  need  not  say  to  you  that  this  would  be  very  injuri- 
ous to  the  small  manufacturing  business  that  I  try  to  manage  in 
Iowa,  as  well  as  several  other  institutions  of  like  character  through- 
out the  country.  You  will  remember  that  when  the  present  duty  of 
35  per  cent  was  levied  on  this  class  of  goods  the  lithographing  indus- 
try in  this  country  was  comparatively  weak,  and  from  my  own  expe- 
rience will  say  that  if  our  American  lithographers  were  able  to  pro- 
duce the  same  class  of  goods  in  this  country  that  we  buy  in  Europe 
that  they  would  have  the  trade,  but  they  are  unable  to  do  so,  and  it 
now  seems  to  be  their  purpose  to  bar  the  importation  of  the  class  of 
goods  that  they  can  not  manufacture,  and  for  which  there  is  a  very 
heavy  demand  in  this  country,  by  exorbitant  tariff. 

I  feel  at  perfect  liberty  to  write  you  on  this  subject  in  the  belief 
that  your  entire  efforts  will  be  directed  toward  any  injustice  in  the 
matter  of  tariff  revision,  as  this  action  surely  would  be. 
Very  respectfully,  yours, 

THE  ECONOMY  ADVERTISING  Co., 
S.  W.  MERCER,  President, 
Advertising  Novelties  and  Bank  Supplies. 


SUPPLEMENTAL  STATEMENTS  OF  LOUIS  C.  WAGNER  &  CO.,  NEW 
YORK  CITY,  RELATIVE  TO  CIGAR  LABELS  AND  BANDS. 

NEW  YORK,  January  7,  1909. 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  Many  statements  submitted  to  your  committee  since 
November  21  bearing  on  cigar  labels  and  bands  are  so  misleading 


CIGAR'  LABELS  AND  BANDS — LOUIS  c.  WAGNER  &  co.      6233 


and  untruthful  that  we  beg  to  be  permitted  to  reply  to  them  and 
place  said  matters  properly  before  you. 

The  Forbes  Company  makes  an  issue  of  small  size  labels  and  what 
the  duty  thereon  would  be,  etc.,  which  matter  has  absolutely  no  bear- 
ing on  cigar  labels;  the  sizes  of  them,  without  exception,  are  alto- 
gether much  greater,  the  design  itself  covering  about  one-half  of 
the  label  while  the  other  half  is  simply  blank  paper. 

We  are  quite  sure  that  the  Forbes  Company  have  at  no  time  during 
their  long  existence  ever  produced  cigar  labels,  much  less  bands,  and 
if  this  is  so,  how  can  they  be  capable  of  suggesting  any  proper  rates 
of  duty  on  them?  Their  other  statements  are  unworthy  of  reply. 

The  statement  of  imports  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1907, 
as  reaching  the  sum  of  $337,016,  may  be  correct  and  simply  proves 
that  it  is  not  a  large  amount  anyway  when  compared  with  the  output 
of  these  goods  in  domestic  work,  and  while  it  is  not  possible  for  any- 
one to  give  exact  figures,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  it  is  at  least  90  per  cent 
greater,  and  this  divided  by  not  more  than  one  dozen  firms  in  New 
York  City. 

The  assertion  is  made  as  showing  statistics  of  the  custom-house 
at  New  York,  that  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1907,  the 
highest  ad  valorem  equivalent  on  any  imports  of  cigar  labels  and 
bands  was  only  46.67  per  cent,  and  that  exactly  $12  worth  of 
goods  was  imported  at  this  high  percentage.  In  answer,  we  assert 
positively  that  the  statistics  (while  we  do  not  have  them)  can  abso- 
lutely not  show  this  to  be  so,  and  that  the  statement  is  made  with  the 
prime  object  of  deceiving  your  committee.  For  this  very  period  we 
have  carefully  gone  over  our  imports  alone  and  here  are  the  amounts 
with  their  ad  valorem  equivalents,  which  can  be  substantiated  by  our 
invoices  and  books : 


Total 
imports. 

Weight. 

Duty 
there- 
on. 

Ad  valorem 
equivalent. 

Clear  bands  In  bronze,  at  20  cents  per  pound  

$23,  486 

Pounds. 
27,  335 

$5  467 

Per  cent. 
$3  28 

Cigar  bands  in  metal  leaf,  at  50  cents  per  pound  

45,610 

30,432 

15  216 

33  36 

Cigar  labels  printed  in  less  than  8  colors,  at  20  cents  per  pound. 
Cigar  labels  printed  in  more  than  8  colors,  at  30  eents  per  pound  . 
Cigar  labels  printed  in  metal  leaf,  at  60  cents  per  pound  

18,158 
10,649 
8,736 

11,433 
18,254 
14,235 

9,322 
5,476 
7,117 

51.34 
51.42 
81  47 

As  we  purchase  our  goods  outright  and  pay  cash  for  them,  the 
insulting  accusation  that  our  invoice  values  are  erroneous  is  a  malig- 
nant falsehood  on  the  part  of  the  National  Association  of  Employing 
Lithographers. 

To  all  other  statements,  beginning  "A  set  of  labels  costs  about  4£ 
cents  a  box,  and  sometimes  more,"  we  assert  again  that  this  is  abso- 
lutely correct  for  imported  goods,  and  that  it  is  only  2  cents  per  box, 
applies  only  to  domestic  goods.  Even  the  cheapest  imported  labels 
with  trimmings  costs  over  3  cents  per  box,  and  the  finer  grades  up 
to  7  cents. 

As  we  handle  only  cigar  labels  and  bands,  and  have  done  so  since 
1887,  and  bands  always  having  been  one  essential  part  of  our  busi- 
ness, the  statement  that  there  were  practically  none  imported  prior  to 
1894,  or  even  1897,  is  conclusively  false. 


6234  SCHEDULE  M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

The  domestic  lithographers  then  follow  with  the  assertion  that  the 
average  cost  of  bands  to  the  cigar  manufacturer  is  3  cents  for  each 
box  of  100  cigars,  which  is  true  for  domestic  work,  but  not  so  for  the 
foreign.  The  lowest  selling  price  for  large  quantities  for  German 
work  is  from  3|  to  4  cents  for  bronze  printing  and  double  for  metal- 
leaf  work.  Under  their  proposed  rates  for  bronze  bands  only,  now 
at  20  cents  per  pound,  they  jump  this  rate  to  70  cents,  which  means  a 
duty  alone  of  22  cents  per  1,000.  Add  to  this  the  foreign  cost,  which, 
at  lowest  price,  including  import  expenses,  is  24  cents,  makes  the  total 
cost  46  cents,  and  yet  they  say  in  their  own  statement,  that  they  sell 
them,  including  their  profit,  to  the  cigar  manufacturers  at  an  average 
price  of  30  cents  per  1,000. 

That  our  brief  was  drawn  up  by  two  firms  of  attorneys  who  have 
absolutely  no  knowledge,  etc.,  is  too  silly  for  further  comment;  of 
course  it  was  submitted  by  them  as  compiled  by  us. 

We  find  nothing  misleading  in  our  statement  that  the  American 
cigar  labels  are  invading  the  foreign  markets,  nor  did  we  say  to  what 
extent.  That  was  merely  a  reply  to  their  original  assertion  that  they 
sold  absolutely  none  abroad.  Now,  they  say  the  amounts  are  very 
small.  We  still  seriously  question  the  accuracy  of  their  figures  of 
exports,  as  we  are  in  possession  of  a  letter  from  our  factory  in  Ger- 
many saying  that  agencies  are  established  in  Hamburg,  Bremen,  and 
Westfalen,  besides  Holland  and  England,  for  the  sale  of  American 
labels  and  that  the  exports  to  Germany  alone  reach  an  enormous 
amount  because  of  the  very  small  duty,  almost  too  insignificant  to 
name,  and  also  because  they  are  sold  in  that  market  at  prices  at  least 
25  per  cent  less  than  the  German  goods.  We  have  written  our  factory 
to  procure  statistics  "of  imports  into  Germany  and  if  they  can  be  ob- 
tained will  take  liberty  in  submitting  them  later. 

After  having  submitted  our  first  brief  November  21,  1908,  to  the 
manufacturers  abroad  they  have  corrected  us  in  one  particular,  and 
are  ready  to  swear  to  the  accuracy  of  the  correction,  that  a  day's  run 
in  Germany  averages  3,000  sheets,  only  one  or  two  firms  being  capable 
of  running  3,500,  which  is  the  highest  run  in  any  event.  As  the 
Forbes  Company,  in  their  later  brief  December  16,  do  not  deny,  nor 
has  it  been  denied  by  others  since  then,  that  a  day's  run  in  America 
is  at  least  6,000  sheets,  the  American  lithographers  have  the  advan- 
tage over  the  foreigners  in  printing  alone  by  fully  100  per  cent. 

Without  going  into  further  detail,  we  submit  a  summary  of  our 
contention  on  separate  sheets  herewith. 
Respectfully, 

Louis  C.  WAGNER  &  Co. 


NEW  YORK,  January  7,  1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  As  a  summary  to  our  previous  briefs  and  additional 
statements  on  separate  sheets  herewith,  we,  on  behalf  of  the  few 
importing  firms  of  cigar  labels  and  bands,  respectfully  submit  the 
following : 

Although  the  National  Association  of  Employing  Lithographers 
claims  to  represent  350  factories,  there  are  not  more  than  one  dozen 


CIGAR  LABELS  AND   BANDS LOUIS  C.    WAGNER  &  CO.        6235 

producing  cigar  labels  or  bands,  and  those,  with  one  or  two  excep- 
tions, are  located  in  New  York  City.  Among  this  dozen  we  question 
whether  there  are  more  than  two  or  three  firms  who  advocate  a 
change  in  duties,  much  less  would  think  of  higher  rates. 

The  really  principal  firm  advocating  the  exclusive  rates  on  labels 
and  bands,  not  directly  but  through  the  National  Association,  is 
the  American  Lithographic  Company,  New  York.  This  company  is 
and  has  always  been  known  throughout  the  United  States,  not  only 
by  their  competitors  but  among  the  cigar  manufacturers  and  cigar 
box  makers,  as  "  the  trust,"  and  any  increased  rates  would  mainly 
be  of  benefit  to  this  company  and  not  to  the  lithographic  trade  in 
general. 

While  the  small  importation  of  these  goods  is  confined  to  four  or 
five  firms,  fully  90  per  cent  of  the  product  is  almost  exclusively 
made  in  New  York  City. 

The  national  association  comes  to  your  committee  with  a  general 
statement  asking  for  higher  duties,  with  nothing  specific  to  sub- 
stantiate their  claim,  showing  not  one  specimen  of  a  label  or  band  of 
German  make  or  what  it  is  sold  at  and  what  their  relative  selling 
price  would  be  for  a  similar  article  produced  here,  but  simply  rely- 
ing upon  one  thing,  the  difference  in  scale  of  wages,  which  has  al- 
ready been  pointed  out  by  others  as  incorrect.  On  the  other  hand, 
we  beg  to  refer  to  our  testimony  before  your  committee  November 
21,  1908,  and  the  various  samples  then  submitted,  showing  that  their 
cost  in  Germany  is  practically  the  same  and  in  some  instances  even 
higher  than  the  same  designs  and  workmanship  are  produced  in 
New  York  and  sold  by  the  domestic  lithographer.  These  figures 
have  since  then  not  been  refuted,  nor  can  they  be,  so  it  is  self-evident 
that  even  without  any  duty  at  all,  larger  editions  can  not  be  im- 
ported anyway.  And  what  applies  to  these  particular  designs  ap- 
plies to  all  others  under  similar  conditions  and  quantities. 

The  unfortunate  part  of  it  is  we  have  absolutely  no  protection  on 
our  designs.  Each  and  every  one  can  be  copied  here,  and  it  is  done 
to  a  great  extent,  for  sole  reasons  given  in  our  testimony  November 
21,  1908. 

Apart  from  the  stupendous  rates,  the  national  association  or, 
properly  said,  the  American  Lithographic  Company,  goes  even 
further  and  suggests  another  10  cents  a  pound  for  embossed  designs. 
They  might  properly  have  added  this  10  cents  originally  to  their 
other  rates,  as  all  bands,  without  exception,  and  95  per  cent  of  all 
imported  labels  and  flaps  are  embossed. 

We  are  not  at  all  interested  in  lithographic  prints  on  which  the 
present  duties  are  an  ad  valorem  equivalent  of  from  20  to  27  per 
cent,  while  on  our  imports,  labels  and  bands,  and  more  especially 
labels,  it  is  double  and  treble. 

In  our  separate  testimony  added  to  this  we  have  compiled  the  total 
imports  of  our  firm  alone  from  June  30,  1906,  to  June  30,  1907,  show- 
ing their  ad  valorem  equivalents  which,  on  all  grades  of  labels  are 
now  so  excessively  high  that  only  small  amounts  can  be  imported  and 
the  major  part  of  these  represents  first  editions.  The  lowest  rate  is 
on  bronze  bands  and  we  particularly  refer  to  this.  As  shown  in  our 
statement  annexed,  and  admitted  by  the  domestic  lithographers,  they 
sell  these  very  bands  to  the  cigar  manufacturers  at  30  cents  per  1,000, 
which  is  the  lowest  cost  of  German  goods,  including  present  duty. 


6236  SCHEDULE  M PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

Although  both  lithographic  prints  and  labels  are  produced  by  the 
same  process  yet  there  is  this  vast  difference  in  rates  of  duty.  For  the 
information  of  your  committee  we  will  state  how  they  came  about 
originally  in  the  Wilson  bill.  The  statement  of  E.  P.  Button  &  Co., 
book  43,  page  6301,  reports  that  the  rates  were  agreed  upon  at  a  meet- 
ing between  the  importers  and  domestic  manufacturers  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  Chairman  Jones;  true,  and  just  at  this  particular  conference 
cigar  labels  and  bands  were,  for  the  first  time,  taken  out  of  the  litho- 
graphic schedule  and  provided  for  separately  at  higher  rates.  Mr. 
Louis  C.  Wagner  then,  as  now,  was  an  importer  of  labels  and  bands, 
but  was  in  Europe  at  that  time.  He  now  makes  the  positive  assertion 
that  his  representative  was  not  permitted  to  attend  that  meeting ;  that 
no  other  firm  importing  labels  did  appear  excepting  one,  large  im- 
porters of  lithographic  prints,  and  who,  at  that  time,  also  imported 
cigar  labels,  but  evidently  found  this  line  not  profitable,  so  sold 
their  entire  stock  soon  after  the  Wilson  bill  became  a  law  to  the  Amer- 
ican Lithographic  Company.  They,  the  American  Lithographic 
Company,  at  that  time  were  mainly  instrumental  in  framing  the 
schedule,  and  to  enable  them  to  get  the  importers  of  prints  to  agree  to 
high  rates  on  labels,  compromised  by  accepting  lower  rates  on  prints. 
And  this  very  firm  comes  along  again  now  and  asks  for  still  more. 

We  believe  the  time  has  come  when  the  duties  on  our  goods  should 
be  in  conformity  with  those  of  similar  manufacture  by  reducing 
them,  especially  the  20  cent,  30  cent,  and  50  cent  rates  on  labels. 

Since  we  have  clearly  shown  in  our  first  brief  and  in  this  summary 
that  domestic  goods  are  made  and  sold  to  the  trade  at  a  profit  as  low 
and  in  some  instances  lower  than  the  cost  in  Germany,  excluding  any 
duty,  we  respectfully  ask  your  committee  that  the  rates  suggested  by 
us  November  21,  1908,  be  adopted.  They  were  made  with  all  fair- 
ness and  with  more  than  ample  protection  to  domestic  industry,  and 
would  enable  us  to  redeem  the  repeat  orders  which  rightfully  belong 
to  us  and  increase  the  revenue  to  the  Government. 
Respectfully, 

Louis  C.  WAGNER  &  Co. 


HON.  JOSEPH  V.  GRAFF,  M.  C.,  SUBMITS  LETTER  OF  C.  E. 
WHEELOCK  &  CO.,  PEORIA,  ILL.,  RELATIVE  TO  INCREASING 
DUTY  ON  LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  January  9, 1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 
DEAR  MR.  PAYNE  :  Inclosed  please  find  a  letter  from  C.  E.  Wheelock 
&  Co.,  of  Peoria,  111.,  who  is  a  large  importer  of  china  and,  it  seems, 
also  of  souvenir  or  view  postal  cards,  who  are  opposed  to  a  raising  of 
the  duty  from  5  to  35  cents  per  pound,  claiming  that  will  exclude  all 
importations  and  cut  off  revenue  to  the  Government.    I  submit  the 
letter  for  the  consideration  of  the  committee. 
Respectfully, 

JOSEPH  V.  GRAFF. 


LITHOGRAPHIC    PRINTS.  6237 

PEORIA,  ILL.,  January  7,  1909. 
Hon.  Jos.  V.  GRAFF, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  It  is  reported  that  an  effort  is  being  made  before  the 
committee  having  in  charge  the  new  tariff  schedules,  by  American 
lithographers  and  manufacturers  of  souvenir  or  view  postal  cards,  to 
increase  the  present  rate  of  duty  from  5  cents  per  pound  to  35  cents 
per  pound. 

As  you  are  probably  aware,  we  are  large  importers  of  German 
souvenir  postal  cards  and  during  the  past  year  have  brought  in  many 
millions  at  a  duty  of  5  cents  per  pound.  American  manufacturers 
are  already  offering  very  sharp  competition.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
American  manufacturers  quote  practically  the  same  prices  on  simi- 
lar cards  as  the  European  cards  now  cost  delivered  in  America  after 
having  paid  the  duty  and  transportation  charges.  To  advance  the 
duty  from  5  to  35  cents,  however,  would  be  equal  to  an  ad  valorem 
duty  of  from  100  to  150  per  cent  and  would  make  imported  souvenir 
or  view  postal  cards  cost  practically  twice  what  they  cost  now.  This, 
of  course,  would  shut  out  entirely  imported  cards  and,  naturally, 
destroy  business  which  we  have  built  up  with  considerable  effort 
and  expense  and  which  now  is  of  great  importance  to  us.  Not  only 
would  this  destroy  this  business  for  us,  but,  of  course,  it  would  just 
this  much  reduce  the  imports  at  the  local  port.  Considering  the 
amount  of  business  we  have  done  on  imported  postal  cards  during 
the  past  year,  the  difference  of  a  duty  from  5  to  35  cents  per  pound 
would  make  a  difference  to  us  of  between  $15,000  and  $20,000;  but, 
we  repeat,  the  new  proposed  duty  would  prohibit  the  importation 
of  foreign  cards. 

If  it  is  practical  for  you  to  do  so,  and  should  you  have  an  oppor- 
tunity, we  should  indeed  consider  it  a  favor  if  you  would  take  this 
matter  up  with  the  committee  having  the  matter  under  consideration, 
and  we  desire  most  earnestly  that  you  should  make  an  earnest  pro- 
test on  part  of  one  of  your  constituents  against  such  an  unusual  and 
prohibitive  duty  being  added  on  postal  cards.  If  you  can  put  us  in 
touch  with  those  in  authority,  we  should  be  glad  to  have  you  do  so 
so  that  we  ourselves  could  write  a  letter  of  protest  against  the  duty 
which  we  understand  is  proposed. 

We  should  also  deem  it  a  favor  if  you  could  advise  us  what  the 
prospects  are  of  such  a  new  duty  going  into  effect. 
Yours,  truly, 

C.  E.  WHEELOCK  &  Co., 
By  J.  H.  EOTH. 


REPRESENTATIVES  OF  EMPLOYING  LITHOGRAPHERS  FILE  SUP- 
PLEMENTAL STATEMENT  RELATIVE  TO  FOREIGN  WAGES  IN 
THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY. 

52  EAST  NINETEENTH  STREET, 

New  York,  January  12, 1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  the  tariff  hearings  of  November  21,  you  asked  us  to 
procure  statistics  on  wage  scale.    We  complied  with  same  by  furnish- 


6238  SCHEDULE  M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND   BOOKS. 

ing  you  some  signed  letters  giving  the  German  scale.  We  have  also 
sent  you  the  official  copy  of  the  minimum  rates  paid  by  American 
manufacturers. 

We  now  desire  to  file  with  your  committee  copies  of  a  German 
publication,  called  "  Freie  Kunste,"  which  publication  is  published  in 
Leipzig  and  Vienna,  and  is  a  recognized  organ  of  the  lithographic 
industry  in  both  the  German  and  Austrian  Empires. 

The  copies  of  this  paper  that  we  file  with  the  committee  are  the 
issues  of  the  following  dates :  March  15,  1906 ;  March  1  and  October 
15,  1907. 

We  have  made  translations  of  these  articles.  From  the  translation 
of  issue  of  March  15,  1906,  it  appears  that  the  employers  proposed  a 
minimum  wage  of  16|  marks  per  week  for  the  first  year  of  service  as 
a  journeyman,  and  after  that  the  wage  to  be  18  marks  per  week, 
while  the  workmen  demanded  21  marks  to  25  marks,  respectively. 

In  the  translation  from  the  issue  of  March  1,  1907,  it  is  shown  that 
the  employers  and  the  workmen  agreed  upon  a  minimum  scale  of  18 
marks  per  week  in  23  cities,  18£  marks  per  week  in  2  cities,  19  marks 
per  week  in  9  cities,  19£  marks  per  week  in  1  city,  and  21  marks  per 
week  in  1  city. 

The  translation  from  the  issue  of  October  15,  1907,  shows  that  in 
the  city  of  Leipzig  the  wage  of  artists  fluctuated  from  28  marks  16 
pfennig  to  37  marks  37  pfennig. 

Should  it  be  contended  that  the  above  scale  of  journeymen's  wage 
is  only  for  the  first  year,  you,  by  referring  to  the  translation  of  issue 
of  March  15, 1906,  will  see  that  all  the  workmen  demanded  as  a  jour- 
neyman's wage  after  the  first  year  was  an  increase  of  4  marks  per 
week. 

As  this  information  is  from  labor-union  sources  and  is  addressed 
to  the  union  men,  it  may  be  taken  as  being  absolutely  correct  and 
fully  bears  out  the  contention  contained  in  our  brief,  that  the  wages 
in  Germany  are  from  one- fourth  to  one-fifth  of  the  wages  paid  in  this 
country. 

Kespectfully,  yours, 

ROBERT  M.  DONALDSON, 
HORACE  REED, 

GEORGE  R.  MEYERCORD,  Chairman, 

Tariff  Committee,  National  Association  of  Employing  Lithographers. 

By  ROBERT  M.  DONALDSON. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

[Translation,  Book  5,  page  77.] 

MARCH  1,  1907. 

The  board  of  directors  of  the  Senefelder  Union  report  that  during 
the  lockout  from  May  to  August,  1906,  and  the  preceding  strike, 
1,424  litho  artists  and  2,624  pressmen  were  on  strike.  The  strike 
extended  to  38  cities,  and  271  firms  were  concerned  therein. 

After  an  agreement  with  the  Association  of  Manufacturing  Lithog- 
raphers to  resume  work,  the  result  was  as  follows : 

Three  hundred  and  fifty-three  lithographic  artists  and  362  litho- 
graphic pressmen  gained  a  reduction  in  time  of  from  one  and  one- 


LITHOGRAPHIC  PRINTS ROBERT  M.  DONALDSON  ET  AL.       6239 

half  to  nine  hours  per  week.  Litho  artists  to  work  eight  hours  per 
day ;  litho  pressmen  to  work  nine  hours  per  day. 

One  hundred  and  twenty  lithographic  artists  and  80  litho  press- 
men received  concessions  for  holiday  pay,  which  formerly  was  not 
allowed  them. 

Two  hundred  and  ninety-eight  litho  artists  and  405  litho  pressmen 
were  conceded  25  per  cent  additional  for  overtime  during  week  days, 
and  50  per  cent  additional  for  Sunday  overtime. 

Two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  litho  artists  and  927  litho  pressmen 
received  an  increase  in  wages  from  \  to  5  marks  per  week,  a  total  of 
1,676  marks  per  week.  Minimum  wages  during  the  first  year  as 
journeymen  was  agreed  upon  to  be  18  marks  per  week  in  23  cities; 
in  2  cities,  18^  marks  per  week;  in  9  cities,  19  marks  per  week,  and 
in  2  cities,  19|  and  21  marks  per  week,  respectively. 


EXHIBIT  B. 

[Translation,  Book  6,  page  100.] 

LEIPZIG,  March  15 ',  1906. 

The  agreement  conference  of  the  lithographic  and  stone-printing 
trades  began  on  the  25th  day  of  February,  in  the  city  of  Leipzig. 
The  sessions  were  held  in  the  .Bpoktrades  Building.  The  parties 
participating  were  composed  of  nine  employers  and  nine  employees 
and  the  same  number  of  alternates.  There  were  also  present  two 
representatives  of  the  Proprietors'  Association  of  German  Stone- 
Printing  Establishments,  and  two  representatives  of  the  Senefelder 
Association. 

Previous  to  the  regular  proceedings,  those  present  adopted  a  unani- 
mous resolution  against  the  contemplated  tax  on  postal-card  views. 

The  first  question  to  be  considered  was  concerning  working  hours 
and  minimum  wages.  The  employers  proposed  nine  hours  per  day 
for  lithographic  artists  and  nine  and  one-half  hours  for  pressmen  be 
adopted.  The  employees,  in  opposition,  proposed  eight  hours  per 
day  for  lithographic  artists  and  nine  hours  per  day  for  pressmen. 

The  employers  proposed  a  minimum  wage  of  16^  marks  per 
week  for  the  first  year  of  service  as  a  journeyman,  and  after  that  to 
be  18  marks  per  week.  The  employees  demanded  21  marks  and  25 
marks,  respectively.  The  vote  on  this  question  being  a  tie,  it  was 
laid  over  for  a  second  reading. 

The  second  day  of  the  session  Doctor  Viscot,  of  Breslau,  made  the 
following  proposition  in  behalf  of  the  employers:  In  an  agreement 
of  at  least  five  years,  the  working  hours  of  lithographic  artists  and 
pressmen  were  to  be  nine  hours  per  day,  and  from  July  1,  1908,  the 
hours  for  lithographic  artists  were  to  be  eight  hours;  however,  where 
the  work  hours  at  the  present  time  are  less  they  shall  so  be  continued. 

The  counter  proposition  of  the  employees  was  as  follows:  In  an 
agreement,  at  the  most  to  continue  three  years,  the  working  hours 
for  lithographic  artists  are  to  be  eight  hours  per  day  and  nine  hours 
for  pressmen.  Where  more  hours  constitute  a  day's  work  for  litho- 
graphic artists  at  the  present  time,  the  eight-hour  time  must  be  intro- 
duced by  January  1,  1907 ;  but  where  shorter  hours  constitute  a  day's 
work  at  present  no  changes  are  to  be  made. 

The  vote  upon  these  questions  being  also  a  tie,  or  a  nonacceptance 
of  any  of  the  propositions,  the  conference  was  declared  off. 


6240  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

Alderman  Ackerman  succeeded  in  having  another  conference  take 
place,  which  assembled  February  27,  but  after  exhaustive  debate 
nothing  was  agreed  upon. 

/The  employers  insisting  on  a  five  years'  agreement,  while  the  em- 
ployees would  only  accede  to  a  three  years'  agreement,  the  employers 
made  the  following  counter  proposition  as  to  the  question  of  working 
hours,  viz:  In  shops  where  nine  and  eight  and  one-half  hours  con- 
stitute a  day's  work  hours  of  work  are  to  be  reduced  to  eight  hours 
at  once.  Where  more  than  eight  and  one-half  hours  are  in  vogue 
hours  are  to  be  reduced  to  eight  and  one-half  hours  per  day,  and  after 
July  1,  1907,  to  eight  hours  per  day.  This  proposition  also  did  not 
meet  with  approval,  and  the  conference  was  therefore  discontinued. 

The  lack  of  results  of  the  first  conference  in  our  art  crafts  is  to  be 
deplored,  especially  at  present,  when  the  new  tax  creates  an  element 
of  apprehension  and  insecurity  throughout  the  lithographic  trades 
and  the  larger  enterprises;  an  agreement  would  have  been  of  the 
greatest  importance. 

_     EXHIBIT  C. 

[Translation,  Book  20,  page  321.] 

LEIPZIG,  October  15. 1907. 

The  organized  Lithographic  Artist  Journeymen  of  Leipzig  have 
compiled  statistics  of  their  wages,  working  hours,  and  other  trade 
conditions  and  published  the  result.  The  statistics  relate  to  63  estab- 
lishments, employing  603  journeymen  artists  and  132  apprentices. 
The  average  of  apprentices,  accordingly,  would  be  about  1  to  each  4 
journeymen  artists. 

In  private  lithographic  establishments  comparatively  many  ap- 
prentices are  employed;  in  one  of  these  establishments  there  are  27 
apprentices  to  52  journeymen  artists.  In  individual  branches  of 
lithography  the  wages  fluctuated  between  29  marks  16  pfennig,  and 
37  marks  37  pfennig. 

The  hours  of  work  were  generally  eight  hours,  but  were  nine  hours 
in  some  few  establishments.  Holidays  are  not  paid  by  11  employers, 
who  employ  127  journeymen. 

Three  firms,  employing  37  journeymen  artists,  refused  information 
to  be  used  for  statistical  purposes. 

The  average  wages  for  map  engravers  is  from  22  marks  84  pfennig 
to  38  marks  19  pfennig. 


WALL  PAPER. 

I  Para  graph  402.] 

STATEMENT  OF  JOHN  J.  LINDSAY,  OF  BUFFALO,  N.  Y.,  WHO  SUG- 
GESTS A  NEW  CLASSIFICATION  FOR  WALL  PAPER. 

SATURDAY,  November  %1,  1908. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Mr.  Lindsay,  what  paragraph  does  your  industry 
come  under? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Wall  paper,  paragraph  402. 

The  first  two  lines  and  a  half  in  that  paragraph  must  have  been 
written  in  the  last  century,  because  the  manufacturers  have  not  made 


WALL  PAPER JOHN   J.  LINDSAY.  6241 

that  class  of  paper  there  mentioned.    Our  brief  has  been  submitted, 
and  if  those  two  lines  and  a  half  are  changed  so  as  to  read — - 

Paper  hangings,  or  wall  paper,  including  borders  and  ceiling  decorations, 
and  all  wall  hangings  of  which  paper  is  the  basis,-  or  the  material  treated, 
embellished,  or  decorated,  and  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  thirty-five 
per  centum  ad  valorem. 

if  that  is  done  the  industry  can  go  ahead. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  You  say  "of  which  paper  is  a  component  part?  " 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  In  manufacturing  the  paper  would  you  not  want 
to  say  "  of  which  paper  is  the  chief  part,"  or  something  of  that  kind? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  No ;  we  say  "  of  which  paper  is  a  component  part." 
If  you  will  read  that  paragraph,  you  will  see  that  it  does  not  define 
it  sufficiently,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  changed.  We  do  not  want  to 
infringe  on  the  wall  hangings  of  any  other  material. 

In  the  last  five  or  six  years  the  goods  coming  into  this  market  have 
increased  about  230  per  cent,  and  in  the  last  year  over  30  per  cent. 
And  we  might  have  something  to  say  about  this  German  tariff  or 
undervaluation,  which  the  German  arrangement  allows. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Mr.  Lindsay,  suppose  the  language  of  paragraph 
402  was  changed  to  read  in  this  way :  "  Paper  hangings  fully  or 
in  chief  value  of  paper,  and  all  paper  not  combined  with  other  ma- 
terial, and  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act  ?  " 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Well,  that  would  be  satisfactory ;  yes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  has  been  prepared  for  the  committee  with 
reference  to  the  decisions  of  the  courts,  and  in  order  to  make  the  para- 
graph clear. 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Mr.  Payne,  the  wall-paper  business  is  a  business  that 
beautifies  paper,  and  it  becomes  an  artistic  matter.  What  we  want  is 
to  protect  the  printing  or  the  embellishment  of  that  paper. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Will  you  please  repeat  your  suggested  paragraph  ? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Our  suggestion  is  that  it  be  ''  Paper  hangings,  wall 
paper,  including  borders  and  ceiling  decorations,  and  all  wall  hang- 
ings of  which  paper  is  a  component  part." 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  would  not  do,  because  if  it  had  a  small  part 
of  paper  in  it,  it  could  come  in  with  a  duty  of  25  per  cent,  which 
would  include  other  things  that  ought  to  be  paying  other  duties.  The 
paragraph  that  I  read  says,  "  Fully  or  in  chief  value  of  paper." 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  But,  Mr.  Chairman,  they  would  put  anything  in 
cheaper  than  paper. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Yes ;  that  is  the  very  difficulty  of  your  suggestion. 
If  they  put  in  the  chief  material  of  which  paper  is  a  component  part, 
and  which  might  be  a  pound,  or  a  hundred  pounds,  it  would  let  it  in 
for  25  per  cent,  if  it  was  a  wall  hanging. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Some  of  the  embellishments  may  be  worth  more 
than  the  paper. 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  The  paper  is  worth  very  little,  and  it  is  the  embel- 
lishment that  we  want  to  protect. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  may  go  ahead  with  your  statement.  We  will 
furnish  you  a  copy  of  this  amendment,  you  can  look  it  over,  and  if 
you  want  to  make  any  comments  on  it  later,  then  return  it  to  us  with 
such  comments. 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  The  foreign  market  is  interfering  with  us,  and  the 
25  per  cent  is  not  sufficient.  That  last  part  of  the  two  lines  and  a 
half  of  paragraph  402  should  read  35  per  cent  instead  of  25  per  cent. 


6242  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  Chairman,  that  is  all  we  have  to  say.  It  is  an  industry  that 
ought  to  be  protected.  Our  labor  is  three  to  four  times  more  than  it 
is  in  the  other  markets.  Our  men  get  $25  a  week,  and  they  get  from 
$6  to  $9  over  there,  according  to  their  ability.  The  ocean  freights  are 
low.  Under  the  German  tariff  arrangement  there  is  undervaluation. 
There  are  two  hotels  in  San  Francisco  on  which  floss  paper  was  put, 
made  in  Germany.  We  competed  for  that  order  and  could  not  get  it. 
We  understand  that  it  came  in  here  under  the  new  German  law  at  10 
per  cent  duty — not  25  per  cent,  but  10  per  cent— because  it  was  made 
specially  for  the  American  market.  And  that  is  the  point  about  it. 
And  it  did  not  pass  through  any  dealer's  hands;  it  went  from  the 
manufacturer  to  those  hotels  in  San  Francisco — two  leading  hotels. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  You  export  some  paper  for  paper  hanging,  do  you 
not? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Yes,  sir ;  the  goods  that  came  into  this  country  four 
years  ago  amounted  to  about  $200,000.  To-day  it  is  nearly  $700,000. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Those  are  the  importations  ? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  You  also  export,  do  you  not  ? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Very  little;  that  is,  the  concern  with  which  I  am 
connected.  The  Government  records  show  that  there  was  $7,000 
worth  of  goods  put  into  Germany,  and  $5,500  was  sent  by  our  con- 
cern over  there.  The  other  manufacturers  of  course  put  in  part. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  How  many  manufacturers  of  wall  paper  are  there  in 
the  United  States? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  The  1905  report  of  the  Department  of  Commerce 
shows  44. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Are  they  widely  scattered  through  the  various 
States? 

JMr.  LINDSAY.  Yes,  sir ;  but  not  farther  west  than  Chicago. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  There  are  no  wall-paper  factories  west  of  Chicago? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  What  is  the  value  of  the  domestic  output  of  these  44 
factories  ? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Twelve  million  dollars,  and  the  capital  $12,000,000 
also. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  And  the  value  of  the  annual  output  is  $12.000,000  ? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  About  what  is  the  value  of  the  imported  product  for 
a  similar  period? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  About  $700,000. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  As  against  $12,000.000? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Yes ;  but  it  is  on  the  class  of  goods  on  which  there  is 
the  largest  profit ;  that  is,  they  put  it  in  here,  fine  goods,  undervalued, 
and  that  does  not  permit  the  American  manufacturers  sufficient 
profit,  and  the  tariff  should  be  put  up  to  prevent  those  goods  coming 
into  this  market. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  The  method  of  handling  jour  product  is  the  same 
by  all  of  the  44  factories — the  method  of  marketing  it? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  That  is,  the  factories  sell  to  the  jobber? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Part  only.  There  are  several  factories  who  sell  direct 
to  the  trade. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Direct  to  the  retailer? 


WAT.T.  PAPER JOHN   J.   LINDSAY.  6243 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  To  the  dealers  in  the  different  cities.  There  are 
several  factories  that  way. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Of  those  44  factories  is  there  an  association  or  com- 
bination among  any  part  or  all  of  them  for  the  purpose  of  dividing 
territory  ? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Or  fixing  the  price? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  The  retail  dealer  or  the  jobber  has  the  benefit  of  per- 
fect, free,  and  full  competition? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  That  is  true  throughout  the  entire  wall-paper  trade? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Yes,  sir.  There  was  a  company  in  operation  up  to 
1900,  and  dissolved  at  that  time  and  went  into  liquidation.  No  trust 
will  stand  free  competition. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  long  have  you  been  in  this  business,  Mr.  Lindsay  ? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  I  have  been  in  this  business  since  1870. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Have  you  been  losing  money  since  1870? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  long  have  you  been  losing  money? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  We  lost  money  a  great  number  of  years.  We  lost 
it  very  badly  for  two  or  three  years  after  our  company  dissolved. 
There  was  not  any  money  made  in  the  business. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  was  after  the  trust  dissolved? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  When  did  that  important  event  happen? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  In  1900.  From  1900  to  1903  20  or  30  factories 
failed. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  from  1903  to  1907  you  all  made  money  hand  over 
fist,  did  you  not  ? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  No,  sir;  the  Government  does  not  make  a  statement 
of  that  kind. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  am  not  asking  about  the  Government's  statement, 
but  I  am  asking  you  for  the  facts. 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  The  facts  are  that  we  all  made  a  report — the  44  con- 
cerns— in  1905  to  your  department  of — whatever  you  call  it 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well.  I  don't  know,  but  what  did  you  state  in  the  re- 
port about  how  much  money  you  made? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  We  made  10  per  cent  on  our  $12,000,000. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  a  very  fair  profit,  is  it  not  ? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  There  are  concerns  represented  here  that  have  a 
half  million  dollars  in  business  that  spend  $50,000  on  designs  and 
blocks  and  rollers. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  am  not  asking  you  as  to  that,  but  I  am  asking  you  if 
a  10  per  cent  dividend  is  not  a  pleasant  and  comfortable  profit? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  No,  sir;  you  could  not  run  the  wall-paper  business 
on  that. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  think  that  the  average  man  in  the  United 
States  who  is  engaged  in  business  makes  10  per  cent  dividend? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  I  rather  think  they  do. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  you  want  some  more? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  We  want  more;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Don't  you  think  that  the  proportion  of  $700,000 
imports  to  $12,000,000  of  domestic  production  is  a  pretty  good  pro- 
tection already? 


6244  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEBS,   AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  I  want  to  say  that  to  come  UD  from  $200,000  to 
$700,000  in  three  or  four  years  shows  that  this  market  is  being 
invaded. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  But  6  per  cent  is  not  a  very  heavy  invasion,  is  it? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  I  understand  the  proportion;  I  was  prepared  for 
that.  It  has  increased  31  per  cent  in  the  last  year. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  I  understand  those  things,  too,  but  it  still  remains 
that  it  is  only  6  per  cent  of  the  domestic  output. 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  But  on  the  class  of  goods  upon  which  the  largest 
gain  is. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  would  really  like  to  have  a  prohibitory  tariff, 
wouldn't  you,  to  be  perfectly  frank  about  it?  You  would  like  to 
have  a  law  passed  that  wall  paper  should  not  come  into  the  United 
States  at  all,  and  that  is  what  you  are  fishing  for,  isn't  it? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  want  a  tariff  to  do  just  what  that  law  would  do, 
don't  you? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  We  want  a  better  figure  than  we  have  now. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  want  a  prohibitive  tariff? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Not  at  all,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  now,  if  the  tariff  does  not  prohibit  imports,  what 
do  you  want  with  it?  If  the  tariff  that  you  are  proposing  does  not 
act  so  as  to  cut  out  foreign  importations,  then  what  do  you  want 
with  it? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  We  want  it  so  that  the  class  of  goods — those  of  finer 
grade — we  want  it  so  that  the  American  market  will  recognize  the 
artistic  merit  of  the  American  designer  and  artist. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  am  not  asking  that,  and  that  is  what  you  are  all  try- 
ing to  get  back  to.  What  you  really  want  is  a  tariff  so  high  that  the 
foreigner  can  not  bring  in  his  goods  at  all  ? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  I  think  that  any  good  American  would  put  on  Amer- 
ican wall  paper.  I  think  that  if  I  was  an  architect  I  would  put  a 
clause  in  the  specifications  calling  for  that. 

Mr.  CLARK.  But  that  does  not  answer  my  question. 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  I  am  a  good  American  citizen. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  so  am  I. 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  And  I  want  this  business  protected.  We  can  make 
just  as  good  goods  as  they  can  on  the  other  side. 

Mr.  CLARK.  But  that  is  not  an  answer  to  my  question.  You  want 
a  prohibitive  tariff? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  No,  sir;  but  we  want  a  higher  tariff  than  we  have 
now. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  this  tariff  that  you  are  asking  for  would  not  shut 
out  those  very  small  importations  of  6  per  cent,  then  what  do  you  want 
it  for? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  We  want  to  stop  it  from  growing ;  we  want  to  stop  it 
from  coming. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Isn't  it  a  fact  that  even  if  you  very  largely  increase 
the  tariff,  that  there  still  would  be  practically  6  per  cent  of  foreign 
import,  6  per  cent  of  the  total  used  here,  on  account  of  the  different 
designs  and  different  materials,  the  same  as  is  true  in  the  silk  market  ? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Yes. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  And  you  hope  by  increasing  the  tariff  to  have  less 
than  6  per  cent  competition? 


WALL  PAPER JOHN   J.   LINDSAY.  6245 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  No ;  we  do  not  want  to,  for  there  is  a  certain  class  of 
people  who  will  buy  the  English  and  French  automobiles  and  other 
expensive  things  because  they  are  foreign,  and  we  can  not  shut  that 
out ;  but  we  want  them  to  buy  and  to  pay  a  good  price  for  it. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  So  they  will  buy  the  foreign  wall  paper  of  silk  finish, 
and  manufactured  under  the  various  foreign  patents,  no  matter  what 
the  tariff  is? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  Has  there  been  any  increase  in  shipments  during  the  past 
twelve  months  ending  in  October? 

Mr.  LINDSAY.  Yes;  we  feel  the  competition  greater  this  year  than 
before,  and  paper  is  being  distributed  as  low  as  2-|  cents  per  roll. 


BRIEF  SUBMITTED  BY  JOHN  J.  LINDSAY,  BUFFALO,  N.  Y.,  RELA- 
TIVE TO  WALL  PAPER  RATES  AND  CLASSIFICATION. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  81,  1908. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington^  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  wall-paper  manufacturers,  whose  signatures  are 
hereto  affixed,  respectfully  ask  your  consideration  of  the  effect  pro- 
duced upon  the  wall-paper  industry  by  the  rapidly  increasing  impor- 
tations of  wall  papers,  due  to  the  low  rate  of  duty  applying  to  same, 
under  the  present  tariff,  according  to  Schedule  M,  paragraph  402, 
law  of  1897,  wherein  the  duty  is  placed  at  25  per  cent  ad  valorem,  and 
hope  that  our  arguments  will  justify  you  in  recommending  a  material 
increase  in  the  rate  of  duty,  in  order  that  the  manufacturer  may  be 
afforded  at  least  some  relief  from  the  present  discouraging  conditions. 

It  might  be  well  to  observe  in  the  first  place  that  the  wall-paper  in- 
dustry has  never  heretofore  requested  any  protection  against  importa- 
tions of  foreign  Avail  papers,  and  that  the  conditions  which  compel  it 
to  do  so  at  the  present  time  are  the  result  mainly  of  the  enormous  in- 
creased cost  of  manufacture,  caused  by  the  peculiar  contracts  with 
labor  unions  into  which  the  manufacturer  has  been  obliged  to  enter, 
and  which  provide  for  the  continuous  employment  of  the  operatives, 
whether  the  plant  is  running  or  not. 

In  the  face  of  these  discouraging  conditions  we  understand  that 
under  the  reciprocity  agreement  with  Germany  a  minimum  rate  of 
duty  has  been  placed  on  importations  of  wall  paper  from  that  country 
of  less  than  25  per  cent,  operating  directly  in  favor  of  the  German 
manufacturer  to  the  detriment  of  the  American  manufacturer,  inas- 
much as  the  export  from  the  United  States  to  Germany  for  the  fiscal 
year  ending  June  30,  1907,  amounted  to  only  $7,5G4,  while  the  impor- 
tations of  wall  paper  from  that  country  amounted  to  several  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

Another  unfavorable  condition  affecting  the  industry  in  this  coun- 
try is  due  to  the  fact  that  many  of  the  raw  materials,  as  far  as  the 
manufacture  of  wall  paper  is  concerned,  bear  a  higher  rate  of  duty 
than  the  finished  wall  paper,  of  which  the  said  raw  material  forms 
the  principal  item  of  cost,  and  as  a  glaring  example  of  such  incon- 
sistencies we  refer  to  the  silk  floss  papers,  the  duty  on  the  silk  floss 


6246  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEBS,   AND  BOOKS. 

used  in  the  manufacture  of  same  being  50  per  cent,  while  the  duty  on 
the  finished  wall  paper  is  only  25  per  cent. 

Again,  there  are  imitation  leather  papers,  in  which  the  main  cost 
is  that  of  the  varnish,  on  which  the  duty  is  over  100  per  cent,  while 
the  duty  on  the  finished  wall  paper  is  only  25  per  cent.  There  are, 
of  course,  many  minor  items  which  figure  as  raw  materials  in  the 
manufacture  of  wall  paper  on  which  the  duty  ranges  from  35  per  cent 
upward,  while,  as  already  stated,  the  duty  on  the  wall  paper  itself 
is  only  25  per  cent. 

We  appreciate  the  fact  that  these  so-called  raw  materials,  as  far 
as  wall  paper  is  concerned,  are  finished  productions  in  themselves, 
and  that  it  might  work  an  injustice  to  other  industries  in  this  coun- 
try to  have  the  duty  on  such  materials  reduced,  and  because  of  these 
facts  we  ask  for  an  increased  duty  on  foreign  wall  papers. 

To  demonstrate  that  the  facts  are  not  exaggerated,  we  submit  tab- 
ulated returns  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  the  Department  of 
Commerce  and  Labor,  Washington,  showing  that  the  imports  of 
paper  hangings  for  domestic  consumption  for  the  five  years  ending 
June  30,  1907,  have  been  as  follows : 

1903 :.  $287,154.42 

1904 291, 114.  00 

1905 361,  929.  88 

1906 „__  456,  898.  00 

1907 671,  904.  00 

The  returns,  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1908,  are  not  at  hand, 
but  would  no  doubt  show  a  considerable  increase  over  1907. 

The  burdens  imposed  on  the  manufacturer  by  labor  conditions  in 
this  country  make  it  impossible  for  him  to  compete  with  foreign 
countries  in  the  markets  of  these  countries,  as  is  demonstrated  by  the 
fact  that  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1907,  we  exported  to  all  of  the 
countries  of  Europe,  including  the  United  Kingdom,  but  $46,921  in 
value  of  American  wall  papers,  while,  as  already  shown,  we  imported 
from  these  countries  during  the  same  period  goods  to  the  value  of 
$671,904,  and  being  unable,  because  of  labor  conditions  in  this  coun- 
try, to  compete  successfully  with  the  foreign  business,  we  contend 
that  we  should  at  least  be  given  the  fullest  opportunity  of  holding 
the  American  business  for  American  manufacturers  by  protection  in 
the  way  of  increased  duties. 

In  addition  to  the  advantages  under  which  the  foreign  manufac- 
turer is  operating,  due  to  a  much  lower  wage  scale,  is  the  fact  that 
the  word  "  foreign  "  has  in  the  minds  of  most  dealers  and  consumers 
a  significance  which  is  given  a  money  value.  In  other  words,  the 
imported  article,  even  if  it  is  inferior  in  many  respects,  will  bring  a 
better  price  than  the  domestic  article,  for  the  simple  reason  that  it  is 
"  imported."  Accordingly,  for  the  same  grade  of  papers,  a  price  sev- 
eral cents  per  roll  less  must  be  given  by  the  American  manufacturer 
in  order  to  meet  this  competition. 

Another  point  demands  attention:  Foreign  competition  is  against 
the  better  ends  of  the  domestic  lines  of  wall  paper,  where  the  margin 
of  profit  should  reasonably  be  the  best.  Assuming  that  the  money 
value  of  the  total  domestic  production  of  wall  paper  of  all  grades  is 
$12,000,000,  annually,  which  is  not  far  from  the  truth,  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  not  over  25  per  cent  is  of  the  higher  grades. 


WALL  PAPER JOHN    J.    LINDSAY.  6247 

Local  conditions  of  demand  and  supply  have  so  reduced  the  selling 
price  of  these  cheaper  grades,  or  blanks,  that  the  present  margin  of 
profit  is  reduced  almost  to  a  vanishing  point.  The  only  possible  es- 
cape from  a  net  loss  in  making  this  grade  of  papers  is  by  a  maximum 
of  production.  For  the  financial  balancing  of  the  business,  therefore, 
dependence  must  be  placed  on  the  sale  of  the  higher  grades  of  papers, 
on  which,  as  has  been  stated,  there  should  be  a  fair  margin.  If  for- 
eign competition  were  restricted,  this  might  be  an  encouraging  possi- 
bility. Twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  value  of  the  annual  output  of  the 
American  factories  above  referred  to  is  $3.000,000.  This  amount 
then  represents  the  volume  of  domestic  products  which  is  in  imme- 
diate competition  with  the,  say  $875,000  of  imports  for-  the  past  year. 
In  other  words,  foreign  competitors  are  selling  in  this  country  at  the 
present  over  25  per  cent  as  much  wall  paper  of  the  better  and  most 
desirable  grades  as  is  placed  on  our  market  by  all  the  American 
manufacturers  each  year,  and,  as  has  been  indicated,  this  is  done  at 
the  expense  of  the  domestic  producer,  who  finds  the  reasonable  mar- 
gin of  profit  of  this  class  of  papers,  which  is  absolutely  necessary  for 
his  prosperity,  to  a  great  extent  eliminated.  Foreign  competition, 
then,  strikes  the  American  manufacturer  at  a  point  where  otherwise 
he  could  reasonably  hope  to  make  good  in  a  measure  for  the  nar- 
rower margins  of  profit  at  present  realized  for  the  cheaper  grades 
of  papers,  which,  in  every  instance,  make  up  the  bulk  of  the  output 
of  all  the  factories. 

Attention  is  also  directed  toward  the  present  regulations  in  respect 
to  determining  whether  or  not  importations  of  wall  paper  are  under- 
valued. 

A  committee  of  manufacturers  offered  to  act  in  an  advisory  ca- 
pacity to  the  appraiser  at  New  York,  with  the  view  to  ascertaining 
whether  goods  were  entered  in  the  custom-house  at  less  than  their 
actual  value  at  the  place  of  manufacture,  but  were  informed  by  the 
appraiser  that  only  importers  were  eligible  to  act  as  his  advisers. 

Now,  we  contend  that  such  a  regulation  is  inconsistent,  and  that 
wall-paper  manufacturers  as  well  should  be  afforded  the  fullest  pos- 
sible information  in  order  to  correct  any  evils  which  may  at  present 
exist. 

That  the  wall-paper  industry  is  not  in  a  condition  to  bear  any 
great  strain  because  of  excessive  foreign  competition  is  evidenced  by 
the  fact  that  the  bankruptcy  of  wall-paper  manufacturers  is  frequent. 
During  the  past  eight  years  the  following  factories  have  been  dis- 
continued for  this  reason:  Gossler  &  Wilt,  Philadelphia;  Wagner, 
Wagner  &  Co.,  Philadelphia;  Philadelphia  Wall  Paper  Mills,  Phila- 
delphia; Johnstown  Wall  Paper  Mills,  Johnstown;  Corey-Heller 
Company,  Newark;  Essex  Wall  Paper  Mills,  Newark;  Steubenville 
Wall  Paper  Company,  Steubenville,  Ohio;  Western  Wall  Paper 
Mills.  Superior,  Wis. ;  Conowingo  Wall  Paper  Company,  Baltimorn  : 
Hoefer,  Meinken  &  Baeck,  Nepera  Park,  N.  Y. ;  Illinois  Wall  Paper 
Company,  Chicago;  George  Halbert,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  Ithaca  AA  all 
Paper  Mills,  Ithaca;  Lakeside  Wall  Paper  Company,  Chicago,  111.; 
Middletown  Wall  Paper  Company,  Middletown,  Mass.;  Syracuse 
Paper  and  Pulp  Company,  Syracuse;  while  other  factories,  viz, 
Cresswell  &  Washburn,  Philadelphia;  Williamson  Wall  Paper  Com- 
pany, Long  Island  City;  Tarry  town  Wall  Paper  Mills,  Tarrytown, 

75941— H.  Doe.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 31 


6248  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

N.  Y.,  have  discontinued  because  of  the  lack  of  profit  attending  their 
operations;  while  several  other  factories  of  large  caliber,  such  as 
Allen  Higgins  Company,  Worcester,  Mass.,  and  William  Campbell 
Wall  Paper  Company,  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  were  compelled  to  reorganize 
for  the  same  reason. 

Respectfully  submitted.  JOHN  J.  LINDSAY. 


STATEMENT  OF  HENRY  BURN,  OF  No.  453  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW 
YORK  CITY,  REPRESENTING  WALL-PAPER  MAKERS. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  BURN.  Gentlemen,  I  want  to  make  a  plea  in  behalf  of  the 
wall-paper  manufacturers  of  the  United  States  for  a  reasonable  pro- 
tection to  that  industry. 

The  wall-paper  manufacturers  are  in  fact  the  most  modest  of 
men  when  it  comes  to  a  matter  of  this  kind,  as  you  will  admit  when 
I  state  that  never  before  have  they  appealed  to  Congress  for  a  higher 
tariff  than  that  which  was  offered  them  without  any  solicitation  on 
their  part. 

The  very  wording  of  the  tariff  is  in  proof  of  my  assertion,  inas- 
much as  it  refers  to  certain  items  which  have  been  obsolete  in  the 
business  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

Our  full  argument  is  set  forth  in  the  brief  that  we  have  filed,  and 
I  shall  therefore  simply  call  attention  to  a  few  commanding  features. 

First.  The  fact  that  we  pay  wages  nearly  four  times  as  large  as 
those  paid  by  European  manufacturers,  their  skilled  labor  costing 
them  only  $6  per  week,  while  we  pay  an  average  of  $22.50  per  week 
for  the  same  class  of  help,  and  it  is  to  be  assumed  that  their  unskilled 
labor  is  paid  in  the  same  proportion.  Then,  again,  we  guarantee  em- 
ployment for  the  entire  year,  while  the  European  manufacturers 
employ  labor  only  as  they  actually  require  it. 

This  discrepancy  will  probably  increase,  as  further  demands  on  the 
part  of  the  labor  unions  are  in  prospect. 

Second.  While  the  present  tariff  calls  for  a  duty  of  25  per  cent, 
the  reciprocity  treaty  with  Germany  provides  for  reduced  duty  on 
wall  paper — 10  per  cent,  I  believe — notwithstanding  that  the  exports 
to  Germany  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1907,  were  only  $7,500, 
while  the  exports  from  Germany  to  this  country  were  in  excess  01 
$300,000. 

In  other  words,  we  can  not  see  where  the  reciprocity  comes  in  there. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  think  it  is  safe  to  say  that  this  committee  will 
probably  do  away  with  the^ necessity  for  that  treaty  with  Germany. 

Mr.  BURN.  If  so,  a  part  of  our  appeal  will  be  heeded. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  By  a  maximum  and  a  minimum  tariff. 

Mr.  BURN.  I  think  that  is  a  good  idea. 

Third.  The  entire  exports  from  European  manufacturers  to  this 
country  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1907,  were  $671,904,  while  our 
exports  to  those  countries  were  only  $46,921 ;  thus  demonstrating  that 
we  can  not  compete  with  them  in  their  own  markets  notwithstanding 
the  strenuous  efforts  we  have  made  to  do  so.  The  exports  from 
European  countries  have  increased  from  $287,000,  in  1903,  to  $671,000, 
in  1907,  over  125  per  cent. 


WALL   PAPER HENRY   BURN.  6249 

While  the  proportion  of  the  imports,  which  probably  amounted  to 
$850.000  in  1908,  may  not  seem  large  at  first  glance  as  compared  to 
the  total  business  of  our  manufacturers,  $12,000,000,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  at  least  75  per  cent  of  our  product  is  sold  at  actual 
or  less  than  cost,  and  that  the  competition  from  the  European  manu- 
facturers is  therefore  directed  against  the  remaining  $3,000,000,  to 
which  we  look  for  a  reasonable  margin,  and  that  consequently  our  im- 
portation of  $850,000  against  a  production  of  $3,000,000  materially 
affects  the  result,  and  as  the  importations  are  so  rapidly  increasing  the 
situation  will  become  worse  instead  of  better  unless  we  obtain  some 
relief. 

Fourth.  On  raw  materials  entering  into  the  manufacture  of  wall 
paper  the  duty  is  in  some  cases  50  per  cent,  while  the  wall  paper  of 
which  said  raw  materials  form  the  main  cost  is  brought  in  at  a  duty 
of  25  per  cent. 

When  I  speak  of  raw  materials,  I  speak  of  materials  which  are 
probably  finished  products  in  themselves,  but  which  are  raw  materials 
when  it  comes  to  the  matter  of  manufacturing  wall  paper. 

Fifth.  Manufacturing  wall  paper  requires  a  capital  of  $1  for  every 
dollars'  worth  of  goods  manufactured.  Thus,  on  a  capital  of  $12,- 
000.000  we  produce  an  output  of  $12,000,000,  making  the  risk  a  large 
one  for  the  returns  obtained. 

Sixth.  Protection  against  undervaluation. 

At  the  present  time  the  manufacturer  has  no  means  of  knowing 
whether  the  goods  -are  coming  in  with  proper  valuation  or  not. 
Efforts  have  been  made  with  the  appraiser  at  New  York  to  get  in 
touch  with  the  situation,  but  the  manufacturers  were  informed  that 
only  importers  were  eligible  as  advisers  to  him.  Now,  it  stands  to 
reason  that  the  importer  has  his  own  interest  to  consider  in  apprais- 
ing the  imports  for  the  duty,  but  it  would  seem  to  me  that  something 
ought  to  be  done  whereby  the  manufacturer  should  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  demonstrating  whether  those  goods  come  in  at  a  proper 
valuation  or  not. 

Seventh.  It  is  to  be  assumed  that  changes  about  to  be  made  in  the 
tariff  will  remain  in  force  for  many  years,  and  that  therefore,  unless 
we  receive  additional  protection  now,  the  industry  is  liable  to  be  seri- 
ously affected  and  the  capital  employed  will  be  imperiled. 

Under  these  circumstances  we  ask  for  your  careful  consideration 
of  our  plea,  and  hope  that  you  can  consistently  advance  the  duty  on 
wall  paper  to  35  per  cent  or  40  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

That  is  all  I  have  to  say  on  that  subject. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Right  there,  you  made  a  statement  that  you  com- 
plained to  the  appraiser  and  that  the  appraiser  advised  you  that 
importers  were  the  only  people  they  consulted  in  regard  to  valuation. 

Mr.  BURN.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  appraiser  told  you  that?  Give  the  name  to 
this  committee. 

Mr.  BURN.  Mr.  Wanmaker. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Mr.  Wanmaker  told  you  that;  when? 

Mr.  BURN.  Within  three  months. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Where? 

Mr.  BURN.  At  New  York  City,  in  his  office. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Why  do  you  not  ask  for  a  tariff  of  60,  70,  or  100  per 
cent? 


6250  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  BURN.  Well,  we  are  not  hoggish. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  are  not?  You  have  already  94  per  cent  of  the 
trade? 

Mr.  BURN.  We  have  how  much? 

Mr.  CLARK.  Ninety-four  per  cent. 

Mr.  BURN.  Of  the  94  per  cent,  75  per  cent  brings  in  no  margin 
whatever. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Are  you  losing  money? 

Mr.  BURN.  If  you  refer  to  the  past  season;  yes. 

Mr.  CLARK.  When  did  you  begin  to  lose  money? 

Mr.  BURN.  About  fifteen  years  back,  off  and  on. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  have  been  losing  money  for  fifteen  years  ? 

Mr.  BURN.  Off  and  on. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  made  more  than  you  lost,  did  you  not? 

Mr.  BURN.  We  certainly  did,  but  not  much. 

Mr.  CLARK.  But  take  it  altogether  you  made  an  average  of  15  or 
20  per  cent,  didn't  you  ? 

Mr.  BURN.  No,  sir ;  absolutely  not. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  did  you  make? 

Mr.  BURN.  Not  10  per  cent.  Notwithstanding  the  statements  in 
the  public  document  to  which  you  refer,  I  contend  that  that  amount  of 
profit  has  not  been  made  in  the  wall-paper  business. 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  gentleman  who  preceded  you  put  it  at  10  per  cent. 

Mr.  BURN.  But  he  went  by  the  figures  that  are  published,  perhaps. 

Mr.  CLARK:  Didn't  he  know  how  much  his  own  factory  made? 

Mr.  BURN.  I  could  not  answer  for  that. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  is  it  you  are  complaining  about  in  the  German 
rating  business? 

Mr.  BURN.  As  I  understand  it,  there  is  a  reciprocity  arrangement 
with  Germany  whereby  wall  paper  is  admitted  to  this  country  at  less 
than  the  25  per  cent  duty. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Now,  really  t.ie  thing  you  are  complaining  about  and 
didn't  want  to  say  is  that  you  believe  that  these  importations  are 
undervalued  at  the  place  they  are  sent  from  ? 

Mr.  BURN.  I  did  not  say  that.  I  say  it  is  done  legally.  I  under- 
stand that  there  is  a  reciprocity  agreement  with  Germany  which  per- 
mits the  importations  of  wall  paper  into  this  country  at  less  than  25 
per  cent  duty. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  are  you  making  in  your  factory? 

Mr.  BURN.  Making  what  ? 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  per  cent  are  you  making  in  this  business? 

Mr.  BURN.  We  didn't  make  a  dollar  last  year. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  that  is  the  worst  year  that  has  struck  the  country 
for  ten  years,  so  how  much  did  you  make  before  ? 

Mr.  BURN.  I  could  not  say  offhand.    We  did  not  make  10  per  cent. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Then,  how  can  you  say  offhand  that  you  did  not  make 
anything  last  year? 

Mr.  BURN.  Because  that  was  clearly  placed  before  my  mind,  and  I 
could  not  get  away  from  it. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Your  memory  seems  to  be  bad  when  it  comes  to  profits, 
but  good  as  to  looses. 

Mr.  BURN.  Possibly. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Why  don't  you  tell  us  how  much  you  made? 

Mr.  BURN.  I  do  not  think  it  is  fair,  in  the  presence  of  competitors, 
to  answer  that  question. 


WALL,  PAPEil — HENRY  BURN. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Of  course  you  are  not  obliged  to  answer  the  ques- 
tion, but  you  are  asking  for  an  increase  in  duty 

Mr.  BURN.  I  will  say  that  it  was  not  10  per  cent. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  committee  will  give  your  request  considera- 
tion, and  if  you  do  not  want  to  answer  the  question,  of  course  the 
committee  will  consider  that. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  say  it  was  not  10  per  cent.     Was  it  9^  per  cent  ? 

Mr.  BURN.  Not  9^  per  cent. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Was  it  6  per  cent. 

Mr.  BURN.  Possibly  but 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  other  man  makes  10  per  cent,  and  you  make  6 
per  cent. 

Mr.  BURN.  Well,  he  is  a  better  merchant  than  I  am. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  just  it  if  both  statements  are  correct. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  recognize  the  fact  that  the  Government  has 
got  to  raise  some  revenue,  and  you  believe  that  a  portion  of  that 
revenue  should  be  raised  by  tariff  taxation,  do  you  not? 

Mr.  BURN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  If  we  only  allowed  6  per  cent  of  the  volume  of 
business  in  this  country  of  which  importations  may  come  in,  to  raise 
the  tax  on  all  commodities,  that  only  6  per  cent  could  come  in,  you  can 
realize  that  there  would  be  very  little  revenue  raised  from  tariff 
taxation? 

Mr.  BURN.  Very  true. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  are  not  the  men  in  your  business  willing  to 
take  a  part  of  the  burden  of  the  support  of  the  Government,  as  well 
as  expecting  the  other  fellows  to  do  it? 

Mr.  BURN.  They  always  have.  There  has  never,  during  the  ex- 
istence of  the  wall-paper  industry,  been  a  request  from  them  for  the 
increase  of  a  duty.  We  did  not  even  ask  for  the  duty  that  exists  to- 
day. Now,  when  you  speak  of  6  per  cent,  I  contend  that  that  is  not 
a  fair  statement  of  the  case.  Seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  Avail  paper 
manufactured  in  this  country  is  of  so  cheap  a  grade  that  there  is  prac- 
tically no  margin  on  it  at  all.  It  is  like  the  grocery  man  selling  sugar. 
He  does  not  make  much  profit  on  it,  but  he  may  have  some  very  big 
sales  of  it. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  is  due  to  home  production. 

Mr.  BURN.  Yes;  and  we  do  not  charge  a  tariff  for  that  at  all. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  have  a  prohibitive  market  on  75  per  cent  of 
your  product  by  reason  of  the  present  duties? 

Mr.  BURN.  With  unprofitable  results. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  If  you  do  not  make  a  profit  on  it,  that  is  by  reason 
of  the  competition  here  at  home. 

Mr.  BURN.  We  do  not  charge  the  tariff  on  that. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  Government  has  given  you  a  prohibitive 
tariff  on  75  per  cent.  Isn't  it  reasonable  that  the  wall-paper  manu- 
facturers should  participate  in  aiding  in  the  raising  of  the  revenues 
of  the  Government  to  the  extent  of  5  per  cent  of  their  production  ? 

Mr.  BURN.  It  would  be  if  it  did  not  imperil  the  entire  industry. 

Mr.  HILL.  You  spoke  of  the  German  agreement.  Wall  paper  is 
not  in  the  articles  listed  as  one  of  those  referred  to  in  the  reciprocal 
arrangement.  If  there  has  been  any  increase  of  duty  due  to  the  ar- 
rangement, it  must  be  in  the  form  of  the  valuation.  I  want  to  ask 
you  if  you  know  of  any  importations  since  the  German  agreement 


6252  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

was  made  which  caused  you  to  think  that  there  was  any  underval- 
uation ? 

Mr.  BURN.  Well,  I  will  say  to  that  that  we  understood  the  re- 
ciprocal arrangement  was  entered  into  about  the  1st  of  last  July. 
The  figures  are  not  at  hand  showing  the  importations  since  that  time, 
so  that  we  haven't  any  opportunity  to  refer  to  that. 

Mr.  HILL.  Can  you  supply  this  committee  with  samples  of  any 
importations  of  wall  paper  made  prior  to  the  German  agreement,  and 
samples  of  the  same  paper  made  subsequent  to  the  German  agreement, 
with  the  different  valuation  put  upon  them? 

Mr.  BURN.  I  do  not  know  that  we  could. 

Mr.  HILL.  If  we  give  you  a  month  to  do  it  in,  could  you  do  it? 

Mr.  BURN.  We  have  no  place  to  refer  to.  We  saw  the  report  pub- 
lished that  the  reciprocal  arrangement  between  Germany  and  this 
country  included  this  paper.  It  was  so  published  in  the  newspapers, 
and  that  is  the  only  source  of  information  that  we  have. 

Mr.  HILL.  There  is  no  agreement  that  can  change  the  tariff  rate. 
The  only  possible  thing  would  be  undervaluation,  and  it  is  up  to  you 
to  show  that. 

Mr.  BURN.  In  the  case  cited  by  the  preceding  speaker  he  referred 
to  importations  that  were  made  on  behalf  of  large  hotels  in  San  Fran- 
cisco ;  that  on  that  basis  of  fact  those  goods  were  a  specially  made  ex- 
portation for  this  country,  and  the  duties  exacted  were  equivalent  only 
to  10  per  cent. 

Mr.  HILL.  And  you  do  not  know  of  another  case  excepting  that? 

Mr.  BURN.  Not  at  the  present  time ;  no,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  Any  importations  made  prior  to  the  agreement  and  sub- 
sequent to  the  agreement,  showing  a  difference  in  valuation? 

Mr.  BURN.  No ;  and  we  only  refer  to  it  now  with  a  view  to  calling 
your  attention  to  it,  and  to  having  the  thing  removed  in  the  future. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Were  these  importations  for  the  San  Francisco 
hotels  made  since  the  German  agreement  ? 

Mr.  BURN.  That  was  my  understanding. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Where  were  they  entered? 

Mr.  BURN.  At  New  York.  That  is  my  understanding,  but  they 
may  have  been  entered  at  San  Francisco. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  How  long  have  you  been  in  the  business  of  manu- 
facturing wall  paper? 

Mr.  BURN.  I  have  been  in  it  all  my  life ;  ever  since  1871. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  In  your  own  business? 

Mr.  BURN.  During  the  last  twenty-three  years  it  has  been  my  own 
business ;  yes,  sir.  I  started  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder  and  climbed  up. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  did  not  begin  to  lose  money  until  you  had  made 
enough  out  of  it  to  buy  a  business? 

Mr.  BURN.  Oh,  I  have  made  some  money. 

Mr.  HILL.  Do  you  know  the  name  of  the  parties  to  whom  the  San 
Francisco  hotel  paper  was  consigned? 

Mr.  BURN.  L.  Tozer  &  Son,  San  Francisco. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  do  not  claim  to  be  an  infant  industry  ? 

Mr.  BURN.  Oh,  no;  not  at  all;  nor  have  we  had  infant  care. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  feel  that  you  can  walk? 

Mr.  BURN.  We  feel  that  we  are  a  little  weaker  than  we  used  to  be. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  That  is,  you  need  a  cane  in  order  to  walk  ? 

Mr.  BURN.  Yes,  sir. 


WALL  PAPER HENRY  BURN  ET  AIi.  6253 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  you  want  us  to  furnish  the  cane  ? 
Mr.  BURN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  a  gold-headed  one  at  that? 
Mr.  BURN.  Yes,  sir. 


BRIEF  SUBMITTED  BY  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE  WALL-PAPER 
MANUFACTURERS  ASKING  FOR  INCREASE   OF  DUTY. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  21, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  wall-paper  manufacturers  whose  signatures  are 
hereto  affixed  respectfully  ask  your  consideration  of  the  effect  pro- 
duced upon  the  wall-paper  industry  by  the  rapidly  increasing  im- 
portations of  wall  papers,  4ue  to  the  low  rate  of  duty  applying  to 
same  under  the  present  tariff,  according  to  Schedule  M,  paragraph 
402,  law  of  1897,  wherein  the  duty  is  placed  at  25  per  cent  ad  valorem, 
and  hope  that  our  arguments  will  justify  you  in  recommending  a 
material  increase  in  the  rate  of  duty  in  order  that  the  manufacturer 
may  be  afforded  at  least  some  relief  from  the  present  discouraging 
conditions. 

It  might  be  well  to  observe  in  the  first  place  that  the  wall-paper 
industry  has  never  heretofore  requested  any  protection  against  im- 
portations of  foreign  wall  papers,  and  that  the  conditions  which 
compel  it  to  do  so  at  the  present  time  are  the  result  mainly  of  the 
enormous  increased  cost  of  manufacture,  caused  by  the  peculiar 
contracts  with  labor  unions  into  which  the  manufacturer  has  been 
obliged  to  enter,  and  which  provide  for  the  continuous  employment 
of  the  operatives,  whether  the  plant  is  running  or  not. 

In  the  face  of  these  discouraging  conditions,  we  understand  that 
under  the  reciprocity  agreement  with  Germany  a  minimum  rate  of 
duty  has  been  placed  on  importations  of  wall  paper  from  that  country 
of  less  than  25  per  cent,  operating  directly  in  favor  of  the  German 
manufacturer  to  the  detriment  of  the  American  manufacturer,  in- 
asmuch as  the  export  from  the  United  States  to  Germany  for  the 
fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1907,  amounted  to  only  $7,564,  while  the 
importations  of  wall  paper  from  that  country  amounted  to  several 
hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Another  unfavorable  condition  affecting  the  industry  in  this  coun- 
try is  due  to  the  fact  that  many  of  the  raw  materials,  as  far  as  the 
manufacture  of  wall  paper  is  concerned,  bear  a  higher  rate  of  duty 
than  the  finished  wall  paper,  of  which  the  said  raw  materials  form 
the  principal  item  of  cost,  and  as  a  glaring  example  of  such  incon- 
sistencies we  refer  to  the  silk  floss  papers,  the  duty  on  the  silk  floss 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  same  being  50  per  cent,  while  the  duty 
on  the  finished  wall  paper  is  only  25  per  cent. 

Again  there  are  imitation  leather  papers,  in  which  the  main  cost  is 
thai  of  the  varnish,  on  which  the  duty  is  over  100  per  cent,  while  the 
duty  on  the  finished  wall  paper  is  only  25  per  cent.  There  are,  of 
course,  many  minor  items,  which  figure  as  raw  materials  in  the  manu- 
facture of  wall  paper,  on  which  the  duty  ranges  from  35  per  cent 
upward,  while,  as  already  stated,  the  duty  on  the  wall  paper  itself 
is  only  25  per  cent. 


6254  SCHEDULE    M- — PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

We  appreciate  the  fact  that  these  so-called  raw  materials,  as  far  as 
wall  paper  is  concerned,  are  finished  productions  in  themselves,  and 
that  it  might  work  an  injustice  to  other  industries  in  this  country 
to  have  the  duty  on  such  materials  reduced,  and,  because  of  these 
facts,  we  ask  for  an  increased  duty  on  foreign  wall  papers. 

To  demonstrate  that  the  facts  are  not  exaggerated,  we  submit 
tabulated  returns  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  the  Department  of 
Labor  and  Commerce,  Washington,  showing  that  the  imports  of 
paper  hangings  for  domestic  consumption  for  the  five  years  ending 
June  30,  1907,  have  been  as  follows: 

1903  _.     $287, 154. 42 

1904 291, 114.  00 

1905 361,  929.  88 

1906 456,  898.  00 

1907 - 671,  904.  00 

The  returns  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1908,  are  not  at  hand, 
but  would  no  doubt  show  a  considerableflfcncrease  over  1907. 

The  burdens  imposed  on  the  manufacturer  by  labor  conditions  in 
this  country  make  it  impossible  for  him  to  compete  with  foreign 
countries  in  the  markets  of  these  countries,  as  is  demonstrated  by  the 
fact  that  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1907,  we  exported  to  all  of 
the  countries  of  Europe,  including  the  United  Kingdom,  but  $46,921 
in  value  of  American  wall  papers,  while,  as  already  shown,  we  im- 
ported from  these  countries  during  the  same  period  goods  to  the  value 
of  $671,904,  and  being  unable,  because  of  labor  conditions  in  this 
country,  to  compete  successfully  with  the  foreign  business,  we  con- 
tend that  we  should  at  least  be  given  the  fullest  opportunity  of 
holding  the  American  business  for  American  manufacturers  by  pro- 
tection in  the  way  of  increased  duties. 

In  addition  to  the  advantages  under  which  the  foreign  manufac- 
turer is  operating,  due  to  a  much  lower  wage  scale,  is  the  fact  that 
the  word  "foreign"  has  in  the  minds  of  most  dealers  and  consumers 
a  significance,  which  is  given  a  money  value.  In  other  words,  the 
imported  article,  even  if  it  is  inferior  in  many  respects,  will  bring 
a  better  price  than  the  domestic  article,  for  the  simple  reason  that  it 
is  "imported."  Accordingly,  for  the  same  grade  of  papers  a  price 
several  cents  per  roll  less  must  be  given  by  the  American  manufac- 
turer in  order  to  meet  this  competition. 

Another  point  demands  attention.  Foreign  competition  is  against 
the  better  ends  of  the  domestic  lines  of  wall  paper,  where  the  margin 
of  profit  should  reasonably  be  the  best.  Assuming  that  the  money 
value  of  the  total  domestic  production  of  wall  paper  of  all  grades  is 
$12,000.000  annually,  which  is  not  far  from  the  truth,  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  not  over  25  per  cent  is  of  the  higher  grades. 

Local  conditions  or  demand  and  supply  have  so  reduced  the  selling 
price  of  these  cheaper  grades,  or  blanks,  that  the  present  margin  of 
profit  is  reduced  almost  to  a  vanishing  point.  The  only  possible 
escape  from  a  net  loss  in  making  this  grade  of  papers  is  by  a  maxi- 
mum of  production.  For  the  financial  balancing  of  the  business, 
therefore,  dependence  must  be  placed  on  the  sale  of  the  higher 
grades  of  papers,  on  which,  as  has  been  stated,  there  should  be  a  fair 
margin.  If  foreign  competition  were  restricted,  this  might  be  an 
encouraging  possibilit}7.  Twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  value  of  the 
annual  output  of  the  American  factories  above  referred  to  is 


WALL   PAPER HENRY    BURN    ET   AL.  6255 

$3,000.000.  This  amount,  then,  represents  the  volume  of  domestic 
products  which  is  in  immediate  competition  with  the,  say,  $875,000 
of  imports  for  the  past  year.  In  other  words,  foreign  competitors 
are  selling  in  this  country  at  the  present  time  over  25  per  cent  as 
much  wal|  paper  of  the  better  and  most  desirable  grades  as  is  placed 
on  our  market  by  all  the  American  manufacturers  each  year,  and,  as 
has  been  indicated,  this  is  done  at  the  expense  of  the  domestic  pro- 
ducer, who  finds  the  reasonable  margin  of  profit  of  this  class  of 
papers,  which  is  absolutely  necessary  for  his  prosperity,  to  a  great 
extent  eliminated.  Foreign  competition,  then,  strikes  the  American 
manufacturer  at  a  point  where  otherwise  he  could  reasonably  hope 
to  make  good,  in  a  measure,  for  the  narrower  margins  of  profit  at 
present  realized  for  the  cheaper  grades  of  paper,  which,  in  every 
instance,  make  up  the  bulk  of  the  output  of  all  the  factories. 

Attention  is  also  directed  toward  the  present  regulations  in  respect 
to  determining  whether  or  not  importations  of  wall  paper  are  under- 
valued. 

A  committee  of  manufacturers  offered  to  act  in  an  advisor}' 
capacity  to  the  appraiser  at  New  York,  with  the  view  to  ascertaining 
whether  goods  were  entered  in  the  custom-house  at  less  than  their 
actual  value  at  the  place  of  manufacture,  but  were  informed  by  the 
appraiser  that  only  importers  were  eligible  to  act  as  his  advisers. 

Now  we  contend  that  such  a  regulation  is  inconsistent  and  that 
wall-paper  manufacturers  as  well  should  be  afforded  the  fullest  pos- 
sible information  in  order  to  correct  any  evils  which  may  at  present 
exist. 

That  the  wall-paper  industry  is  not  in  a  condition  to  bear  any 
great  strain  because  of  excessive  foreign  competition  is  evidenced  by 
the  fact  that  the  bankruptcy  of  wall-paper  manufacturers  is  fre- 
quent. During  the  past  eight  years  the  following  factories  have 
been  discontinued  for  this  reason:  Gossler  &  Wilt,  Philadelphia; 
Wagner,  Wagner  &  Co.,  Philadelphia;  Philadelphia  Wall  Paper 
Mills,  Philadelphia;  Johnstown  Wall  Paper  Mills,  Johnstown; 
Corey,  Heller  Compnny,  Newark;  Essex  Wall  Paper  Mills,  Newark; 
Steubenville  Wall  Paper  Company,  Steubenville,  Ohio;  Western 
Wall  Paper  Mills,  Superior,  Wis. ;  Conowingo  Wall  Paper  Company, 
Baltimore;  Hoefer,  Meinken  &  Baeck,  Nepera  Park.  N.  Y. ;  Illinois 
Wall  Paper  Company,  Chicago;  George  Halbert,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ; 
Ithaca  Wall  Paper  Mills,  Ithaca;  Lakeside  Wall  Paper  Company, 
Chicago,  111. ;  Middletown  Wall  Paper  Company,  Middletown.  Mass., 
and  Syracuse  Paper  and  Pulp  Company,  Syracuse.  While  other  fac- 
tories, viz,  Cresswell  &  Washburn,  Philadelphia;  Williamson  Wall 
Paper  Company,  Long  Island  City,  and  Tarrytown  Wall  Paper  Mills, 
Tarrytown,  N.  Y.,  have  discontinued  because  of  the  lack  of  profit 
attending  their  operations,  while  several  other  factories  of  large 
caliber,  such  as  Allen  Higgins  Company,  Worcester,  Mass.,  and  Win. 
Campbell  Wall  Paper  Company,  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  were  compelled  to 
reorganize  for  the  same  reason. 

The  wages  paid  machine  printers  in  England  are  25  shillings,  or 
$6,  per  week,  as  against  an  average  of  $22.50  per  week  for  the  same 
class  of  help  in  this  country,  and  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  the  wages 
of  the  other  laboring  help  is  in  proportion. 


6256  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

The  wages  paid  machine  printers  and  color  mixers  in  Germany  are 
equivalent  to  $6  per  week. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

The  Robert  Graves  Co.,  by  Henry  Burn,  president;  M. 
H.  Birge  &  Sons  Co.,  by  John  J.  Lindsay;  Standard 
Wall  Paper  Co.,  W.  A.  Huppuch,  first  vice-presi- 
dent; William  Campbell  Wall  Paper  Co.,  by  Chas. 
F.  Murray,  president;  Janeway  &  Carpender,  J.  J. 
Janeway,  president ;  Becker,  Smith  &  Page ;  Imperial 
Wall  Paper  Co.,  J.  J.  McCabe,  secretary ;  Carey  Bro. 
Wall  Paper  Manufacturing  Co.,  E.  R.  Happelfinger, 
vice-president;  Gledhill  Wall  Paper  Co.,  by  George 
H.  Keim,  treasurer ;  Williams  &  Co. ;  York  Card  and 
Paper  Co.,  Henry  Buin,  attorney;  York  Wall  Paper 
Co.,  Henry  Buin,  attorney;  Hobbs,  Benton  &  Heath, 
Henry  Buin,  attorney;  Allen  Higgins  Co.,  Henry 
Buin,  attorney. 


HENRY  BURN,  REPRESENTING  THE  MANUFACTURERS  OF  WALL 
PAPER,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  FILES  SUPPLEMENTAL  BRIEF. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  N.  Y., 

November  80,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  In  view  of  the  stress  that  was  laid  by  several 
members  of  your  committee  on  the  questions  submitted  to  me  ;it 
your  hearing  on  Saturday,  November  21,  based  upon  my  request 
for  an  increased  duty  on  wall  paper,  I  deem  it  advisable,  on  behalf 
of  the  wall-paper  manufacturers,  to  bring  to  your  attention  certain 
facts  that  were  not.  brought  out  by  the  examination. 

First.  Referring,  therefore,  to  the  question  as  to  whether  a  profit 
of  10  per  cent  was  not  adequate,  I  would  say  that  this  assumed 
profit  of  10  per  cent  is  based  on  the  1905  report  of  the  Department 
of  Commerce;  that  the  reports  from  the  manufacturers,  on  which  the 
calculation  referred  to  in  that  report  was  made,  do  not  show  the  net 
profit  to  the  manufacturer,  as  the  inquiries  made  by  the  Department 
of  Commerce  did  not  call  for  sufficient  information  and  did  not  take 
into  consideration  many  items  that  would  have  to  be  considered  in 
referring  to  a  net  profit. 

To  be  more  specific,  they  did  not  consider  the  item  of  depreciation, 
which  should  be  calculated  at  at  least  5  per  cent  on  the  value  of  the 
plant  each  year,  and  this  amount  must  be  deducted  from  the  gross 
result  in  calculating  the  net  profit. 

Depreciation  must  also  be  considered  in  a  general  way  in  connec- 
tion with  the  question  as  to  whether  a  profit  of  10  per  cent  is  ample 
return  in  a  normal  business  year  on  the  business  of  a  wall-paper  manu- 
facturer. There  is  probably  no  other  class  of  machinery  on  which 
the  depreciation  would  be  so  great  as  on  that  of  wall-paper  machinery 
in  case  of  a  discontinuance  of  the  business,  which  might  be  caused  by 
the  death  of  the  manufacturer  or  his  inability  to  continue  the  busi- 


WALL   PAPER HENRY   BURN    ET   AL.  6257 

ness  from  whatever  cause,  and  this  is  due,  not  so  much  to  the  cost 
of  the  actual  machines  themselves,  but  to  the  enormous  cost  of  their 
installation  in  a  building,  and  as  the  value  of  this  installation  would 
be  entirely  destroyed  by  removal  of  the  machines  to  another  build- 
ing, I  can  safely  make  the  statement  that  in  the  event  of  such  con- 
tingency as  outlined  above  the  value  of  the  wall-paper  plant  would 
shrink  fully  75  per  cent,  and  this  assertion  is  made  based  upon  my 
personal  knowledge  in  respect  to  wall-paper  plants  that  have  been 
discontinued.  Consequently  a  profit  of  10  per  cent  would  not  be 
adequate,  taking  into  consideration  the  enormous  shrinkage  in  the 
value  of  the  plant  that  would  be  incurred  in  the  event  of  its  dis- 
continuance. 

Second.  Again,  bearing  upon  the  question  of  a  possible  profit  of 
10  per  cent  being  adequate  return,  I  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 
$1  of  capital  is  required  for  every  dollar  of  business  done,  and  that 
thereby  the  manufacturer  is  enabled  to  turn  over  his  capital  but  once 
a  year,  and  that  the  business  therefore  calls  for  an  unduly  large 
amount  of  capital  as  compared  with  that  of  other  industries,  and  the 
risk  is  consequently  so  much  the  greater  and  the  wall-paper  manu- 
facturer is  therefore  entitled  to  a  greater  margin  than  the  manufac- 
turers in  other  industries,  who  can  do  the  same  volume  of  business  on 
perhaps  one-fifth  of  the  amount  of  capital  and  whose  risk  is  therefore 
just  one-fifth  that  of  the  wall-paper  manufacturer. 

Then,  again,  the  credit  risk  must  be  taken  into  consideration  in 
determining  whether  a  profit  of  10  per  cent  is  adequate,  inasmuch  as 
the  goods  are  sold  on  long-credit  terms,  and  it  frequently  happens  that 
while  the  credit  of  the  purchaser  may  have  been  first  class  at  the  time 
the  obligation  was  incurred  he  may  be  in  financial  straits  by  the 
time  the  obligation  becomes  due,  and  a  fair  percentage  for  bad  debts 
must  also  be  considered  in  arriving  at  the  net  profit,  and  it  is  no 
exaggeration  that  the  percentage  of  losses  arising  from  bad  debts 
amount  to  nearly,  if  not  fully,  2  per  cent. 

Xow,  the  reports  collated  by  the  Department  of  Commerce  do  not 
take  in  the  items  of  depreciation  or  of  bad  debts,  and  consequently 
even  assuming  that  otherwise  the  report  reflects  accurately  the  con- 
dition of  wall-paper  manufacturers,  the  net  profit  they  would  show 
as  a  result,  after  providing  for  depreciation  and  for  bad  debts,  would 
bring  the  net  profit  down  to  about  6  per  cent,  which  is  certainly  not 
adequate  return  for  the  investment  and  the  risk  attending  same. 

Third.  Several  members  of  your  committee  have  assumed  that 
inasmuch  as  the  imports  of  wall  paper  amounted  to  only  $700,000  and 
as  the  aggregate  of  the  domestic  production  is  $12,000,000  we  are 
already  well  protected  under  the  present  tariff,  and  looking  at  the 
matter  superficially  this  argument  would  be  correct,  but  it  has 
already  been  pointed  out  in  our  brief,  and  again  in  the  statement  I 
made  before  your  committee,  that  the  importation tof,  say,  $750,000 
affects  more  directly  goods  of  a  similar  character  produced  hi  this 
country  and  on  which  the  domestic  output  is  only  $3,000,000,  and 
that  the  percentage  of  competition  is  therefore  25  per  cent  instead  of 
6  per  cent,  as  assumed  by  some  of  the  members  of  your  committee;  and 
inasmuch  as  the  imports  on  these  grades  of  goods  have  risen  in  the 
space  of  four  short  years  to  the  extent  of  230  per  cent,  it  is  quite  clear 
that  the  present  rate  of  duty  on  wall  paper  does  not  afford  a  reasonable 
protection,  and  as  to  the  other  75  per  cent  of  the  domestic  production 


6258  SCHEDULE   M— PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

the  goods  are'of  a  character  of  which  similar  goods  are  not  made 
abroad,  and  this  accounts  up  to  the  present  time  for  the  fact  that  we 
have  no  European  competition  on  these  grades,  and  in  my  estimation, 
therefore,  it  can  not  be  contended  that  the  present  duty  on  wall  paper 
has  given  us  protection  on  the  sale  of  these  goods;  but  inasmuch  as  the 
governments  of  European  countries,  notably  that  of  Germany,  are 
assisting  their  industries  in  finding  new  fields  for  their  outputs,  it  is  by 
no  means  impossible  that  this  market  will  also  be  sought  on  the 
cheaper  grades  unless  we  are  protected  by  an  increased  duty. 

Fourth.  As  to  the  question  as  to  whether  we  desire  to  have  the 
tariff  made  prohibitive,  we  have  already  stated  that  that  was  not  our 
desire.  In  fact,  it  could  not  be  made  prohibitive,  as  there  will  always 
be  a  demand  for  foreign  goods  on  the  part  of  some  of  our  people — 
people  who  underrate  American  productions  and  who  can  not  see 
any  merit  in  any  production  unless  it  is  marked  "imported" — and 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  disparagers  of  American  productions  should 
not  be  made  to  pay  the  additional  cost  of  the  imported  goods  because 
of  an  increased  duty  on  same. 

Fifth.  I  was  also  asked  whether  the  wall-paper  industry  was  not 
willing  to  take  a  part  of  the  burden  in  supporting  the  Government, 
and  I  replied  that  we  always  have,  and  I  now  claim  that  the  increase 
of  the  duty  to  35  per  cent  or  40  per  cent  will  give  the  Government  as 
large  a  revenue  from  the  importation  of  wall  paper  as  it  now  derives 
from  the  present  importations  on  the  lower  rate  of  duty,  and  at  the 
same  time  will  diminish  the  importations  to  an  amount  that  will  not 
seriously  affect  the  wall-paper  manufacturers  of  this  country. 

Sixth.  The  greatest  danger  to  our  industry,  however,  is  the  recipro- 
cal arrangements  that  are  supposed  to  exist  at  the  present  time 
between  the  United  States  and  Germany,  whereby  wall  paper  may 
be  imported  at  a  less  rate  of  duty  than  that  specified  in  the  present 
tariff;  but  your  chairman  assured  me  that  the  committee  would 
probably  overcome  this  difficulty  by  recommending  a  maximum  and 
minimum  tariff,  and  in  making  such  a  recommendation  I  would 
earnestly  request  that  you  take  into  consideration  the  advisability 
of  making  the  minimum  duty  35  per  cent  and  the  maximum  duty 
45  per  cent. 

Thanking  you  for  the  courtesy  extended  in  permitting  us  to  offer 
these  further  suggestions,  I  am, 

Very  respectfully,  HENRY  BURN,    • 

Representing  Manufacturers  of  Wall  Paper. 


NATIONAL  PRINT  CUTTERS'  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA  ASKS  IN- 
CREASE OF  DUTIES  ON  WALL  PAPER  AND  PRINT  BLOCKS. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  December  19, 1908. 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C., 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  have  been  directed  by  the  above  association  to  write 
to  you  in  regard  to  any  possible  change  in  the  present  tariff  on  manu- 
factured wall  papers  and  interior  decorations,  and  also  on  print  blocks 
and  rollers-  used  in  the  printing  of  same. 


WALL   PAPER.  6259 

If  any  change  is  contemplated,  we  respectfully  ask  your  assistance 
to  have  the  duty  on  wall  papers  increased,  if  at  all  possible,  as  we 
believe  the  present  duty  entirely  inadequate  to  give  the  American 
manufacturer  proper  protection  against  foreign  importations. 

During  the  past  five  years  the  importations  of  wall  paper  have 
increased  about  300  per  cent.  In  1903  the  imports  amounted  to  about 
$200,000,  while  now  they  amount  to  almost  $800,000. 

As  wages  in  foreign  countries — England  and  Germany — are  only 
about  one-half  of  what  they  are  in  the  United  States,  we  reel  that  not 
only  are  the  American  manufacturers  entitled  to  fair  protection  but 
chat  we  ourselves  are  entitled  to  protection  against  the  low  wages  and 
unfavorable  conditions  existing  in  England  and  Germany,  where  the 
wall-paper  industries  are  controlled  by  syndicates,  whereas  the 
American  manufacturers,  from  whom  we  obtain  our  livelihood,  are 
hardly  making  any  profit  at  all,  certainly  not  what  they  are  entitled 
to  make  considering  the  capital  invested.  • 

Regarding  print  blocks,  we  wish  to  say  that  this  work  is  entirely 
done  oy  hand;  not  a  single  part  of  the  same  can  in  any  way  be  made 
by  machine,  'and  it  would  be  a  great  injustice  to  us  if  the  present 
tariff  on  these  print  rollers  were  removed  or  made  any  less.  They  are 
classified  as  manufactured  wood  and  metal,  principal  value  on  metal 
45  per  cent  ad  valorem,  and  we  ask  that  you  use  your  influence  to 
have  this  duty  increased,  if  at  all  possible,  as  the  wages  paid  in  Europe 
for  this  work  are  only  about  one-half  what  we  receive,  and  we  "believe 
we  should  receive  the  protection  that  years  of  work  entitle  us  to. 

Trusting  you  will  give  this  your  support  and  assuring  you  that  any- 
thing you  may  do  in  our  behalf  will  be  appreciated,  I  remain, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

[SEAL.]  THOS.  I.  G.  EASTWOOD, 

Secretary-Treasurer  National  Print  Cutters' 

Association  of  America. 


THE   WALL  PAPER  MACHINE   PRINTERS  AND   COLOR    MIXERS' 
ASSOCIATION  ASKS  INCREASE  OF  DUTY  ON  WALL  PAPER. 

PHILADELPHIA,  December  20,  1908. 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C., 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee: 

I  have  been  directed  by  our  association  to  write  to  you  regarding 
any  possible  change  in  the  tariff  on  wall  paper.  We  respectfully 
ask  that  you  advocate  an  advance  over  the  present  duty,  as  it  seems 
to  be  entirely  inadequate  to  give  the  American  manufacturer  proper 
protection  against  the  importation  of  wall  papers  from  Europe, 
where  the  wages  paid  are  much  less  than  that  received  by  our  members 
During  the  last  five  years  the  importation  has  risen  300  per  cent; 
as  while  the  importation  five  years  ago  was  only  $200,000,  at  the 
present  time  it  has  exceeded  the  sum  of  $800,000.  These  are  the 
conditions  that  our  members  of  the  trade  have  been  working  with. 
Trusting  that  you  will  give  this  your  earnest  support,  assuring  you 
anything  you  may  do  in  our  behalf  will  be  appreciated,  I  am, 
Yours,  respectfully, 

JOHN  T.  FUKLONG, 
Secretary  No.  3,  The  Wall  Paper  Machine  Printers  and 

Color  Mixers'  Association. 


6260  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

ALLIED  WALL-PAPER  TRADES  OF  UNITED  STATES  CLAIM  THAT 
THEIR  INDUSTRY  NEEDS  MORE  PROTECTION. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  December  22,  1908. 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C., 

Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  have  been  instructed  in  behalf  of  the  members  of 
the  above-named  organization  to  communicate  with  you  regarding 
some  change  in  the  tariff  on  wall  paper.  I  would  respectfully  ask 
that  you  advocate  an  advance  over  the  present  duty,  as  it  seems  that 
the  American  manufacturers  have  not  the  proper  protection  against 
the  importation  of  wall  paper  from  Europe,  where  the  wages  paid  are 
much  les.c  than  received  by  our  members. 

About  five  years  ago  the  importation  was  only  $200,000  and  at  the 
present  time  it  has  exceeded  the  sum  of  $800,000.     These  are  the 
conditions  that  our  members  of  the  trade  have  been  working  against. 
#  #  *  #  *  *  •  * 

Trusting  that  you  will  give  this  your  earliest  attention,  and  assur- 
ing you  whatever  you  do  will  be  appreciated,  I  am, 
Yours,  truly, 

JAMES  L.  MULHEARN, 
National  Secretary,  M.  P.  &  C.  M. 

RICHARD  H.  SCHELLER,  secretary  of  Local  Union  No.  1,  N.  P.  C.  A. 
of  A.,  files  a  similar  letter. 


JAMES  L.  MULHEARN,  SECRETARY  ALLIED  WALL-PAPER  TRADES, 
FILES  SUPPLEMENTAL  STATEMENT  ON  WALL  PAPER. 

233  FORTY-FIFTH  STREET, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  January  4t  1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Yours  of  the  23d  at  hand  and  thank  you  for  your  quick 
reply.  In  your  letter  you  suggested  that  I  make  a  brief  showing 
the  cost  of  producing  paper  here  and  abroad  that  would  be  of  real 
service  to  the  committee. 

I  can  not  give  that  information  correctly,  as  I  have  no  record 
of  my  own  which  I  could  give  to  the  committee.  But  as  we  are  a 
labor  organization,  I  will  give  the  committee  my  views  on  the  subject 
from  a  labor  standpoint.  Thus:  The  machine  printers  and  color 
mixers  and  print  cutters  in  England  receive  at  an  average  of  35 
shillings  to  £2  per  week,  equal  to  about  $8.75  to  $10  of  American 
money. 

The  wages  paid  to  the  machine  printers  and  color  mixers  in  Ger- 
many and  France  are  from  40  to  GO  marks  per  week,  equal  to  $10  to 
$15  of  American  money.  The  print  cutters  receive  from  21  to  40 
marks  per  week,  equal  to  $5.25  to  $10  in  American  money. 

The  wages  received  by  our  members  are:  Machine  printers,  from 
$22  to  $25  per  week;  the  color  mixers  receive  $25  per  week;  and  the 
print  cutters  $20  per  week,  and  continued  employment  for  an  entire 


WALL  PAPEE ALLIED  WALL  PAPER  TEADE. 


6261 


year,  where  the  European  employees  are  employed  only  as  they  may 
be  required. 

The  lower  wages  paid  in  the  European  countries  cause  the  Amer- 
ican wall-paper  merchant  to  deal  freely  with  European  manufacturers 
for  his  requirements,  causing  the  importation  to  increase  nearly  300 
per  cent  in  five  years.  Therefore,  our  members  think  that  if  some- 
thing is  not  done  to  check  the  importation,  or  if  it  is  allowed  to 
increase,  it  may  diminish  the  demand  for  wall  paper  made  in  this 
country,  which  would  place  our  members  in  a  less  favorable  condition. 

It  may  cause  a  reduction  of  the  wages  of  our  members  or  shorten 
the  period  of  employment  each  year  in  order  for  the  American 
manufacturer  to  meet  the  foreign  competition,  or  may  cause  the 
shutting  up  of  some  of  the  factories  in  this  country  and  throwing 
our  members  out  of  employment. 

Trusting  that  the  committee  will  take  these  facts  into  considera- 
tion, and  advocate  an  advance  in  the  duty  on  wall  paper.  By  so 
doing  they  will  protect  the  labor  in  this  country. 

Wishing  you  and  the  committee  all  the  compliments  of  the  season, 
I  am, 

Very  truly,  yours, 

[SEAL.]  JAMES  L.  MUL.HEARN, 

National  Secretary  Allied  Wall  Paper  Trades. 


THE  ALLIED  WALL  PAPER  TRADES  ASK  FOR  AN  INCREASE  OF 
DUTIES  ON  WALL  PAPER  AND  INTERIOR  DECORATIONS. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  January  6,  1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  Supplementary  to  our  letters  of  December  19  and  De- 
cember 22,  1908,  we  wish  to  file  the  following  table  relating  to  the 
wages  paid  in  the  wall-paper  industries  of  England,  Germany,  and 
the  United  States  of  America,  and  we  would  respectfully  ask  that 
in  view  of  same  that  the  duty,  25  per  cent,  on  wall  papers  and  interior 
decorations  be  increased,  and  that  the  rate  of  duty  be  based  upon 
United  States  values  instead  of  foreign,  and  that  the  rate  of  duty 
upon  print  blocks  and  rollers,  45  per  cent  ad  valorem,  remain  as  it 
is  at  the  present  time  and  not  made  any  less. 

Table  of  wages  paid  per  week. 


Printers— 

England. 

Germany. 

United  States, 

12-color  machines  

$8.  75-810.  00 

$10.  00-815.  00 

825.  00 

4  to  8  color  machines  

6.  25-    7.  50 

7.00-  10.00 

$20.00-  22.00 

Color  mixers   

10.  00-  15.  00 

10.00-  15.00 

25.  OC 

Print  cutters  

8.00-  10.00 

6.25-  10.00 

20.  00 

We  would  also  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  during  the  past 
few  years  a  large  number  of  wall-paper  factories  have  closed  down 
and  we  know  of  others  that  are  on  the  verge  of  closing  owing  to  the 


6262  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEES,   AND   BOOKS. 

competition  not  only  among  themselves,  but  with  the  foreign  manu- 
facturers, especially  German. 

Trusting  you  will  give  this  your  consideration,  as  it  has  become  a 
serious  question  with  the  members  of  our  trades,  we  are, 
Respectfully,  yours, 

JOHN  T.  FURLONG, 

National  President  Machine  Runners 
and  Color  Mixers  of  the  United  States. 

JOHN  PARAVICINI, 
National  President  of  the  National  Print 

Cutters*  Association  of  America. 


HON.  D.  F.  LAFEAN,  M.  C.,  SUBMITS  LETTER  FROM  THE  PRINT 
CUTTERS'  ASSOCIATION,  YORK,  PA.,  RELATIVE  TO  WALL  PAPER, 
INTERIOR  DECORATIONS,  AND  PRINT  BLOCKS. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  January  9, 1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C. 

Washington,  D.  C.    • 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  I  inclose  herewith  a  self-explanatory  communication 
from  York  Local  Union,  No.  5,  National  Print  Cutters'  Association 
of  America,  which  I  would  respectfully  ask  that  you  call  to  the 
.attention  of  your  committee  when  the  schedule  for  wall  paper  is 
taken  up,  and  that  your  committee  give  the  argument  therein  careful 
consideration. 

Yours,  very  truly,  D.  F.  LAFEAN. 

YORK,  PA.,  January  ^,  1909. 
Hon.  DANIEL  F.  LAFEAN,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

HONORABLE  DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  been  directed  by  York  Local,  No.  5, 
National  Print  Cutters'  Association  of  America,  to  write  you  in  re- 
gards to  any  possible  change  in  the  present  tariff  on  manufactured 
wall  papers  and  interior  decorations,  and  also  on  print  blocks  and 
rollers  used  in  the  printing  of  same. 

If  any  change  is  contemplated,  we  respectfully  ask  your  assistance 
to  have  the  duty  on  wall  papers  increased  if  at  all  possible,  as  we 
believe  the  present  duty  entirely  inadequate  to  give  the  American 
manufacturer  proper  protection  against  foreign  importations. 

During  the  past  five  years  the  importations  of  wall  paper  has  in- 
creased about  300  per  cent.  In  1903-  the  imports  amounted  to  about 
$200,000,  while  it  now  amounts  to  almost  $800,000. 

As  wages  in  foreign  countries,  England  and  Germany,  are  only 
about  one-half  of  what  they  are  in  the  United  States,  we  feel  that  not 
only  are  the  American  manufacturers  entitled  to  fair  protection,  but 
that  we,  ourselves,  are  entitled  to  protection  against  the  low  wages 
and  unfavorable  conditions  existing  in  England  and  Germany,  where 
the  wall  paper  industries  are  controlled  by  syndicates,  whereas  the 
American  manufacturers  from  whom  we  obtain  our  livelihood  are 
hardly  making  any  profit  at  all,  certainly  not  what  they  are  entitled  to 
make  considering  the  capital  invested. 


WALL  PAPER GLAZED  OB  TRANSPARENT  PAPER.      6263 

Regarding  print  blocks  we  wish  to  say  that  this  work  is  done  en- 
tirely by  hand,  not  a  single  part  of  same  can  in  any  way  be  made  by 
machine,  and  it  would  be  a  great  injustice  to  us  if  the  present  tariff  on 
these  print  rollers  were  removed  or  made  less.  They  are  classified  as 
manufactured  wood  and  metal,  principal  value  on  metal  45  per  cent 
ad  valorem,  and  we  ask  that  you  use  your  influence  to  have  this  duty 
increased  if  at  all  possible,  as  the  wages  paid  in  Europe  for  this  work 
is  only  about  one-half  what  we  receive,  and  we  believe  we  should 
receive  the  protection  that  years  of  work  entitles  us  to." 

Trusting  you  will  give  this  your  support  and  assuring  you  that 
anything  you  may  do  in  our  behalf  will  be  appreciated,  I  remain, 

Yours,  very  truly, 
NATIONAL  PRINT  CUTTERS'  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA, 

CHAS.  H.  ROBERTSON, 
Secretary  Local  Union  No.  5. 

(Communications,  duplicates  of  the  above,  were  received  from  the 
following  organizations  of  the  National  Print  Cutters'  Association 
of  America :  Local  Union  No.  4,  George  F.  Small,  secretary,  Buffalo, 
N.  Y. ;  Local  Union  No.  5,  William  E.  Steinert,  secretary,  269  Handy 
street,  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  submitted  by  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  How- 
ell,  M.  C. ;  Local  Union  No.  3,  Alexander  Yuill,  New  Brunswick, 
N.  J. ;  Local  Union  No.  2,  John  Paravicini,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  sub- 
mitted by  Hon.  George  D.  McCreary,  M.  C. ;  Thomas  I.  G.  Eastwood, 
national  secretary  National  Print  Cutters'  Association.  Hon.  D.  F. 
Lafean.  M.  C.,  submitted  a  similar  communication  from  George  A. 
Wagner,  secretary  Local  Union  No.  6,  National  Association  of 
Machine  Prints  and  Color  Mixers,  York,  Pa.) 


GLAZED  OR  TRANSPARENT  PAPER. 

[Paragraph  402.] 

THE  U.  S.  PAPER  GOODS  CO.,  CINCINNATI,  WISHES  PROPER  DIP- 
FERENTIAL  ON  ENVELOPES  OF  TRANSPARENT  PAPER. 

CINCINNATI,  December  10,  1908. 
CHAIRMAN  WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  Our  attention  has  been  called  to  the  fact  that  some 
discussion  has  arisen  regarding  the  revision  of  the  tariff  schedule  on 
paper.  What  we  are  particularly  interested  in  in  this  line  is  glazed 
or  transparent  paper,  which  is  at  present  being  imported  chiefly  from 
Germany,  and  is  used  in  great  quantities  for  making  transparent 
envelopes. 

As  we  understand  it  the  present  rate  of  duty  on  paper  on  importa- 
tions of  this  kind  is  25  per  cent,  while  the  rate  on  envelopes  made 
up  out  of  this  same  kind  of  paper  is  only  20  per  cent.  If  we  as  manu- 
facturers buy  the  paper,  we  have  not  only  to  pay  the  high  rate  of 
duty  on  the  paper,  but  in  making  the  envelopes,  on  account  of  their 
irregular  shape,  we  are  compelled  to  waste  in  cutting  from  10  to  15 
per  cent.  This  waste,  in  the  meantime,  has  had  a  duty  of  25  per  cent 

75941— II.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 32 


6264  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPEES,   AND  BOOKS. 

paid  on  it,  whereas  the  foreign  manufacturer  of  envelopes  can  get 
the  whole  thing  in  here  complete  at  20  per  cent.  This  seems  to  us  to 
be  an  unfair  deal  to  the  American  manufacturer  of  envelopes. 

We  wish  to  recommend  the  above  to  your  consideration.  We  as 
manufacturers  do  not  care  for  any  great  amount  of  protection,  but 
we  do  not  want  to  be  discriminated  against  as  above. 

We  respectfully  ask  that  you  give  this  matter  consideration  at  the 
proper  time. 

Yours,  very  truly,  THE  U.  S.  PAPEE  GOODS  Co. 

H.  W.  STUAET. 


WRAPPING  PAPER. 

[Paragraph  402.] 

STATEMENT  OF  MILTON  E.  MARCUSE,  OF  RICHMOND,  VA.,  WHO 
THINKS  KRAFT  PAPER  SHOULD  BE  CLASSED  AS  TISSUE. 

SATURDAY,  November  £1, 1908. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  is  your  name  ? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Milton  E.  Marcuse. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  All  right.     Proceed. 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Before  submitting  the  paper  which  I  have  I  will 
say  that  I  was  interested  in  the  question  put  by  Mr.  Gaines  to  Mr. 
Sullivan,  as  to  the  amount  of  duty  involved  on  one  particular  book, 
and  working  on  that  I  have  figured  out  that  if  the  total  duty  were 
saved  to  the  consumer  of  wrapping  paper  that  he  would  save  1  cent 
in  wrapping  up  500  pounds  of  sugar. 

Speaking  for  the  wrapping-paper  manufacturers,  we  wish  to  sub- 
mit that  wrapping-paper  manufacturers,  representing  an  investment 
of  about  $80,000,000  among  103  mills  specificalty  engaged  in  this  in- 
dustry in  America  and  employing  many  thousands  of  skilled  em- 
ployees, artisans,  and  laborers,  receive  little  or  no  protection  under 
the  existing  law,  the  duty  of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  permitting  the 
importation  of  a  large  tonnage  of  so-called  Kraft  paper  manufac- 
tured by  European  manufacturers.  This  paper,  as  its  name  indi- 
cates, is  exceedingly  strong,  so  strong  that  a  sheet  of  25-pound  paper 
(25  pounds  to  a  ream,  480  sheets  or  24  by  36  inches)  does  the  same 
service  as  our  domestic  40  or  50  pound  No.  1  manila.  It  is  manu- 
factured in  paper  mills  where  the  investment  is  relatively  small  and 
the  labor  cheap.  These  manufacturers  can  build  and  equip  their 
plants  for  very  much  less  than  the  cost  required  in  America.  They 
have  machinery  and  building  material  free  of  duty  and  enjoy  low 
labor  costs  in  all  the  departments  of  their  business — building,  con- 
structing, and  operating.  Therefore  they  can  afford  to  run  their 
machinery  slow  enough  to  produce  this  grade,  which  yields  but  a 
very  small  daily  production  per  inches  of  machine,  whereas  in  Amer- 
ica we  can  not  meet  their  competition  on  account  of  the  larger  invest- 
ment and  production  costs,  as  we  are  compelled  to  run  for  tonnage, 
and  in  order  to  get  the  lowest  possible  production  costs  we  are  forced 
to  run  such  weights  and  grades  as  to  enable  us  to  secure  these  results. 

The  growth  of  the  Kraft  paper-making  industry  and  its  importation 
into  this  country  is  increasing  at  an  alarming  rate.  This  has  grown 


WRAPPING  PAPER — MILTON  £.  MAECUSE.         6265 

from  nothing  three  years  ago  to  an  importation  last  year  of  between 
10,000  and  12,000  tons,  so  we  are  informed,  and  as  explained  before 
on  account  of  its  superior  strength  it  displaces  twice  this  amount  of 
tonnage  of  domestic  production.  If  we  were  afforded  a  proper  pro- 
tection on  these  grades  we  are  sure  American  enterprise  would  pre- 
pare itself  to  take  care  of  the  increased  demand  for  these  grades,  as 
already  there  have  been  many  experiments  made  in  American  mills, 
and  one  or  two  manufacturers  have  been  looking  very  seriously  into 
the  problem.  To  emphasize  the  effect  of  this  competition  let  us  cite 
the  following  comparative  table.  Costs  of  manufacture  at  mills,  prop- 
erly balanced. 

No.  1  manila,  made  of  60  per  cent  sulphite  (popular  quality),  costs 
as  follows: 

60  per  cent  sulphite,  at  $35  per  ton $21.  00 

40  per  cent  ground  wood,  at  $18  per  ton 7.  20 


28.20 

30  per  cent  shrinkage 2.  82 

Conversion 16. 00 

Freight 4. 00 


Total 51.02 

Or  $2.55  per  hundredweight. 

The  Kraft  paper  costs  3  cents  per  pound  f.  o.  b.  port  of  entry,  plus 
25  per  cent  duty,  75  cents  per  hundredweight,  total  $3.75  per  hundred- 
weight, f.  o.  b.  port  of  entry.  If  sold  at  4^  cents  per  pound,  a  ream  of 
25  pounds  costs  the  consumer  $1.06^  per  ream.  No.  1  manila,  40 
pounds  basis,  if  sold  at  3£  cents,  would  cost  the  consumer  $1.30  per 
ream,  or  23f  per  ream  in  favor  of  the  imported  paper.  We  therefore 
claim  that  this  grade  of  paper,  where  labor  costs  are  as  high  relatively 
as  the  costs  on  the  higher  forms  of  steel  products,  should  receive 
higher  protection.  We  have  prepared  the  following  suggestions,  which 
we  ask  you  to  include  in  your  schedule  on  paper : 

Proposed  schedule  for  wrapping  paper,  made  in  whole  or  in  part 
from  sulphate  fiber  and  commonly  known  in  the  trade  as  "  Kraft 
paper  "  (or  any  substitute  of  equal  strength,  quality,  or  appearance), 
white  or  colored,  and  of  all  kinds  of  wrapping  paper,  decorated  or 
containing  a  design  or  character  of  any  description,  as  follows : 

Weighing  over  65  pounds  to  the  ream  of  480  sheets,  on  a  basis  of 
24  by  36  inches,  and  whether  in  reams  .or  any  other  form,  25  per  cent 
ad  valorem;  if  weighing  40  pounds  and  not  over  65  pounds  to  the 
ream,  30  per  cent  ad  valorem ;  if  weighing  30  pounds  and  not  over  40 
pounds  to  the  ream,  40  per  cent  ad  valorem;  if  weighing  20  pounds 
and  not  over  30  pounds  to  the  ream,  50  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

All  other  papers  known  as  wrapping  paper,  not  especially  pro- 
vided for  in  the  above,  25  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Novelty  wrapping  papers  containing  designs  and  characters  are 
now  being  produced  in  this  country,  both  with  and  without  patents, 
that  must  compete  with  foreign-made  papers  of  like  character. 

The  foreign  manufacturers  can  produce  these  papers  and  land  them 
in  the  United  States  at  a  price  that  will  not  permit  the  domestic 
manufacturers  to  compete,  and,  at  the  same  time,  nullify  the  value 
of  the  patent  issued  by  this  Government,  for,  owing  to  the  patent 
laws  prevailing  now  in  most  of  the  foreign  governments,  a  patented 
article  must  be  manufactured  in  those  countries  or  be  available  to 
anyone  who  chooses  to  use  them. 


6266  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

Kraft  paper  weighing  20  pounds  and  under  should  be  classed  as 
tissue. 

INVESTMENT. 

The  wrapping-paper  industry  is  one  peculiar  unto  itself.  It  occu- 
pies a  different  relationship  as  regards  investment  to  production  than 
any  other  industry  in  this  country.  To  build  and  equip  a  wrapping- 
paper  mill  requires  $2  investment  for  each  $1  of  annual  production. 
This  does  not  consider  timber  lands  or  working  capital,  but  does  in- 
clude all  expenditures  for  development  of  water  power,  construction 
of  pulp  mills  (mechanical  and  chemical),  paper  mills,  etc.  There- 
fore, in  order  to  secure  a  yield  of  only  simple  interest  on  investment, 
the  wrapping  paper  manufacturer  has  to  make  12  per  cent  on  his 
product,  free  of  all  depreciation  costs,  etc.  Men  do  not  invest  in 
manufacturing  business  for  6  per  cent  returns.  Thej7  would  not  em- 
ploy their  time,  intelligence,  and  money  at  so  great  a  labor  and  risk 
for  so  small  a  return.  Good  judgment  would  dictate  the  preference 
of  lending  their  money  on  good  collateral  for  such  returns.  They 
must  see  at  least  10  per  cent  on  capital  before  they  would  place  their 
money  in  such  enterprises,  in  which  they  are  not  only  serving  their 
own  interests  but  are  public  benefactors,  in  developing  the  country's 
natural  resources  and  giving  employment  to  its  labor.  To  make  this 
10  per  cent  they  would  have  to  make  20  per  cent  on  their  product,  and 
the  result  of  recent  years,  as  shown  by  ledger  balances,  shows  this  to 
be  impossible,  in  view  of  foreign  competition. 

"  In  considering  the  tariff  on  paper  we  would  like  for  you  to  recog- 
nize the  relation  which  exists  between  wood  and  the  products  there- 
from, and  iron  ore  and  the  products  therefrom.  Whether  converting 
wood  into  ground  wood  pulp  for  paper  purposes,  or  in  converting 
iron  ore  into  pig  iron,  the  relation  of  labor  to  finished  product  is 
relatively  the  same. 

"From  every  point  of  view,  in  bringing  wood  products  and  steel 
products  into  their  relation  with  each  other,  whether  considering  the 
labor  expenditure  to  produce  $1  worth;  or  whether  considering  the 
plant  investment  necessary  to  produce  $1  worth,  or  whether  consider- 
ing the  investment  necessary  for  protection,  the  supplies  of  raw  ma- 
terial as  they  are  found  in  the  earth  or  growing  from  the  earth,  or 
whether  considering  the  abstract  aspects  in  connection  with  political 
economy,  it  appears  that  the  duties  upon  wood  and  the  products 
thereof  should  be  greater  than  the  duties  upon  steel  (iron  ore)  and 
the  products  thereof,  and  yet  we  find  that  under  the  present  tariff 
this  condition  is  not  only  reversed,  but  most  severely  reversed,  because 
in  some  cases  the  duties  upon  important  heavy  steel  products  are 
three  times  as  great  as  upon  corresponding  wood  products. 

"  We  now  ask  that  whatever  duties  be  placed  upon  iron  ore  and  the 
products  therefrom,  correspondingly  higher  duties  be  placed  upon 
wood  and  the  products  therefrom." 

I  have  also  a  paper  here 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  duty  on  iron  ore  is  50  cents  a  ton. 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  And  pulp  wood  is  free. 

Mr.  UNDER  WOOD.  Pulp  wood  is  free.  You  want  50  cents  a  ton  on 
wood  pulp?  Is  that  what  you  claim? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Whatever  your  judgment  sees  fit  to  give  to  iron  ore, 
we  would  like  the  rela  tionship  of  wood  and  its  products  considered  in 
its  relative  position. 


WKAPPING  PAPER MILTON    E.    MABCUSE.  6267 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  want  to  ask  you,  on  this  subject  of  wrapping 
paper,  what  is  the  volume  of  the  business  in  the  United  States  ? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  About  700,000  tons  per  annum. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  About  700.000  tons  per  annum.  That  is,  the  con- 
sumption in  this  country  is  700,000  tons? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  The  production  in  the  country  is  700,000  tons.  That 
is  what  you  asked  me. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  importation? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  The  importation  is  a  difficult  problem  to  reach,  be- 
cause the  wrapping  paper  comes  under  that  indescribable  quantity  of 
"  not  otherwise  specified." 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  mean  that  you  have  no  figures  on  the  amount 
of  importations? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  We  have  made  some  effort  to  get  some,  and  hope  that 
we  will  be  able  at  some  not  distant  day  to  give  those  figures. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  But  at  the  time  you  prepared  your  statement • 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  was  looking  into  the  subject  of  Kraft  paper,  and 
the  importations  that  I  found  in  one  port  of  entry  gave  me  an  indica- 
tion that  the  quantity  we  imagined  was  being  imported  should  be  cut 
down  exactly  one-half.  The  effect  that  it  has  had  on  the  trade  has  in- 
fluenced the  manufacturers  of  paper  to  believe  that  from  20,000  to 
25,000  tons  were  imported  last  year,  but  when  we  found  out  that  about 
4,000  tons  were  received  at  one  port  of  entry,  we  concluded  that  from 
10,000  to  12,000  tons  were  the  receipts  in  the  United  States. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  think  that  the  production  of  wrapping  paper 
in  this  country  amounts  to  about  700,000  tons,  and  the  importations 
to  about  12,000  tons? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  But  that  is  of  this  one  particular  grade.  This  is  a 
new  product,  that  has  not  only  disturbed  us,  but  has  disturbed  us 
twice  as  much  as  it  would  if  it  was  not  serving  twice  the  duty  that 
our  papers  do. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  On  that  new  product,  the  importation 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  If  it  grows  from  nothing  to  12,000  tons  in  the  short 
space  of  three  years,  in  simple  geometrical  progression,  what  will  it 
do  in  ten  years  ?  That  is  what  alarms  us. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  It  might  be  that  the  market  has  been  already 
filled,  possibly. 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  To  draw  it  more  closely  to  your  attention,  it  has 
been  a  matter  of  only  the  recent  past  when  you  carried  home  from 
the  first-class  stores  of  your  community  your  bundles  wrapped  in 
Kraft  paper.  Heretofore  they  have  been  wrapped  in  No.  1  manila 
or  fiber  papers  of  American  production.  But  now,  in  all  of  the  larger 
stores,  in  the  larger  cities,  you  find  they  are  working  this  into  common 
use. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  do  not  care  to  take  up  the  time  of  the  committee 
in  arguing  this  question  with  you,  if  you  will  pardon  me ;  but  I  would 
like  to 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  do  not  want  to  take  up  any  of  your  time. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  say,  I  would  like  some  information,  so  that  if 
the  question  comes  to  a  vote  I  can  intelligently  vote  on  the  matter. 
Therefore  I  want  the  information  for  my  own  guidance.  You  stated 
the  amount  of  the  production  in  this  country.  Now,  I  would  like  to 
know  the  total  amount  of  importations,  in  the  line  of  wrapping 
paper,  if  you  know  it.  If  you  do  not,  you  may  say  so. 


6268  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  do  not  know  it,  but  I  will  try  to  ascertain  and  give 
it  to  you.  I  have  tried  to  do  it,  but  have  not  been  able  to  give  it  to 
you  as  yet. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Is  there  any  exportation  of  this  paper? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Of  our  papers? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Yes. 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  It  is  very  limited. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Where  do  you  export  it  to? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  hardly  think  of  exporting  now.  There  is  some 
little  exporting  going  on  to  Cuba. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Where  have  you  been  exporting  in  the  past  ? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  The  export  business  for  domestic  manufactures  in 
wrapping  paper  is  so  small  that  it  is  not  a  factor. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  If  you  can,  I  wish  you  would  give  the  informa- 
tion. 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  As  I  say,  the  figure  is  so  infinitesimal  that  it  is  not 
a  factor  as  to  which  I  could  even  give  you  the  information  you  are 
trying  to  get.  I  know  some  little  goes  to  Cuba,  and  before  Porto 
Rico  was  made  a  part  of  our  country  some  went  to  Porto  Rico. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Some  goes  to  the  Continent,  does  it  not? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  do  not  know  of  any  wrapping  paper  going  to  the 
Continent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  ship  none  to  England? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  know  of  none  going  there. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Of  course  you  only  speak  for  your  own  house  and 
not  for  the  trade? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  only  speak  for  my  own  house  and  from  a  general 
knowledge  of  the  trade. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  But  you  are  unable  to  give  the  information  at 
present  as  to  a  comparison  of  the  amount  of  the  volume  of  this  busi- 
ness that  is  controlled  to-day  by  the  American  product  as  compared 
with  the  other? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  No. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  would  be  obliged  to  you  if  you  would  put  that 
statement  in,  if  you  can  get  the  figures.  That  js  one  of  the  impor- 
tant propositions  that  we  want  to  know  about. 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  will  be  very  pleased  to  do  that  at  a  later  time,  if 
possible. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Who  are  your  principal  purchasers? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  The  jobbers. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  You  do  not  sell  to  the  paper-bag  manufacturers,  do 
you? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Some  of  the  paper  manufacturers  do  who  make 
bag  papers.  They  sell  to  the  paper-bag  manufacturers. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Some  of  the  class  that  you  represent  here? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  There  is  a  large  exportation  of  paper  bags,  is  there 
not? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  So  I  am  informed. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  To  Australia  and  South  Africa! 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Yes. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  That  is  made  out  of  your  paper  ? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Yes. 


WEAPPING  PAPER MILTON    E.    MARCUSE.  6269 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Are  those  paper  bags  that  are  sold  in  Australia  and 
South  Africa  sold  in  competition  with  the  English  and  German 
manufactures  ? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Being  unfamiliar  with  that  branch  of  the  business, 
I  am  unable  to  give  a  reply,  but  there  are  other  gentlemen  here  who 
know  more  about  it. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  There  are  paper-bag  manufacturers  represented  here, 
are  there? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Yes. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  per  cent  did  you  say  you  are  making  ? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  We  are  making  700,000  tons. 

Mr.  CLARK.  But  I  ask  you  how  much  per  cent  of  money  you  are 
making  on  your  investment? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Well — how  much  per  cent  we  are  making  on  our 
investment  ? 

Mr.  CLARK.  Yes;   it  is  a  simple  question. 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  It  is  a  very  simple  question,  and  a  very  difficult  one 
to  answer. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Did  you  not  state  a  while  ago  that  you  made  12  per 
cent  ? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  That  we  would  have  to  make  12  per  cent. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  how  much  are  you  making? 

.  Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  think  for  an  average  period  of  years  if  it  showed 
5  per  cent  net  above  depreciation  and  costs  the  manufacturers  would 
consider  themselves  fortunate. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  did  you  make  from  1897  to  1907? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  have  not  been  in  the  business  that  long,  but  I  want 
to  say  now  that  5  per  cent  would  be  a  fair  average  of  the  per  annum 
profits  that  paper  manufacturers  made  in  that  period. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is,  after  you  count  out  the  interest,  depreciation, 
and  the  whole  thing? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  After  we  count  out  nothing.    The  interest  is  there. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  are  all  getting  poor,  then,  according  to  your  own 
tale. 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  think  we  are. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  are  worse  off  now  than  you  were  ten  years  ago? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  We  are  no  better  off. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  have  not  made  any  money  in  the  meantime? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  No,  sir ;  we  have  not  made  the  money  that  a  manu- 
facturing business  entitles  us  to. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  am  not  talking  about  what  a  manufacturing  business 
entitles  you  to.  I  am  talking  about  how  much  you  made. 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Well,  I  have  answered  that. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Did  you  make  money  or  did  you  lose  it? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Some  years  we  made  money  and  some  years  we  lost 
money. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  how  would  it  average,  on  the  whole? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Five  per  cent  per  annum  for  the  last  ten  years  is  a 
fair  average  of  what  the  paper  manufacturers  have  made. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  said  a  while  ago  that  if  a  man  did  not  make  12 
per  cent 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  said 

Mr.  CLARK.  Wait  a  minute.  You  said  if  a  man  did  not  make  12 
per  cent  on  his  investment  in  the  manufacturing  business,  he  would 


6270  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

pull  his  money  out  of  the  manufacturing  business  and  invest  it  in 
securities.  Do  you  know  of  any  securities  that  will  pay  12  per  cent? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  beg  your  pardon.     I  made  no  such  statement. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  it  sounded  like  that.    What  was  it? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  said  that  in  order  to  make  6  per  cent  on  the  capi- 
tal invested  you  have  to  make  12  per  cent  on  the  production  of  your 
plant. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  you  said  that  if  he  did  not  make  that  much  he 
would  pull  his  money  out  and  invest  it  in  good  securities,  did  you 
not? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  No ;  I  said  that  that  kind  of  a  return  does  not  attract 
men  to  that  kind  of  business. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  now,  what  was  it  you  said? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  Would  you  like  to  have  it  read  again? 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  would  like  to  have  the  same  statement  made  again, 
the  same  as  before. 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  have  it  right  here.    It  has  not  been  changed. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  state  it  the  way  you  did  before. 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  said :  "  To  build  and  equip  a  wrapping-paper  mill 
requires  $2  investment  for  each  $1  of  annual  production.  This  does 
not  consider  timber  lands  or  working  capital,  but  does  include  all 
expenditures  for  development  of  water  power,  construction  of  pulp 
mills  (mechanical  and  chemical),  paper  mills,  etc.  Therefore,  in 
order  to  secure  a  yield  of  only  simple  interest  on  the  investment 
the  paper  manufacturer  has  to  make  12  per  cent  on  his  product,  free 
of  all  depreciation,  costs,  etc."  Then  I  went  on  to  say :  "  Men  do 
not  invest  in  manufacturing  business  for  6  per  cent  returns.  They 
would  not  employ  their  time,  intelligence,  and  money  at  so  great  a 
labor  and  risk  for  so  small  a  return.  Good  judgment  would  dictate 
the  preference  of  lending  their  money  on  good  collateral  for  such 
returns.  They  must  see  at  least  10  per  cent  on  capital  before  they 
would  place  their  money  in  such  enterprises,  in  which  they  are  not 
only  serving  their  own  interests,"  etc. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  many  concerns,  or  firms,  or  corporations,  or  what- 
ever you  are  pleased  to  call  them,  are  there  ? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  There  are  103  wrapping-paper  manufacturers. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Making  the  same  kind  of  paper  that  you  are? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  No. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  many  of  them  are  making  the  same  kind  you 
make  ? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  There  is  such  a  diversity  of  the  character  of  wrap- 
ping paper  that — well,  I  would  say  probably  33^  per  cent  are  making 
the  same  grades  on  which  I  work. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  are  they  all  selling  at  the  same  price? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  No ;  there  is  a  variation  in  the  price. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  compete  with  each  other? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  We  compete  with  each  other. 

Mr.  CLARK.  There  is  no  agreement  ? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  There  is  no  agreement. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  no  connection  with  a  paper  trust? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  None  in  the  world,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  no  "  gentleman's  agreement"  with  you? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  No  "  gentleman's  agreement  "  with  me. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  have  an  "  annual  jubilee,"  too? 


PAPER  AND   STEEL GUSTAVUS   MILLH1SER.  6271 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  I  do. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  talk  business  at  those  meetings? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  We  do  not  have  time  at  those  meetings.    [Laughter.] 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  do  not  ?    That  is  all. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  wish  the  reporter  would  make  this  note:  Onion- 
skin paper  is  classified  as  paper  not  specialty  provided  for  under  para- 
graph 402  of  the  act  of  1897.  It  is  claimed,  however,  that  it  should 
be  dutiable  as  print  paper  under  paragraph  396.  The  importers 
have  appealed  from -the  decision  of  the  general  appraisers,  and  that 
appeal  is  now  in  force.  Meanwhile  the  Government  is  collecting 
under  paragraph  402. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  want  to  ask  the  last  witness  a  question.  Do  you  ask 
to  have  this  tariff  remain  as  it  is,  or  to  raise  it? 

Mr.  MARCUSE.  "We  ask  that  the  tariff  on  wrapping  ,\\\:  'n  as 

it  is,  but  that  a  classification  be  made  for  Kraft  pape. 


BRIEF   OF   GUSTAVUS   MILLHISER,   RICHMOND,   VA.,   FILED   BY 
MILTON  E.  MARCUSE,  RELATIVE  TO  PAPER  AND  STEEL. 

RICHMOND,  VA.,  November  21,  1908t 
COMMITTEE  ON  WATS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.   G. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  want  to  approach  this  subject,  not  from  the  selfish 
standpoint  of  its  commercial  aspect  as  applied  to  the  possible  profit 
to  our  particular  business  only,  but  we  want  to  approach  the  subject 
along  the  combined  lines  of  commercialism,  which  is  self-interest  and 
patriotism,  which  is  the  altruistic  interest. 

In  doing  this,  the  first  step  is  to  recognize  that  the  people  of  this 
country  have  practically  voiced  that  protection,  legitimately  applied, 
meets  their  approval.  We  wish  to  keep  before  us  the  fact  that  while 
underprotection  is  an  injustice  to  the  particular  industry  so  affected, 
on  the  other  hand,  overprotection  is  an  injustice  to  all  of  the  many 
millions  of  the  people  of  this  country. 

We  realize  that  under  the  application  of  the  protective  tariff  due 
regard  should  be  had  to  strengthening  the  sinews  of  the  country  and 
never  weakening  them  at  any  point. 

We  recognize  that  among  the  important  sinews  of  future  strength 
in  this  country  wood  and  steel  form  important  and  very  far-reaching 
features. 

We  recognize  that  these  two  articles  are  totally  unlike  the  products 
of  the  soil,  which  can  be  produced  from  year  to  .year  in  such  quantities 
as  the  efforts  of  man  may  be  stimulated  to  produce. 

We  realize  that  proper  forestry  laws  can  be  made  to  provide  for 
such  a  reproduction  of  forest  products  as  to  make  the  supply  of  such 
products  practically  inexhaustible,  and  especially  so  in  face  of  the 
fact  that  we  have  rapidly  drifted  into  extensive  substitution  of  steel 
for  wood  in  many  forms  of  construction  work. 

We  realize  that  the  natural  storehouses  in  the  earth  of  steel  (iron 
ore)  can  not  be  replenished  by  the  powers  or  ingenuity  of  man ;  that 
once  exhausted  they  are  forever  exhausted ;  and  we  realize  that  to-day 
the  nation,  with  its  natural  storehouses  of  iron  ore  exhausted,  occupies 


6272  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEKS,   AND   BOOKS. 

a  position  which  places  it  almost  at  the  mercy  of  other  nations  pro- 
vided with  an  ample  supply  of  iron  ore. 

We  are  living  in  a  steel  age,  and  to  preserve  our  supplies  in  the 
earth  is  the  first  duty  in  the  direction  of  protection  which  is  due  the 
American  people. 

We  ask  and  claim  that,  inasmuch  as  wood  does  renew  itself  and 
can  be  made  to  do  so  to  an  almost  unlimited  extent,  and  that  as  steel 
(iron  ore)  does  not  and  can  not  be  made  to  renew  itself- — we  ask  and 
claim  that  whatever  protection  may  be  seen  fit  to  apply  to  wood  and 
the  products  thereof  that  still  lower  duties  be  applied  to  iron  ore  and 
the  products  thereof. 

Not  only  for  the  perfectly  clear  reasons  that  I  have  mentioned  does 
this  policy  impress  itself  and  intrench  itself  behind  the  spirit  of  jus- 
tice and  justice  itself,  but  it  would  also  be  helpful  toward  improving 
the  position  of  each  and  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  United 
States  engaged  properly  in  the  struggle  for  advancement. 

It  would  not  only  reduce  to  some  extent,  varying  only  in  degree, 
the  cost  of  every  operation  in  which  one  can  engage  to-day;  but  in 
doing  so,  it  would  also  enable  each  and  every  manufacturer,  who  has 
articles  to  export  or  who  might  be  induced  to  reach  out  in  the  direc- 
tion of  articles  for  export,  to  be  put  in  a  more  favorable  position  to 
conduct  his  present  operations  and  to  look  forward  to  increasing 
same  in  existing  and  yet  unexplored  directions. 

Under  the  present  tariff,  wood  in  the  form  of  logs  (that  is  to  say, 
in  its  crudest  form)  is  on  the  free  list,  and  we  do  not  ask  that  it  be 
removed  from  the  free  list;  to  the  contrary,  we  want  it  to  remain 
there,  and  we  correspondingly  ask  that  iron  ore  be  similarly  placed 
upon  the  free  list. 

We  find  that  timber,  when  converted  into  boards  for  building  pur- 
poses, or  when  converted  into  ground-wood  pulp  for  paper  purposes, 
carries  a  duty  of  about  10  per  cent,  and  we  find,  that  under  the  ex- 
isting tariff,  iron  ore,  when  converted  into  pig  iron,  carries  a  duty 
of  about  33  per  cent.  The  actual  expenditure  for  labor  in  producing 
$1  worth  (at  cost  value)  of  either,  boards  for  building  purposes  or 
ground-wood  pulp  for  paper  purposes — embracing  all  of  the  opera- 
tions from  the  tree  in  the  forest  to  the  production  of  these  articles — 
is  as  great  (or  greater)  as  is  the  actual  expenditure  for  labor  in  pro- 
ducing $1  worth  (at  cost  value)  of  pig  iron — embracing  all  of  the 
operations  from  the  ore  in  the  ore  bed  to  the  production  of  the  pig 
iron. 

We  feel  that  justice,  coupled  with  the  best  business  discretion, 
would  leave  these  duties  upon  timber  products  at  the  existing,  say, 
10  per  cent;  but  would  correspondingly  place  pig  iron  below  10  per 
cent. 

We  find  that  the  duty  under  the  existing  tariff  upon  chemical  pulp 
is,  upon  an  ad  valorem  basis,  practically  the  same  as  upon  ground- 
wood  pulp;  i.  e.,  10  per  cent,  and  we  find  that  the  duty  upon  steel 
rails  is  about  40  per  cent.  The  actual  expenditure  for  labor  in  pro- 
ducing $1  worth  (at  cost  value)  of  chemical  pulp,  embracing  all  of 
the  operations  from  the  tree  in  the  forest  to  the  production  of  chem- 
ical pulp — is  as  great  (or  greater)  as  is  the  actual  expenditure  for 
labor  in  producing  $1  worth  (at  cost  value)  of  steel  rails,  embracing 
all  of  the  operations  from  the  ore  in  the  ore  bed  to  the  production  or 
the  steel  rail. 


PAPER  AND   STEEL GUSTAVUS   MILLHISEB.  6273 

We  do  not  ask  that  the  rate  of  duty  upon  chemical  pulp  be  ad- 
vanced, but  we  do,  in  the  interest  of  ourselves  and  the  whole  Ameri- 
can people,  ask  that  a  corresponding  basis  of  protection  be  applied  to 
steel  rails. 

We  find  that  under  the  existing  tariff  print  paper  carries  a  duty  of 
about  15  per  cent  and,  we  will  say,  other  papers  about  25  per  cent; 
and  we  find  that  articles  of  steel  manufacture  corresponding  to  these 
in  their  removal  from  raw  stock  toward  finished  products  carry  duties 
of  at  least  double  these  percentages. 

The  complete  expenditure  for  plant  for  producing  finished  paper, 
embracing  all  of  the  operations  from  the  tree  in  the  forest  to  the  pro- 
duction of  finished  paper,  is  $2  to  $2.25,  average,  for  each  $1  worth 
(at  cost  value)  of  finished  paper  produced.  The  complete  expendi- 
ture for  plant  for  producing  the  heavy  finished  products  of  steel,  em- 
bracing all  of  the  operations  from  the  ore  in  the  ore  bed  to  the  pro- 
duction of  the  he*avy  finished  products  of  steel,  is  $1  to  $1.25,  average, 
for  each  $1  worth  (at  cost  value)  of  the  heavy  finished  products  of 
steel  produced. 

The  investment  involved  for  a  paper  mill  to  protect  itself  in  its 
wood  supplies  by  ownership  of  either  timber  lands  or  stumpage 
rights  is,  for  each  $1  worth  (cost  value)  of  paper  produced,  as  great 
as  the  investment  involved  for  a  steel  plant  to  protect  itself  with  its 
combined  supplies,  in  the  ground,  of  iron  ore,  coal,  and  limestone, 
provided  that  on  the  part  of  the  steel  plant  this  protection  be  ob- 
tained by  ownership  of  the  iron  ore,  coal,  and  limestone  deposits;  but 
if  this  protection  on  the  part  of  the  steel  plant  be  accomplished  by 
leases  based  upon  the  payment  of  royalties  at  the  times  these  different 
products  may  be  mined,  then  the  investment  for  such  protection  dis- 
appears entirely  or  falls  far  below  the  investment  required  for  pro- 
tection on  the  part  of  the  paper  mill. 

From  every  point  of  view,  in  bringing  wood  products  and  steel 
products  into  their  relation  with  each  other,  whether  considering  the 
labor  expenditure  to  produce  $1  worth,  or  whether  considering  the 
plant  investment  necessary  to  produce  $1  worth,  or  whether  consid- 
ering the  investment  necessary  for  protecting  the  supplies  of  raw 
material  as  they  are  found  in  the  earth  or  growing  from  the  earth, 
or  whether  considering  the  abstract  aspects  in  connection  with  politi- 
cal economy,  it  appears  that  the  duties  upon  wood  and  the  products 
thereof  should  be  greater  than  the  duties  upon  steel  (iron  ore)  and  the 
products  thereof,  and  yet  we  find  that  under  the  present  tariff  this 
condition  is  not  only  reversed,  but  most  severely  reversed,  because  in 
some  cases  the  duties  upon  important  heavy  steel  products  are  three 
times  as  great  as  upon  corresponding  wood  products. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  all  the  products  which,  by  their 
nature,  are  heavy  in  gross  weight  in  relation  to  their  cost  value, 
carry,  by  their  very  nature,  an  innate  protection;  e.  g..  100  pounds 
of  merchandise,  valued  at  $100.  and  subject  to  an  import  freight  of 
$1,  would  carry  an  innate  protection  of  1  per  cent,  whereas  100 
pounds  of  merchandise  valued  at  $10  and  subject  to  an  import  freight 
of  $1  would  carry  an  innate  protection  of  10  per  cent.  The  heavy 
products  of  steel  and  the  corresponding  products  of  wood  are  con- 
spicuous under  this  head. 


6274  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

The  railroad  freight  charges  for  assembling  all  of  the  raw  mate- 
rials and  afterwards  transporting  the  finished  products — both  of 
wood  and  steel — constitute  a  large  part  of  the  production  cost. 

Should  the  steel  schedules  be  revised  in  the  direction  that  these 
views  would  suggest,  then  the  railroads,  by  getting  their  steel  sup- 
plies at  lower  prices,  would,  instead  of  crying  for  increase  in  freight 
rates,  in  a  short  time,  no  doubt,  be  prepared  to  decrease  freight 
rates;  and  the  benefits  from  such  a  change  would  not  accrue  to  any 
favored  spots,  but  would  reach,  in  some  degree,  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  in  the  nation. 

I  can  only  believe  that  the  discrepencies  under  the  present  tariff 
in  the  comparative  treatment  of  wood  and  steel  products  were  due  to 
the  oversight  in  failing  to  bring  these  two  products  together  and 
considering  their  relation  to  each  other. 

We  now  ask  that  whatever  duties  be  placed  upon  iron  ore  and 
the  products  therefrom,  correspondingly  higher  duties  be  placed 
upon  wood  and  the  products  therefrom. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

GUSTAVUS  WlLLITTSER, 

President  Bedford  Pulp  and  Paper  Co. 


R.  S.  ELLIOTT,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  MAKES  A  STATEMENT  RELA- 
TIVE TO  SWEDISH  KRAFT  WRAPPING  PAPER. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  now  want  to  present  the  following 
arguments  why  the  present  rate  of  duty,  namely  25  per  cent  on  wrap- 
ping papers  which  are  imported  under  the  style  of  a  paper  known  as 
"  Swedish  Kraft,"  should  not  be  changed. 

First,  the  American  has  been  taught  by  the  Swede  that  it  was  pos- 
sible to  produce  a  superior  paper  with  greater  yardage  from  a  given 
cord  of  spruce.  This  being  true  it  would  naturally  help  to  save  our 
forests.  By  yardage  I  mean  that  this  Kraft  paper  being  so  strong 
can  be  used  in  a  much  lighter  weight  than  regular  manila  wrapping 
paper.  Thus  the  cost  to  the  consumer  is  equalized  and  not  as  much 
timber  is  necessary  to  supply  the  wrapping  requirements  of  the  con- 
sumer. When  the  domestic  manufacturers  of  manila  paper  began  to 
see  that  the  domestic  user  of  wrapping  paper  demanded  this  Kraft 
paper  they  undertook  to  produce  the  same  article  with  the  result 
that  to-day  papers  equal  to  the  Swedish,  both  in  price  and  quality,  are 
made  by  domestic  mills.  One  of  the  largest  domestic  mills  is  pro- 
ducing a  superior  grade  of  Kraft  made  from  pulp  imported  from 
Canada,  which,  coming  across  the  line,  has  to  pay  a  duty  to  say  noth- 
ing of  the  freight  to  the  mill  making  this  paper.  But  even  under 
these  conditions,  that  paper  is  sold  in  competition  in  New  York  with 
the  best  grades  made  in  Sweden. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Let  me  ask  yoti  a  question  about  that.  Do  you 
know  the  volume  of  this  wrapping-paper  business  in  this  country? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  No ;  I  do  not. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  you  know  the  amount  of  the  importations? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  Not  in  this  Kraft  paper;  no.  It  has  only  grown  up 
in  the  last  three  vears. 


WRAPPING   PAPEE E.    S.   ELLIOTT.  6275 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  effect  would  it  have  on  the  business  if  we 
adopted  the  suggestion  of  the  last  witness,  and  made  a  specific 
enumeration  of  the  Kraft  paper? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  I  could  not  hear  his  statement.  Does  he  want  to 
raise  the  duty? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  could  not  understand  myself,  from  what  he 
stated,  exactly  what  he  wanted,  and  I  thought  that  possibly  you 
could  throw  some  light  on  it. 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  I  was  so  far  back  that  I  could  not  hear  it. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  I  understood  that  he  wanted  to  retain  the  duty  as  it 
is  now,  but  with  a  new  classification  for  Kraft  paper. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  effect  would  that  have  on  the  business? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  What  would  be  the  object  of  making  a  classification 
if  it  were  not  to  raise  the  duty  and  bring  it  under  some  other  classi- 
fication where  there  is  a  higher  duty? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  say  that  a  new  classification  would  raise  the 
duty,  as  you  understand  it? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  You  asked  me  if  it  would? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Yes. 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  I  do  not  see  any  other  object,  when  they  are  making 
the  paper,  as  I  have  stated  they  are. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  They  are  making  paper  of  that  kind? 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  Yes.  It  sells  in  New  York  City  in  competition  with 
the  Swedish. 


GREASE-PROOF  PAPERS. 

[Paragraph  402.] 

STATEMENT  OF  R.  S.  ELLIOTT,  OF  PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  RELATIVE 
TO  GLASSINE  AND  GREASE-PROOF  PAPERS. 

SATURDAY,  November  %1,  1908. 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  think  I  can  get  through  in  five 
minutes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Be  as  brief  as  you  can. 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  I  desire  to  present  before  this  committee  the  follow- 
ing facts,  showing  why  the  present  rate  of  -duty  on  glassine  and 
grease-proof  papers,  as  covered  by  article  402  of  the  present  tariff, 
should  remain  the  same. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  can  file  your  brief. 

Mr.  ELLIOTT.  I  just  wanted  to  read  that  page. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  All  right. 

Mr.  ELLIOTT  (reads)  : 

The  gradual  increase  in  the  consumption  of  these  papers  in  the  past  twelve 
years  has  reached  a  total,  at  the  present  time,  of  5,000,000  pounds  of  grease- 
proof papers  and  10.000,000  pounds  of  glassine  paper  per  year.  Of  this  amount 
American  manufacturers  are  producing  approximately  4,000,000  pounds  of  grease- 
proof papers  and  2,500,000  pounds  of  the  glassine.  This  business  has  been 
established  under  the  present  rate  of  duty,  and  any  increase  in  the  rate  would 
tend  to  upset  the  conditions  which  have  become  established  among  the  various 
trades  using  this  class  of  paper.  The  domestic  manufacturers  are  producing 
nearly  all  the  grease-proof  paper  consumed  in  America,  but  only  a  fraction  of 
the  consumption  of  glassine  paper.  It  will  be  many  years  before  the  American 


6276  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

manufacturers  will  be  able  to  produce  the  extra  8,000,000  pounds  of  glassine 
which  is  now  imported,  to  say  nothing  of  the  natural  increase  in  the  consump- 
tion of  these  papers.  An  increase  in  the  present  rate  of  duty  on  these  classes 
of  paper  would  prevent  the  large  manufacturers  of  bags  and  envelopes  in  this 
country  from  competing  with  the  finished  articles,  which  could  be  imported 
from  abroad,  where  the  cost  of  labor  of  manufacturing  is  much  less. 

Now,  I  want  to  give  you  just  one  point.  If  you  change  the  speci- 
fication of  this  paper  and  put  it  at  $2.10,  it  will  affect  the  fig  manu- 
facturers in  California  to  the  tune  of  about  $40,000  a  year.  If  you 
change  the  rate  on  that  paper,  it  will  do  that.  The  reason  for  that  is 
that  glassine  paper  has  only  been  produced  in  this  country  in  the  last 
two  years.  It  is  a  specialty,  and  if  you  raise  the  tariff  it  would  take 
two  or  three  years  for  another  mill  to  learn  to  make  that  paper.  In 
the  meantime  concerns  like  the  Worcester  Envelope  Company  and 
the  American  Paper  Goods  Company — that  employ  hundreds  of  peo- 
ple—would absolutely  be  at  the  mercy  of  envelopes  and  photographic 
mclosures  made  on  the  other  side. 

I  would  like  to  read  a  letter  from  the  Worcester  Envelope  Com- 
pany, which  will  show  the  situation.  [Reads :] 

WOECESTEE,  MASS.,  November  19,  1908. 
The  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

National  House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  reference  to  the  present  duty  on  transparent  imitation  parch- 
myn,  or  glassine  paper,  we  beg  to  say  that  we  as  manufacturers  of  envelopes 
and  other  goods  made  from  this  paper  find  it  impossible  in  the  majority  of  cases 
to  compete  with  the  foreign  manufacturer,  who  can  procure  the  paper  at  the 
mill  in  Germany  .or  in  the  same  country  in  which  he  resides. 

We  understand  that  there  is  one  factory  in  this  country  making  paper  of  this 
kind,  and  we  are  informed  by  a  firm  of  manufacturers  in  Europe  that  they  will 
shortly  also  establish  a  branch  factory  here  in  this  country.  They  state  that  it 
is  possible  to  manufacture  this  paper  here  at  a  good  profit  with  the  present 
existing  tariff.  From  this  we  submit  that  there  should  be  no  advance,  and  we 
strongly  urge  that  there  be  some  reduction,  so  that  we  can  compete  on  large 
orders  with  the  European  manufacturers  who  are  placing  their  goods  direct 
here. 

Very  respectfully,  yours, 

WORCESTEE  ENVELOPE  Co. 
Dictated  by  George  D.  Barber. 

Then  there  is  another  thing :  The  American  manufacturer  asks  for 
a  change  in  the  classification  of  this  paper  to  a  parchment  paper,  but 
the  American  manufacturer  is  able  on  his  grease-proof  paper  to 
compete  with  that  vegetable  parchment.  That  vegetable  parchment 
is  a  much  higher  grade  of  paper.  There  are  three  manufacturers  in 
this  country  making  it,  but  the  American  manufacturer  of  grease- 
proof paper  has  produced  such  a  superior  article  in  color  that  he  is 
able  to  influence  trade  away  from  the  three  vegetable  parchment 
mills,  who  make  a  much  higher  grade  of  stock;  so  that  you  could  see 
that  to  change  the  classification  of  this  paper,  which  is  a  wood  paper 
and  not  a  cotton-stock  paper  like  the  vegetable  parchment  is — the 
vegetable  parchment  is  worth  twice  as  much — and  to  ask  for  an 
increase  of  100  per  cent,  for  that  is  what  it  amounts  to ;  you  can  figure 
out  exactly  what  it  means  to  the  American  using  this  paper,  like  box 
and  envelope  makers  and  factories  like  that. 

Mr.  Elliott  filed  the  following: 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  domestic  manufacturers,  under 
the  present  rate  of  duty,  are  now  supplying  nearly  the  full  con- 
sumption of  grease-proof  papers,  they  ask  for  an  increase  of  over  100 


GREASE-PROOF   PAPEES.  6277 

per  cent  in  the  present  rate  of  duty,  and  ask  for  as  great  a  rate  as  is 
assessed  on  vegetable  parchment  paper,  which  costs  over  twice  as  much 
per  pound.  But  the  domestic  manufacturers  are  also  producing  an 
imitation  vegetable  parchment  under  the  25  per  cent  rate  of  duty 
which  successfully  competes  with  genuine  domestic  parchment  paper. 


THE  HTJBBS  &  CORNING  COMPANY,  BALTIMORE,  MD.,  SUBMITS 
BRIEF  RELATIVE  TO  SWEDISH  KRAFT,  PARCHMYN,  AND 
GREASE-PROOF  PAPERS. 

BALTIMORE,  MD.,  December  S,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D,  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Having  listened  with  much  interest  to  the  proceedings 
of  Saturday,  November  21,  1908,  before  your  honorable  committee  on 
Schedule  M,  pulp,  paper,  and  books,  I  wish  to  submit  some  facts  for 
your  consideration  on  the  so-called  Swedish  kraft  (strong)  papers,  also 
parchmyn  or  pergamyn,  and  grease-proof  papers.  In  submitting  these 
facts  I  do  so  in  behalf  of  Hubbs  &  Corning  Company  (Incorporated) ,  Bal- 
timore, Md. ,  and  New  York  City ,  dealers  or  j  obbers  in  domestic  wrappin  g 
papers  and  importers  of  the  above-mentioned  foreign  papers,  and  last 
but  not  least  the  wrapping  paper  consuming  public  generally.  These 
papers  now  pay  a  duty  of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  under  paragraph  402, 
and  we  strongly  urge  and  recommend  no  raise  in  this  rate  nor  change 
in  classification.  It  has  been  fully  demonstrated  that  kraft  papers 
can  be  produced  in  this  country,  to  compete  with  the  imported,  and 
at  a  profit.  There  are  at  the  present  time  three  large  and  progressive 
mills  in  this  country  manufacturing  a  similar  article,  and,  we  under- 
stand, from  pulp  manufactured  by  themselves.  A  fourth  mill  manu- 
factured such  a  paper  from  pulp  made  in  Canada,  on  which  they  pay 
an  import  duty  into  this  country.  A  fifth  mill,  recently  built,  we  are 
told,  equipped  themselves  with  machinery  for  manufacturing  papers 
of  the  "sulphite"  process,  or  kraft  papers. 

I  respectfully  submit  it  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  these  mills 
have  gone  to  the  expense  of  installing  new  machinery  and  making 
possibly  expensive  alterations  in  their  plants  necessary  to  produce  an 
article  in  which  they  can  see  no  profit. 

The  home  manufacturer  has  a  protection  over  and  ahove  the  25  per 
cent  duty  now  existing  in  the  amount  of  expense  incurred  in  importing 
and  warehousing  the  foreign  article,  which  on  an  importation  of  5 
tons  amounts  to  between  25  cents  to  35  cents  per  hundredweight. 
There  are  fixed  charges,  such  as  consular  fees,  wharfage,  and  labor 
charges  at  dock,  at  times  high  rates  of  foreign  exchange,  marine 
insurance,  and  in  most  Atlantic  coast  ports  there  is  either  a  lighterage 
charge  to  docks  closer  and  cartage  to  warehouse,  or  an  extremely 
long  and  expensive  cartage. 

The  American  manufacturer,  with  the  exception  of  those  who  have 
seen  the  growth  of  imported  goods  and  have  risen  to  meet  it  by  pro- 


6278  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

ducing  a  competitive  article,  want  a  tariff  sufficiently  high  to  enable 
them  to  continue  the  short  method  production  of  poorer  and  weaker 
wrapping  papers,  and  the  further  destruction  of  our  forests.  They 
do  not  want  to  admit,  without  a  struggle,  that  the  old  methods  are 
"passe,"  and  that  the  public  are  demanding  a  better  and  stronger 
wrapping  paper  for  the  protection  of  their  merchandise,  and  if  home 
mills  can  produce  such  a  paper,  and  it  has  been  proven  they  can  at  a 
profit,  why  then  should  the  wrapping  paper  consuming  public  be 
made  to  suffer''by  an  increase  of  duty?  Such  an  increase  would  dis- 
courage the  manufacturer  of  what  has  become  a  necessary  article  in 
this  country — a  strong  paper  without  unnecessary  weight ;  inasmuch 
as  it  would  entail  an  extra  expense  to  equip  domestic  mills  with  the 
necessary  machinery  for  making  kraft  papers,  it  is  not  likely,  under 
a  higher  tariff,  that  they  would  go  to  this  expense,  but  would  be  sat- 
isfied to  continue  along  the  same  old  lines,  grinding  up  our  pulp  wood 
faster  than  is  necessary,  were  they  making  a  stronger,  thinner,  and 
better  paper, 

A  higher  duty  will  do  exactly  what  the  American  manufacturers 
of  wrapping  paper  are  arguing  for,  keep  out  the  foreign  paper  and 
keep  down  the  standard  of  quality  of  American  made  goods  below  the 
point  of  efficiency.  The  whole  trouble  has  been  that  home  manufac- 
turers have  not  studied  the  best  interests  of  the  consumers  by  making 
a  paper  sufficiently  good  and  strong,  and  at  the  same  time  light 
enough  in  weight  to  be  attractive  in  price.  Had  they  done  so  the 
foreign  article  could  never  have  gained  a  hold  in  this  country. 

I  do  not  think  the  duty  should  be  so  high  that  it  enables  the 
American  manufacturer  to  make  money  without  using  the  necessary 
amount  of  brains,  and  competition  is  the  only  encouragement  for 
superiority  in  one  line  of  American  goods  over  another.  The  Ameri- 
can manufacturer  has  the  cure  for  the  ailment  in  his  own  brains  and 
hands,  which  Providence  has  given  him  to  use  for  his  own  advancement. 

We  can  not  all  be  manufacturers;  if  we  could  I  would  say  give  us  a 
higher  tariff,  but  some  of  us  have  to  be  dealers,  consumers,  and  even 
importers,  and  need  protection  as  well  as  the  manufacturers. 

The  gentleman  who  represented  the  wrapping-paper  manufacturers 
before  your  honorable  committee  gave  comparisons  in  costs  and 
selling  prices  of  a  60  per  cent  sulphite  paper  made  in  this  country, 
against  the  foreign  kraft  paper,  which  is  a  100  per  cent  chemical  pulp 
paper,  and  this  is  in  no  sense  a  fair  comparison.  Pie  should  have 
compared  the  foreign  kraft  papers  with  a  paper  made  from  what  is 
known  as  pure  slow-cooked  or  Meisterlich  sulphite  pulp,  and  the 
difference  in  weight  and  cost  per  ream  for  the  same  strength. would 
have  been  nearer  equal.  His  comparison  was  ridiculous  and  mislead- 
ing. Using  this  gentleman's  figures  for  making  and  shrinkage  as  a 
basis,  which  is  conceded  to  be  about  correct,  in  the  first  place  the  mill 
making  paper  to-day  profitably  has  to  have  its  own  sulphite  plant 
and  paper  machine.  At  this  rate  sulphite  would  cost  $30  per  ton  or 
$1.50  per  hundredweight;  shrinkage  would  be  10  per  cent-,  which 
would  be  15  cents  per  hundredweight;  the  manipulation  and  manu- 
facturing costs  80  cents  per  hundredweight;  in  other  words,  pulp 
made  and  turned  into  paper  at  $2.45  per  hundredweight,  giving  a 
pure  sulphite  paper  of  the  ordinary  quick-cooked  sulphite. 

The  slow-cooked  or  Meisterlich  process  would  cost  $35  per  ton  at 
the  mill,  or  $1.75  per  hundredweight;  shrinkage  at  10  per  cent  would 


GREASE-PROOF  PAPERS HUBBS   &   CORNING   CO.  6279 

be  J7£  cents  per  hundredweight;  manipulation,  80  cents  per  hundred- 
weight; total,  $2.72^  per  hundredweight.  Allowing  the  mill  a  profit 
of  $10  per  ton,  or  50  cents  per  hundredweight,  would  make  the  cost 
of  quick-cooked  finished  paper  $2.95  per  hundredweight  and  the  slow- 
cooked  finished  paper  $3.22i  per  hundredweight.  In  other  words, 

35  pounds  pure  sulphite,  quick  cooked,  would  cost  $1.02$  per  ream 
of  480  sheets,  24  by  36  inches,  and  would  test  and  give  a  wearing 
strength  better  than  25  pounds  to  a  ream  of  480  sheets,  24  by  36  inches, 
of  pure  kraft  imported  paper.     Twenty-five  pounds  per  ream,  24  by 

36  inches,  paper  made  by  the  slow-cooked  process  in  this  country  tests 
practically  the  same  as  the  same  weight  and  thickness  of  imported 
kraft  paper  and  would  cost  the  mill  78  cents  per  ream,  so  that  it  is 
much  cheaper  paper  to  use  than  the  kraft  paper. 

The  gentleman's  statements  are  unreasonable  from  the  fact  that 
he  is  figuring  $35  per  ton  as  the  cost  of  sulphite,  whereas  that  is  a 
good,  long,  liberal  price.  He  has  no  right  to  figure  an  adulterated 
paper  against  a  pure  article,  which  he  has  done  by  figuring  40  per 
cent  ground  wood  and  60  per  cent  sulphite.  The  ground  wood  does 
not  add  anything  to  the  paper  as  far  as  wrapping  qualities  go.  It  only 
cheapens  the  quality,  as  it  has  no  strength.  He  uses  the  freight  rate 
of  $4  per  ton,  or  20  cents  per  hundredweight,  in  his  comparison  on  the 
domestic  paper  only,  which  is  exceptionally  high,  as  freight  rates  will 
not  average  over  15  cents  per  hundredweight.  He  allows  no  freight 
on  the  imported  kraft  paper,  and  the  only  place  the  kraft  paper  can  be 
bought  without  freight  is  at  seaport  towns;  and  the  consumption  of 
kral't  paper  in  seaport  towns  is  a  very  small  percentage  of  what  is 
used  in  the  country,  for  it  is  principally  used  in  manufacturing  pur- 
poses of  all  lands. 

In  figuring  on  kraft  paper  he  figures  25-pound  basis,  which  always 
costs  more  than  the  heavier  weight;  he  adds  25  per  cent  duty  and 
nothing  else,  while  to  land  this  paper  at  the  warehouse  even  in  sea- 
port towns  would  add  25  cents  to  35  cents  per  hundredweight  to  his 
figures.  Then  again  he  admits  the  cost  of  the  adulterated  (60  per 
cent  sulphite  and  40  per  cent  ground  wood)  paper  would  be  $2.55 
per  hundredweight,  including  the  extravagant  freight,  and  then  fig- 
ures the  price  to  the  consumer  at  3|  cents  per  pound,  which  puts  on 
the  handsome  profit  of  70  cents  per  hundredweight — almost  30  per 
cent. 

Now  taking  his  cost  for  the  foreign  paper  in  25-pound  basis  at 
$3.75  per  hundredweight,  adding  extra  such  as  interest,  insurance, 
consular  fees,  brokerage  fees,  dockage,  etc.,  and  this  would  bring 
his  cost  to  4  cents  per  pound,  but  he  is  wrong  in  his  figuring,  for 
No.  1  kraft  paper  25-pound  basis  can  not  be  brought  into  this 
country  and  delivered  in  warehouses  for  anything  like  this  price; 
and,  furthermore,  is  not  offered  to  the  consumer  at  4}  cents  per 
pound,  but  would  average  nearer  4f  cents  per  pound  for  this  weight. 
So  you  can  see  it  is  not  a  case  of  cheapness  either  by  comparison  of 
weights,  using  lighter  weight  in  foreign  than  in  domestic,  or  by 
actual  price  of  the  goods,  but  simply  the  fact  there  is  not  enough 
first-class  paper  made  here,  because  the  mills  prefer  to  make  tonnage 
product  and  make  a  cheaper  article  and  make  more  pounds,  whereas 
the  consumer  desires  a  light-weight,  strong  wrapper. 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 33 


6280  SCHEDULE    M PULP,    PAPERS,    AXD   BOOKS. 

He  should  have  figured  his  profits  equal,  giving  each  a  fair  showing, 
and  if  he  is  going  to  figure  freight,  figure  the  quantity  of  kraft  paper 
that  goes  to  the  interior,  and  add  to  this  20  cents  per  hundredweight 
for  freight,  as  he  has  done  on  the  domestic  paper,  which  is  only  right, 
it  would  bring  the  kraft  paper  up  and  make  it  all  the  more  prohibitory 
at  its  present  price  and  rate  of  duty;  and  if  you  compare  qualities 
you  have  to  compare  the  best  quality  and  100  per  cent  of  the  best 
quality  of  the  pulp  made  here  against  the  same  percentage  of  the  best 
quality  of  pulp  made  abroad.  The  foreign  pulp  can  be  brought  in 
here  and  manufactured,  including  $2.25  per  hundredweight  for  the 
pulp,  22  cents  per  hundredweight  for  shrinkage,  and  80  cents  per 
hundredweight  for  making,  and  15  cents  per  hundredweight  for 
freight;  total  $3.42,  showing  that  the  pulp  can  be  brought  here  and 
kraft  paper  manufactured  in  this  country  cheaper  than  the  paper 
itself  can  be  imported,  and  we  further  feel  confident  that  the  pulp 
can  be  made  in  this  country  just  as  cheap  as  it  can  be  made  in  any 
other  country,  for  we  have  the  wood,  and  the  manufacturing  of  pulp 
is  a  chemical  process  taking  very  little  labor  in  comparison  with  the 
machine  work,  and  the  machine  end  of  it  and  the  chemical  end  of 
it  costs  practically  the  same  in  one  country  as  in  another. 

Your  committee  has  already  heard  facts  conce  ning  parchmyn 
or  pergamyn  and  grease-proof  papers  from  a  manufacturer  of  these 
papers  in  this  country,  snowing  that  under  an  unsatisfactory  con- 
dition of  business  during  the  so-called  panic  of  1907  and  a  tariff 
on  the  foreign  article  of  25  per  cent,  this  manufacturer  was  blessed 
inasmuch  as  he  stated  he  had  made  a  profit  of  approximately  $10,000, 
or  3  per  cent,  on  his  capital  invested.  This  mill  started  to  make  these 
papers  on  a  small  scale  of  an  inferior  quality,  and  has  advantages  now, 
m  that  he  has  proved  he  can  make  a  profit  and  make  prompt  delivery, 
and  has  a  further  advantage  of  freight  rates  for  interior  business. 

Now,  if  he  can  make  a  profit  on  the  lines  he  is  working  along, 
why  can  he  not  increase  this  profit  each  year  by  making  a  better 
article  as  he  increases  lu's  product  and  thereby  minimize  his  expense? 
At  the  classification  he  asks,  which  means  a  higher  rate  of  duty,  he 
might  just  as  well  have  a  patented  article,  and  the  consumers  who 
are  obliged  to  use  this  class  of  paper  would  have  to  pay  an  enor- 
mous profit  for  the  imported  article,  while  he  is  getting  in  a  position 
two  or  three  years  hence  to  take  care  of  the  business,  as  such  an 
increase  would  in  all  likelihood  cut  the  import  down  to  about  one- 
half  at  once.  It  is  U7ed  now  largely  for  wrappers  for  patented 
medicines,  canned  goods,  and  articles  of  this  sort,  simply  to  preserve 
the  label  and  to  keep  them  from  dust  and  dirt,  and  being  transparent 
the  label  can  be  read  through  the  parchmyn  paper.  This  is  quite 
an  expense  which  the  manufacturer  of  these  articles  did  not  have  to 
incur,  but  as  the  paper  was  reasonable  and  within  reach  in  price 
they  have  adopted  it  for  this  purpose,  thereby  giving  the  consumer 
cleaner  and  better  packed  goods.  Excessive  duty  would  not  improve 
the  standard  of  the  American  goods  in  this  case,  but  would  be  a  great 
drawback. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

Very  truly,  yours,  A.  J.  CORNING,  Jr., 

Assistant  Treasurer. 
HUBBS  &  CORNING  Co. 


GREASE-PROOF  PAPERS ROBERT  GAIR  CO.         6281 

THE  ROBERT  GAIR  CO.,  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  WISHES  THE  DUTIES  ON 
GLASSINE  AND  SIMILAR  PAPERS  REDUCED. 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  January  6,  1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  of  TF 'ays  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  G. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  connection  with  the  proposed  revision  of  existing 
tariff  schedules  now  in  the  hands  of  your  committee,  we  desire  to 
make  mention  of  several  items  which  are  manifestly  favorable  to  our 
European  competitors. 

Herewith  are  samples  of  paper,  and  envelopes  made  of  the  same, 
variously  described  as  japanin,  parchmyn,  glassine,  etc.  This  ma- 
terial possesses  qualities  which  are  bringing  it  into  very  great 
demand. 

The  paper  in  the  form  of  raw  material  is  admitted  under  para- 
graph 402  at  the  rate  of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem.  The  finished  arti- 
cle— that  is,  envelopes  made  of  this  paper — is  admitted  under  para- 
graph 399  at  the  rate  of  20  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

A  large  percentage  of  the  cost  of  these  goods  is  represented  by  the 
material  used,  and  in  making  the  envelopes  the  waste  in  cutting  the 
various  shapes  required  is  about  12  per  cent,  and  often  greater,  with  a 
further  waste  incident  to  manufacture.  The  burden  imposed  on  the 
American  manufacturer  is  thus  increased  to  the  further  advantage  of 
his  European  competitors. 

Since  the  business  has  grown  to  large  proportions  the  European 
manufacturers  have  been  able  to  control  the  best  of  it  for  the  reasons 
set  forth  above.  We  suggest  that,  as  existing  tariffs  discriminate 
against  the  American  manufacturer  in  favor  of  his  foreign  com- 
petitors, the  schedule  on  raw  material  be  reduced  to  10  per  cent,  and 
the  rate  on  goods  made  of  this  paper  be  increased  to  35  per  cent.  This 
will  not  more  than  equalize  the  advantage  the  foreign  manufacturer 
has  in  having  the  raw  material  made  at  his  doors,  and  a  lower  cost  of 
production. 

A  reduction  in  the  price  of  the  raw  material  will  not  operate  against 
any  manufacturer  in  this  country,  as  very  little  of  the  paper  is  pro- 
duced here,  principally  for  the  reason  that  there  has  been  no  incentive 
to  American  paper  makers  to  take  it  up  because  of  the  fact  that  the 
goods  made  of  this  paper  are  brought  here  and  sold  at  prices  we  can 
not  meet. 

We  respectfully  request  your  earnest  consideration  of  this  matter, 
and  are  sure  that  your  investigations  will  sustain  the  justice  of  our 
claims. 

Kespectfully,  ROBERT  GAIR  COMPANY, 

GEO.  W.  GAIR,  V ice-President. 


6282  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

JACQUARD  DESIGNS  AND  CARDS. 

[Paragraph    402.] 

STATEMENT  OF  ROBERT  P.  BAGGALEY,  OF  PATERSON,  N.  J.,  RELA- 
TIVE TO  SMUGGLING  OF  JACQUARD  DESIGNS. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  I  am  here,  if  the  gentlemen  please,  to  discuss  the 
matter  of  Jacquard  designs. 

We  are  asking  for  an  increase  in  the  tariff  on  these  designs. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Are  these  not  put  on  in  that  name  in  the  free  list  ? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  No,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Under  what  section  of  the  schedule  is  this  found? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  It  is  under  section  402.  These  designs  are  the 
skilled  part  of  the  silk  industry.  We  are  greatly  suffering  from 
importation  of  these  designs  from  Germany.  They  import  designs 
here  at  3  marks  per  hundred  cards,  which  is  equal  to  about  75  cents. 
The  lowest  price  at  which  we  can  work  and  earn  a  decent  wage  is 
$2.50  per  hundred,  working  at  our  best  and  fastest.  The  tariff  ap- 
plied on  these  designs  now  is  35  per  cent  ad  valorem.  If  the  35  per 
eent  was  applied  it  would  bring  it  up  to  $1.01  per  hundred  cards. 
This  duty  is  not  always  paid,  because  they  can  send  it  through  the 
mails  in  a  very  small  space,  very  valuable  designs  which  we  have 
here  to  show  you,  occupying  a  very  small  space  4  comparatively. 
They  can  send  Designs  valued  up  to  $500  through  the  mails  and  pay 
no  duty  on  them.  The  duty  has  never  been  known  to  be  paid  for 
some  years  by  five  or  six  manufacturers.  It  is  easily  evaded.  They 
send  these  designs  through  in  envelopes.  They  can  pack  five  or  six 
in  an  envelope.  Here  is  one  design  which  would  cost  about  $25  upon 
the  basis  of  the  American  workman's  wages. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Do  you  know  how  much  was  imported  last  year? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  At  a  rough  estimate,  which  we  tried  to  get,  there 
was  about  $50,000  worth. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  The  statistics  we  have  show  the  total  value  of  the 
importations  to  have  been  $1,905.50,  and  the  duties  paid  were  $G66.94. 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir;  that  is  paid  through  the  custom-house  in 
New  York  by  one  concern,  I  believe. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  You  say  the  rest  is  smuggled  in  ? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir;  it  is  smuggled  in,  and  very  easily,  too. 
I  may  say  that  we  went  down  to  the  custom-house  about  four  or  five 
years  ago  and  furnished  them  with  information  where  it  was  coming 
from.  They  were  sending  it  through  the  mails. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Smuggling  through  the  mails? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  I  do  not  see  how  the  tariff  will  affect  that. 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  They  state  on  the  other  side  it  is  a  design  of  no 
value. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  How  would  raising  the  duty  prevent  the  smuggling 
of  goods  in  that  way?  Will  not  that  have  a  tendency  to  increase  the 
smuggling?  If  there  is  a  higher  duty,  will  there  not  be  a  greater 
inducement  to  smuggle  the  goods  than  if  we  were  to  lower  the  duty? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  I  am  asking  for  a  higher  duty  on  it. 


JACQUAKD   DESIGNS EOBEET   P.   BAGGALEY. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  I  know,  but  putting  a  higher  duty  on  it  would  in- 
crease the  smuggling,  would  it  not  ? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  I  do  not  think  it  would. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  There  would  be  more  inducement  to  smuggle  the 
goods,  would  there  not? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir;  for  the  few  manufacturers  that  smuggle 
them  in  at  the  present  time,  there  are  only  about  seven  manufac- 
turers that  smuggle  them  in  that  way,  and  there  are  only  about  sixty 
designers  working  in  the  silk  industry  at  the  present  time. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  How  long  has  this  been  manufactured  ? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  This  is  not  manufactured.  It  is  art.  It  is  a  product 
of  the  brain. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  How  long  have  you  been  in  the  business? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  In  America  I  have  been  eleven  years;  in  business 
for  myself  five  years.  I  have  been  working  at  this  since  I  was  15 
3Tears  old.  It  is  a  business  that  takes  seven  years  to  get  a  practical 
knowledge  of/  You  never  learn  the  business,  practically,  because 
there  is  something  always  coming  in  under  the  construction  of 
machines  that  you  have  to  restudy  again. 

They  also  send  perforated  cards,  done  from  designs  on  the  other 
side,  in  order  to  evade  the  duty  on  it,  and  they  repeat  it  over  here  on 
special  machines.  They  could  not  send  the  cards  originally  made, 
because  they  are  so  heavy,  arid  they  send  them  in  a  small  roll  like  this 
[indicating].  They  evade  the  duty  on  designs  like  this,  which  are 
called  "  designing  cards."  We  are  now  trying  to  stop  that  practice. 
We  are  only  a  very  small  number  of  men,  and  we  have  been  trying 
our  very  best  to  stop  this  practice.  We  went  to  the  custom  house 
and  told  them  who  were  sending  these  over  from  Germany.  The 
only  way  I  can  see  is  to  make  them  declare  what  the  packages  are, 
from  the  places  where  they  originate,  and  then  you  can  see  what  they 
are.  The  post-office  in  New  York  or  Philadelphia  can  stop  this  prac- 
tice. Make  them  declare  what  is  in  the  package. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Who  will  do  the  declaring? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  The  one  that  sends  the  package  to  this  country. 
.  Mr.  CLARK.  A  man  has  a'  right  to  send  what  he  pleases  through  a 
letter  (hat  pays  the  highest  rate  of  postage. 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  The  legal  rate  of  postage? 

Mr.  CLARK.  Yes,  sir.  I  want  to  know  how  you  are  going  to  stop 
it. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  say  that  comes  in  as  first-class  mail  matter? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir;  it  comes  in  as  first-class  matter. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Did  you  ever  stop  to  consider  how  much  it  would  cost 
to  send  that  as  first-class  matter? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  No,  sir;  we  have  not. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  It  would  cost  32  cents  a  pound. 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  That  would  not  make  much  difference  on  a  pattern 
that  will  cost  $20  to  $25  to  execute  in  this  country.  A  pound  does 
not  amount  to  much  in  a  proposition  of  that  sort.  I  know  I  sent 
patterns  here  before  I  came  to  this  country,  under  the  McKinley  Act, 
and  I  had  to  declare  what  was  inside  of  the  packages.  I  had  to  make 
a  declaration  at  the  post-office  where  I  posted  them  in  England.  I 
sent  them  here  to  a  manufacturer  and  he  paid  the  duty  on  those 
sketches.  Those  were  small  sketches,  which  were  in  the  form  which 
I  now  show  you.  That  is  the  first  part  of  the  silk  industry.  Next 


6284  SCHEDULE    M PULP,    PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

comes  the  design,  and  next  the  cards,  and  its  manufacture  in  the 
looms.  You  have  to  make  a  declaration,  because  I  have  had  to  make 
it  known  to  the  postal  authorities  in  England  the  contents  of  the 
package  I  was  sending  and  whether  it  is  dutiable. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  In  a  letter? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir ;  to  the  postmaster  where  it  is  sent  from. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Are  you  after  a  change  in  the  tariff? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  We  are  after  a  change  in  the  tariff,  sir,  to  bring  it 
up  equal  to  what  we  work  for  at  the  lowest  price,  and  also  to  stop  this 
importation  without  paying  the  duty  on  the  design. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  This  committee  has  no  jurisdiction  over  that. 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Where  is  the  jurisdiction?  Where  do  we  have  to 
go  to  stop  this  thing? 

Mr.  DALZELL.  It  is  the  business  of  the  Post-Office  Department  to 
correct  that  sort  of  thing. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  should  apply  to  the  Postmaster-General. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  This  is  a  violation  of  the  law.  The  question  is  to 
catch  them. 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  That  is  it.  We  will  give  all  the  information  we 
have  to  the  proper  parties. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  You  should  give  it  to  the  Post-Office  Department. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  As  I  understand  it,  you  also  want  a  change  in  the 
rate  of  duty? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir ;  we  want  a  change  in  the  duty. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  What  change  do  you  want? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY."  I  would  be  in  favor  of  100  per  cent,  to  bring  it  any- 
where near  what  it  should  be. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  It  is  now  35  per  cent,  and  you  want  100  per  cent 
ad  valorem? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr,  BONYNGE.  Have  you  any  figures  to  show  the  cost  abroad  and 
the  cost  at  home  that  would  warrant  such  an  increase? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir.  The  cost  for  a  design  to  be  made  here  by 
practical  men  is  at  the  rate  of  $25,  while  the  cost  on  the  other  side 
is  very  little,  because  they  employ  young-  boys  and  apprentices.  We 
can  not  do  that  here,  because  the  boys  will  not  go  into  the  trade. 
There  is  not  a  sufficient  amount  of  it.  That  is  the  reason  they  can 
sell  them  at  a  very  small  price,  such  as  75  cents  per  hundred. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Per  hundred  what? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Per  hundred  cards  designing. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  does  it  cost  to  make  a  hundred  cards  here? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  A  very  simple  design  would  cost  around  $1.75  for 
the  workman's  wages,  but  we  charge  it  at  $2.50  [supplying  the  sketch 
paper  and  material  for  it.] 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  the  smuggling  could  be  stopped,  would  that  suit 
you? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  That  would  suit  us,  if  they  paid  the  increased  duty 
which  we  ask  for. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  you  stop  the  smuggling  and  let  the  duty  stay  as  it 
is,  would  that  be  satisfactory? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  No;  not  altogether.  They  undersell  us  at  least 
three  times.  What  they  can  sell  here  for  a  dollar  we  have  to  charge 
$2.50  for  as  a  minimum  price. 


JACQUARD   DESIGNS EGBERT   P.   BAGGALEY.  6285 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  want  us  to  stop  the  smuggling  and  raise  the  tariff 
from  35  per  cent  to  100  per  cent? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir;  to  enable  us  to  have  an  equal  chance  to 
compete  with  them. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  a  very  modest  request. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  much  business  is  done  in  this  country? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Per  year? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Yes. 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  On  an  average  of  about  $50,000  a  year  by  the  de- 
signers who  are  in  business  for  themselves,  and  about  $50,000  a  year 
by  designers  employed  inside  the  mills  by  manufacturers, 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  much  of  it  do  the  home  producers  do  ? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  I  am  talking  about  the  home  producer  now. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  mean  how  much  is  sold  in  this  country  ?  What 
is  the  entire  volume  of  business? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  The  volume  of  business  is  about  equal  to  what  we 
do — $40,000  to  $50,000,  imported  into  this  country. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  mean  the  volume  of  business  is  about 
$100,000,  of  which  you  do  about  $50,000  and  the  importers  do  about 
$50,000? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  control  one-half  of  the  trade? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  you  not  think  you  are  pretty  well  protected 
when  you  control  half  of  the  trade? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  I  do  not  think  so.  Ten  years  ago  there  were  at  least 
twice  as  many  designers,  and  the  importers  have  sent  them  out  ol 
business.  They  were  employed  but  about  one-half  the  year,  owing  to 
the  importation  of  designs. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  have  35  per  cent  ad  valorem  now? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir ;  and  that  does  not  bring  it  anywhere  near 
right.  They  can  import  their  designs  or  cards,  which  cost  them  75 
cents,  and  the  ad  valorem  duty  brings  it  up  to  $1.01,  whereas  our  low- 
est price  is  $2.50,  and  we  only  make  a  reasonable  wage  at  that.  This 
is  not  printing  matter  at  all.  This  is  skill  and  is  made  from  the  hand 
and  brush  and  brains.  You  have  to  understand  every  part  of  the  silk 
machinery  to  make  these  designs,  or  else  they  would  be  of  no  use  at  all. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  How  much  of  the  foreign  product  that  gets  into  this 
country  do  you  estimate  is  smuggled  ? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  I  should  say  90  per  cent.  I  only  know  of  one  firm 
that  imports  these  cards  that  pays  any  duty  at  all. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  That  is,  your  opinion  is  that  90  per  cent  of  the 
foreign  product  that  gets  into  this  country  is  smuggled? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir;  through  the  mails. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Have  you  complained  to  the  Post-Office  Depart- 
ment? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  We  have  complained  to  the  custom-house,  and  Mr. 
Nathan  told  us  to  go  to  Mr.  Morgan,  of  the  New  York  post-office. 
There  is  an  awful  lot  smuggled  through  the  Philadelphia  post- 
office,  too. 

Mr.  GRTGGS.  Do  you  know  who  sends  these  cards  in  here? 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Do  you  know  that  they  pay  no  duty  ? 


6286  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEKS,   AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  We  know  that  they  pay  no  duty  on  these  designs. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Go  and  take  out  a  warrant  for  those  fellows.  That 
will  stop  them. 

Mr.  BAGGALEY.  We  tried  some  time  ago  to  stop  tliejn.  We  have 
been  doing  our  best. 


STATEMENT  OF  WILLIAM  S.  BUTTS,  OF  PATERSON,  N.  J.,  RELA- 
TIVE TO  THE  DUTIES  IMPOSED  ON  JACQUARD  DESIGNS. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  BUTTS.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  the  foreign  houses,  as 
Mr.  Baggaley  said,  get  75  cents  per  hundred,  while  our  lowest  price 
is  $2.50.  Even  if  we  had  this  35  per  cent  ad  valorem  increased  to 
75  per  cent,  that  would  bring  it  up  to  only  $1,  while  our  lowest  pos- 
sible price  is  $2.50.  We  can  not  compete  with  them.  Fifty  per  cent 
of  all  designs  used  are  imported  to  this  country.  In  the  last  nine 
years  this  importation  has  increased  up  to  50  per  cent,  while  we  can 
state  that  in  the  designing  shops  in  Paterson,  which  employ  probably 
12  and  14  and  up  to  20  designers,  they  have  not  even  had  any  increase, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  have  only  1  or  2  designers  to-day.  It  has 
decreased  their  business  greatly.  The  importation  has  increased 
largely.  Thirty-five  per  cent  ad  valorem  would  not  be  sufficient. 
There  ought  to  be  75  per  cent  duty  on  it  to  make  it  equal  with  our 
price.  That  "means  we  will  have  a  fair  competition. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  does  it  happen  that  this  trade  is  falling  off  under 
the  very  same  law  that  you  had  ten  years  ago? 

Mr.  BUTTS.  There  was  not  so  much  importing  at  that  time.  It  has 
increased  since.  They  are  not  quite  all  importing  yet,  but  there  are 
probably  half  a  dozen  or  eight  who  are  importing  now  and  getting 
the  designs  for  half  price,  or  even  one-third  the  price,  that  other 
manufacturers  have  to  pay  who  do  not  import  the  designs.  If  this 
condition  continues,'  we  will  be  wiped  out  of  business  entirely. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  you  could  get  along  very  well  ten  or  eight  or  seven 
years  ago,  how  does  it  happen  you  are  getting  into  trouble  now? 

Mr.  BUTTS.  Because  they  were  not  importing  then. 

Mr.  CLARK.  They  were  not  importing  at  all  then  ? 

Mr.  BUTTS.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  long  have  you  been  in  the  business  at  Paterson? 

Mr.  BUTTS.  Over  fifteen  years. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Are  you  a  naturalized  citizen  ? 

Mr.  BUTTS.  Yes. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  the  gentleman  who  just  preceded  you,  is  he 
naturalized? 

Mr.  BUTTS.  I  do  not  know. 

Mr.  BAGALAY.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Both  citizens,  are  you  ? 

Mr.  BUTTS.  Yes,  sir ;  for  over  fifteen  years. 


JACQUARD   DESIGNS.  6287 

REPRESENTATIVES  OF  JACQUARD  DESIGNERS  AND  CARD  CUT- 
TERS ASK  AN  INCREASE  OF  DUTIES. 

PATEKSON,  N.  J.,  December  2, 1908. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

'Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  beg  to  submit  brief  for  the  benefit  of  your  com- 
mittee, to  show  cause  why  the  tariff  should  be  increased  on  Jacquard 
designs  and  cards.  We  are  asking  only  a  reasonable  amount  of  pro- 
tection to  our  industry. 

The  European  competition  has  been  very  great  during  the  last  few 
years,  and  the  custom-house  statistics  do  not  show  the  actual  importa- 
tion in  the  United  States. 

It  is  very  easy  to  avoid  paying  duty  on  these  importations,  as  they 
come  through  the  mails  on  very  thin  paper  (as  Exhibits  1,  2,  and  4), 
made  expressly  for  the  export  trade.  The  designers  in  the  United 
States  have  suffered  considerably  through  this,  and  their  numbers 
have  decreased  50  per  cent  in  the  last  five  or  six  years. 

Six  years  ago  there  were  140  designers  and  50  card  cutters  in  this 
part  of  the  country,  and  to-day  there  are  no  more  than  60  or  70 
designers  and  30  card  cutters.  The  decrease  is  not  due  entirely  to 
change  of  fashion,  but  is  due  to  the  greatly  increased  importations 
that  pay  no  duty. 

One  firm  in  this  city  has  a  special  machine  by  which  they  can  take 
these  imported  cards  (Exhibit  2)  and  manufacture  from  them  cards 
of  the  same  size  and  similar  in  every  way  to  the  cards  now  used  on  the 
Jacquard  looms,  as  per  Exhibit  3.  Cards  sent  this  way  (Exhibit  2) 
saves  the  duty  on  the  designs,  and  if  duty  is  collected  it  is  collected 
on  the  cards  only. 

Cards  coming  in  this  way  should  pay  duty  on  the  design  and  cards 
combined,  as  the  design  must  be  created  before  the  cards  can  be 
perforated. 

Many  firms  in  Germany  export  designs  and  cards  to  the  United 
States,  and  if  manufacturers  in  the  United  States  who  import  them 
are  allowed  to  take  advantage  of  the  extremely  low  duty,  or  duty 
evaded  altogether,  other  manufacturers  in  the  silk  industry  will  have 
to  follow  in  order  to  compete,  and  the  result  of  such  a  course  would  be 
to  lessen  the  number  of  designers  and  card  cutters  to  a  few,  or  drive 
them  out  of  the  business  altogether  in  a  short  time. 

Considering  the  wages  paid  here  and  wages  paid  in  Germany,  we 
have  no  chance  of  fair  competition,  and  therefore  we  ask  for  an  in- 
crease in  the  tariff  of  at  least  100  per  cent. 

The  minimum  rate  at  which  designs  can  be  produced  in  this  coun- 
try is  $2.50  per  hundred  cards,  and  in  Germany  the  rate  is  3  marks 
(75  cents)  per  hundred  cards. 

We  do  not  fear  competition  with  any  country  as  far  as  ability  goes, 
but  we  can  not  stay  in  the  business  and  exist  under  the  present 
conditions. 

We  submit  exhibits  of  sketches,  designs,  and  cards,  also  a  wage 
scale,  showing  the  different  wages  paid  here  and  in  Germany.  The 
following  is  a  comparative  scale  of  wages: 


6288  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPEES,   AND   BOOKS. 


America. 

Germany. 

Designers  of  average  ability,  per  week                         

$16.50 

$6.00 

First-class  designers,  per  week  

25.  00-30  00 

12.00 

Bo3-s  (apprentices)  per  week  

3.50 

.50 

We  also  ask  that  all  designs  coming  through  the  custom-house 
undervalued,  or  fraudulently  through  the  mails,  be  confiscated. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

ROBERT  P.  BAGGALEY, 
WILLIAM  L.  BUTZ, 
Committee  (representing  the  Jacquard 
designers  and  card  cutters  of  the  United  States). 


BOOKS. 

[Paragraphs  403,  500,  501,  502.  503,  504,  and  645.] 

THE  CONCOKDIA  PUBLISHING  HOUSE,  ST.  LOUIS,  MO.,  SUGGESTS 
A  NEW  CLASSIFICATION  FOR  BOOKS. 

ST.  Louis,  November  19, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  OK  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

RESPECTED  SIRS  :  It  is  hardly  to  be  doubted  that  in  your  work  of 
revising  the  tariff  rates  for  the  various  import  articles  your  atten- 
tion will  have  been  attracted  to  the  fact  that  books  published  in  a 
foreign  country  in  a  language  other  than  English  pass  our  custom- 
house duty  free.  Even  upon  the  risk  of  doing  something  that  might 
be  adjudged  superfluous  by  you,  we  desire  to  respectfully  call  your 
attention  to  this  fact  anew,  at  the  same  time  begging  leave  to  po- 
litely suggest  to  your  honored  committee  that  this  practice  is  hardly 
in  conformity  with  our  principles  of  protection.  It  is  true  many 
of  the  books  printed  in  a  foreign  language  in  a  foreign  country  are 
of  such  a  nature  that  their  production  does  not  collide  with  any  pre- 
rogatives of  American  labor,  inasmuch  as  the  demand  in  this  coun- 
try for  such  books  would  be  too  small  for  any  American  publisher 
to  feel  encouraged  in  the  undertaking  of  their  publication,  but  it  is 
also  a  fact  that  American  publishers  whose  peculiarity  of  business 
or  trade  gives  them  more  or  less  work  in  foreign  languages  designed 
for  home  consumption  will,  under  the  prevailing  conditions,  find  it 
decidedly  to  their  individual  advantage  to  farm  out  such  work  in 
Europe,  thus  taking  away  from  American  labor  what  legitimately 
belongs  here. 

AVe  respectfully  hold  that  the  customs  office  should  make  a  dis- 
tinction between  books  published  in  foreign  countries  for  foreign 
markets  and  only  sporadically  introduced  into  this  country  by  im- 
porters and  books  published  in  foreign  countries  with  the  obvious 
intention  of  marketing  them  in  this  country — in  fact,  made  in  Europe 
for  American  publishers  and  bearing  the  American  publishers'  im- 
print on  their  title-pages. 


BOOKS ISAAC   H.   BLANC  HARD.  6289 

Without  undertaking  to  make  definite  suggestions  to  you  as  to  a 
rate  to  be  applied  or  as  to  exact  demarcation  between  the  one  class 
and  the  other,  we  simply  desire  to  submit  this  to  your  attentive  con- 
sideration as  we  know  from  personal  experience  that  thousands  of 
dollars  worth  of  such  productions  are  brought  into  this  country  duty 
free,  which  otherwise  would  have  to  be  produced  here  and  would 
redound  to  the  advantage  of  American  labor,  although  the  publish- 
ers in  that  event  might  be  obliged  to  place  a  higher  market  price  on 
such  goods  if  produced  in  this  country. 

Thanking  you  in  advance  for  your  kind  consideration  of  this  ques- 
tion, we  are, 

Very  respectfully,  yours, 

CONCORDIA  PUBLISHING  HOUSE, 
E.  SEUEL,  General  Agent. 


STATEMENT  OF  ISAAC  H.  BLANCHARD,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  ASKING 
PROTECTION  FOR  THE  BOOK-MAKING  INDUSTRY. 

SATURDAY,  November  %1,  1908. 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  I  represent  the 
Typothetse  of  the  city  of  New  York — the  job  printing  and  publish- 
ing industry  of  the  United  States.  Our  organization  is  a  part  of 
the  United  Typothetse  of  America,  the  national  organization  of  the 
graphic  arts  trade,  and,  as  the  strongest  branch  of  that  national 
organization,  we  feel  that  we  represent  to-day  the  sentiment  of  the 
job  printers  and  publishers  of  this  country.  Many  members 
of  our  organization  are  represented  in  the  brief  presented  for 
your  consideration  by  the  National  Association  of  Employing  Lith- 
ographers, and  our  membership  begs  to  indorse  in  detail  the  repre- 
sentations placed  before  you  by  that  organization. 

In  the  brief,  Mr.  Chairman,  which  we  submit,  and  which  I  will 
not  read  except  to  follow  your  suggestion  to  make  a  brief,  we  hnve 
quoted  your  tariff  schedule  of  25  per  cent  in  clause  403,  and  we  refer 
to  the  free  list  in  clauses  500,  501,  502,  and  503.  We  have  submitted 
our  substitute  propositions  which  provide  for  an  increase  in  duty. 
We  submit  the  volume  of  the  industry  on  page  4  and  the  volume  of 
the  imports  on  pages  4,  5,  and  6.  We  submit  for  your  consider- 
ation a  comparison  of  the  weekly  wages,  on  page  G,  and  some  illus- 
trations on  pages  7  and  8,  to  which  I  want  to  call  your  attention. 

The  inventory  value  of  printed  matter  consists  of  the  two  fac- 
tors, merchandise  or  paper  stock  and  labor,  and  in  some  cases  the 
labor  value  is  25  per  cent  of  the  total  inventory  value,  and  in  some 
cases  it  runs  as  high  as  75  per  cent.  In  a  case  where  the  labor  value 
of  the  inventory  is  75  per  cent  on  a  $1,000  inventory,  under  the  pres- 
ent 25  per  cent  duty  the  laid-clown  value  is  $1,275  of  the  imported 
$1.000  inventory.  If  produced  in  the  United  States,  as  compared 
with  the  German  production,  the  cost  of  that  inventory  is  $2,500.  A 
further  illustration  is  given  on  pages  7  and  8,  which  shows  other 
comparisons,  which  I  submit  for  your  consideration. 

The  organization  which  I  represent  asks  one  thing  only — an  even 
chance  in  our  home  market,  From  the  tables  that  are  submitted  it 


6290  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

is  apparent  that  with  a  tariff  of  75  per  cent  the  merchandise  stock 
values  of  the  average  inventory  would  have  to  be  in  excess  of  one- 
half  of  the  total  inventory  before  the  American  manufacturer  will 
be  able  to  deliver  the  goods  at  a  price  equal  to  the  prices  quoted  by 
the  foreign  manufacturer. 

I  thank  you,  Mr.  Chairman. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  The  paper  manufacturing  industry  in  this  coun- 
try is  quite  extensive,  is  it  not?  I  mean  the  manufactures  of  paper? 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Do  you  want  an  increase  in  the  duty  ? 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  What  are  you  asking  for? 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  We  are  asking  for  an  increase  in  the  duty  on 
printed  matter,  under  section  403,  reading  "  Books  of  all  kinds,  in- 
cluding blank  books  and  pamphlets  and  engravings  bound  or  un- 
bound," etc. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  And  printed  matter? 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  Yes. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  What  is  the  ad  valorem  duty  now? 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  Twenty-five  per  cent  on  some  items;  free  list  on 
some  others. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Is  it  a  large  industry  in  the  United  States  now  ? 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  It  is  an  industry  which  in  1905,  according  to  the 
census  reports^  amounted  to  $186,000,000. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  It  is  a  prosperous  industry? 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  The  prosperity  is  measured  by  the  total  and  bulk 
of  business. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  You  mentioned  wages  in  this  country  and  in 
Germany.  That  was  mentioned  by  several  of  the  gentlemen  who 
have  given  testimony  on  the  subject.  It  would  seem  that  the  rate  of 
wages  in  this  country  is  about  four  times  as  high  as  the  rate  in  Ger- 
many for  the  same  kind  of  service? 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Do  you  know  why  German  artisans,  skilled  and 
unskilled,  do  not  come  over  here  if  they  can  receive  four  times  as 
good  wages  as  they  are  getting  at  home?  I  understand  we  do  not 
have  any  considerable  amount  of  immigrants  from  Germany,  do  we? 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  I  believe  we  do. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Any  considerable  number  of  immigrants  from 
Germany  ? 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  I  believe  so.     I  have  no  statistics. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  I  had  supposed  they  were  satisfied  with  the  con- 
ditions at  home  and  had  quit  coming  here  largely. 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  I  could  not  furnish  any  statement  as  to  that  by 
authority. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  That  is  a  statement  I  can  not  altogether  recon- 
cile with  the  situation. 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  Do  I  understand  you  query  the  correctness  of  the 
statement  as  to  comparative  wages? 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  I  wondered  if  it  could  be  reconciled  with  the 
conditions.  The  immigration  now  coming  into  this  country  is,  as  T 
understand,  from  other  countries  than  Germany. 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  I  would  like  to  submit  to  the  committee  some 
facts  bearing  on  that  inquiry.  Tiie  facts  would  be  as  to  the  impor- 


BOOKS ISAAC   H.    BLANCHARD   ET  AL.  6291 

tation  of  contract  labor,  the  workman  from  abroad  being  regarded  as 
a  contract  laborer  if  he  comes  here  with  a  position  already  arranged 
for. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  What  is  the  difference,  do  you  say,  between  the  cost 
of  labor  here  and  in  Germany? 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  Four  dollars  here  to  $1  there,  approximately. 
These  schedules  are  on  page  6  of  the  brief. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  He  stated  exactly  in  the  brief  what  it  is. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Yes ;  but  it  will  be  some  time  before  I  get  that  brief. 

Mr.  GAINES.  That  statement  as  to  the  comparative  rate  of  wages 
seems  to  be  a  matter  of  some  doubt.  Do  you  file  with  the  committee 
evidences  of  the  difference  that  you  claim? 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  Yes,  sir.  1  will  give  you  the  entire  details.  Some 
of  them  have  come  from  the  chief  clerk  of  the  Census  Bureau,  Mr. 
llossiter,  and  I  will  file  with  the  committee  the  authorities  from 
which  they  are  compiled. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  The  Republican  campaign  text-book  showed  that  the 
difference  between  the  wages  here  and  in  Germany  was  very  great, 
sir,  and  I  had  that  in  mind.  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  I  had  the  idea  that  the  difference  was  great,  but 
I  did  not  know  it  was  so  great  as  that.  The  Germans,  I  should  think, 
would  come  over  under  the  present  conditions. 

Mr.  BLANCHARD.  The  German  post  cards  come  over,  and  why? 
Because  Blanchard  can  not  get  people  here  to  make  them  and  pay 
the  bills  for  labor. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  committee  have  been  obtaining  during  the 
recess,  through  the  State  Department,  reports  on  the  cost  of  labor 
abroad,  and  I  have  had  one  of  the  clerks  prepare  a  statement  of  the 
cost  of  labor  of  hand  compositors,  and  so  forth,  the  class  of  labor 
mentioned  in  his  brief,  and  while  the  wages  vary  from  his  brief,  they 
show  a  higher  cost  paid  in  Great  Britain,  while  they  are  meager  in 
Germany. 

The  chairman  submitted  the  following: 

The  following  rates  are  paid  by  the  city  of  Sheffield,  England,  in 
cases  where  no  contract  for  printing  is  made,  as  given  in  printed  cir- 
cular accompanying  report  of  consul  at  that  place: 

Hand  compositors,  $8.40  per  week;  machine  compositors  (lino- 
type), $10.08  per  week;  machine  minders,  $8.40  per  week;  lithograph 
printers,  $8.30  per  week.  News  printers — compositors  (night  work), 
$10.80;  compositors  (day  work),  $10.08;  machine  minders  (day 
work).  $8.40:  jobbing  compositors,  $8.40. 

Coburg,  Germany,  pays  $7.14  per  week  for  male  compositors; 
Stuttgart,  Germany,  $8.80 ;  Nice,  France,  $10.45 ;  Berne,  Switzerland, 
$8.20. 


BRIEF  OF  THE  TYPOTHET^l  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY  RELATIVE  TO 
THE  TARIFFS  AFFECTING  THE  PRINTING  INDUSTRY  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  £/,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  Typothetae  of  the  city  of  New  York  is  an  organ- 
ization composed  of  the  leading  houses  of  the  graphic  arts  trades  in 


6292  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

that  greatest  American  city.  Our  organization  is  a  part  of  the  United 
Typotheta?  of  America  (the  national  organization  of  the  graphic  arts 
trade)  and  is  the  strongest  branch  of  that  national  organization  of 
employing  printers.  We  feel,  therefore,  that  we  represent  to-day  the 
sentiment  of  the  American  job  printers  and  publishers  of  this  country. 

The  printing  industry  in  New  York  City  is  its  second  greatest 
industry,  and  occupies  a  high  relative  position  in  all  of  the  other 
leading  cities  of  the  United  States,  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  Boston, 
St.  Louis,  and  San  Francisco  following  in  the  order  named. 

We  would  respectfully  request  from  your  committee  the  further 
privilege  of  laying  before  you  at  a  later  hearing  such  additional 
specific  information  from  our  national  organization  and  other  local 
organizations  as  will  be  of  further  use  to  your  committee  in  reaching 
wise  and  helpful  conclusions  as  to  legislation. 

Many  members  of  our  organization  are  represented  in  the  brief 
presented  to  your  honorable  committee  by  the  National  Association 
of  Employing  Lithographers.  Our  membership  beg  to  indorse  in 
detail  the  representations  placed  before  you  by  that  organization. 

Our  membership  also  includes  the  largest  manufacturers  of  post 
cards  in  the  United  States. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

ISAAC  H.  BLANCHARD, 
Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee 

TypothetcB  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

ROBERT   SCIIALKENBACH, 
President  Typothetce  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

TARIFF    SCHEDULES    IN    FORCE    AT    THE    PRESENT    TIME    AFFECTING    THE 

PRINTING    INDUSTRY. 

Tariff  on  manufactures  of  paper. 

403.  Books  of  all  kinds,  including  blank  books  and  pamphlets, 
and  engravings  bound  or  unbound,  photographs,  etchings,  maps, 
charts,  music  in  books  or  sheets,  and  printed  matter,  all  the  fore- 
going not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  twenty-five  per  centum 
ad  valorem. 

Free  list. 

500.  Books,  engravings,  photographs,  etchings  bound  or  unbound, 
maps  and  charts  imported  by  authority  or  for  the  use  of  the  United 
States  or  for  the  use  of  the  Library  of  Congress. 

501.  Books,  maps,  music,  engravings,  photographs,  etchings  bound 
or  unbound,  and  charts,  which  shall  have  been  printed  more  than 
twenty  years  at  the  date  of  importation,  and  all  hydrographic  charts, 
and  publications  issued  for  their  subscribers  or  exchanges  by  scientific 
and  literary  associations  or  academies,  or  publications  of  individuals 
for  gratuitous  private  circulation,  and  public  documents  issued  by 
foreign  governments. 

502.  Books  and  pamphlets  printed  exclusively  in  languages  other 
than  English ;  also  books  and  music,  in  raised  print,  used  exclusively 
by  the  blind. 

503.  Books,    maps,    music,    photographs,    etchings,    lithographic 
prints,  and  charts,  specially  imported,  not  more  than  two  copies  in 
any  one  invoice,  in  good  faith,  for  the  use  or  by  order  of  any  society 


BOOKS ISAAC   H.   BLANCHARD   ET   AL.  6293 

or  institution  incorporated  or  established  solely  for  religious,  philo- 
sophical, educational,  scientific,  or  literary  purposes,  or  for  the  en- 
couragement of  the  fine  arts,  or  for  the  use  or  by  order  of  any  college, 
academy,  school,  or  seminary  of  learning  in  the  United  States,  or  any 
state  or  public  library,  and  not  for  sale,  subject  to  such  regulations 
as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  prescribe. 

PROPOSED  TARIFF  ON  MANUFACTURE  OF  PAPER. 

Substitute  for  section  403. 

Books  of  all  kinds,  including  blank  books  and  pamphlets,  and  en- 
gravings bound  or  unbound,  photographs,  etchings,  maps,  charts, 
music  in  books  or  sheets,  and  printed  matter,  all  the  foregoing  not 
specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  seventy-five  per  centum  ad 
valorem. 

Substitute  for  section  500. 

Books,  engravings,  photographs,  etchings  bound  or  unbound,  maps, 
and  charts  imported  for  the  use  of  the  Library  of  Congress. 

Substitute  for  section  501. 

All  hydrographic  charts  and  publications  issued  for  their  sub- 
scribers or  exchanges  by  scientific  and  literary  associations  or  acade* 
mies,  and  public  documents  issued  by  foreign  governments. 

Substitute  for  section  602. 

Books  and  music  in  raised  print  used  exclusively  by  the  blind. 
Cancel  section  503. 

Volume  of  job-printing  industry  in  the  United  States. 

From  page  21  of  Bulletin  79,  Census  of  Manufactures  for  the  year 
1907:  Book  and  job  printing,  1880,  $90,979,341;  book  and  job  print- 
ing, 1890,  $95,592,765;  book  and  job  printing,  1900,  $124,070,861; 
book  and  job  printing,  1905,  $186,759,503. 

Volume  of  imports  in  job-printing  industry. 

Books,  maps,  engravings,  music,  photographs,  etc.,  which  have 
been  printed  more  than  twenty  years  at  date  of  importation,  and  all 
hydrographic  charts  and  publications  issued  for  their  subscribers  or 
exchanges  by  scientific  or  literary  associations,  or  academies,  or  publi- 
cations of  individuals  for  gratuitous  private  circulation,  and  public 
documents  issued  by  foreign  governments  (free  of  duty) — 1900, 
$621.623.38;  1905,  $953,797.81;  1907,  $1,238,877.50. 

Books  and  pamphlets  printed  exclusively  in  languages  other  than 
English  (free  of  duty)— 1900,  $789,849.05;  1905,  $1,088,957.15;  1907, 
$1,459,134.89. 

Books  and  music  in  raised  print,  used  by  blind  (free) — 1900,  $512; 
1905,  $595;  1907,  $567. 

(Act  of  1907.)  Books,  maps,  music,  photographs,  etchings,  litho- 
graphic prints  and  charts  specially  imported,  not  more  than  two 


6294 


SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 


copies  in  any  one  invoice,  in  good  faith,  for  the  use  of  any  society  or 
institution  incorporated  or  established  for  educational,  philosophical, 
scientific,  literary,  or  religious  purposes,  or  for  the  encouragement  of 
the  fine  arts,  or  for  the  use  or  by  the  order  of  any  college,  academy, 
school,  seminary  of  learning  in  the  United  States  or  any  state  or 
public  library  and  not  for  sale  (free)— 1900,  $191,528.50;  1905, 
$205,871.84;  1907,  $302,349.41. 

Books;  pamphlets,  bound  or  unbound;  maps,  charts,  music  in 
books  or  sheets,  and  all  printed  matter  not  specially  provided  for. 
Rate  of  duty,  25  per  cent— 1900,  $1,327,727.14;  1905,  $1,753,864.75; 
1907,  $2,770,061.67. 

Engravings,  bound  or  unbound ;  etchings  and  photographs.  Duty 
25  per  cent— 1900,  $210,852.91;  1905,  $213,022.17  ($1,318);  1907, 
$273,317.33. 

Weekly  wages  comparison  in  printing  trades  expressed  in  United  States  currency. 


Germany. 

Great 
Britain. 

United 
States. 

Hand  compositors,  machine  tender                       

$6.00 

$8.40 

$'1  00 

Machine  compositors            -          _                 

8.95 

10.08 

23  00 

Pressfeeders    

3.00  to  4.00 

5.50 

16.00 

Pressmen.       

5.00  to  8.00 

14.00 

24.00  to  30.  00 

NOTE. — These  figures  for  Germany  are  averages  from  33  cities  in  1905  plus  a  10  per 
cent  increase  to  provide  for  the  wage  increases  granted  during  the  year  1007,  the  records 
being  compiled  from  United  States  census  reports.  These  figures  for  Great  Britain  are 
approximately  fro'm  reports  in  the  files  of  the  American  Tariff  League  of  New  York. 
These  figures  for  the,  T'nited  States  are  the  scales  of  wages  paid  in  New  York  City,  and 
are  representative  of  "the  wage  scales  throughout  the  entire  United  States. 

In  the  illustrations  which  we  herewith  submit  as  concrete  methods 
of  showing  present  conditions  and  conditions  which  are  desired,  a  few 
points  should  be  borne  in  mind. 

First.  In  all  printing  inventories  the  labor  item  fluctuates  from  30 
per  cent  to  80  per  cent  of  the  entire  inventory  value,  depending  on  the 
number  of  copies  in  an  edition. 

Second.  As  shown  in  the  tables,  wages  in  Germany  are  from  20 
per  cent  to  30  per  cent  of  the  American  wages,  while  wages  in  Great 
Britain  are  from  50  per  cent  to  70  per  cent  of  American  wages.  In  our 
illustrations  we  base  our  estimates  on  wages  at  33^  per  cent  of 
American  wages. 

Third.  In  our  estimate  we  have  based  the  values  of  merchandise 
used  at  the  same  figures  in  the  United  States  as  abrond,  although  in 
reality  these  values  throughout  Europe  are  considerably  less  than  in 
the  United  States. 

Fourth.  In  making  allowance  for  cost  of  transportation,  insurance, 
and  interest  on  the  capital  invested  during  transit,  we  have  allowed 
but  2i  per  cent  on  the  inventory  value,  which  experience  demon- 
strates to  be  a  low  estimate. 

Illustration  No.  1. 

On  an  inventory  of  $1.000,  where  the  labor  value  is  75  per  cent  of 
the  total,  the  fold-down  value  of  this  inventory  is: 

Original    inventory $1,  000 

LT)  per  cent  duty 250 

Iiiterest  and  transportation  charges 25 

Total  present  laid-down  value 1, 275 


BOOKS ISAAC   H.    BLANCHAKD   BT   AL.  6295 

If  produced  in  the  United  States  at  wages  three  times  as  great  as 
covered  by  the  inventory  on  an  inventory  consisting  of  75  per  cent 
labor  and  25  per  cent  merchandise  stock,  the  laid-down  value  of  the 
$1,000  inventory  is: 

Merchandise  stock $250 

Labor 2,  250 


Total  present  laid-down  value,  American  manufacture 2,  500 

If  a  tariff  of  75  per  cent,  as  proposed,  prevailed,  the  conditions 
would  be  as  follows: 

Original   inventory $1, 000 

75  per  cent  duty 750 

Interest  and  transportation  charges 25 


Total  proposed  laid-down  value  of  $1,000  inventory 1,  775 

Illustration  No.  2. 

On  an  inventory  of  $1,000,  where  the  labor  value  is  50  per  cent  of 
the  total,  the  laid-down  value  of  $1,000  inventory  is  $1,275. 

If  produced  in  the  United  States,  at  wages  three  times  as  great  as 
covered  by  the  inventory  value,  consisting  of  50  per  cent  labor  and 
50  per  cent  merchandise  stock,  the  laid-down  value  of  the  $1,000 
inventory  is: 

Merchandise   stock $500 

Labor 1,  500 

Total  present  lai<J-down  value,  American  manufacture 2,  000 

If  a  tariff  of  75  per  cent  prevailed,  the  total  laid-down  value  of 
the  $1,000  inventory  would  be  $1,775. 

Illustration  No.  3. 

On  an  inventory  of  $1,000,  where  the  labor  value  is  25  per  cent  of 
the  total,  the  laid-down  value  of  $1,000  inventory  is  $1,275. 

If  produced  in  the  United  States  at  wages' three  times  as  great  as 
covered  by  the  inventory,  value  on  an  inventory  consisting  of  25  per 
cent  labor  and  75  per  cent  merchandise  stock,  the  laid-down  value  of 
the  $1,000  inventory  is: 

Merchandise  stock $750 

Labor  _.  750 


Total  present  laid-down  value,  American  manufacture 1,  500 

If  a  tariff  of  75  per  cent  prevailed,  the  total  present  laid-down 
value  on  this  inventory  would  be  $1,775. 

Conclusion. 

From  the  above  tables  it  is  apparent  that  with  a  tariff  of  75  per 
cent  the  merchandise  stock  values  of  the  average  inventory  would 
have  to  be  in  excess  of  one-half  of  the  total  inventory  before  the 
American  manufacturer  would  be  able  to  deliver  the  goods  at  a  price 
equal  to  the  price  quoted  by  the  foreign  manufacturer. 

75941— H.  Doc.  150.",.  tio-2— Vol  6 34 


6296  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

WILLIAM  PARKER  CUTTER,  REPRESENTING  THE  BOOK-BUYING 
COMMITTEE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION,  ASKS 
THAT  THERE  BE  NO  CHANGE  IN  BOOK  SCHEDULES. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  want  to  submit  something  now,  or  to  com- 
plete what  has  been  said  ? 

Mr.  CUTTER.  I  want  to  be  heard  in  opposition  to  any  change  in  the 
free  list  of  books,  in  behalf  of  libraries. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Have  you  a  printed  brief? 

Mr.  CUTTER.  No,  sir;  but  I  have  some  remarks  in  notes  here. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  A  written  or  a  printed  brief? 

Mr.  CUTTER.  I  have  a  written  brief.  I  will  be  very  glad  to  sub- 
mit this  in  written  form  and  to  read  only  one  or  two  extracts  from  it, 
with  your  permission. 

There  are  two  reasons  why  I  wish,  on  behalf  of  the  libraries  of  this 
country,  to  protest  against  any  curtailment  of  the  privilege  of  im- 
portation free  of  duty  books  for  public  libraries.  The  first  is  that 
such  action  as  I  suggest  is  for  the  good  of  the  whole  people  of  the 
United  States.  The  institutions  to  be  benefited  are  such  as  have  been 
established  solely  for  the  intellectual  uplifting  of  our  race.  They 
are  not  institutions  conducted  for  profit,  but  on  the  contrary  they  are 
often  hampered  for  funds,  and  their  usefulness  is  impaired  by  a  lack 
of  financial  resources. 

The  other  -point  is  in  regard  to  protection  for  the  American  printer, 
which  I  believais  the  basis  of  the  argument  of  the  printer  for  remov- 
ing that  privilege  from  the  free  list.  I  have  brought  some  figures 
here  from  my  own  library,  from  my  own  experience,  in  which  I 
have  attempted  to  estimate  the  amount  of  protection  that  would  be 
accorded  to  the  American  printer  by  the  putting  books  that  we  im- 
port free  on  the  dutiable  list.  During  the  last  fiscal  year  the  total 
importations  were  about  six  and  one-half  millions  of  dollars,  or  about 
2.7  per  cent  of  the  total  books  in  the  country  produced  or  imported. 
The  duties  from  importations  were  about  1.4  per  cent  of  the  total. 
The  wages  paid  for  the  production  of  the  articles  were  $49,000,000, 
or  about  20  per  cent  of  the  value  of  the  finished,  manufactured,  or 
printed  article.  The  wage  cost  of  the  imported  article  if  printed  in 
the  United  States,  therefore,  would  on  this  basis  be  20  per  cent  of 
the  cost  of  the  manufacture,  which  is  about  25  per  cent  of  the  pub- 
lisher's wholesale  price,  or  would  be  5  per  cent  of  the  importation 
value.  That  is  the  wage  value  of  the  books  that  we  buy.  On  the 
duty-free  importations  it  would  be  $168,759,  whereas  the  -duty,  if 
paid,  would  be  $843,795.  In  other  words,  our  friends,  the  printers, 
are  asking  the  public  institutions  of  this  country  to  tax  themselves 
$25  for  every  $5  of  protection. 

As  I  have  already  pointed  out  to  you,  public  libraries  are  importing 
only  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  of  books  currently  printed, 
from  all  sources,  per  annum,  and  of  these  only  $100,000  worth,  those 
printed  in  English,  would  probably  be  printed  in  this  country.  I  took 
my  bills  for  the  last  four  years  and  checked  off  those  which  by  any 


BOOKS WILLIAM   PAEKEB   CUTTER.  6297 

possibility  would  be  ever  printed  in  this  country  commercially. 
These  would  cost  the  manufacturer  $20,000,  and  the  wage-earner's 
share  would  be  $5,000.  I  submit  it  is  not  right  to  ask  this  committee 
to  change  that  item  in  the  free  list  so  that  188,000  printers  could  get 
$5,000. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Do  you  know  of  anyone  advocating  the  imposi- 
tion of  a  duty  on  foreign  books  imported  for  public  libraries? 

Mr.  CUTTER.  I  understood  from  the  newspaper  reports  that  such  a 
thing  would  be  advocated  before  the  committee.  (See  p.  1062,  where 
New  York  Typothetae  advocate  this.) 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  paragraph  is  that? 

Mr.  CUTTER.  503. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  contention  is  simply  with  reference  to  rebound 
books,  is  it  not? 

Mr.  CUTTER.  No,  sir;  but  I  can  speak  of  that  subject  also. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  complaint -is  made  that  the  public  libraries 
are  taking  advantage  of  this  paragraph  to  have  books  rebound  in 
Europe  and  brought  in  here  in  order  to  save  the  expense  on  binding? 

Mr.  CUTTER.  No,  sir;  I  am  doing  that  myself.  That  is  not  the 
reason.  We  can  not  get  the  work  doneun  this  country  as  well.  We 
have  tried. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  But  that  is  the  complaint,  and  that  is  what  you 
are  contending  against? 

Mr.  CUTTER.  Yes,  sir ;  I  am  contending  against  that  complaint  sim- 
ply because  we  have  tried,  gentlemen,  to  get  that  work  done,  and  can 
not  have  it  done  as  well  here. 

Mr.  GAINES.  That  work  is  what? 

Mr.  CUTTER.  Rebinding  books,  so  that  they  can  be  circulated  from 
100  to  150  times.  We  have  not  been  able  to  have  it  done  satisfactorily 
here. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  peculiar  character  of  binding  is  that  which  can 
not  be  done  in  this  country? 

Mr.  CUTTER.  We  can  not  make  the  binders  understand  what  we 
want.  It  is  a  different  kind  of  binding.  A  man  has  a  method  of 
sewing  which  is  not  used  by  anyone  else  in  this  country. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  What  would  be  the  effect  of  admitting  free  all  books 
of  foreign  authors  printed  abroad,  and  in  ordinary  binding? 

Mr.  CUTTER.  It  would  be  the  best  thing,  sir,  I  think,  for  the  people 
of  this  country,  speaking  from  the  intellectual  standpoint,  that  could 
be.  It  would  make  books  very  much  cheaper. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Have  you  figured  out  that  it  would  be  a  great  loss 
to  anybody? 

Mr.  CUTTER.  I  do  think  it  would. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Would  it  not  affect  the  interests  of  printers  in 
this  country? 

Mr.  CUTTER.  Yes,  sir;  I  do  think  it  would.  It  would  much  more 
seriously  affect  publishers,  who  are  only  middlemen  selling  manu- 
factured articles. 


6298  SCHEDULE    M PTJLP,    PAPERS,    AND   BOOKS. 

WILLIAM  PARKER  CUTTER,  REPRESENTING  AMERICAN  LI- 
BRARY ASSOCIATION,  ASKS  THAT  THERE  BE  NO  CURTAILMENT 
OF  DUTY-FREE  IMPORTATIONS  OF  BOOKS. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  81,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  I  appear  before 
you  as  the  representative  of  the  American  Library  Association,  an 
organization  having  2,000  members,  and  the  only  organization  which 
'  can  speak  for  the  libraries  of  this  country.  I  may  say,  therefore, 
that  I  am  here  to  speak  for  6,000  libraries,  containing  60.000,000 
volumes,  adding  yearly  3,000.000  volumes,  and  expending  yearly 
$10°,000,000.  Through  these  libraries,  I  may  fairly  claim  to  repre- 
sent a  majority  of  the  reading  public  in  the  United  States. 

I  am  here  to  protest  against  any  curtailment  of  the  privilege  of 
duty-free  importation  which  these  institutions  have  enjoyed  for  so 
many  years.  I  am  here  to  advocate  the  inclusion  in  any  bill  you 
may  recommend  of  a  clause  or  paragraph  similar  to  that  in  the 
existing  law,  allowing  of  duty-free  importation  of  printed  matter 
for  the  use  of  such  libraries,  educational  institutions,  and  societies, 
and  would  suggest,  if  any  amendment  is  made  of  existing  law,  such 
amendment  should  be  in  the  line  of  extending  the  privilege  rather 
than  of  curtailing  it. 

There  are  two  reasons  why  I  urge  your  committee  to  this  action. 
The  first  is  fundamental.  It  is  because  such  action  as  I  suggest  is 
for  the  good  of  the  whole  people  of  the  United  States;  the  institu- 
tions to  be  benefited  are  such  as  have  been  established  solely  for  the 
intellectual  uplifting  of  our  race;  they  are  not  institutions  conducted 
for  commercial  profit,  but,  on  the  contrary,  are  often  hampered  for 
funds  and  their  usefulness  impaired  by  lack  of  financial  resources. 
Any  help  that  can  be  given  to  them  by  this  Government  is  helping 
the  education  of  the  citizen,  on  whose  intelligence  our  prosperity  as 
a  nation  and  a  republic  must  depend. 

And,  statements  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  the  loss  of  revenue 
to  the  Government  is  slight  compared  with  the  benefit  conferred.  The 
total  imports  of  books  and  other  printed  matter  into  the  ports  of  the 
United  States  during  the  fiscal  year  ended  Julv  30  was  valued  at 
$6,541,309,  and  of  this  material,  $3,379.182  was  imported  free  of  duty. 
The  material  allowed  free  entry  Is  of  three  classes.  First,  books 
wholly  in  foreign  languages;  second,  books  in  English  which  have 
been  printed  twenty  years;  third,  books  imported  for  the  use  of  the 
United  States,  the  Library  of  Congress,  and  for  use  by  libraries,  edu- 
cational institutions,  and  societies  of  a  literary  and  scientific  char- 
acter. It  is  my  opinion  that  the  importation  of  books  in  foreign 
languages  and  of  books  printed  previous  to  1888  make  up  90  per  cent 
of  the  total  of  duty-free  importations.  I  may  be  wrong,  but  that  is 
my  impression  after  fifteen  years'  experience.  I  can  confidently  say 
that  the  total  importation  of  new  books  in  English  by  libraries  does 
not  exceed  a  quarter  million  dollars  per  year.  On  these,  the  duty 
would  amount  to  about  $62,500.. 


BOOKS — WILLIAM   PARKER   CUTTER.  0299 

Now,  as  to  the  protection  for  the  American  workman,  for  we  all 
want  to  protect  him,  if  we  do  no  great  wrong  to  other  interests. 

Of  the  total  imports  of  books  during  the  past  fiscal  year,  $3,379,182 
were  admitted  free  of  duty.  Under  the  existing  law,  three  classes  of 
books  may  be  imported  duty  free:  Books  in  foreign  languages,  books 
which  have  been  printed  twenty  year.-,  books  for  libraries  and  edu- 
cational institutions.  Neither  of  the  first  two  classes  would  naturally 
be  printed  to  any  great  extent  by  American  workmen,  and  there 
would,  from  the  protective  standpoint,  be  no  reason  for  putting  a 
duty  on  them.  Or  books  printed  in  the  English  language  since  1888, 
libraries  and  public  institutions  are  the  sole  duty-free  importers.  I 
do  not  believe,  after  fifteen  years'  experience,  that  of  these  over  a 
Quarter  of  million  dollars'  worth  are  imported  every  year.  Of  these, 
from  their  very  nature,  few  would  be  reprinted  in  this  country.  I  do 
not  believe  that  $100,000  worth  would  be  so  reprinted.  The  cost  of 
manufacturing  a  book  is  about  20  per  cent  of  its  net  selling  price, 
and  the  cost  of  the  labor  involved  is  little  more  than  5  per  cent. 

According  to  the  census  of  1905  (Bulletin  79,  published  in  1907), 
the  total  product  of  the  book  and  job  printing  establishments  in  this 
country  was  $233,230,842.  The  total  importations  were  $0,451,309. 
or  2.76  per  cent  of  the  total  books  in  the  country.  The  duty-free 
importations  were  about  1.4  per  cent  of  the  total.  The  wages  paid 
for  the  production  of  these  articles  in  the  United  States  were 
$49,061,030,  or  about  20  per  cent  of  the  value  of  the  printed  arti- 
cle. The  wage  cost  of  the  imported  article,  if  printed  in  the  United 
States,  therefore,  would  on  this  basis  be  20  per  cent  of  the  cost  of 
the  manufacture,  which  is  about  25  per  cent  of  the  publisher's  whole- 
sale price,  or  would  be  5  per  cent  of  the  importation  value.  On 
the  duty-free  importations  it  would  be  $168,759,  whereas  the  duty, 
if  paid,  would  be  $843,795.  In  other  words,  our  friends  the  printers 
are  asking  the  public  institutions  of  this  country  to  tax  themselves 
$25  for  every  $5  of  protection.  As  I  have  already  pointed  out 
to  you,  public  libraries  are  importing  only  about  a  quarter  of  a 
million  dollars  of  English  books  currently  printed,  and  of  these  only 
$100.000  worth  would  probably  be  printed  in  this  country.  These 
would  cost  to  manufacture  $25,000,  and  the  wage-earners'  share  of 
this  would  be  $5.000.  It  is  to  afford  this  protection  that  you  are 
asked  to  tax  the  educational  institutions  of  this  country. 

Who  gets  the  protection  if  the  printer,  binder,  and  color  printer 
does  not?  Let  me  point  out  that  the  duty  of  25  per  cent  is  greater 
than  the  cost  of  manufacture  of  the  book  in  this  country.  It  is  over 
100  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  manufacture.  Who  is  protected?  As 
usual,  the  middleman.  The  publisher  pays  only  2  or  3  per  cent  of  his 
selling  price  in  greater  wages  for  American  workmen,  and  wishes  to 
pocket  the  other  20  or  more  per  cent  himself. 

As  I  have  above  stated,  the  duty  that  would  be  levied  on  new 
English  books  imported  by  libraries  would  amount,  on  those  books 
that  would  be  reprinted  in  this  country,  to  $25,000.  Were  this  the 
only  result  of  abolishing  the  privilege  of  free  entry,  I  should  be  less 
insistent  on  having  that  privilege  retained.  But  it  is  the  smallest 
part  of  the  result. 

The  true  inwardness  of  the  arguments  for  doing  away  with  free 
importation  lies  in  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  a  few  firms  in  New 
York  City  to  gain  for  themselves  an  absolute  control  of  the  price  at 


6300  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPEES,   AND   BOOKS. 

which  a  book  may  be  sold  or  imported.  I  hesitate  to  use  your  time 
to  explain  a  history  of  this  attempt,  but  it  is  necessary  to  understand 
the  real  reason  back  of  the  attack  on  free  importation. 

I  shall  therefore  read  you  certain  documents  which  are  pertinent. 
I  am  quoting  from  a  decision  of  Justice  Dowlin  of  the  supreme  court 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  rendered  November  19,  1907,  in  the  case 
of  Isidor  Straus,  and  another  against  American  Publishers'  Associa- 
tion and  others.  I  am  reading  the  findings  of  the  law. 

1.  That  the  agreements  and  resolutions  of  the  two  associations  (The  Ameri- 
can Publishers'  Association  and  The  American  Booksellers'  Association)   and 
their  respective  members  were  intended  to  and  did  prevent  competition  in  the 
supply  of  books,  copyrighted  and  uncopyrighted,  from  the  1st  day  of  May,  1901, 
to  and  including  the  1st  day  of  April,  1004. 

2.  That  such  agreements  and  resolutions  were  unlawful  and  contrary  to  the 
laws  of  1890,  chapter  GOO,  so  far  as  they  related  to  uucopyrighted  books. 

3.  That  such  agreements  and  resolutions  of  the  two  associations  and  their 
respective  members,  so  far  as  they  related  to  uncopyrighted  books,  constituted 
an  unlawful  agreement,  arrangement,  and  combination  whereby  a  monopoly  in 
the  manufacture,  production,  and  sale  in  this  State  of  an  article  or  commodity 
of  common  use  was  or  may  have  been  created,  established,  and  maintained. 

The  American  Publishers'  Association  and  the  American  Book- 
sellers' Association,  controlling  over  90  per  cent  of  the  trade  in  books, 
therefore,  were  engaged  for  three  years  in  an  unlawful  combination 
to  control  the  price  of  a  commodity. 

It  will  be  noted  that  copyrighted  books  are  excepted  from  this 
decision.  But  in  this  particular  we  have  a  final  opinion.  The  case 
of  Bobbs-Merrill  versus  Straus  was  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  during  the  present  year.  It  hinged  on  the  right 
to  control  prices  of  copyright  books,  and  it  was  in  effect  decided 
that  the  copyright  laws  gave  no  such  right. 

For  two  years  the  publishers  have  sought  to  have  introduced  in  a 
new  copyright  bill  such  phraseology  as  will  confirm  them  absolutely 
in  their  control  of  prices.  They  have  sought  to  prohibit  libraries 
from  importing  foreign  editions  of  books  copyrighted  in  this  coun- 
try; they  invented  many  combinations  of  words  to  effect  this;  but 
they  have  signally  failed  to  convince  the  committees  on  patents  that 
such  action  was  wise. 

Now,  when  they  are  not  able  to  accomplish  the  result  through 
the  copyright  committee,  they  ask  you  to  enact  legislation  giving  this 
monopoly  to  them.  They  have  successively  used  the  retail  book- 
seller and  the  author  as  a  catspaw ;  now  it  is  the  printer. 

They  wish  to  make  us  pay  duty  because  we  have  been  able  to  pre- 
vent the  increase  in  the  price  of  books  by  the  competition  of  English 
editions.  Of  one  of  these  houses,  and  one  of  the  most  prominent, 
the  majority  of  the  books  they  sell  are  noncopyrighted  books,  printed 
in  England,  and  having  a  new  title-page  with  a  New  York  imprint. 
I  am  credibly  informed  that  these  books  are  imported  in  sheets  and 
the  duty  paid  only  on  the  manufactured  value  in  this  form,  i.  e.,  on 
a  book  to  be  sold  at  $2  the  invoice  value  is  only  1C  cents,  the  duty  4 
Cents,  or  only  2  per  cent  of  the  publisher's  selling  price. 

I  have  yet  to  learn  that  the  printers  or  the  author  benefit  by  any 
increase  of  price.  Indeed,  I  am  credibly  informed  that  the  chief 
publishing  houses  of  New  York  City  are  now  nonunion  shops,  and 
chat  the  publishers  with  whom  some  of  us  have  had  to  do  are  the 
most  strenuous  fighters  of  the  unions.  I  have  yet  to  learn  that  as  a 


BOOKBINDINGS DANIEL,  S.    BEASSIL.  6301 

result  of  this  system  the  retail  dealers  in  books  achieved  sudden 
wealth.  Almost  any  dealer  will  tell  you  that  there  is  little  money 
in  the  new  book  business. 

Now,  you  are  asked  to  curtail  our  privilege  of  importation,  not 
that  the  American  workman  can  get  more  work  or  more  wages,  not 
that  the  author  may  receive  greater  remuneration  for  his  work,  but 
that  a  small  group  of  publishers  in  New  York  City  may  be  able 
to  raise  the  price  of  books,  most  of  them  books  first  published  in 
England,  and  the  public  libraries  must  be  at  their  mercy. 

It  has  been  repeatedly  stated  in  the  public  press  and  in  hearings 
before  committees  of  Congress  that  duty-free  importation  of  books 
for  public  libraries  was  injected  into  the  international  copyright 
bill  of  1891  during  the  very  last  hours  of  the  session.  If  you  will 
examine  the  edition  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States 
printed  in  1878  you  will  find  this  provision  in  the  free  list  under 
section  2505.  I  hope  when  I  file  papers  with  this  committee  to  show 
that  it  was  adopted  much  earlier,  although  I  suppose  your  committee 
have  this  information  already. 

This  group  of  publishers  has  made  attempts  to  gain  the  control  of 
prices  through  suits  in  the  courts  of  the  United  States;  they  failed. 
They  tried  and  are  trying  to  convince  the  Committee  on  Patents  of 
the  Senate  and  House  that  control  should  be  given  by  prohibition  of 
importation ;  they  have  failed ;  now  they  come  to  you  with  a  proposi- 
tion to  tax  our  educational  institutions  for  their  benefit.  I  am  con- 
fident you  will  not  listen  to  them.  I  am  confident  that  you  will  sup- 
port us  in  our  contention. 


DANIEL  S.  BRASSIL,  41  ELIZABETH  STREET,  NEW  YORK  CITY, 
REPRESENTING  THE  EMPLOYING  BOOKBINDERS'  ASSOCIATION, 
ASKS  PROTECTION  FOR  BOOKBINDERS. 

SATURDAY,  November  %1,  1908. 

Mr.  BRASSTL.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  I  wish  to  inform  vou 
that  I  represent  the  Employing  Bookbinders'  Association  of  New 
York.  It  is  an  organization  that  consists  of  nearly  all  the  large 
binders  of  the  city  and  many  of  the  small  ones,  and  we  come  before 
you  to  ask  that  you  rectify  a  few  clauses  that  are,  to  our  minds,  now 
wrong;  that  is,  by  amending  sections  501,  502,  and  503,  and  either 
amending  section  403  or  making  a  new  paragraph. 

I  also  wish  to  state  that  I  do  not  conduct  an  extra  bindery.  I  am 
what  is  known  as  an  "  edition  binder,"  and  I  am  therefore  making 
this  plea  for  no  selfish  reasons,  but  for  the  protection  of  a  branch  of 
the  trade  that  is  fast  dying  out. 

Mr.  HILL.  What  paragraphs  do  you  want  amended? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Paragraph  501 ;  that  is,  the  free  list. 

Mr.  HILL.  Yes. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Five  hundred  and  two  and  503 ;  and  we  want  to  amond 
section  403  or  make  a  new  paragraph.  Some  few  years  ago  it  could 
honestly  be  said  that  the  art  of  bookbinding,  extra  binding,  was  grow- 
ing in  this  country,  and  book  collectors  knew  that  it  was  possible  to 
get  a  book  bound  as  well  here  as  it  could  be  done  in  Europe,  and  they 
were  giving  orders  to  the  American  binder  and  the  American  binder 
was  beginning  to  show  progress.  A  number  of  the  different  binders 


6302  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

apprenticed  boys  and  they  had  grown  and  were  acquiring  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  trade.  They  also  had  employed  men  who  came  from  other 
countries,  notably  England  and  Scotland  and  Germany,  and  were 
getting  the  benefit  of  their  knowledge  in  the  artistic  binding.  A  few 
months  ago,  during  the  investigation  of  the  copyright  bill,  Mr.  George 
Hayden  Putnam  came  before  the  committee  on  the  copyright  matter 
and  made  the  statement  that  it  was  necessary  for  American  publishers 
to  send  abroad  when  they  wanted  fine  bindings;  that  it  was  practically 
impossible  to  get  work  done  as  well  in  this  country  as  it  was  on  the 
other  side.  That  statement  is  not  literally  true,  but  it  is  fast  becom- 
ing so,  and  it  is/only  a  question  of  time  when  it  will  be  if  the  present 
tariff  measure  is  allowed  to  remain  as  it  is  now.  In  the  city  of  New 
York,  taking  into  calculation  all  the  towns  and  cities  that  now  com- 
prise the  greater  city,  the  population  increased  from  3,000,000  in 
1892  to  4,500,000,  estimated,  at  the  present  time,  and  during  that 
same  period  the  art  of  extra  binding  has  not  increased.  The  actual 
facts  are  that  of  8  binders  who  started  in  business  since  1900,  all 
of  them  have  made  failures,  and  two  who  were  in  business  prior  to 
1900  have  failed,  showing  that  the  art  is  fast  dying  out.  On  a  visit 
made  a  few  years  ago  by  one  of  the  binders  of  New  York  City  to 
London  he'  visited  a  bindery  conducted  by  Revere  '&  Son  and  there 
he  found  employed  24  finishers. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  you  want  added  to  paragraph  501  is  that 
books  that  have  been  printed  and  bound  more  than  twenty  years  can 
not  be  rebound  abroad  and  sent  back  into  the  United  States,  is  it  not? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  That  is  one  of  the  things  I  want. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  what  you  want  added  to  paragraph  501  ? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  they  must  have  been  printed  and  bound  more 
than  twenty  years  at  the  date  of  importation  when  used  by  public 
libraries? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Not  for  public  libraries  at  all. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  difference  does  the  age  of  the  book  make? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  What  difference  does  the  age  make? 

Mr.  CLARK.  Yes ;  to  the  man  who  wants  to  use  the  book  ? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  We  have  no  objection  to  a  book  being  brought  in 
here  that  is  twenty  years  of  age,  bound.  We  have  no  objection  to  the 
age  of  a  book. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  does  not  make  any  difference  to  the  man  who 
uses  the  book,  but  you  do  think  it  makes  a  difference  to  the  men  who 
want  to  bind  books  in  this  country  ? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  We  think  that  a  man  may  bring  books  into  this  coun- 
try fifty  or  a  hundred  years  old,  but  if  he  brings  in  those  books  and 
then  sends  them  over  to  England  or  France  and  has  them  rebound 
and  brought  back  here  free,  depriving  the  American  laborer  of  the 
work  he  should  have,  that  is  wrong. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  does  a  man  want  to  do  that  for? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  I  was  coming  to  that  a  little  later  on  in  this  dis- 
cussion. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  would  like  to  have  you  explain  that. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  I  will  get  around  to  it,  if  you  do  not  mind,  later.  I 
want  to  tell  you,  however,  that  in  the  city  of  London,  where  one  of 
the  large  binders  was  doing  considerable  work  for  American  pub- 
lishers, this  New  York  binder  found  that  he  had  24  finishers  at  work, 


BOOKBINDINGS DANIEL  S.  BRASSIL.  6303 

working  overtime  on  work  that  was  intended  for  the  American  pub- 
lic. It  is  safe  to  say  that  there  were  not  24  finishers  employed  at 
that  time  by  all  the  extra  binders  of  New  York  City. 

Mr.  HILL.  Will  you  not  kindly,  for  my  personal  benefit,  state  pre- 
cisely what  changes  you  want,  and  then  make  your  argument  later? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes;  I  will  do  anything.  I  will  do  that  gladly.  The 
amendments  I  propose  are  as  follows: 

Section  501,  by  inserting  the  words  "  and  bound  "  after  the  word 
"  printed "  making  it  read,  "  which  shall  have  been  printed  and 
bound  more  than  twenty  years  at  date  of  importation." 

Mr.  HILL.  That  is  all  right.    Now  give  me  the  next  one. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Now,  Mr.  Witness,  suppose  you  take  a  brand  new  book 
and  rip  the  binding  off  of  it,  and  then  take  a  book  that  is  more  than 
twenty  years  old  and  rip  the  binding  off,  and  suppose  the  man  that 
owned  both  books  wanted  the  same  kind  of  bindings  on  them,  what 
difference  would  it  make  about  the  age  of  the  book? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  If  those  two  books  are  bound  in  the  United  States,  we 
have  no  objection  to  it;  but  we  do  desire  that  a  man  should  not  be 
allowed  to  send  a  book  abroad  for  rebinding  and  have  it  come  in  free, 
because  the  sheets,  the  inside,  happened  to  be  20  years  old.  The  new 
book,  the  new  sheets  that  you  speak  of,  would  go  over  and  come  back 
and  pay  25  per  cent  duty.  Why  should  not  the  old? 

Mr.  CLARK.  Why  should  either  one  of  them  ? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  When  Congress  passed  this  law 

Mr.  CLARK.  Why  should  either  one  ?  It  is  a  tax  on  knowledge  and 
intelligence. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  No,  sir;  it  is  not  a  tax  on  knowledge  and  intelligence. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Let  me  ask  you  one  thing;  it  is  just  as  easy  to  ask  it 
here  as  it  is  when  you  get  further  along. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  All  these  fine  bindings  you  speak  of,  extraordinarily 
fine  bindings,  are  for  a  lot  of  fellows  that  do  not  care  a  thing  about 
the  inside  of  the  book,  but  who  want  them  simply  for  the  looks,  to  put 
them  in  their  bookcases.  A  man  that  really  uses  books  wants  simply 
a  substantial  binding  on  them,  and  what  he  wants  is  good  muslin  or 
sheep,  or  something  of  that  sort. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  But  why  should  not  that  man  who  wants  to  put  a  book 
on  his  book  shelves  and  show  it  to  his  friends  and  have  them  admire 
it  pay  for  the  binding  of  it  in  America? 

Mr.  CLARK.  He  should. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  That  is  all  I  want. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not  be  made  to 
pay  and  read  the  books,  too. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes.  If  it  is  not  taking  too  much  of  the  time  of  the 
committee,  I  would  like  to  tell  you  a  little  instance  that  shows  what 
people  with  money  will  do. 

Mr.  HILL.  Will  you  not  give  us  the  rest  of  your  suggested  amend- 
ments? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes,  sir.    I  will  give  you  all  of  them : 

Section  501,  by  inserting  the  words  "  and  bound,"  after  the  word 
"  printed,"  making  it  read,  "  which  shall  have  been  printed  and  bound 
more  than  twenty  years  at  date  of  importation. 

Amend  section  502  by  inserting,  after  the  word  "  pamphlets," 
"  bound  in  cloth  or  paper  covers." 


6304  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

Amend  section  503  by  inserting,  after  the  word  "  books,"  "  not 
bound  wholly  or  in  part  in  leather." 

Amend  section  403  by  making  a  new  paragraph  to  read  as  follows: 
"  Books  bound  wholly  or  in  part  in  leather,  not  including  blank 
books,  fifty  per  centum  ad  valorem."  And  have  this  paragraph  pre- 
cede section  403. 

Mr.  HILL.  Now  I  understand  it. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Can  I  go  on  and  tell  this  little  incident  for  the  benefit 
of  our  friend,  Congressman  Clark?  A  large  publisher  of  New 
York  called  me  up  in  my  office  and  asked  me  what  I  would  charge 
for  cutting  45  books  that  were  bound  in  leather  2^  inches  from  the 
back.  That  meant,  the  books  being  12mo.,  that  they  were  to  be  cut 
down  right  in  the  center,  and  the  books  were  bound  in  half  levant, 
and  they  were  to  be  cut  through  the  center  like  that  [indicating]. 
It  broke  my  heart  to  do  it,  and  why  the  woman  could  not  have  had 
dummies  made  instead  of  having  them  cut  in  that  way  in  order  to  go 
into  a  bookcase  I  do  not  know.  That  shows  what  people  will  do 
when  it  comes  to  art  binding,  when  they  have  the  money. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  you  mean  that  they  wanted  you  to  cut  the 
whole  book  half  in  two  ? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  I  mean  that  that  lady  asked  me  to  cut  that  book  in 
two,  2£  inches  from  the  back.  I  did  it,  no  matter  how  much  I  dis- 
liked ft.  I  cut  those  books  down  through  the  center.  There  were 
45  volumes  bound  by  Houghton,  Mittlin  &  Co.  They  were  Holmes 
and  Longfellow. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Why  did  they  not  have  the  shelves  enlarged? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  I  do  not  know.  The  shelf  was  too  narrow,  I  suppose. 
This  woman  had  some  money. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  she  needed  was  an  alienist. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes>  or  to  be  put  in  an  asylum,  one  or  the  other.  Sec- 
tion 501  admits,  free  of  duty,  bound  or  unbound,  books  that  have  been 
printed  more  than  twenty  years.  I  have  no  doubt,  and  I  believe  you 
gentlemen  will  bear  me  out,  that  when  that  law  was  made,  by  a  book 

Erinted  more  than  twenty  years  Congress  meant  the  book  printed  and 
ound,  realizing  that  to  make  a  book  it  was  necessary  to  have  the  book 
bound,  else  it  would  not  be  a  book  bound.  A  thing  is  not  a  "  book 
bound  "  unless  it  has  a  cover  on  it.  If  it  is  a  book  unbound,  it  is 
specifically  mentioned  in  the  paragraph.  A  "  book  bound,"  which 
is  also  mentioned  in  the  section,  meant  a  book  with  a  cover.  There- 
fore when  the  court,  with  all  due  respect  to  their  decision,  decided 
in  1902  that  a  book,  bound — it  did  not  make  any  difference  whether 
it  had  a  rebinding  or  not — was  intended  to  come  in  free  according 
to  the  law,  we  think  that  was  unjust.  A  book  when  coining  in  here 
twenty  years  old,  including  the  cover,  we  have  no  objection  to  at 
all.  We  do  not  object  to  having  books  come  in  in  that  way.  We 
know  they  do  come  in  in  thousands.  But  we  do  object  to  having 
publishers  send  over  their  agents  to  the  other  side,  and  having 
them  collect  sets  or  old  copies  of  books,  and  sending  them  to  Lon- 
don, or  Paris,  or  some  other  foreign  city  to  be  rebound  in  extra 
bindings  and  then  sent  to  this  country.  Why  do  we  object  to 
that?  As  I  say,  the  American  workman,  and  that  question  has  been 
thrashed  out  here  so  often,  receives  more  money  than  the  foreigner. 
Our  American  labor  scale,  for  a  finisher,  for  instance,  calls  for  $24 
a  week.  In  other  branches  they  get  $18  per  week.  We  pay  in  this 


BOOKBINDINGS — DANIEL   S.   BRASSIL.  6305 

particular  branch  from  $20  to  $30  per  week,  and  on  the  other  side 
the  men  working  at  the  same  grade  are  receiving  from  $7.50  to  $12  per 
week.  I  believe  in  making  that  statement  that  I  have  allowed  in  favor 
of  the  foreigner.  I  believe,  because  I  have  been  told,  not  having  per- 
sonal experience  in  the  matter,  that  a  manager  in  a  large  bindery  in 
London  received  $11.50,  and  that  he  was  the  only  one  being  paid  that 
salary,  whereas  I  am  allowing  that  the  foreigner  receives  $12,  a  high- 
priced  man.  This  makes  a  difference  of  little  over  twice  the  amount, 
and  as  the  American  is  able  to  do  more  work  than  the  foreigner,  we 
claim  that  there  is  actually  twice  the  difference.  A  large  majority  of 
the  books  that  are  bound  by  the  American  art  binder  are  bound  in 
imported  leathers.  For  instance,  that  book  there  is  bound  in  imported 
leather.  On  that  imported  leather  he  is  compelled  to  pay  a  duty  of 
20  per  cent.  The  papers  that  go  on  the  inside  of  that  book  he  pays  a 
duty  on  of  2i  cents  a  pound  and  15  per  cent,  and  on  some  paper  2^ 
cents  a  pound  and  35  per  cent.  On  manufactured  silk  that  also  goes 
into  the  manufacture  of  books  of  that  kind  he  pays  a  duty  of  50  per 
cent. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  On  the  manufactured  silk,  under  section  391. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Suppose  this  committee  and  Congress  should  take  a 
notion  to  cut  down  all  this  tariff  one-half,  would  you  still  want  this 
raise? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes,  sir.  That  is  unkind  of  me,  is  it  not?  You 
say  cut  it  down  one-half? 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  was  just  putting  a  hypothetical  case.  I  do  not  think 
it  is  going  to  happen. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  I  think  when  I  finish  you  will  agree  with  me  in  what 
I  am  going  to  say.  All  these  items  go  into  the  manufacture  of  an 
extra-bound  book.  The  American  is  obliged  to  pay  duty  on  these 
articles,  whereas  if  a  book  has  been  bound  by  a  foreigner  on  the  other 
side  and  it  comes  to  this  port,  it  is  allowed  to  enter  this  country  with- 
out paying  duty.  The  American  workman  is  being  taxed  for  the 
material  that  goes  into  the  manufacture  of  the  book.  The  book 
comes  to  our  door,  and  it  is  allowed  to  come  in  free.  We  maintain 
that  that  is  not  Bright;  that  is  not  fair  to  the  American  workman. 
We  maintain  that  that  is  an  injustice  to  .the  American  workman; 
that  on  account  of  his  being  an  American  he  is  being  taxed.  The 
foreigner  sends  the  book  in  free.  We  request,  therefore,  thnt  you 
amend  that  section  to  put  the  American  in  a  position  where  he  can 
be  able  to  compete  with  the  foreigner,  not  only  by  removing  the  duty 
that  is  on  this  material,  because  that  w.ould  not  be  sufficient,  as  the 
wages  are  double  in  America  what  they  are  on  the  other  side 

Mr.  GAINES.  A  former  witness  here  indicated  that  it  was  not  a 
question  of  price,  but  said  that  he  could  not  get  the  American  book- 
binder to  understand  what  he  meant.  How  about  that? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  I,  unfortunately,  was  not  present;  but  I  rend  Mr. 
George  Hayden  Putnam's  testimony  on  the  copyright  bill,  and  while 
his  intimation  is  that  it  is  necessary  to  send  abroad  for  fine  bindings. 
there  is  a  sample  done  by  a  New  York  binder  which  you  can  look  at 
for  yourselves. 

(Mr.  Brassil  here  exhibited  the  book  referred  to  to  the  committee.) 

Ordinarily  at  book  sales  a  few  years  ago  we  would  find  adver- 
tised the  name  of  Macdonald,  or  some  other  binder,  as  having  bound 


6306  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

a  particular  book  that  was  for  sale  at  the  book  sale  that  was  to  take 
place.  I  personally  have  seen  books  three  copies  of  which  cost  a 
thousand  dollars  each  for  binding — copies  of  Evangeline.  The  set 
of  130  volumes  of  Dickens  that  was  purchased  by  J.  Pierpont  Mor- 
gan for  $130,000  was  bound  by  an  American.  So  that  it  is  not  a 
question  of  the  American  being  able  to  do  the  work  to-day.  I  say 
we  have  some  men  here  who  are  teachers  to-day.  But  if  we  con- 
tinue to  allow  books  to  come  in  free,  the  workmen  are  being  lost  and 
we  are  going  to  continue  to  lose  them.  They  are  seeking  employment 
in  other  lines.  I  was  talking  a  short  time  ago  with  a  representative 
of  the  union.  He  informed  me  that  during  the  past  year  his  average 
wage  was  $10  per  week.  I  talked  with  an  employer,  an  exceptional 
art  binder,  and  he  told  me  that  that  man  was  one  of  the  best  men  in 
his  line,  that  he  was  an  honest,  competent  workman,  and  he  averaged 
$10  per  week.  I  also  learned  that  since  1900  one-half  of  the  binders, 
the  men  who  actually  perform  the  fine  work,  have  been  dropped  from 
the  union.  They  have  sought  employment  along  other  lines.  The 
statement  that  I  have  made,  that  of  eight  men  who  started  in  busi- 
ness since  1900  all  of  them  made  failures,  shows  that.  Two  men  in 
business  prior  to  that  time  have  made  failures.  That  is  additional 
proof  that  the  art  is  dying  out.  Why  do  we  need  protection  ?  You 
charge  all  these  men  higher  prices,  on  account  of  the  tariff,  for  what 
they  use.  This  country  is  recognized  as  a  protectionist  country,  and 
the  present  tariff  law  was  promulgated  principally  for  the  protection 
of  the  American  workmen,  and  why,  then,  should  you  put  in  theso 
clauses  prohibiting  men  from  getting  employment  when  you  compel 
them  to  pay  protection  prices  on  the  necessities  of  life  ?  You  should 
not  do  that.  You  should  not  put  on  the  free  list  sufficient  in  books 
alone  to  amount  to  $3,000,000  a  year.  You  tax  these  men  who  work, 
who  are  going  out  and  trying  to  support  their  families,  on  every- 
thing they  use.  How  can  they  pay  these  taxes,  and  still  you  put  on 
this  vast  amount  on  the  free  list  ? 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  this  additional  tariff  was  put  on,  would  the  owners 
of  these  bookbinderies  be  willing  to  give  all  the  tariff  to  increase  the 
wages  of  the  laborers? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  You  have  been  asked  so  often  to  repeat  questions 
that  I  do  not  like  to  ask  you. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  there  is  an  additional  tariff  levied,  would  these 
proprietors  of  the  bookbinderies  be  willing  to  give  the  entire  in- 
crease of  the  tariff  to  the  laborers  as  wages? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  The  increase? 

Mr.  CLARK.  Yes. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  The  employees  are  already  being  paid  100  per  cent 
more  than  that  received  by  the  foreigner  in  the  same  class,  and  as  we 
are  asking  but  50  per  cent,  the  laborer  is  and  has  been  receiving  the 
full  increase  for  which  we  ask,  and  it  is  because  of  this  that  we  are 
unable  to  compete  with  the  foreigner.  If  it  were  not  for  the  fact 
that  we  are  paying  more  than  double  the  wages  we  would  not  be 
obliged  to  ask  that  you  make  a  new  paragraph  which  will  protect  us 
on  books  that  will  not  be  allowed  to  come  in  free  under  section  501 
if  you  amend  the  present  section  by  inserting  the  words  "  and  bound  n 
after  the  word  "  printed ;"  not  under  section  502,  by  inserting  "  bound 
in  cloth  or  paper  covers"  after  the  word  "pamphlets;"  nor  under 


BOOKBINDINGS DANIEL,  S.    BEASSIL.  6307 

section  503,  by  inserting  the  words  "  not  bound  wholly  or  in  part  in 
leather,"  after  the  word  "  books." 

Mr.  CLARK.  This  tariff,  you  say,  is  for  the  benefit  of  the  laborer. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  We  are  not  willing  to  give  the  entire  increase  of  the 
tariff. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  it  is  a  question  of  wages,  why  is  not  the  laborer 
entitled  to  the  entire  increase  in  the  tariff? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Because  to-day,  if  the  binder  was  to  give  all  the 
increased  tariff  to  the  laborer,  he  would  be  conducting  his  business  at 
a  loss,  the  same  as  he  would  be  to-day  if  he  was  binding  at  the  present 
prices.  We  must  divide.  We  will  give  some  of  the  benefit  that  is 
derived  from  the  increase  in  the  way  of  giving  wages  to  the  men. 
A  man  that  is  earning  $10  a  week,  it  would  put  his  wages  up  to 
$20.  We  would  give  him  work  so  that  he  could  earn  $20  and  $27 
instead  of  $10. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Why  did  he  only  earn  $10  a  week? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Because  he  did  not  have  the  work  to  perform.  He 
would  earn  from  $20  to  $27  if  he  had  the  work. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  do  not  know  what  your  theory  is,  but  your  statement 
is  that  the  reason  you  want  this  done  is  to  increase  the  wages  of 
American  laborers.  If  that  is  the  reason  for  the  increase  in  the 
tariff,  the  laborer  ought  to  get  the  whole  of  the  tariff  and  it  ought 
not  to  go  to  the  proprietor  of  the  establishment  at  all. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  You  have  put  that  in  such  a  way  that  it  would  be 
misleading  if  I  were  to  make  a  statement  and  answer  yes  or  no;  but 
in  giving  an  explanation  I  can  answer  correctly  so  that  it  would  not 
be  misunderstood.  I  will  not  give  all  of  the  increase  to  the  men 
who  work.  The  increase  would  enable  me  to  give  the  men  better  pay 
than  they  are  getting  to-day,  inasmuch  as  inster.d  of  loafing  part  of 
their  time  they  would  have  steady  work. 

Mr.  CLARK.  It  would  not  cost  you  anything,  though,  would  it? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Wait  a  while,  now.  I  must  conduct  my  business.  A 
portion  of  that  must  go  to  the  expense  of  conducting  that  business. 
If  I  perform  a  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  work  it  costs  me  a  certain 
percentage,  and  if  I  perform  ten  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  work  it 
costs  me  practically  ten  times  as  much  as  for  one  thousand  dollars' 
worth.  Therefore  a  portion  would  go  to  the  operating  of  the  busi- 
ness and  a  portion  to  the  wages,  and  a  portion  of  it  would  go  to  the 
employer. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Then  you  would  have  your  investment  in  the  ma- 
chinery. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  There  is  not  much  investment  in  the  way  of  ma- 
chinery. I  fancy  that  to-day  very  few  art  binders  have  $5,000  in- 
vested in  their  plants.  The  principal  thing  is  the  tools,  the  fine  hand 
tools. 

Mr.  HILL.  You  are  entitled  to  an  increase  as  much  as  the  man  who 
works  for  you,  are  you  not  ? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  I  do  not  know  how  that  is.  If  I  am  conducting  a 
business ;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  This  purchase  you  speak  of  by  Mr.  Morgan,  was  the 
value  of  that  purchase  in  the  binding? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  What  was  it  in  ? 


6308  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  The  value  of  that  was  in  the  illustrations,  the  illumi- 
nating and  the  binding.  The  binding  probably  cost  $150  per  volume. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Per  volume? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  That  was  done  in  the  United  States? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes,  sir ;  in  New  York. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Are  these  covers,  such  as  this  upon  this  book  you  have 
shown  us,  special  designs,  or  are  those  designs  conventionalized  ? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  That  is  a  special  design.  At  the  suggestion  of  Mr. 
Little  I  am  going  to  say  to  you  what  I  was  going  to  say  later  on. 
Under  section  403  I  was  going  to  bring  up  the  question  as  to  why  I 
would  want  an  increase  on  the  duty.  There  was  one  man  who  spent 
on  the  elaborating  of  that  binding  nine  days.  He  received  $27  per 
week.  That  is  practically  $40  that  was  paid  for  the  actual  labor  on 
that  cover. 

As  I  say,  on  this  book  that  man  spent  that  much  time — nine  days — 
for  which  he  was  paid  practically  $40.  He  worked  nine  days  at  $27  per 
week.  If  that  book  were  bound  on  the  other  side,  as  it  is  practically 
all  hand  work  it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  the  Englishman — as- 
suming it  was  bound  in  England — would  bind  it  as  quickly  as  it  is 
bound  in  America,  and  as  the  Englishman  receives  at  the  extreme 
$12  per  week,  he  would  bind  it  for  a  little  less  than  $20.  That  book 
was  bound  for  $50.  The  foreigner  can  sell  it  to  an  American  for 
$30.  The  American  is  compelled  to  ask  $50  for  it.  The  difference 
is  $20.  The  American  publisher  gets  the  foreigner  to  bind  the  book 
at  the  price  of  $30,  and  not  the  American  at  the  price  of  $50.  That 
is  a  practical  demonstration  showing  the  actual  cost.  There  you  have 
the  time  that  was  actually  spent  in  elaborating  that  book.  You  will 
notice  that  it  is  all  inlaid.  It  is  really  a  beautiful  piece  of  work,  and 
it  is  work  of  that  kind  with  which  we  come  in  competition. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  About  your  wage  scale.  Who  fixes  your  wage 
ecale? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  In  the  extra  binding,  unfortunately — and  I  say  un- 
fortunately advisedly,  too — we  adopt  the  union  scale  and  pay  the 
union  prices. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Is  that  a  reasonable  scale? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  We  pay  more  than  the  scale  for  any  number  of  people 
employed.  We  have  to  pay  the  minimum  price  to  people  who  are 
sometimes  not  worth  the  minimum  price.  In  other  words,  for  an 
artist,  for  a  good  man,  a  binder  will  not  hesitate  to  pay  more  than 
the  tcale. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then,  you  think  the  scale  is  a  reasonable  scale, 
considering  the  cost  of  living  in  this  country  ? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  if  you  had  enough  work  for  these  men  to  do 
under  that  scale,  continuous  employment,  how  much  would  a  man 
make  a  month? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  As  they  would  be  paid  from  $18  to  $30  per  week,  to 
multiply  it  is  a  simple  matter. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  From  $18  to  $30  a  week? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes;  $18  to  $30. 

Mr,  UNDERWOOD.  On  the  scale;  that  is  according  to  the  class  of 
work  they  did? 


BOOKBINDINGS — DANIEL  S.   BRASSIL.  6309 

Mr.  BRASSTL.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  If  they  had  full  time? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  If  they  had  full  time;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  English  scale  is  about  $7? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  $7.50  to  $12  a  week ;  and  I  have  taken  the  extreme  on 
that  $12. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  just  wanted  to  understand  about  that. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes.  So  much  in  reference  to  section  501.  Section 
502  admits  books  or  pamphlets  printed  in  foreign  languages  free. 
We  have  no  objection  to  books  coming  in  here  bound  in  cloth  or  paper 
covers.  We  realize  that  any  number  of  poor  people  have  immigrated 
to  this  country  and  are  making  their  homes  here,  and  we  do  not  wish 
to  deprive  them  of  books  cheaply  obtained,  printed  in  their  own 
language,  but  we  do  object  to  having  books  come  in  bound  in  extra 
bindings,  bound  in  leather.  It  is  the  man  who  sends  abroad  and  who 
brings  them  in  with  him,  a  connoisseur,  and  wants  something  for  his 
library  who  does  that.  There  has  been  during  the  past  ten  years  a 
growing  number  of  French  books  imported,  bound  by  the  foreign 
binder,  and  that,  we  feel,  you  ought  to  give  us  protection  against. 
It  is  a  reasonable  request.  When  we  say  that  we  are  willing  to  have 
the  books  bound  in  cloth  and  paper  come  in  free,  you  ought  to  protect 
us  on  the  leather  binding. 

Unclor  section  503,  libraries,  colleges,  or  any  societies  established 
for  philosophical,  educational,  scientific,  or  literary  purposes  are 
allowed  to  enter  two  copies  of  a  book  in  any  one  invoice  free.  When 
Congress  passed  this  law  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  they  intended  that 
libraries  should  be  allowed  to  bring  in  two  copies  of  any  book  that 
was  published  abroad  for  the  purpose  of  giving  general  education  to 
the  people  who  are  readers;  but  they  did  not  intend  that  the  library 
should  be  allowed  to  send  to  Europe  books  that  needed  rebinding,  to 
be  rebound,  which  they  are  doing  to  the  extent  of  thousands  of 
volumes  every  year.  They  are  depriving  workmen,  from  whom  they 
derive  their  support  in  the  way  of  taxes,  of  the  means  of  earning 
their  livelihood,  by  sending  these  books  abroad.  To  my  mind  no 
public  institution  should  be  allowed  to  send  work  abroad  for  binding, 
depriving  the  American  laborer  of  a  means  of  earning  a  livelihood 
and  maintaining  himself.  Public  institutions  are  maintained  by  the 
community  in  which  they  exist,  and  the  people  of  that  community 
should  be  the  ones  to  derive  a  support  when  they  have  any  work  to 
give  out. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Are  there  any  libraries  that  are  silly  enough  to  send 
their  books  over  there  to  have  them  bound  at  those  extravagant 
figures? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Not  at  those  extravagant  figures. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Public  libraries. 

Mr.  BRASSTL.  Public  libraries  are  sending  books  over  to  be  bound, 
and  because  they  have  the  privilege  of  bringing  in  two  copies  in  any 
invoice  free,  they  will  send  thousands  of  copies  in  one  shipment,  but 
only  two  of  one  title,  and  in  the  aggregate  it  amounts  to  thousands 
of  volumes,  although  of  a  single  title  they  have  only  two  copies. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Now,  they  do  that  so  that  it  will  save  part  of  the  cost 
of  the  labor.  Do  you  suppose  the  Congressional  Library  is  doing 
that? 


6310  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,   PAPEKS,   AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  I  do  not  believe  it  is.  No,  sir;  I  do  not  believe  it  is. 
I  believe  there  is  a  good  little  establishment  over  here  where  they  do 
some  nice  work;  and  they  pay  good  prices,  too. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  I  understood  you  to  say  that  that  book  cost  $50 — 
that  the  work  on  it  cost  $50  ? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  No,  sir;   the  finishing  alone,  the  elaborating,  cost  $40. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  What  would  it  cost  abroad  ?     Have  you  any  idea  ? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes,  sir;  $20.     I  have  specified  that. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Are  volumes  like  that  duplicated,  or  is  there  only  one 
of  those? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  That  is  one. 

Mr.  GAINES.  That  is — the  work  on  that  is  put  on  something  else? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  No,  sir.  An  artist  would  design  that,  for  instance. 
The  binder  may  have  an  individuality  about  certain  things,  and  you 
might  be  able  to  read  his  style  of  binding;  and  if  you  were  to  see 
one  of  his  books  among  a  dozen  others,  you  would  probably  be  able 
to  pick  it  out;  but  there  would  be  no  two  copies  alike. 

Mr.  •  FORDNEY.  Did  I  understand  you  to  say  that  they  could  send 
only  two  books  of  one  kind  over? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  They  can  send  only  two  copies  of  one  book ;  but  they 
can  send,  in  the  aggregate,  thousands  of  volumes  on  one  shipment. 

Mr.  P\)RDNEY.  And  they  keep  sending,  time  after  time,  those  books 
until  they  get  them  all  bound? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes. 

Mr.  HILL.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  educational  institutions 
and  colleges  make  a  practice  of  sending  their  books  abroad  and  hav- 
ing them  bound,  on  the  condition  that  they  only  bring  two  of  a  kind 
in  a  large  shipment? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes.  I  want  to  tell  you  this:  In  New  York  City 
to-day  there  is  a  binder  wyho  has  an  establishment  in  Bath,  England, 
and  he  is  getting  books  from  libraries  in  New  England  and  through- 
out this  country,  and  shipping  those  books  to  England  by  the  load — 
only  two  copies  of  a  title  in  a  load — and  when  he  binds  them  over 
there  he  brings  them  back  here,  and  they  are  admitted  free. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Are  there  any  further  questions? 

Mr.  HILL.  I  should  say  that  those  three  little  words  that  are  in  the 
act — "  in  good  faith  " — were  being  violated,  and  those  people  were 
evading  the  customs. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  I  have  called  upon  the  collector  of  the  port  of  New 
York,  and  have  called  upon  the  appraisers  in  New  York,  and  tried  to 
show  them  where  it  was  wrong,  but  they  said  "  We  are  living  by  the 
spirit  of  the  law.  There  is  the  law,  and  we  can  not  do  anything  dif- 
ferent." 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  we  put  in  books  bound  in  paper,  muslin,  and 
leather — plain  sheep,  for  instance — and  fix  it  so  there  would  be  no 
juggling  about  it — or  bound  in  buckram — on  the  free  list,  would  that 
satisfy  you? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes,  sir;  that  is  what  I  said  here  in  my  amendment. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  know ;  but  you  confined  it  to  those  bound  in  paper. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  No,  sir.  My  amendment  was  to  insert  after  the  word 
"  pamphlets  "  the  words  "  bound  in  cloth  or  paper  covers."  That 
takes  in  books  bound  in  any  style  of  cloth,  buckram,  and  muslin. 
Then  come  pamphlets. 


BOOKBINDINGS DANIEL  S.    BRASSIL,.  6311 

Mr.  CLARK.  Yes;  I  understand.    Take  plain  sheep,  for  instance. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Plain  sheep  ?  I  believe  you  have  a  very  small  portion 
of  books  that  come  in  foreign  languages  bound  in  plain  sheep. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Foreign  languages? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  This  is  referring  to  foreign  languages. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  not  think  the  tariff  ought  to  be  taken  off  of  all 
books? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  No,  sir;  I  do  not. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Except  these  fancy  books,  which  would  be  used  by  a 
very  small  class  of  very  rich  people  who  care  more  for  the  bindings 
than  the  books?  I  am  talking  about  the  books  that  book  lovers  and 
book  users  want,  the  kind  of  books  that  the  average  citizen  would 
read — a  good  copy  of  Dickens  or  Scott  or  Smollett,  or  any  of  the  rest 
of  them — bound  in  plain  sheep.  Using  the  word  "  plain,"  I  do  not 
know  the  technicalities  of  the  bookbinding  business,  but  I  know  that 
that  would  be  a  combination  of  words  that  a  revenue  collector  ought 
to  be  able  to  construe. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  The  words  "  bound  in  plain  sheep  "  eliminate  so  many 
other  different  styles  that  the  collector  would  only  be  placing  them 
under  one  specific  thing. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  I  was  trying  to  get  at  was  to  get  cheap  books 
for  the  bulk  of  the  American  people. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is,  I  was  just  making  a  compromise  proposition. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  We  have  no  objection  to  your  bringing  in  the  books 
that  are  bound  in  that  way  for  the  poor  people  and  the  working 
people. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  am  a  workingman,  and  I  like  to  have  good  books 
myself.  I  would  not  spend  money  on  fancy  covers,  though. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes;  and  being  a  workin,gman,  is  not  a  well-bound 
cloth  book  good  enough  for  an  ordinary  library? 

Mr.  CLARK.  Yes;  for  certain  classes  of  books.  My  experience  is 
that  the  ordinary  sized  volume  is  just  as  good  bound  in  the  ordinary 
cloth  binding  as  it  is  in  leather. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes. 

Mr.  CLARK.  But  if  you  take  a  very  heavy  book,  I  do  not  think  it  is. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Bind  it  in  buckram  and  it  will  be. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Perhaps  buckram  may  be  as  good  as  leather. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  have  noted  this.  You  take  these  encyclopedias,  for 
instance,  and  I  have  noticed  always  that  where  they  were  bound  in 
cloth  they  wrere  soon  shaken  out  of  shape.  I  do  not  believe  that  a 
book  as  big  as  Webster's  Dictionary  would  be  worth  carrying  home, 
hardly,  if  it  was  bound  in  cloth. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  The  style  in  cover  is  on  the  outside.  That  did  not 
add  one  iota  of  strength  to  the  inside  of  that  book.  That  was  the 
manner  in  which  the  book  was  bound  on  the  inside  of  the  cover,  not 
the  outside  at  all.  If  that  cloth  or  leather  book  had  been  properly 
handled,  and  if  the  publishers  had  paid  the  proper  price  for  it,  it 
would  have  been  bound  strong  enough  so  that  it  would  not  wobble. 
The  trouble  is  with  the  binding  on  the  inside. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  all. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  No,  sir ;  that  is  not  all  for  me. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Well,  it  is  getting  to  be  laughable. 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 35 


6312  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  No,  sir;  it  is  not  laughable  for  me  at  all. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  These  conversations  are  becoming  laughable. 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  That  is  not  all  for  me.  I  have  spoken  about  sections 
501,  502,  and  503.  Now  I  want  to  talk  on  section  403,  these  books, 
that  are  charged  for  at  the  rate  of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem.  We  ask 
that  you  amend  that  section  by  making  a  new  paragraph,  making  it 
read  "  Books  bound  wholly  or  in  part  in  leather,  not  including  blank 
books,  fifty  per  centum  ad  valorem." 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  is  the  duty  now? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Twenty-five  per  cent  ad  valorem.  We  are  giving 
freedom  to  all  classes  of  books  except  the  extra-bound  book,  the  book 
that  is  bound  in  leather,  wholly  or  in  part.  We  are  not  asking  for  a 
duty  or  an  increase  on  blank  books  or  arty  kind  of  printed  matter 
that  is  bound  in  paper,  but  when  it  comes  to  those  bound  wholly  or 
in  part  in  leather,  we  are  asking  for  that,  and  in  behalf  of  the  Ameri- 
can workingman  and  in  behalf  of  an  industry  that  is  fast  dying  out 
in  this  country.  We  feel  that  on  account  of  the  competition  which 
we  are  having  publishers  are  sending  annually  thousands  and  thou- 
sands of  books  abroad  to  be  bound  and  that  has  been  increasing 
yearly.  They  have  been  sending  them  to  Europe  and  having  them 
bound  over  there  and  brought  in  here,  and  they  do  not  give  the  bene- 
fit of  the  difference  in  price  to  the  buyer.  No;  they  keep  that  as  ad- 
ditional profits,  and  they  are  depriving  the  American  workmen  of 
his  means  of  livelihood.  They  are  compelling  men  to  work  half  the 
time  instead  of  all  the  time. 

I  have  here  an  illustration.  I  want  to  have  you  gentlemen  look 
at  those  books  [exhibiting  two  books  to  the  committee].  One  of 
those  was  bound  by  an  English  concern  and  the  other  was  bound  by 
an  American  to  -imitate  or  match  the  English -bound  book.  The 
English  book  was  bound  for  $1.08.  The  American  was  obliged  to 
ask  $1.75.  The  American's  material  cost  40  cents  and  the  American's 
labor  cost  80  cents.  The  material  in  that  averaged  30  per  cent  duty, 
which  the  American  had  to  pay.  It  consequently  put  the  English- 
man's book  at  a  price  for  material  of  30  cents,  and  his  labor  being 
only  half  of  the  price  of  the  American's  labor,  it  put  it  at  40  cents, 
so  that  for  TO  cents  he  was  able  to  get  his  material  and  his  labor  on 
a  book  on  which  the  American  was  obliged  to  pay  40  cents  for  the 
material  and  80  cents  for  the  labor,  or  $1.20.  That  is  practically  a 
difference  of  50  cents.  The  American  could  bind  the  book  for  $1.75 
and  the  Englishman  for  $1.08.  Now,  are  we  justified  in  asking  for 
protection?  I  maintain  we  are,  on  that  section,  and  I  sincerely  hope, 
gentlemen,  that  after  this  little  talk  and  the  demonstration  which  I 
have  given  to  you,  you  will  comply  with  our  request. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Did  you  mean  us  to  understand  that  one  of  these 
books  was  bound  in  America  ? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes,  sir ;  one  of  them  was  bound  in  America. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Did  they  take  the  name  of  some  European  firm? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  No,  sir;  not  at  all. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  They  are  English  books  and  you  took  the  cover 
off  of  one  of  them  and  bound  it  here  ? 

Mr.  BRASSIL.  Yes,  sir. 


BOOKBINDINGS GEORGE  EOGEES.  6313 

GEORGE  ROGERS,  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  REPRESENTING  THE  INTER- 
NATIONAL  BROTHERHOOD  OF  BOOKBINDERS,  CLAIMS  THAT 
BOOKBINDERS  HAVE  PRACTICALLY  NO  PROTECTION. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  I  might  say  here  that  I  repre- 
sent the  International  Brotherhood  of  Bookbinders,  as  a  bookbinder. 
I  appear  here  in  behalf  of  the  International  Brotherhood  of  Book- 
binders to  make  objection  to  three  clauses  in  the  tariff.  In  one 
clause  it  says  that  books  over  twenty  years  old  shall  come  in  free 
of  duty,  in  another  that  all  books  in  foreign  languages  shall  come  in 
free  of  duty,  and  in  another  that  all  books  for  educational  purposes 
shall  come  in  free  of  duty.  You  see,  Mr.  Chairman,  we  have  no 
protection  at  all  in  the  bookbinding  business.  These  three  things 
cover  almost  everything.  All  books  over  twenty  years  old  come  in 
free,  all  books  in  foreign  languages  come  in  free,  and  all  books  for 
educational  purposes  come  in  free  of  duty.  That  is  the  law  as  it 
stands  to-day.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  will  take  three  or  four  classes  of 
bindings  that  come  under  that  clause.  I  am  only  talking  of  book- 
binding and  how  it  affects  the  bookbinders  of  the  United  States. 
Take,  first,  the  extra  bindings,  as  they  are  called  in  the  term  of  the 
trade  here,  which  are  good,  honest  leather  bindings.  By  looking  back 
for  probably  twenty  years  we  will  find  that  there  are  not  one-sixth  of 
the  men  employed  in  that  business  that  there  were  twenty  years  ago. 

The  industry  is  dying  down  because  our  book  lovers,  our  book  pub- 
lishers, and  our  booksellers  send  their  books  to  England  and  France 
to  have  them  done  there,  not  because  they  can  not  have  them  done  in 
the  United  States,  but  because  they  can  have  them  done  there  cheaper; 
and  I  would  like  to  call  the  attention  of  the  gentlemen  to  that.  In 
the  first  place,  leather  imported  into  this  country  for  leather  bind- 
ings pays  the  duty  of  20  per  cent.  Papers  vary  from  25  to  35  per 
cent:  binders'  boards  25  per  cent.  I  would  like  to  call  your  attention 
to  this  point,  that  we  have  almost  got  to  have  the  leather  from  Eng- 
land. They  get  almost  all  the  raw  material  from  Ejigland,  more  or 
less,  and  from  France.  There  is  a  class  of  books  sent  over  and  done 
in  what  they  call  art  binding  and  brought  into  this  country  by  con- 
noisseurs which  they  claim  can  not  be  done  here;  but,  gentlemen, 
they  go  up  there  to  an  American  binder  and  they  ask  him,  "  Here, 
how  much  will  you  take  for  that?  "  and  when  he  fells  them  the  price 
they  say,  "  Oh,  I  can  get  that  done  in  London  or  Paris  for  half  that." 
There  is  a  speculation  attached  to  this.  These  rare  books  are  worth 
money,  and  the  older  they  get  the  more  valuable  they  get,  which  you 
will  readily  see. 

Six  years  ago  my  organization  had  more  than  twice  the  number 
of  members  we  have  to-day.  Our  membership  has  fallen  away  50  per 
cent  on  that  class  of  work,  and  we  find  there  is  more  of  that  work 
being  sold  in  America  to-day  than  ever  there  has  been,  right  through 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  coast.  This  country  is  flooded  with 
that  class  of  work ;  and  I  question  very  much  if  the  purchaser  of  that 
class  of  work  receives  any  benefit  from  it.  I  am  rather  afraid  that 
the  foreign  book  seller  or  publisher  puts  the  price  up  according  to 
the  American  price.  From  the  basis  of  our  organization  I  want  to 
say  to  you  that  our  minimum  wages  in  New  York  City  are  $18,  $20, 


6314  SCHEDULE    M PULP,    PAPERS,    AND   BOOKS. 

and  $24  a  week.  Those  are  our  minimum  wages  in  New  York  City. 
The  minimum  wages  in  London,  according  to  the  official  report,  are 
35  shillings,  and  I  can  not  give  you  the  French  wages  officially,  but 
I  put  it  down  at  about  30  francs  a  week,  and  I  am  high  when  I  say 
that.  You  can  readily  see  that  a  book  that  it  will  take  one  hundred 
hours  to  bind  in  France  or  America  ~will  cost  much  less  there.  It 
takes  one  hundred  hours  in  France  and  it  will  take  one  hundred 
hours  here,  or  it  will  not  take  any  more  time  here,  and  it  will  prob- 
ably take  less  time.  But  think  of  the  difference  in  wages. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Were  you  born  abroad  ? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Were  you  educated  in  the  business  abroad? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  living  in 
London  and  New  York? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  I  beg  pardon;  did  you  say  the  cost  of  living? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  asked,  for  men  in  your  profession,  what  is  the 
difference  in  the  cost  of  living? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  I  have  a  room  here  which  I  could  get  for  one-sixth  as 
much  there. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  am  trying  to  get  at  the  basis  of  facts. 

Mr.  ROGERS.  It  is  a  long  time  since  I  lived  there,  and  I  probably 
could  not  give  you  what  it  is  now.  Everything  is  cheaper  there 
than  it  is  here. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  understand  that;  but  to  live  with  the  same  de- 
gree of  comfort  that  you  have  in  New  York,  what  would  it  cost  you 
to  live  in  London? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  It  takes  all  I  can  earn  to  keep  me  here,  and  I  suppose 
it  would  do  the  same  thing  there. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  mean  if  you  got  $18  a  week  in  London  it 
would  not  be  worth  any  more  there  than  here  ? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  Oh,  yes;  but  what  I  mean  is,  when  I  work  for  $18  or 
$20  in  Brooklyn  I  use  it  all  in  living,  and  if  I  got  30  shillings  in  Lon- 
don I  would  have  to  use  it  all. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Suppose  they  protected  everything  here  ? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  Naturally  wages  would  go  up,  and  they  would  go  up 
there,  too. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  are  not  interested  in  the  citrus-fruit  growers ! 

Mr.  ROGERS.  No,  sir.     I  am  interested  in  books. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  do  not  care  whether  they  have  any  protec- 
tion or  not  ? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  Oh,  yes,  I  do;  I  beg  your  pardon.  I  do  not  ask  you 
gentlemen  to  take  the  duty  off  of  raw  material.  I  want  to  allow 
these  people  to  have  some  protection,  too ;  but  I  want  you  to  give  me 
some.  I  have  absolutely  none. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  If  nobody  else  had  any,  would  you  want  any  ? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  No,  sir.  If  you  put  me  on  a  free-trade  basis,  where  I 
can  live  cheaper,  what  is  the  difference  to  me?  If  I  can  live  for  $9 
a  week,  I  am  as  well  off  at  $9  as  at  $18.  I  do  not  see  any  difference 
to  me. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  thought  so.  I  did  not  know  whether  you  were 
impressed  with  that  or  not. 

Mr.  ROGERS.  But  here  is  the  point.  We  have  French  and  English 
bookbinders  in  New  York  City,  the  finest  trained  binders,  and  they 


BOOKBINDINGS — GEORGE  ROGERS.  6315 

have  been  a  failure.  They  can  not  make  a  success  of  it  right  here, 
because  the  price  has  gone  down.  How  can  we  compete  with  the 
French  or  English  people  in  that  work,  who  do  not  get  half  the 
wages? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  It  is  not  your  scale  that  makes  it  unprofitable, 
but  it  is  the  fact  that  you  have  not  continuous  work  ? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  We  have  not  any  at  all,  hardly.  It  is  a  dying  in- 
dustry. Our  organization  has  fallen  off  50  per  cent.  You  will  find 
them  in  the  cars,  in  the  subway,  as  insurance  agents,  and  everywhere, 
men  that  have  been  trained  as  mechanics,  and  are  good  ores,  who 
have  had  to  go  out  of  the  business  because  they  could  not  get  any 
work.  You  go  around  the  city  and  look  for  work  and  you  can  not 
get  any,  and  it  has  all  gone  abroad.  You  go  down  to  these  stores  and 
see  these  books  bound,  and  every  one  of  them  has  a  foreign  binding  on 
it.  I  saw  lately,  Mr.  Chairman,  a  set  of  manuscript  books.  The 
manuscripts  were  all  folio  size,  bound  in  London.  That  work  could 
have  been  done  just  as  well  here,  but  it  would  have  cost  more.  We 
admit  that  it  would  have  cost  more.  By  and  by  that  work  gets  so 
that  it  is  more  valuable.  Therefore  it  was  a  speculation  on  his  part. 

Mr.  CLARK.  About  these  connoisseurs  you  are  talking  about,  is  not 
a  connoisseur  of  books  a  connoisseur  of  bookbinders  ? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  Yes ;  of  books  and  bookbinders. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Those  men  care  more  for  bindings  than  for  books? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  Yes,  sir ;  some  of  them. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Did  you  ever  consider  this  philosophic  proposition, 
that  a  certain  tariff  having  been  put  on  for  the  benefit  of  the  labor- 
ing man,  it  all  ought  to  go  to  the  laboring  man  ? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  I  do  not  understand. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  say  if  a  tariff  is  put  on  ostensibly  for  the  benefit  of 
the  laboring  man,  ought  not  the  laboring  man  to  get  the  whole  of  that 
tariff? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  Give  us  the  tariff,  and  we  will  see. 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  question  is  if  the  tariff  is  levied  for  the  benefit  of 
the  laborer,  why  should  not  the  laborer  get  the  tariff,  all  of  it? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  I  will  only  answer  you  this  way,  that  labor  does  not 
always  get  what  it  ought  to  get. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  what  I  think,  too. 

Mr.  ROGERS.  But  if  you  give  us  the  chance,  possibly  we  will  be  able 
to  make  a  little  better  bargain  than  we  can  make  just  now,  if  you 
give  us  protection. 

Mr.  CLARK.  There  are  a  whole  lot  of  things  which  have  a  very 
high  tariff  on  them,  and  the  laborer  does  not  get  any  more  of  that 
very  high  tariff  than  you  get  on  this. 

Mr.  ROGERS.  Probably ;  but  we  have  none  at  all.  We  have  nothing 
at  all. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  am  trying  to  help  you  out. 

Mr.  ROGERS.  Well,  all  right.  We  have  no  tariff,  Mr.  Chairman, 
that  I  can  see,  on  that  class  of  work.  There  we  have  the  spectacle  of 
booksellers  importing  bindings.  They  send  all  that  work  to  England 
or  France  simply  because  they  can  get  it  done  cheaper  in  London 
and  Paris.  I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  this.  Six  years  ago  the 
Employers'  Association  of  Paris  got  together  and  cut  rates  for 
America. 


6316  SCHEDULE    M PULP,    PAPERS,    AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  FORDXEY.  If  that  duty  was  raised,  would  you  expect  that  the 
labor  would  get  its  fair  share  of  that  increase? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  Labor  will  fight  for  it. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Do  you  think  they  would  get  it? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  They  will  try  awfully  hard  for  it.  I  do  not  know 
whether  we  will  get  it. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  think  you  would  get  it  all? 

Mr.  ROGERS.  No:  I  do  not  think  Ave  would,  to  be  honest. 

Mr.  CLARK.  But  your  share  ought  to  be  the  whole  thing. 

Mr.  ROGERS.  If  you  could  talk  to  my  employer,  you  might  con- 
vince him. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  would  like  to  get  hold  of  all  the  employers  and  make 
that  plea  to  them,  and  we  might  settle  the  tariff  question  for  all  time 
to  come. 

Mr.  ROGERS.  It  is  this  way;  there  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
these  bound  books  brought  into  this  country  daily  and  annually 
that  are  bound  in  England.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  purchaser  of 
one  of  those  books  gets  the  benefit  of  the  price.  I  believe  that  the 
American  bookseller  and  the  American  publisher  charge  on  American 
basis. 

Mr.  Chairman,  there  are  instances  where  they  employ  in  one  shop 
almost  as  many  workmen  as  we  have  in  the  city  of  New  York,  because 
they  can  work  one-half  cheaper.  But  I  will  not  detain  you  on  these 
fine  bindings.  I  would  rather  go  along  now  to  the  educational  part 
of  it.  I  believe  the  gentlemen  here  to-day  have  been  talking  about 
the  libraries.  I  would  like  to  ask  you  gentlemen  if  you  would  con- 
sider every  novel  that  may  be  published  an  educational  work  ?  In  the 
libraries  where  I  come  from,  you  go  in  and  you  will  get  almost  any 
novel  that  is  published.  All  books  can  come  in  here  free  for  educa- 
tional purposes.  The  New  York  Library  and  the  Brooklyn  Library 
and  the  Newark  Library  and  the  Utica  Library,  and  probably  a  dozen 
others,  send  their  books  abroad  to  be  bound  in  England.  Why  do 
they  do  it?  Can  it  not  be  done  here?  I  claim,  as  a  man  with  a  little 
knowledge  of  the  trade — more  than  thirty  years'  knowledge  of  it — 
that  it  can  be  done  here  as  well  as  it  can  be  done  in  any  foreign  coun- 
try. But  to  come  back  to  the  first  principle — cheapness.  There  is  a 
firm  in  London  binding  books  for  the  New  York  Library  to-day  that 
pays  an  average  of  $7.50  a  week  wages,  and  that  binder  gets  the  bulk 
of  the  work.  It  is  sent  right  over  here,  shipped  over  here,  brought 
back  in  cases  from  England,  and  distributed  to  the  various  libraries 
in  the  country  that  he  works  for.  We  have  talked  with  that  gentle- 
man on  behalf  of  the  organization,  and  tried  to  get  him  to  locate  his 
whole  plant  in  this  country,  and  he  said :  "  Gentlemen,  as  long  as  the 
law  stands  as  it  is,  I  will  take  the  full  advantage  of  it ;  but  when  the 
law  is  changed,  I  will  change  my  plant."  Give  us  some  protection  on 
that  work,  and  we  will  make  him  do  the  work  here,  and  we  will  get 
the  work  to  do. 

I  do  not  wish  to  take  up  any  more  of  your  time,  but  I  would  like  to 
make  a  plea  to  you  to  give  us  something  on  these  three  clauses.  We 
do  not  want  it  for  profit — we  want  it  for  living.  It  means  the  bread 
and  butter  to  us  and  our  children — that  is  all.  But  if  this  thing  goes 
on,  Mr.  Chairman,  in  a  few  years  this  class  of  binding  will  be  wiped 
out  or  destroyed. 


BOOKBINDINGS — GEORGE   ROGERS.  6317 

I  beg  to  call  your  attention  to  the  extremely  inconsistent  and  con- 
tradictory state  of  the  tariff  law  affecting  books  and  bookbinding. 

Books  in  the  English  language  that  have  been  printed  more  than 
twenty  years  at  date  of  importation,  and  books  printed  in  languages 
other  than  English,  are  free  of  duty. 

Books  in  the  English  language  printed  within  twenty  years  pre- 
vious to  date  of  importation  are  chargeable  with  duty  at  rate  of  25 
per  cent  ad  valorem. 

However,  such  books,  even  though  they  are  printed  in  English  and 
within  twenty  years  previous  to  date  of  importation,  are  free  of  duty 
if  imported  for  educational  purposes. 

These  three  classes  of  exemptions — first,  books  in  English  over  20 
years  old;  second,  books  in  foreign  languages;  third,  books  for  edu- 
cational purposes — have  opened  wide  the  ports  of  the  United  States 
to  floods  of  foreign  bookbinding. 

The  first  two  mentioned  exemptions  bring  here  probably  about  70 
to  80  per  cent  of  the  product  of  Paris  and  London  in  the  way  of 
artistic  bookbindings,  and  have  been  largely  the  means  of  building 
up  the  extensive  and  famous  art  binding  businesses  of  those  two  cities, 
while,  as  a  direct  consequence,  the  United  States  can  not  boast  of  a 
single  art  bindery  as  such. 

The  third-mentioned  exemption  allows  publishers,  booksellers,  and 
dealers  to  ship  from  foreign  binderies  into  the  United  States,  fre- 
quently and  continually,  thousands  upon  thousands  of  volumes  of 
current  literature  free  of  duty,  because  they  are  bound  for  schools, 
educational  institutions,  and  public  libraries  of  this  country. 

The  American  bookbinder  could  cheerfully  take  the  chances  of 
foreign  competition  opened  against  him  by  the  three  classes  of  duty 
exemptions  just  referred  to  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  all  of  the 
materials  used  in  the  production  of  books,  such  as  paper,  glue,  cloth, 
leather,  and  gold  leaf  are  subject  to  a  heavy  duty,  and  for  the  addi- 
tional fact  that  the  cost  of  labor  for  bookbinding,  like  the  cost  of 
labor  for  all  work  in  a  duty-protected  country,  is  increased  by  taxes 
on  food,  clothing,  shelter,  and  transportation. 

Under  the  present  tariff  arrangement  the  bookbinder  in  the  United 
States  must  buy  his  materials  and  labor  at  protection  prices  and  sell 
large  and  important  classes  of  his  product  at  prices  determined  by 
free  trade. 

Thus,  the  foreign  bookbinder  obtains  not  only  the  advantage  of 
the  three  classes  of  duty  exemptions  before  mentioned;  he  obtains  an 
additional  advantage,  practically  a  bounty  from  the  United  States 
Government  in  the  form  of  a  duty  on  bookbinding  materials  used 
here,  which  means,  in  other  words,  that  nearly  all  foreign-made  art 
bindings,  all  school  and  public  library  books  from  abroad,  though 
made  up  of  dutiable  materials,  such  as  paper,  cloth,  leather,  and  gold 
leaf,  are  imported  duty  free,  while  the  American  products  of  the  same 
class  are  increased  in  cost  by  the  impost  of  a  burdensome  tax  on  their 
component  materials. 

Foreign  bookbinding  is  fostered;  home  bookbinding  is  taxed,  in 
some  classes,  almost  to  extinction. 

Now,  having  placed  before  you  the  serious  disabilities  which  the 
contradictory  state  of  the  tariff  imposes  upon  the  bookbinding  in- 
dustry of  the  United  States  of  America,  I  wish  to  ask  if  you  would 


6318  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

kindly  give  your  favor  and  support  to  a  measure  purposed  to  be  in- 
troduced in  Congress  which  will  remedy  the  evils  referred  to,  -and 
place  the  bookbinding  industry  on  a  commercial  basis  level  with  that 
of  the  other  industries  of  this  country,  and  also  with  the  bookbinding 
industries  of  other  countries. 


STATEMENT  OF  GEORGE  SULLIVAN,  OF  PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  WHO 
WISHES  TARIFF  ON  BOOKS  LEFT  UNDISTURBED. 

SATURDAY,  November  21,  1908. 

Mr.  Chairman:  I  have  a  short  brief  here  which  I  will  not  read. 
I  will  state  that  on  behalf  of  the  book-paper  part  of  the  industry — 
that  is,  the  book  manufacturers  of  the  industry — we  do  not  ask  for 
any  increase  of  the  tariff,  but  we  request  that  the  tariff  remain  as 
it  is,  and  the  various  statistics  pertaining  to  that  industry  you  will 
find  in  this  brief.  Of  course,  the  question  of  wages  to  our  em- 
ployees is,  as  in  the  rest  of  these  industries,  the  most  vital  and  im- 
portant part,  and  we  feel  the  present  tariff  on  book  paper  of  15  per 
cent  is  not  an  excessive  one,  but  it  is  certainly  a  just  and  fair  tariff 
and  should  remain  as  it  is  for  the  benefit  of  our  industry.  We  feel 
that  we  should  not  be  picked  out  or  selected  as  the  one  industry  in  the 
country  in  which  the  tariff  would  be  such  that  it  would  affect  us 
in  any  way,  but  that  we  should  have  the  same  protection  as  every 
other  industry.  Our  people  are  American  citizens — that  is,  as  far 
as  we  can  possibly  tell — and  the  vast  number  of  them  are  such  that 
they  require  the  same  consideration  as  others.  There  is  a  comparative 
wage  scale  that  you  will  find  in  this  brief  between  one  of  the  lead- 
ing mills  on  the  other  side  and  one  of  the  leading  mills  on  this  side, 
and  the  value  of  our  production  during  the  last  year — that  is,  the 
year  1907 — amounted  to  $48,000,000.  As  a  small  illustration  of  the 
equity  of  the  duty,  I  have  here  a  volume  which  I  have  figured  out, 
to  illustrate  just  what  a  small  thing  it  amounts  to  to  the  consumer. 
This  book  I  purchased  here  this  morning  in  Washington,  and  the 
method  of  figuring  out  you  will  find  on  this  fly  leaf,  which  shows 
that  the  duty  on  the  paper  in  this  book  amounts  to  less  than  half 
a  cent  a  copy  to  the  consumer. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  is  the  book? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  This  is  just  an  ordinary  novel,  called  "  The  Ex- 
treme Test,"  by  Mrs.  Reynolds. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  did  it  cost  you  to  buy  it? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  It  cost  $1.18  at  a  bookstore  here  in  Washington. 
Of  course  the  figures  here  are  ample,  because  we  have  weighed  the 
cover,  including  it  in  the  weight,  and  of  course  the  part  that  inter- 
ests us  is  the  part  inside. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  I  think  the  question  was  what  it  cost  to  bind  it. 

Mr.  GAINES.  No ;  I  asked  him  what  it  cost  to  buy  it. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  I  thought  you  said  to  bind  it. 

Mr.  GAINES.  No,  to  buy  it.    Did  you  buy  it  in  Washington  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  did  it  cost,  do  you  remember? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  A  dollar  and  eighteen  cents. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  is  the  paper  in  it? 


BOOKS   AND   BOOK    PAPER GEORGE    SULLIVAN.  6319 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  The  paper  is  an  average  4  cent  a  pound  paper,  less 
3  per  cent  for  30  days,  and  the  paper  in  this  volume  weighs  a  scant 
15  ounces,  including  the  cover,  so  that  fifteen-sixteenths  of  this  makes 
the  cost  of  this  3.75  cents,  or  a  trifle  over  5  mills  per  copy. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Assuming  that  the  entire  duty  is  added  to  the  cost  of 
the  paper,  how  much  would  that  increase  the  cost  of  that  volume; 
how  much  would  that  be  on  the  book? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Half  a  cent  for  this  copy. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Half  a  cent  for  a  book  costing  a  dollar  and  eighteen 
cents  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  What  did  it  cost  to  manufacture  that  book  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  That  I  can  not  tell  you,  sir.  I  am  a  paper  manu- 
facturer and  not  a  book  manufacturer.  Of  course,  you  will  have  to 
ask  some  book  manufacturer  what  it  cost  to  manufacture.  I  am  only 
talking  about  the  paper. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  What  sort  of  binding  is  it  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Just  the  ordinary  binding  that  is  on  novels. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  not  spend  too  much  time  on  these  exhibits. 
You  can  not  get  them  into  the  record. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  How  would  you  describe  that  binding  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  It  is  just  an  ordinary  novel  binding. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Is  it  cloth  or  leather  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  It  is  a  cloth  binding.  Now,  I  have  two  other  illus- 
trations here  which  may  possibly  interest  you.  Here  is  a  magazine. 
This  magazine  weighs  10  ounces,  so  that  in  the  twelve  months  there 
would  be  8£  pounds  used  in  the  year's  issue.  The  tariff  on  that 
amounts  to  one-fourth  of  a  cent  to  the  consumer  per  number. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Are  you  talking  about  the  tariff  on  the  book  or 
on  the  paper? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  On  the  paper. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  are  not  talking  about  the  printing  or  the 
binding  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir ;  I  am  speaking  only  of  the  paper  that  is  in 
the  book.  Here  is  another  illustration.  This  is  a  better  magazine, 
which  shows  a  half  a  cent  a  number  per  year  to  the  consumer ;  so  that, 
taking  all  those  facts  into  consideration,  we  feel  that  our  duty  is  not 
an  excessive  one. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Now,  while  you  got  a  very  little  off  of  each  one,  you 
got  a  great  deal  off  of  the  total;  is  not  that  true? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Of  course  that  is  true;  yes,  sir.  But  at  the  same 
time  we  feel  that  our  industry  is  entitled  to  the  same  protection  as 
all  other  industries. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Some  of  these  industries  have  a  protection  of  200  or 
300  per  cent.  Do  you  want  that  or  not? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir ;  we  ask  that  it  shall  remain  as  it  is. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Would  you  rather  have  them  cut  down  to  yours  or 
have  yours  raised  up  to  theirs  ? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  is  it  that  has  a  protection  of  300  per  cent? 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  have  a  list  in  my  desk  where  for  six  months  there 
were  some  of  them  that  had  100  per  cent. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  You  are  coming  down  now. 

Mr.  CLARK.  No;  I  can  find  them  where  they  had  300  per  cent. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  represent  the  paper  makers  ? 


6320  SCHEDULE    M — PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  The  paper  part. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  The  book-paper  manufacturers? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  you  insist  that  you  need  this  tariff  which  at 
present  exists,  and  you  do  not  want  it  increased  or  decreased. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir;  we  respectfully  ask  that  it  remain  as  it  is. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Have  you  not  had  any  combination  among  yourselves? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Did  you  not  meet  about  a  year  ago,  or  some  time  ago, 
at  Atlantic  Citv  and  elsewhere,  and  raise  the  price  of  all  this  paper 
about  $10  a  ton"? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir ;  we  had  no  combination  whatever. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  It  went  up  $10  a  ton,  did  it  not? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No ;  I  do  not  think  it  did. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  was  it,  $9? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  That  depends  on  the  grade.  Of  course  the  book 
papers  you  can  buy  as  low  as 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  refer  to  the  average. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  The  highest  I  can  recall  as  far  as  our  own  price  was 
concerned,  I  think  the  highest  we  got,  was  an  increase  of  about  $7.50 
a  ton. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Is  that  the  highest  you  got  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  That  is  the  highest. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  The  highest  increase  you  got  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Not  the  highest  you  made  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir;  because  we  make  paper  from  3|  cents  a 
pound  up  to  6. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  just  wanted  to  understand  where  you  got  it.  You 
said  the  highest  increase  you  got  was  $7.50  a  ton.  Where  did  you 
get  that? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Where? 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Yes;  you  said  you  got  it  somewhere.  Where  did  you 
get  it? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  How  do  you  mean,  where  did  we  get  it  ? 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  asked  you  where  this  increase  came  from  and  you 
said  there  was  no  combination  and  no  understanding  and  no  agree- 
ment, and  when  I  asked  you  what  was  the  highest,  you  began  to 
speculate  on  it  in  your  mind,  and  you  said  the  highest  you  got  was 
$7.50. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Out  of  the  deal  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir;  no  deal.  We  have  no  affiliation  with  any 
other  concern. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  have  no  general  agreement? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Did  you  all  go  up  at  the  same  time? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir ;  we  did  not. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  How  long  did  you  wait  after  the  others  went  up? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  We  were  up  before  they  were,  or  some  of  them. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  went  up  first? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  The  others  followed  you  up  ? 


BOOKS   AND   BOOK    PAPER GEORGE    SULLIVAN.  6321 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  I  do  not  know  whether  they  followed  us  or  not. 
We  increased  the  cost  of  our  paper  as  the  demand  increased,  and  as 
the  cost  of  the  raw  materials  increased.  We  had  to  do  it  or  quit 
business. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  they  all  were  in  the  same  fix. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir ;  I  guess  they  were. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  all  understood  it  at  the  same  time? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes;  I  can  not  say  whether  they  understood  it. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  all  went  up.  Now,  did  you  not  really  have  a 
meeting  in  Atlantic  City? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir ;  we  had  a  meeting  at  Atlantic  City,  but  it 
was  rather  a  jollification  at  Atlantic  City. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  That  was  after  you  got  the  price  raised  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Why  the  jollification? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  good  deal  of  stress  laid 
on  the  meeting  at  Atlantic  City,  and  it  is  rather  amusing  from  the 
fact  that  there  was  really  nothing  but  a  social  time  in  Atlantic  City. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  is  that  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  So  far  as  I  know,  there  was  nothing  but  a  social 
time  in  Atlantic  City,  although  there  seems  to  be  a  great  deal  of 
stress  laid  upon  the  meeting  at  Atlantic  City. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  It  was  a  meeting  of  the  manufacturers  of  book  paper 
at  Atlantic  City,  was  it  not? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  And  they  all  with  one  accord,  with  no  social  ties,  sim- 
ply met  in  Atlantic  City  to  have  a  jollification  and  a  good  time;  is 
that  true? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  They  simply  wanted  to  get  acquainted  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir ;  that  is  right.  They  ought  to  have  gotten 
acquainted.  We  did  not  know  each  other  for  a  long  time. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  How  long  was  it  after  that  jollification  meeting  before 
the  price  of  paper  went  up? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  That  I  could  not  tell  you — as  there  was  not  any  gen  - 
eral  rise  in  the  price  of  paper. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  understand.     Your  raise,  I  am  talking  about  now. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  That  I  could  not  tell  you,  whether  it  was  before  or 
after  that.  We  raised  from  month  to  month  as  the_cost  of  our  mate- 
rial increased  or  we  were  in  a  position  to  do  so.  We  had  so  much 
business  we  were  in  a  position  to  ask  for  an  increase. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  represent  really  all  of  the  book-paper  manu- 
facturers, do  you  not? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Only  in  presenting  this  brief. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Well,  I  understand;  I  mean  here.     You  represent  all 
of  them,  and  you  really  do  not  know  when  the  price  went  up  among 
the  others. 
•  Mr.  SULLIVAN.  I  can  not  tell  you  positively  now. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  But  it  went  up  soon  after  the  jollification  meeting  you 
had  in  Atlantic  City? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  At  the  present  time  I  can  not  tell  you  whether  it 
was  raised  before  or  after  that. 


6322  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Well,  you  want  to  amend  your  testimony  on  that  part, 
then,  because  you  said  just  now  that  paper  did  not  go  up  until  after 
that  meeting. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No;  I  did  not.  I  was  speaking  about  ourselves.  I 
said  I  could  not  tell  you  whether  ours  went  up  before  or  after.  We 
were  raising  from  month  to  month. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  But  you  said  your  price  went  up,  and  that  it  went  up 
before  the  meeting  at  Atlantic  City. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  did  not  intend  to  say  that? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir ;  it  went  up  before ;  but  I  think  it  went  up 
possibly  four  or  five  months  afterwards. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  You  did  not  make  all  the  increase  at  one  time  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir;  we  did  not.  Our  prices  were  raised  15 
cents  at  a  time. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  You  ought  to  be  entitled  to  a  jollification  once  a 
year  when  some  men  have  a  jollification  every  day,  ought  you  not? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  That  is  true.  We  do  not  have  many  of  them  in  our 
industry. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  is  the  difference  between  news  paper  and  book 
paper? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Most  of  the  difference  between  news  paper  and  book 
paper  is  that  one  uses  ground  wood  and  the  other  uses  soda  pulp. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Which  do  you  use? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Soda  pulp. 

Mr,  GAINES.  Is,  that  what  you  call  sulphite  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir;  both  grades  of  paper  use  sulphite,  both 
news  and  book  paper.  Soda  pulp  is  the  soda  process.  Sulphite  is  the 
sulphite  process. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  You  represent  the  manufacturers  of  book  paper? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  And  not  the  jobbers? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Not  the  jobbers. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  How  many  manufacturers  are  there  of  this  book 
paper? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  There  are  46. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Where  are  they  located,  geographically  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  They  are  located  all  over  the  country,  from  Maine 
to  Wisconsin.  There  is  a  list  of  them  in  this  brief. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Are  there  any  of  them  west  of  the  Mississippi  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  How  far  west  do  they  go? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  There  is  one  out  at  Everett,  Wash. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  So  they  extend  clear  across  the  continent? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  To  whom  do  they  sell,  to  the  jobbers  or  the  publishers 
direct  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Each  one  of  these  concerns  has  a  different  method  of 
doing  business.  Some  sell  to  the  jobbers  and  do  not  sell  to  the  con- 
sumers direct,  and  some  mills  sell  to  the  consumers  direct. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  There  are  only  two  classes  of  purchasers,  either  job- 
bers or  consumers? 


BOOKS   AND   BOOK    PAPER- — GEORGE   SULLIVAN.  6323 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Has  there  been  any  identity  of  interest  to  any  extent 
of  any  two  or  more  of  these  46  mills  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir ;  not  to  my  knowledge. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Are  these  46  mills  all  operated  by  corporations  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir.  There  are  some  here  that  are  not  corpora- 
tions. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Some  are  individuals  and  some  firms  and  some  in- 
corporated companies? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  And  there  is  no  community  of  ownership  between 
any  two  of  them  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Has  there  ever  been  any  agreement  between  any  two 
of  more  of  these  manufacturers  of  book  paper,  or  a  combination  of 
territory  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Not  to  my  knowledge. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Or  an  agreement  as  to  prices  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Not  to  my  knowledge. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  To  the  jobber  or  to  the  publisher? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  What  was  the  total  output  of  these  46  factories  for 
any  one  year.  Take  any  one  year  you  choose. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  This  brief  says,  upon  that  point :  "  Unfortunately, 
statistics  covering  the  production  of  book  paper  and  similar  grades 
for  the  current  calendar  year  are  unavailable,  the  year  of  1908  being 
still  incomplete  and  having  some  fifty-odd  working  days  (the  months 
of  November  and  December)  still  to  hear  from.  But  estimating  the 
production  for  the  year  1908  of  all  mills  engaged  in  manufacturing 
book  paper  and  similar  grades  at  about  90  per  cent  of  the  normal 
productive  capacity,  we  would  have  an  estimated  average  daily  pro- 
duction of  about  2,100  tons." 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Two  thousand  one  hundred  tons  per  day  would  be 
the  average? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  For  any  year? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir.  Of  course  in  1905,  according  to  the 
Bureau  of  the  Census — that  was  before  we  took  any  statistics  our- 
selves— the  paper  manufactured  was  434,500  tons,  which  is  equal  to  a 
iaily  average  of  1,448  tons,  which  is  calculated  on  300  actual  working 
lays  to  the  year.  That  was  in  1905. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  What  is  that  total  output  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Four  hundred  and  thirty-four  thousand  five  hun- 
dred tons. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  What  was  the  import  of  the  product  during  that 
same  period? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  That  I  can  not  tell  you.  I  have  not  that.  I  will 
have  to  get  that  for  you  and  let  you  have  it  if  you  wish. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  I  do  not  know  if  there  is  any  one  factor  more  im- 
portant and  essential,  when  you  are  asking  for  a  variation  in  the  tar- 
iff, than  the  proportion  between  the  domestic  product  and  the  im- 
ported product. 


6324  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  We  are  not  asking  for  any  variation. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  asked  the  Director  of  the  Census  some  time  ago 
to  give  us  a  complete  statement  under  the  various  schedules  of  the 
amounts  of  the  domestic  products  and  the  amount  of  the  imports 
for  the  year  1905,  following  each  other,  covering  all  the  schedules. 
That  will  go  to  the  printer  to-morrow  morning  and  get  here  in  a 
few  days.  I  say  that  to  show  you  where  you  can  ultimately  get  this 
information.  This  gentleman  does  not  seem  to  have  it. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Yes;  but  when  we  ultimately  get  that  we  will  not 
have  the  gentleman  here.  I  wanted  to  ask  you  a  question,  Mr.  Sulli- 
van, based  on  the  comparison  of  the  two. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  I  have  not  that. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Of  course  you  realize  that  the  amount  of  the  im- 
ported product  shows  the  amount  of  competition  there  is  with  the 
domestic  product.  That  is  what  I  was  trying  to  arrive  at. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  We  did  not  know  that  you  would  ask  that  question, 
because  we  were  not  asking  for  an  increase  in  duty. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  But  you  must  have  considered  that  we  might  con- 
template a  reduction  in  the  duty. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes.  Of  course,  in  the  discussion  of  such  a  thing 
as  that,  we  ask  that  you  make  a  reduction  also  in  all  the  products  we 
use  in  our  manufacture,  so  as  to  enable  us  to  exist.  As  you  will  see  by 
this  schedule,  everything  that  goes  into  our  product  has  a  duty  on  it, 
which,  of  course,  should  be  reduced  in  proportion.  It  does  not  make 
nny  difference  so  long  as  we  have  our  duty  of  15  per  cent,  but  if  the 
committee  proposes  to  reduce  our  protection,  we  ask  that  they  reduce 
also  the  duty  on  the  things  we  have  to  use.  It  is  absolutely  impossible 
for  us  to  exist  unless  you  also  make  a  reduction  in  proportion  in  the 
things  that  we  use. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  much  do  you  export  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  We  export  very  little,  and  most  of  that  goes  from 
the  other  side  of  the  continent  to  Japan. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  long  have  you  been  in  this  business? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Twenty-five  years. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Have  you  ever  had  any  connection  with  the  paper 
trust? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Never  heard  of  it. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  never  heard  of  the  paper  trust? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir; -except  in  the  newspapers. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  did  not  read  President  Roosevelt's  message,  then, 
did  you? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes ;  I  read  that,  too.  I  am  a  member  of  the  Ameri- 
can Pulp  and  Paper  Association,  but  that  is  no  paper  trust. 

Mr.  CLARK.  No;  that  is  a  pulp  trust. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  That  is  a  social  organization  that  up  to  the  present 
time  has  done  nothing  but  have  one  annual  dinner  every  year. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  do  not  talk  any  business  at  that  dinner? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir;  we  generally  have  some  right  good  Con- 
gressman to  come  there  and  deliver  a  speech.  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  get  Congressmen  to  go  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Yes,  sir;  we  do. 


BOOKS   AND   BOOK    PAPER GEORGE    SULLIVAN.  6325 

Mr.  CLARK.  Is  there  any  connection  between  this  book-paper  busi- 
ness and  the  news-paper  business? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  do  not  make  the  same  sort  of  paper? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  GAINES.  The  so-called  trust  is  the  International  Paper  Com- 
pany, is  it  not? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Indeed  I  do  not  know  just  what  you  call  a  trust. 
The  International  Paper  Company  is  an  organization,  so  far  as  my 
knowledge  goes,  that  only  makes  about  40  per  cent  of  the  production 
of  news  paper. 

Mr.  GAINES.  In  the  first  place,  have  you  any  connection  with  the 
International  Paper  Company? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  None  whatever;  no,  sir. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  proportion  of  the  product  that  it  deals  in  or 
manufactures  is  made  by  the  International  Paper  Company,  do  you 
know  ? 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  They  have  their  representatives  here,  and  those 
gentlemen  will  be  able  to  give  you  the  accurate  information.  What 
I  have  is  only  Hearsay. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Very  well,  we  will  get  it  from  them. 


BRIEF   OF   GEORGE   SULLIVAN,   PHILADELPHIA,   RELATIVE    TO 
BOOK  MANUFACTURING  AND  MATERIALS  USED. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  81,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN:  From  the  figures  given  by  the  Bureau  of  Census 
in  Bulletin  80  of  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  which 
are  assumed  to  be  correct,  it  would  appear  that  the  production  of 
book  papers  in  the  year  1900  amounted  to  282,093  tons.  This  was 
equivalent  to  an  average  daily  production  of  940  tons  calculated  on 
the  basis  of  300  actual  working  days  to  the  year. 

In  1905,  according  to  the  same  authority,  the  amount  of  book 
papers  manufactured  was  434.500  tons,  which  is  equal  to  an  average 
daily  product  of  1,448  tons  when  calculated  on  the  same  daily  basis 
as  above,  viz,  300  working  days  to  the  year.  This  increase  in  1905 
in  the  production  of  book  papers  is  particularly  impressive,  repre- 
senting, as  it  does,  an  increase  of  504  tons  per  day,  or  an  enlargement 
from  a  daily  average  of  940  tons  in  the  year  1900  to  a  daily  average 
of  1,448  tons  in  the  year  1905.  Hence  the  percentage  of  increase 
during  this  five-year  period  (from  1900  to  1905)  is  equal  to  about  54 
per  cent  in  the  production  of  book  papers  alone. 

The  present  estimated  average  daily  productive  capacity  of  all  the 
mills  in  the  United  States  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  book  papers 
and  similar  grade  is  calculated  to  be  about  2,328^  tons,  or,  say,  ap- 
proximately 2,330  tons.  Attached  hereto  is  a  detailed  statement  con- 
taining the  names  and  post-office  addresses  of  all  companies  pro- 


6326 


SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 


ducing  the  grades  of  paper  in  question,  euch  representing  a  distinct, 
separate,  and  independent  enterprise,  and  from  which  it  will  be  ob- 
served that  there  are  at  present  46  concerns  engaged  therein. 

Names  and  post-office  addresses  of  companies  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
book  paper  and  similar  grades. 


Company. 

Post-office  address. 

Average 
daily 
product 

American  Writing  Paper  Company  

Holyoke,  Mass  

Tom. 
69 
10 
4 
16 
24 
27 
13* 
100 
5 
180 
15 
120 
13 
33 
15 
25 
40 
25* 
70 
13 
50 
34 
50 
53* 
20 
35 
136 
29 
25 
24 
20 
27* 
21 
60 
87 
30 
120 
17 
31 
12 
49 
85 
19 
146 
328* 
42 

Amoskeag  Paper  Mills  Company  

Manchester,  N.  H  

Antietam  Paper  Company  

Hagerstown  Md 

Arlington  Paper  Company  
Bardeen  Paper  Company  

Salisbury  Mills,  N.  Y  
Otsego,  Mich  

Bare  Paper  Company  

Roaring  Spring,  Pa.... 

Bergstrom  Paper  Company  

Neenah,  Wis  

Bryan  t  Paper  Company  

Kalnmazoo,  Mich  ..... 

Bulk-lev,  Duntnn  &  Co  

Bancroft,  Mass  

Champion  Coated  Paper  Company  

Hamilton,  Ohio  

Claremont  Paper  Company  

Claremont,  N.  H  

Crocker,  Burbank  &  Co........  

Fitchburg,  Mass  .. 

Curtis  &  Bro  

Newark,  Del  

Dill  &  Collins  

Philadelphia,  Pa  .  .        • 

Elkhart  Paper  Mills-Company  

Elkhart,  Ind  

Everett  Pulp  and  Paper  Company  
Fitchburg  Paper  Company  

Everett,  Wash  

Fitchburg.  Mass  

French  Pa  per  Company..  

Nile*    Mich 

Friend  Paper  Company  

West  Carrollton,  Ohio. 

Frank  Gilbert  Paper  Company  

Waterford,  N.  Y  

Glatfelter  Co.,  P.  H  
Hamilton  &  Sons,  W.  C  

Spring  Forge,  Pa  
William  Penn  Post-Office,  Pa    

Hammermill  Paper  Company  

Erie   Pa 

Jessup  <fe  Moore  Paper  Co..  

Philadelphia,  Pa  

Kalamazoo  Paper  Co  

Kalamazoo,  Mich  

Kenmore  Pulp  and  Paper  Co 

Philadelphia.  Pa  . 

Kim  berl  v-Clark  Co  !  Neennh.  Wis  

King  Paper  Co  
Mead  Pulp  and  Paper  Co  

Kalamazoo.  Mich  
Chillicothe  Ohio    . 

Merrimac  Paper  Co.  
M  ichigan  Paper  Co  
Monadnock  Paper  Mills  

Lawrence,  Mass  
Plainwell,  Mich  
Benningtoii,  N.  H  

Monarch  Paper  Co  

Kalamnzoo  Mich 

Nashua  River  Paper  Co  

East  Pepperell.  Mass  .        .  . 

New  York  and  Pennsylvania  Co  

41  Park  Row  New  York 

Nixon  Paper  Co  

Manayunk,  Philadelphia,  Pa 

Oxford  Paper  Co................  

Rum  ford  Falls  Me 

Patten  Paper  Co  

Appleton,  Wis  

Poland  Paper  Co  
Reading  Paper  Mills  

Mechanic  Falls,  Me  
Philadelphia  Pa.           

Ticonderoga  Pulp  and  Paper  Co  

41  Park  Row,  New  York  

Tileston  &  Hollingsworth  Co  
Wanaque  River  Paper  Co  
Warren  &  Co.,  S.  D  
West  Virginia  Pulp  and  Paper  Co  

Boston,  Mass  
Wanaque,  N.  J  

Boston,  Mass  
309  Broadway,  New  York  

Wheelwright  Paper  Co  

Boston  Mass            .            .... 

Total  average  daily  production  

2,328* 

Unfortunately,  statistics  covering  the  production  of  book  paper  and 
similar  grades  for  the  current  calendar  year  are  unavailable,  the 
year  1908  being  still  incomplete  and  having  some  fifty-odd  working 
days  (the  months  of  November  and  December)  still  to  hear  from. 
But  estimating  the  production  for  the  year  1908  of  all  mills  engaged 
in  manufacturing  book  paper  and  similar  grades  at  about  90  per  cent 
of  the  normal  productive  capacity  we  would  have  an  estimated  av- 
erage daily  production  of  about  2,100  tons,  this  being  an  increase  of 
652  tons  per  day  over  and  above  the  production  for  the  year  1905, 
such  increase  amounting  to  about  45  per  cent. 


BOOKS   AND   BOOK    PAPER GEORGE    SULLIVAN. 


6327 


While  the  increase  of  54  per  cent  in  the  production  of  1905  over  the 
year  1900  seems  marvelous,  the  increase  in  the  production  for  the 
shorter  period  (from  1905  to  1908),  a  growth  estimated  at  about  45 
per  cent,  is  none  the  less  striking. 

Comparisons  of  the  average  daily  production  of  book  papers  for 
the  year  1900  and  the  estimated  average  daily  production  for  the 
year  1908  show  that  the  increase  and  growth  in  production  amounted 
to  approximately  123.4  per  cent  within  the  period  constituting  the 
last  eight  years. 

The  marvelous  growth  and  progress  manifested  in  this  one  par- 
ticular branch  of  the  paper-making  industry  during  the  eight-year 
period  indicated  proves,  if  anything  can,  that  its  wonderful  develop- 
ment became  possible  by  virtue  of  the  benign  influences  of  our  pro- 
tective tariff,  from  the  effects  of  which  it  has  materially  benefited. 

The  great  increase  in  production  of  book  papers  and  similar  grades 
is  largely  attributable  to  the  protective-tariff  system.  It  is  mainly 
responsible  for  the  erection  of  all  the  new  book-paper  mills  which 
have  been  constructed  during  the  past  eight  years,  likewise  for  addi- 
tions and  enlargements  to  older  plants  for  the  purpose  of  increasing 
their  capacities,  thus  providing  abundant  opportunity  for  employ- 
ment to  the  American  wage-earner  at  a  wage  scale  considerably 
higher  than  obtains  in  any  other  country. 

A  brief  resume  of  the  rates  of  wages  paid  to  employees  in  paper 
mills  of  this  country,  as  compared  with  the  rates  of  wages  paid  in 
paper  mills  of  other  countries,  will  undoubtedly  interest  your  com- 
mittee, and  data  of  this  character  is  hereto  appended,  together  with 
the  present  tariff  duties  in  force  and  covering  the  various  materials 
and  supplies  used  in  the  operation  and  conduct  of  paper  and  pulp 
mills  in  the  United  States. 

Scotch  mill  as  compared  with  Mcchanicsville  mills. 
[Average  of  various  companies  in  Scotland— Pay  per  two  weeks  (12  days).] 


Scotch 
mill. 

Mechan- 
icsvilla 
mill. 

Beater  men  

$20.00 

$46  08 

First  assistant 

12  50 

22  20 

Second  assistant  

8.75 

22.20 

Machine  men  

24.00 

66  16 

First  assistant  

12.  75 

30  24 

Second  assistant  

8.50 

27  36 

Gniss  boiler  man  ... 

17  50 

28  80 

Assistant  

10.00 

21  00 

Cnttermen  

18  75 

40  20 

Assistant  

7.60 

19  20 

Cutter  boys  

4  00 

15  00 

Head  machinist  

30  00 

45  00 

Good  journe  vmen  

15.00 

36  00 

Apprentices  

6.00 

34  20 

Head  firemen  

17  50 

42  00 

First  assistant  

11  25 

28  80 

Head  finisher  

20  00 

49  20 

Finishing  girls  

8  00 

16  00 

Tyers  up  

10.00 

Outside  labor  

9  00 

18  00 

Supercalender  man  

17  50 

29  04 

Helper  .  . 

8  00 

21  00 

Steam  engineers  

20  00 

33  00 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 36 


6328 


SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 


Rates  of  wages  paid  per  day  of  twelve  hours  in  the  United  States  as  compared 

with  other  countries. 


Department 

Occupation. 

United 
States. 

Aus- 
tria. 

Ger- 
many. 

Swe- 
den. 

Nor- 
way. 

Eng- 
land. 

Wood  room........ 

Sawyer  

$3.00 

80.75 

$0.87 

$0.90 

$0.95 

Barker  

2.68 

.75 

.87 

.90 

.95 

Spl  i  tter  

2.68 

.75 

.87 

.90 

.95 

Chipper  

2.68 

.75 

.87 

Digesters  .......... 

Head  cook  

4.50 

1.25 

1.50 

1.40 

1.50 

Cook  

8.66 

.90 

1.00 

1.00 

1.00 

Cook  helper  

3.00 

.70 

.75 

.70 

.80 

Beaters  

Paper  machines... 

Beater  man  

Machine  tender  

Second  hand.......  

2.83 
4.30 
2.15 

.80 
1.50 
1.00 

.90 
1.80 
1.20 

.80 
1.60 
1.10 

.90 
1.60 
1.20 

$1.20 
2.75 
1.60 

Third  hand  

1.65 

1.00 

1.20 

1.10 

1.00 

1.25 

Fourth  hand  

1.65 

.80 

.87 

.80 

.80 

1.05 

Repairs  

Head  millwright  

4.66 

1.10 

1.25 

1.20 

1.20 

2.00 

Millwright  

3.60 

.90 

1.00 

1.00 

1.0) 

1.10 

Millwright  helper  

2.40 

.75 

.75 

.80 

.90 

Carpenters  

2.35 

.90 

1.00 

.90 

.90 

1.25 

Mason  

6.00 

.90 

1.00 

.90 

.90 

1.25 

Painter  

2.00 

.90 

.87 

.90 

.80 

1.10 

Electrician  

4.00 

1.00 

1.25 

1.10 

1.00 

1.25 

Laborers  

2.20 

.60 

.75 

.75 

.70 

.90 

Teamsters  

2.20 

.60 

.87 

.85 

.80 

1.00 

Scale  of  wages  paid  at  Duncan  mills,  Mechanicsville,  N.  Y.,  1898-1908. 

[Wages  shown  for  1893  are  those  paid  in  the  month  of  May,  which  was  prior  to  a  gen- 
eral   reduction   of   10  per  cent.     Said   reduction   remained  in  effect  until  after  May. 

1898.]  . 

PAPER  MILL. 


V. 

1893. 

1898. 

1903. 

1908. 

Percentage 
of  increase 
between 
lowest  and 
present 
rates. 

Foreman,  night  

$4.00 

$3.75 

$4.00 

$8.24 

120 

Foreman,  finishing  room  

3.00 

2.70 

3.75 

4.19 

65 

Finishers  

2.00 

1.80 

2.20 

2.40 

33J 

Foreman  cutter  room         ....    

1.75 

1.80 

2.60 

3.65 

109 

1.50 

1.85 

2  00 

33i 

Crane  men  cutter  room    .  .  .    .         

2.0D 

1.50 

1.35 

1.40 

1.60 

18 

Broke  men  .      ..            ..        ... 

1.25 

1.30 

1.50 

20 

Cutter  girls  

1.00 

.90 

1.10 

1.25 

40 

Foreman,  calender  room  

2.00 

2.40 

4.44 

122 

Assistant  foreman,  calender  room  

2.75 

Men  (66  calenders)  

2.15 

2.30 

7 

Men  (52  calenders)  

2.15 

2.25 

4 

Men  (44  calenders)  

1.75 

1.57 

2.15 

2.20 

40 

Helpers,  calenders  ........  

1.50 

1.35 

1.68 

1  75 

80 

Re  wi  nder  runners.  

2.15 

1.75 

23 

Re  wi  nder  helpers  

1.68 

l.fiO 

& 

Foreman,  1  and  2  machine  room  

7.16 

Foreman,  3  and  4  machine  room  

4.00 

5.00 

7.16 

79 

Foreman,  5  and  6  machine  room......  

7.16 

Machine  tenders  

3.00 

Q     OQ 

3.  SO 

4.75 

58 

Back  tenders  and  oilers  

1.50 

1.69 

1.92 

2.38 

58 

Wipers  (davs  only)  

1.40 

1.60 

14 

Beater  engineers  

2.50 

2  93 

3  05 

4  00 

60 

Beater  helpers.....  

1.50 

1.35 

1.75 

1.85 

37 

Beater  wipers  

1  40 

1  60 

14 

Foreman,  clay  room  

2.00 

Helpers,  clav  room   ..... 

1  75 

1  85 

6 

Broke  mixing  machine  

1.75 

Engineers  on  steam  engines  

2  00 

2  66 

2  75 

37i 

Motormen  

1.90 

2.00 

5 

Taking  cure  of  pumps        

1  40 

2  00 

43 

Belt  repairer  (whole  mill)  

1.50 

1.35 

]  tiO 

2.00 

48 

Belt  repairer's  helper  (whole  mill)  

1  60 

1.85 

16 

1.50 

1.35 

1.72 

1.85 

87 

1.  50 

1  S5 

1  60 

1.75 

30 

Laborers.  .... 

1  2") 

1  12 

1  40 

1  60 

43 

Mechanics  

2.50 

2.25 

2  (50 

3  00 

88| 

Mechanics'  helpers  .... 

1  50 

1  85 

1  50 

1  75 

80 

BOOKS  AND   BOOK    PAPER GEOEGE    SULLIVAN. 


6329 


Scale  of  wages  paid  at  Duncan  mills,  Mechanicsville,  Jf.  Y.,  1893-1908 — Cont'd. 

SULPHITE  MILL. 


1893. 

1898. 

1903. 

1908. 

Percentage 
of  increase 
between 
lowest  and 
present 
rates. 

$3.00 

$3.84 

$4.83 

$5.25 

75 

3.00 

3.50 

3.85 

28 

1.35 

1.63 

1.85 

37 

1.25 

1.40 

1.65 

32 

Bleachers  

1.75 

1.57 

1.85 

2.10 

34 

1.25 

1.25 

1.63 

30 

1.80 

1.80 

1.24 

1.40 

13 

2.50 

2.75 

2.85 

2.90 

16 

First  digester  cook  helpers  

1.50 

1.60 

l.CO 

1.85 

23 

1.35 

1.45 

1.70 

26 

Acid  makers       

2.00 

2.00 

2.10 

2.75 

37i 

Acid  maker  helpers  

1.37 

1.35 

1.45 

1.75 

30 

Screen  men  

1.25 

1.35 

1.69 

1.75 

40 

Screen  men  helpers.....  

1.25 

1.63 

1.65 

32 

Blow  pitmen  

1.25 

1.25 

1.63 

1.65 

32 

Foreman  wood  room  

1.50 

1.70 

1.85 

2.25 

50 

Helpers,  wood  room  

1.  25 

1.12 

1.40 

1.65 

47 

Lead  burner    

3.50 

3.15 

3.75 

4.00 

27 

Lead-burner  helper  

1.25 

1.40 

1.75 

40 

Mechanics  

2.50 

2.25 

2.60 

3.00 

33} 

Mechanic  helpers  

1.50 

1.35 

1.40 

1.75 

30 

Watchman  

1.50 

1.35 

1.60 

1.75 

30 

Laborers  

1.25 

1.12 

1.40 

1.65 

47 

SODA  MILL. 


Foreman  day                 .             .  .......... 

$4.80 

$4.33 

$5.00 

$6.40 

48 

Assistant  foreman,  day  

2.00 

2.25 

2.35 

4.06 

103 

Foreman,  night  

1.87 

2.  CO 

2.25 

2.40 

28 

Machine  tenders  

2.25 

2.02 

2.35 

2.75 

36 

First  machine  back  tenders  

1.75 

1.45 

1.60 

1.65 

14 

Second  machine  back  tenders  

1.25 

1.45 

1.60 

28 

Bleachers            

1.75 

1.57 

2.16 

2.10 

34 

Bleacher  helpers  

1.25 

1.12 

1.63 

45 

Screen  men  

1.37 

1.24 

1.63 

1.65 

33 

Foreman,  wood  room  

1.37 

1.12 

1.85 

2.25 

100 

Helpers,  wood  room  

1.25 

1.12 

1.45 

1.65 

47 

Foreman,  pit  room  

1.50 

1.35 

2.04 

2.00 

48 

Helpers,  pit  room  

1.25 

1.12 

1.40 

1.65 

47 

Digestor  cooks  

2.50 

2.25 

2.62 

2.75 

22 

1  37 

1  24 

1  69 

1  70 

37 

Second  hel  pers  

1.37 

1.24 

1.45 

1.65 

33 

Foreman,  liquor  room  

2.00 

1.80 

2.10 

2.33 

29 

Helpers,  liquor  room  

1.37 

1.24 

1.63 

1.65 

83 

Foreman,  leach  liquor  makers  

1.50 

1.35 

1.87 

2.10 

56 

First  helpers,  leach  liquor  makers  

1.50 

1.35 

1.63 

1.85 

37 

Second  helpers,  leach  liquor  makers  

1.25 

1.12 

1.40 

1.70 

52 

Foreman  ,  rotaries  

2.00 

1.80 

2.10 

2.30 

28 

Helpers,  rotaries.  .  . 

1.75 

1.57 

1.85 

2.05 

30 

bo  

1.50 

1.35 

1.60 

1.65 

22 

Evaporator  men  

1.75 

1.57 

2.16 

2.25 

43 

Men  unloading  lime  and  soda  ash  

1.26 

1.12 

1.40 

1.65 

47 

Men  handling  soda  pulp  

1.65 

Mechanics 

2  50 

2  25 

2  60 

3  00 

33J 

Mechanics'  helpers  

1  50 

1  35 

1.40 

1.75 

30 

Watchman  

1.50 

1.35 

1.60 

1.75 

30 

Ln  borers  

1  25 

1  12 

1.40 

1  60 

43 

BOILER  HOUSE. 

Forem  an  

$2.40 

$2.50 
1.75 
1.35 
1.12 

$3.25 
2.16 
2.00 
1.65 

$3.50 
2.40 
2.40 
1.75 

46 
37 
80 
56 

Water  tender  

Fireman  

i.50 
1.25 

Coal  and  ash  handlers  ,  

6330 


SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 


Scale  of  wages  paid  at  Duncan  mills,  ilcchanicsvttle,  N.  I7.,  1893-1908 — Cont'd. 

MACHINE  SIIOP. 


1893. 

1898. 

1903. 

1908. 

Percentage 
of  increase 
between 
lowest  and 
present 
rates. 

Foreman  of  mechanics  

$5.00 

85.00 

$6.00 

$7  84 

57 

Bhop  foreman  

3.00 

2.50 

2.75 

3.75 

50 

Mechanics  aud  millwrights  

2.50 

2.25 

2.60 

3  00 

831 

Do  

2.35 

2.60 

10" 

Do  

2.25 

2.35 

4 

Do  

2.10 

2.25 

7 

Mechanics'  helpers  

1.50 

1.35 

1.50 

1  70 

26 

Foreman  of  pipers  

2.50 

3.75 

50 

Pipers     .....  ..  

2  25 

2  02 

2.35 

3  00 

48 

Do  

2.25 

2.02 

2.35 

2.50 

24 

Do  

1.50 

1.35 

1.45 

2.00 

48 

Blacksmiths  

2.76 

2.47 

2  85 

3.50 

42 

Blacksmiths'  helpers  

1.25 

1.25 

1.50 

20 

Masons  

3.00 

2.25 

3.75 

4.50 

100 

Do  

3.50 

4.25 

21 

Masons'  helpers  

1  50 

1  35 

1.55 

1.75 

30 

1  25 

1  50 

1  70 

2  33 

86 

1  35 

1  60 

1  75 

30 

Pai  nters  

2.00 

Painters'  helpers  

1.70 

Foreman  electrician  

6.00 

8.42 

40 

Electrician  

1  80 

2  29 

3  08 

71 

Do  

1.80 

2  00 

2.50 

89 

Do  

2  00 

2  00 

Labor  

1.25 

1  12 

1  40 

1.60 

43 

YARD. 


Foreman  

$2.25 

$2  25 

$2.75 

$3.92 

74 

Assistant  foreman  

1  37 

1  75 

1  75 

2  10 

53 

Do  

1  37 

1  35 

1  65 

1.75 

30 

Teamsters  

1  25 

1  25 

1  50 

1  75 

40 

Barn  man  

1  25 

1  25 

1.60 

1  60 

28 

Wood  handlers......  . 

1  25 

1  12 

1  40 

1  60 

43 

Yard  helpers  

1  25 

1  25 

1  45 

1  65 

82 

1.25 

1.12 

1.45 

1.75 

56 

Comparative  wages  of  Tyrone  (Pa.)  mill. 


1908. 

1893. 

1898. 

1903. 

Wages. 

Average 
daily  bonus 
for  year 
1907. 

Total  daily 
wage  and 
bonus. 

Night  foreman  paper  mill  

Finishers: 
Boss  and  shipper 

$3.50 
•100.00 

$3.50 
3.00 

$3.75 
3.25 

$4.00 
3.25 

$0.49 

$4.49 

Assistant  shipper,  etc    ____ 

3.00 

Checker,  etc 

2.00 

Trimmers  

1.75 

1.75 

1.90 

2.15 

Do      .. 

2.05 

Do 

1  00 

Finishers        , 

1.50 

1.60 

1.75 

2.00 

Counters,  girls 

.75 

.90 

1.00 

1.10 

Do  „ 

1.00 

1.00 

\        1.10 

1.20 

Cases  and  frames: 
Frame  maker  
Do  

1.10 

(») 
(f>) 

1.10 

(») 
(*) 

J 

8 

1.65 
1.90 



. 

Cutters: 
Cutter  girl,  machine,  first  year.. 
Cutter   girl,    machine,  second 
year... 

.65 
.75 

.65 

.75 

.75 
.85 

.85 
.96 





•Per  month.          •  During  1893,  1898,  and  1903  frames  were  made  by  contract. 


BOOKS  AND   BOOK    PAPER GEORGE    SULLIVAN. 

Comparative  wages  of  Tyrone  (Pa.)  mill — Continued. 


6331 


1908. 

1893. 

1898. 

1903. 

Wages. 

Average 
daily  bonug 
for  year 
1907. 

Total  daily 
wage  and 
bonus. 

Cutters  —  Con  tinned  . 
Cutter  girl,  roll  

Do 

$0.75 
90 

$0.75 
90 

$1.00 

$1.10 

Cutter  boss                     

2.25 

2.00 

2.10 

3.00 

$0  32 

$3  32 

Cutter  boss  assistant-    --    - 

1.90 

Cutter  boss  helper  -  .  

1.25 

1.25 

1.45 

1.65 

Super  calendars: 
Runner                  .         _    -. 

1.75 

1.60 

1  65 

1  80 

Helper  

1.25 

1.25 

\        1.40 

1.65 

Machine  room: 

Mflrhlnp  fndT          .              ..._,„.   , 

1.50 
3.00 

1.50 
3.00 

/ 

3  25 

8.50 

.32 

8  82 

Do         

2.75 

2.75 

3.00 

3.25 

.32 

8  57 

Back  tender  

1.35 

1.35 

1.50 

1.90 

.16 

2  00 

Back  tender  helper  

1.25 

1.25 

1.85 

1.50 

Winder  boys.    _    

.85 

1.10 

Beater  room: 
Boss  beater  man  

Helper  .  .               _    _    _ 

(        1.75 
2.00 
2.25 
2.75 

1.30 

i       2.75 
1.35 

3.00 
1.50 

8.25 
f        1.65 

.32 
}              .16 

8.57 
f             1.81 

Clay  mixer  

1.50 

1.60 

\        1.90 
1.65 

j 

I             2.06 

Size.  etc.    

1.35 

1.50 

1.60 

1.90 

Engineers  and  firemen: 
Chief  engineer  _ 

•  100.00 

•100.00 

«  125.00 

•135.00 

"8.00 

•  143  00 

Engineers  

1.7? 

1.75 

2.00 

2.20 

Firemen.    .    _ 

1.60 
1  70 

I       1.75 

f        2.00 

2.20 

Ash  wheelers,  etc  

Mechanical  department: 
•  Boss 

1.75 
1.35 
3.25 

1 
/        1.25 
(        1.50 
•110.00 

\        2.10 

|        1.45 
•125.00 

2.45 

1.65 
•135.00 

•8.00 

•143.00 

Mechanics  

1.50 

1.50 

1.60 

1.75 

Do  

1.75 

1.75 

1.90 

Do 

1  85 

2.00 

2.20 

Do      
Do  

2.00 
2.25 

2.00 
2.25 

2.20 
2.50 

2.40 
2.70 





Do  _ 

2.50 

2.50 

2.75 

2.!)5 

Oilers  

1.75 

f        1.60 

1.90 





Outside  labor: 

Boss  ,_ 

1.75 

1.75 

2  00 

2.50 

Common  

1  35 

f        1.25 

|        i  45 

1.65 

Paper  loader  . 

1.35 

I        1.85 
f        1.35 

1.45 

^        1.80 

Night  watchman  

1.35 

\        1.50 
1  5C 

1.75 

( 

1.90 

Teamsters  

1  35 

1  3£ 

1  50 

1.75 

Do  _. 

1.50 

1.50 

1  GO 

1.90 

Do..  

1.75 

1.75 

1.90 

2.05 

Bleach  and  wet  machines: 
Bleach  mixers  ._  . 

1  60 

1  90 

Wet  iiKii-iiines  and  screens 

1.35 

1.35 

1.45 

1.75 

Bleachers,  etc    _ 

1  75 

1  75 

2  20 

2.35 

Bleachers'  helpers.  . 

1.60 

l.GO 

1.75 

1.90 

Digesters,  dumping  and  alkali: 
Digesters  

1.70 

1.70 

1.85 

2.15 

Digesters'  helpers  

1  50 

1  50 

1.60 

1.75 

Pan  room  

1.60 

1.60 

1.75 

1.90 

Pan-room  helpers  

1.35 

1.35 

1.45 

1.65 

Alkali.  

1.70 

1.70 

1.85 

2.00 

.12 

2.12 

Alkali  helper  

1.50 

1.60 

1.75 

.06 

1.81 

Evaporn  tors.  rotaries,  and  leachers: 
Assistant  to  pulp  superintendent 

1.75 

2.25 

.12 

2.37 

Evaporators  

1  60 

1  60 

1  75 

2.00 

Rotary  .    . 

1.75 

1.75 

1.&5 

2.15 

Rotary  helper  

1.50 

1  75 

Leacher  

1.70 

1.70 

1.85 

2.00 

Leacher  helper..    

1.50 

Chipper: 
Chipper  

1.50 

1.50 

1  60 

1.75 

Helper  

1.35 

1.35 

1  60 

1  65 

•  Per  montn. 


6332  SCHEDULE    M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

Comparison  of  wages  paid  at  pulp  mill  at  Luke,  Md. 


May,  1891. 

January, 
1894. 

May,  1899. 

May,  1904. 

May,  1907. 

Common  laborer  

Tour  workers  

|1.25 
1.333 

$1.15 
1.20 

$1.20 
1.30 

$1.35 
1.40 

$1.45 
1  50 

Machine  room  foreman  (J.  Ryan)  
Cookers  . 

3.00 
2.50 

2.70 
2.25 

3.00 
2.25 

4.00 
2.35 

5.72 
3  46 

Boss  pipe  fitter  .  

2.25 

2.25 

2.25 

3.10 

4  51 

Chief  millwright  

2.50 

2.2) 

2.375 

3.10 

4.46 

Assistants  to  millwrights  

2.00 

2.00 

2.00 

$2.25-2.50 

$2.25-2.50 

Chief  engineer  

3.50 

3.63 

3  40 

3  08 

5  51 

Engineers  

1.75 

1.75 

1.75 

2.00 

2  10 

Firemen  .  

1.50 

$1.40-1.50 

$1.40-1.60 

1  50-1  70 

2  00-2  25 

Employees  working  regularly  for  more  than  one  year  now  receive  5  per  cent  bonus,  ex- 
cept foremen.  This  additional  5  per  cent  has  not  been  figured  In  the  above  statement. — 
West  Virginia  Pulp  and  Paper  Company. 

Comparison  of  daily  wages  paid  at  paper  mills  at  Luke,  Md. 


May,  1893. 

May,  1899. 

May,  1904. 

May,  1907. 

Boss  finisher             ...     .    __    __              „    ___    _ 

$2.50 

$2.666 

$3.55 

$3  65 

Finishing-room  girls  ... 

.75 

.75 

.80 

.95 

Calendar-room  boss  (T.  Gormley)  

2.50 

2.75 

8.46 

8.46 

Cutter  girls    

.75 

.666 

.70 

.80 

Machine  tenders  

8.00 

2.75 

4.15 

4.76 

Beater  mpn       __                 __              __  .       _„ 

2.50 

2.50 

8.10 

3.54 

Back  tenders  ._.._._.._._____    ....    ...  _  „ 

1.50 

1.60 

1.99 

2.30 

Outside  labor  J  

1.25 

1.25 

1.35 

1.45 

Boss  millwright  ....  ....  __    ........ 

2.50 

2.50 

2.90 

8.10 

Boss  machinist  .  

2.50 

2.50 

2.90 

3.10 

Helpers  on  calenders    ..    ._  .__..___    __._...    ... 

•1.15 

1.25 

1.40 

1.50 

•  Mostly. 

Machine  tenders,  beater  men,  and  back  tenders  arc  now  paid  double  time  for  working  on  Sat- 
urday nights,  and  due  allowance  has  been  made  for  this  (as  well  as  for  bonuses)  in  the  figures 
for  May,  1907.  Wages  at  present  time  are  same  as  May,  1907. — West  Virginia  Pulp  and  Paper 
Company. 

Have  not  considered  the  5  per  cent  bonus  paid  employees  who  remain  one  year  or  longer  la 
the  May,  1907,  column. 

Comparison  of  wages  paid  at  pulp  mill  at  Davis,  W.  Va. 


July,  1898. 

July,  1903. 

September, 
liX)7. 

.per  month  

$75.00 

$90.00 

$185  60 

Assistant  superintendent  (H.  Male)  ...___ 

do  

•2.00 

80.00 

175.60 

.    per  day  

2.25 

4  93 

do 

1.75 

2.00 

2  57 

Chip-house  foreman  (Shoemaker)  . 

..do  

1.60 

2.00 

3.52 

_  do  

2.00 

2.00 

3.52 

.    __  do.    . 

2.00 

2.25 

2.34 

do  

1.60 

1.75 

»2.00 

Coal  wheelers       _  _    _    _    ...    .  ._ 

_                  do 

1.333 

$1.40-1.50 

None. 

do 

1.15 

1.35-1.40 

$1.35-1  50 

Wood  peelers    ....____..          __    __       ... 

.per  cord  

.85 

1.00 

1.10 

•  Per  day. 
West  Virginia  Pulp  and  Paper  Company. 


•Gas. 


BOOKS  AND  BOOK   PAPER — GEOKGE   SULLIVAN.  6333 

Comparative  labor  figures — Paper  mill  (per  day). 


June,  1900. 

April,  1903. 

April,  1908. 

Finishers      „       _                 „    

|1.76 

fl.78 

(2  17 

Counters  (girls)                   _    _    _            

.62 

.78 

90 

Cutters  (men) 

1.51 

1  98 

2  31 

Cutters  (girls)  

.59 

.67 

.84 

Cases  and  frames  

1.36 

1.35 

1.60 

Boss  machine  tender    _                       _______    

4.28 

9.11 

$6.82-7.28 

Machine  tender  _. 

3.00 

3.73 

4.21-1.51 

Back  tenders.    ...        .  „ 

1.50 

1.79 

2.24-2.41 

Third  hands  and  reels 

1  14 

1  26 

1  43 

Beatermen                       ._  _       -      -       -  - 

2.62 

3.73 

4.24—U44 

Helpers  on  beaters          __         -      - 

1  34 

1.40 

1.74 

Outside  labor  _  _       _    _ 

1.25 

1.36 

1.53 

Mechanics 

2.50 

2.67 

2.69 

Supers  (runners)  _. 

•1.75 

1.76 

2.28 

Supers  (helpers)    _                 -                 

•1.25 

1.25 

1.38 

Common  labor  .    __    

1.25 

1.25 

1.40 

All  kinds  .  

1.33 

1.53 

1.87 

Office,  including  chemist  

2.61 

4.31 

3.91 

•  July. 
West  Virginia  Pulp  and  Paper  Company,  Covington,  Va. 

Comparative  labor  figures — Sulphite  mill  (per  day). 


June,  1900. 

April,  1903. 

April,  1908. 

Foreman  (drainer  room  to  machine  room)      ...  ... 

$3.34 

$5.00 

$8.26 

Foreman  (night,  drainer  room  to  machine  room)  

2.75 

Machine  tender  _. 

2.75 

2.61 

3.78 

Back  tender                       _  _         ___          -  -         -  

1.50 

1.50 

1.83 

Wet  machines    - 

1.40 

1.75 

1.37 

1.42 

1.69 

Reel  men             _              

1.33 

1.35 

1.75 

Bleachers  -        -  -  

1.67 

1.50 

1.91 

Bleach  mixers  '  

1.40 

1.50 

1.60 

Screens,  blow  pits,  and  drainers    __    

1.30 

1.24 

1.54 

Foreman  (digesters  and  acid  room)  

2.88 

3.01 

4.98-5.82 

Cookers      .  

2.00 

2.04 

3.24 

2.00 

1  87 

2  80 

Helpers  (acid  room  and  digesters)  _  _    _    _ 

1.32 

1.29 

1.61 

Mechanics         . 

2.01 

1.93 

2.12 

Foreman  (chip  house  and  yard)  

2.69 

2.69 

4.03-4.45 

Chip  house  

1.27 

1.47 

1.59 

Engineers  and  firemen  

1.58 

1.69 

1.96 

Outside  labor  

1.33 

1.38 

1.45 

Common  labor  

1.25 

1.25 

1.40 

All  kinds- 

1.48 

1.59 

1.82 

See  paper  mill  figures  for  ofiice.     West  Virginia  Pulp  and  Paper  Company,  Covington,  Va. 

Mechanics  in  sulphite  mill,  April,  1908. — Two,  at  $3.20;  one,  at  $2.75;  two,  at 
$2.50;  one,  at  $2.45;  one,  at  $2.40;  one,  at  $2.38;  four,  at  $2.25;  two,  at  $2.20; 
two,  at  $2.15;  one,  at  $2.10;  three,  at  $2;  two,  at  $1.75;  two,  at  $1.60;  one,  at 
$1.50;  fourteen,  at  $1.40;  one,  at  $1.35;  two,  at  $1.25. 

Scale  of  wages  at  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  Company's  Johnsonburg  mill 

from  1898  to  1908. 


Names. 

1898. 

1899. 

1900. 

1901. 

1902. 

1903. 

1904. 

1905. 

1906. 

1907. 

1908. 

Per 

cent. 

Oilers  

81.25 

$1.25J 

SI.  40 

81.50 

$1.50 

SI.  50 

$1.50 

$1.50 

SI.  50 

SI.  50 

$1.60 

28 

Repair  crew: 
Blacksmith  

2.50 

2.60 

1.35 
2.25 

1.40 
2.25 

1.40 
2  25 

1.40 
2.60 

1.40 
2.50 

1.40 
/2.75 

1.40 
2.75 

1.40 
2.75 

1.80 
2.75 

40 

ho 

Helper  
Head  carpenter  
Carpenters  
Helpers  

1.20 
2.25 
1.75 
1.50 

1.50 
2.00 
1.75 
1.50 

1.50 
2.25 
2.00 
1.50 

1.75 
2.50 
2.25 
1.40 

1.40 
2.50 
2.25 
1.40 

1.40 
2.50 
2.50 
1.40 

1.60 
2.75 
2.50 
1.60 

\2.  50 
1.00 
3.00 
2.50 
1.60 

2.50 
1.60 
3.00 
2.50 
1.60 

2.50 
1.60 
3.00 
2.50 
1.60 

2.75 
1.75 
3.50 
2.50 
1.60 

I 

46 
55 

43 
7 

Masons  

2.75 

2.75 

(4.00 

4.00 

Is.  25 

4.00 

4.00 

4.00 

4.00 

4.00 

4.00 

45 

Helpers  

1.20 

1.20 

\2.  75 
1.35 

2.75 
1.40 

1 
1.40 

1.40 

1.50 

1.60 

1.60 

L60 

f2.50 

}38 

\1.60 

J 

6334 


SCHEDULE   M — PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 


Scale  of  wages  at  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  Company's  Johnsonburg  mitt 
from  1898  to  1908— Continued. 


Names. 

1898. 

1899. 

1900. 

1901. 

1902. 

1903. 

1904. 

1905. 

1906. 

1907. 

1908. 

Per 

cent. 

Repair  crew—  Continued. 
Machinists  

Do  
Do  

Helpers.  .......... 

82.50 

2.25 
2.00 

82.50 

2.25 
2.00 
1.20 
2.50 
2.50 
1.50 

82.50 

2.25 
2.00 
1.35 
2.50 
2.  50 
1.50 

$2.75 

2.25 
2.00 
1.50 
2.50 
2.75 
1.40 

82.75 

2.60 
2.00 
1.60 
2.50 
2.75 
1.60 

S2.75J 

2.50 
2.25 
1.60 
2.50 
3.00 
1.60 

83.00 
2.75 
2.50 
2.25 
1.75 
2.75 
3.00 
1.75 

83.00 
2.75 
2.50 
2.25 
1.75 
2.75 
3.00 
1.75 

83.00 
2.75 
2.50 
2.25 
1.75 
2.75 
2.25 
1.75 

83.00 
2.75 
2.50 
2.25 
1.75 
2.75 
2.  25 
1.75 

83.50 
3.00 
2.75 
2.50 
1.75 
2.  75 
2.75 
1.75 

(20 

22 
25 
45 
10 
10 
16 
50 
66 

}46 

43 
46 
56 
54 
18 

Millwright  

2.50 
2.50 
1.50 

Pipe  fitters,  headman. 
Do  

2.00 
1.50 

1.20 

1.75 
1.20 
11.50 

2.00 
1.50 

1.20 

1.75 

1.20 
1.50 

1.75 
1.75 

1.35 

1.90 
1.35 
1.65 

2.00 
1.90 

1.40 

2.00 

1.60 
1.80 

2.75 
1.90 
fl.75 
\1.40 
2.00 
1.60 
1.80 

3.00 
2.00 
1.75 
1.40 
2.25 
1.60 
2.00 

3.00 
2.00 
1.75 
1.40 
2.60 
1.75 
2.00 

3.00 
2.25 
2.00 
1.50 
2.50 
1.75 
2.20 

3.00 
2.25 
2.00 
1.60 
2.50 
1.75 
2.20 

3.00 
2.  25 
2.00 
1.50 
2.50 
1.75 
2.  ?0 

3.00 
2.50 
2.00 
1.75 
2.50 
1.75 
2.35 

Pipe  fitters,  helpers... 

Painters  
Do  

i 

1.20 

1.45 
1.35 

1.50 
1.40 

1.50 
1.40 

1.50 
1.40 

1.50 
1.40 

1.50 
1.40 

1.50 
1.40 

1.75 
1.50 
1.40 

1.85 
1.60 
1.50 

1.25 

1.25 

1.50 

1.60 

1.60 

1.60 

1.60 

1.60 

1.60 

1.60 

1.75 

40 
33 

86 

1.50 

1.75 
.75 

1.75 
1.15 

1.85 
1.30 

1.85 
1.30 

2.00 
1.40 

2.00 
1.40 

2.00 
1.40 

2.00 
1.40 

2.00 
1.40 

2.00 
1.40 

/1.  75 

\1.  50 
1.75 

2.50 
1.50 

1.75 

2.50 
1.50 

1.75 

2.50 
1.50 

1.85 

2.50 
2.00 
1.50 

1.75 
1.50 
1.90 

1.60 
1.40 

2.00 

2.50 
2.00 
1.50 

1.90 
1.50 
1.90 

1.60 
1.40 

2.10 

2.50 
2.25 
1.75 

1.90 
1.50 
2.10 

1.70 
1.60 
1.40 

2.50 
1.65 

2.25 
1.75 
1.65 
1.60 

2.00 
1.90 
1.70 
1.40 

2.10 

2.50 
2.  25 
1.75 

1.90 
1.50 
2.25 

1.70 
1.60 
1.40 

2.50 
1.65 

2.25 
1.90 
1.50 
1.50 

1.90 
1.60 

2.10 

2.50 
2.25 
1.75 

1.90 
1.50 
2.25 

1.80 
1.60 
1.40 

3.00 
1.80 

2.25 

1.90 
1.50 
1.50 

1.90 
1.50 
1.40 

2.30 

2.50 
2.50 
1.75 

1.90 
1.50 
2.25 

1.80 
1.60 
1.40 

3.00 
1.80 

2.25 
1.90 
1.50 
1.40 

1.90 

1.50 
1.40 

2.30 

2.50 

2.50 
1.75 

1.90 

1.50 
2.25 

1.90 
1.80 
1.70 

3.00 
1.80 

2.25 
1.90 

1.50 
1.50 

1.90 
1.50 
1.40 

2.50 

2.50 
2.70 
1.85 

2.15 
1.75 

2.40 

1.90 
1.70 
1.60 

3.26 

2.15 

2.40 
2.  15 
1.80 

1.80 

1.90 
1.60 
1.50 

43 

Acid: 

37.03 

"so"" 

23 

23 
40 
26 

19 
21 
14 

62 
43 

20 
43 
44 
50 

Helper  
Do  :  

Bleachers: 

1.75 
1.  25 
1.90 

1.60 
1.40 

1.75 
1.25 
1.90 

1.60 
1.40 

1.75 
1.35 
1.90 

1.60 
1.40 

Helpers  ^... 

Chipper  men: 

Do     

Digesters: 

2.00 
1.50 

2.00 
1.50 
1.25 
1.20 

2.25 
1.50 

2.00 
1.50 
1.50 

2.25 
1.65 

2.25 
1.65 
1.65 

2.50 
1.05 

2.25 
1.70 
1.65 
1.601 

1.90 

1.80 
1.70 

2.50 
1.65 

2.25 
1.70 
1.65' 
1.50 

1.90 
1.80 
1.70 
1.40 

Machine: 
Machine  tender  

.  Cutter  
Wneelers  
Do  

Filters: 

1.75 

1.75 
1.50 

1.75 
1.60 
1.40 

36.28 

8 
7 

Helper  
Do  
Do          

Finishers: 
Head  man  

2.50 
2.00 

2.50 
1.76 

2.50 
1.75 

2.50 
2.00 

2.50 
2.00 

2.50 

2.00 

2.50 
2.00 

2.50 
2.00 

2.50 
2.  25 

2.50 
2.  25 

2.50 
2.25 

"iz" 

14 
16 

£ 

53 
47 

1.75 
1.50 

1.75 
1.50 

1.75 

1.75 

1.75 

1.75 

2.00 
1.75 
1.40 
1.50 
1.15 
1.00 

2.20 
1.40 

2.00 
1.75 
1.50 
1.60 
1.25 
1.15 

2.20 

1.40 

2.00 
1.75 
1.50 
1.60 
1.25 
1.15 

2.20 
1.40 

2.00 
1.75 
1.50 
1.60 
1.25 
1.15 

2.20 
1.40 

2.00 
1.75 
1.50 
1.60 
1.25 
1.15 

2.35 
1.50 

Do        

Frame  handler  ....... 

1.40 

.90 
.75 

1.40 

.90 
.75 

(1.40 
\1.50 
1.00 

1.40 
1.50 
1.15 
.90 

1.80 

1.40 
1.50 
1.15 
.90 

1.80 

1.40 
1.50 
1.15 

.90 

2.00 

Do  

Leachers: 
l>eacher  men  ......... 

1.60 

1.60 

1.60 

Machine  men: 
Pulp  machine  tenders. 
•Pulp  back  tenders.... 
Pulp  finisher.......... 

2,00 
1.50 
1.60 
.75 

3.50 
1.60 

1.20 

2.00 
1.50 
1.60 
.75 

3.50 
1.60 
1.20 

2.00 
1.50 
l.fiO 
1.35 

3.50 

1.60 

J1.35 
\1.30 

2.00 

1.50 
1.60 
1.40 

3.50 

1.75 

1.60 
1.45 
1.00 

2.00 

1.  60 
1.65 
1.40 
/3.80 
\4.30 
[•2.15 
\1.90 
1.60 
1.45 
2.00 
1.45 

2.00 
1.60 
1.65 
1.40 
3.80 
4.30 
2.15 
1.90 
1.65 
1.45 
1.45 

2.00 
1.60 
1.65 
1.40 
3.75 
4.30 
2.00 
1.90 
1.60 
1.45 
1.45 

2.00 
1.60 
1.65 
1.40 
4.00 
4.30 
2.00 
2.15 
1.60 
1.45 
1.45 

2.00 
1.60 
1.65 
1.40 
4.00 
4.30 
2.00 
2.15 
1.60 
1.45 
1.45 

2.00 
1.60 
1.65 
1.40 
4.00 
4.30 
2.UO 
2.15 
1.60 
1.45 
1  45 

2.25 
1.75 
1.80 
1.50 
4.00 
4.30 
2.00 
2.15 
1.60 
1.45 
1.45 

12 
16 
12 
100 

14 
28 

20 

Pulp  reel  boy  

Paper  machine  tenders 
Paper  back  tenders  .  .  . 

Paper  third  hand  
Broke  hustler  

Do... 

BOOKS  AND   BOOK   PAPER — GEORGE   SULLIVAN. 


6335 


'Scale  of  wages  at  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  Company's  Johnsoriburg  mill 
from  1898  to  1908 — Continued. 


Names. 

1893. 

1899. 

1900. 

1901. 

1902. 

1903. 

1904. 

1905. 

1906. 

1907. 

1908. 

Per 

cent. 

Machine  men  —  Cont'd. 
Keel  boys  











SI.  00 

81.45 

81.45 
1.25 

81.25 

81.25 

81.25 

...... 

Cutters: 

52.50 

82.60 

82.65 

3.00 

3.25 

3.25 

3.25 

3.25 

3.00 

20 

1.35 

1.40 

1.50 

1.65 

1.65 

1.65 

12.50 
{2.00 

3.00 
2.00 

2.50 
1.75 

u 

Do                  .    ... 

1.40 

1.40 

1.60 

1.60 

U.65 
1.60 

1.65 
1.60 

1.65 
1.60 

] 

Girls 

.80 

.90 

.90 

.90 

1.00 

bo         

$0.75 

80.75 

.80 

.90 

1.00 

1.00 

1.00 

1.15 

1.15 

1.15 

1.15 

63 

Steam  batteries: 

2.00 

2.00 

2.15 

2.25 

2.25 

2.45 

2.45 

2.45 

2.45 

2.45 

2.90 

45 

Do  

1.75 

1.50 

1.35 

f2.10 

2.10 

J2.25 

2.20 

2.20 

2.20 

2.20 

2.40 

37 

Do  

1.65 

fl.90 

jl.90 

1.90 

2.25 

2.45 

2.45 

2.45 

2.45 

2.60 

58 

Firemen     ............ 

1.40 

1.65 

1.80 

1.80 

2.00 

2.20 

2.20 

2.20 

2.20 

2.35 

68 

Do       

1.75 

1.75 

1.20 

1.35 

1.45 

1.45 

1.45 

1.50 

1.50 

1.50 

1.50 

fl.  80 

]m 

Yard: 
Teamster  

1.75 

1.75 

1.75 

1.85 

1.85 

1.85 

1.85 

1.85 

1.85 

1.85 

(2.  00 
1.85 

1 
0 

Helpers  
Truck  loaders  

1.35 
1.30 

1.85 

1.30 

1.35 
1.60 

1.50 
1.60 

1.50 
1.50 

1.50 
1.75 

1.50 
1.75 

1.50 
1.75 

1.50 
1.75 

1.65 
1.75 

1.65 
1.75 

22 
34 

Laborers     

1.20 

1.20 

1.35 

1.40 

1.40 

1.40 

1.40 

1.40 

1.40 

1.40 

1.50 

25 

Calender  men: 
Head  man  

Calender  men  ........ 

2.00 

1.80 

2.25 
1.80 

2.00 
1.80 

2.00 
1.80 

2.25 
1.80 

2.50 
(2.  00 

2.00 
jl.80 

2.00 
1.80 

2.35 
2.00 

17 
U 

Helpers  

1.35 

1.40 

1.40 

1.40 

1.40 

1.40 

J 
1.40 

1.40 

fl.90 

111 

\1.  50 

r 

29.06 

1.80 

1.80 

1  80 

2  00 

2.00 

2.00 

2.20 

2.20 

2.50 

2.50 

2.50 

38 

Helpers  

1.60 

l.HO 

1.70 

1.90 

1.90 

2.00 

2.00 

2.00 

2.00 

2.00 

2.35 

47 

Do  

1.35 

1.35 

1.45 

1.55 

1.55 

1.55 

1.55 

1.55 

1.55 

1.55 

1.75 

30 

Do 

1  40 

1.40 

1.40 

1.40 

1.50 

Bleachers  
Do  
Do  

1.60 
1.50 
1.00 

1.60 
1.50 
1.20 

1.60 
1.50 
1.15 

1.70 
1.60 
1.40 

1.90 
1.40 
1.10 

1.90 
1.40 
1.10 

1.93 
1.40 
1.10 

1.90 
1.40 
1.10 

1.90 
1.40 
1.10 

1.90 
1.40 
1.10 

2.15 

i.io 

34 

io"" 

Do              

1.00 

Beater  men: 
Headmen  

Color  men  ....*.  

2.50 
1.75 

2.50 
2.25 

3.00 
/2.50 

3.00 
2.  50 

3.00 
2.50 

3.00 
2.50 

3.00 
3.00 

3.00 

3.00 

3.00 
3.00 

3.50 

3.00 

3.50 
3.00 

40 

W 

Helpers  
Do  

1.35 
1.25 

1.35 
1.25 

14.  25 
1.35 

2.25 
1.50 
1.45 

2.  25 
1.50 
1.45 

2.25 
1.60 
1.50 

2.25 
1.65 
1.60 

2.75 
1.G5 
1.  (iO 

2.75 
1.65 
1.60 

2.75 
1.65 
1.60 

2.75 
1.70 
1.70 

r 

26 
36 

Do  

1.20 

1.20 

1  40 

1.40 

1  50 

1.55 

1.60 

1.60 

1  60 

1  60 

33 

Do  

1  45 

1.45 

1.45 

1.45 

1.60 

1  60 

Brown  stock  .. 

i  40 

1  65 

1  50 

1  60 

1  60 

1  70 

1  70 

1  70 

1  70 

1  75 

1  85 

32 

Do  

Wet  machines  

1.25 

l.WJ 

1.40 
1.65 

1.40 
1.75 

1.45 
1.75 

1.45 
1.75 

1.45 
1.75 

1.45 
1.75 

1.45 
1.75 

1.45 
1.75 

1.45 
1.75 

1.50 
1.75 

20 
6 

Do  

1.00 

1.00 

1.20 

1.40 

1.40 

1.40 

1.40 

1.40 

40 

Engineers: 
Corli  s  Nos.  land  2... 
Ideal  
Corliss  No.  3  
Do  

1.50 
1.40 

1.50 
1.40 

1.50 

1.60 
2.  25 
2  00 

1.60 
1.70 
2.25 
2  00 

1.60 
1.70 
2.  25 
2  00 

1.75 
1.75 
2.50 
2  00 

1.90 
1.90 
2.75 
2  20 

1.90 
2.15 
2.75 
2  20 

1.90 
2.15 

2.  75 
2  20 

1.90 
2.15 
2.75 
2  20 

1.90 

"2.'75" 
2.20 

26 
53 
22 
10 

Do  
Heaters  

Electric,  manufactur- 
ing   



".'.'.'.'. 

1.40 

1.40 

1.40 

1.50 

1.50 
'2.00 

1.50 
2.15 

2  50 

1.50 
2.15 

2  50 

1.50 
2.30 

2.90 

Chippermen  

1.75 

1.75 

1  75 

1  90 

1.90 

1  90 

1.90 

1.90 

l.SO 

1.80 

1.90 

g 

Helpers  

1  25 

1  40 

1  50 

1  50 

1  50 

1  50 

1  50 

1  70 

1  70 

1.80 

44 

Do  

1  60 

1.70 

Cleaners  

1  20 

1  20 

1  35 

1  40 

1  40 

1  40 

1  40 

1  40 

1  40 

1  40 

1  fr 

25 

Digesters: 
Head  men  

1  75 

1  75 

1  75 

1  95 

1  95 

2  00 

2  10 

2  10 

2  25 

2  25 

2.50 

43 

Helpers  
Drainers  ............... 

1.25 
1  25 

1.20 
1  25 

1.40 
1  00 

1.50 
1  45 

1.50 
1  45 

1.50 
1  45 

1.50 
1  45 

1.50 
1  45 

1.50 
1  45 

1.50 
1  45 

1.76 
1  50 

40 
20 

Do  

1.20 

1.20 

1  15 

1  10 

1.40 

1.40 

1  40 

1.40 

1.40 

1.40 

1.50 

25 

Do  

.75 

Do  

1  00 

Felt  washer  
Electrician  

i.75 

i  75 

1.35 
2  00 

1.50 
2  25 

1.50 
2  25 

1.60 
2  25 

1.60 
2  50 

1.75 
3  00 

1.75 
3  00 

1.75 
3  00 

1.75 
3  00 

30 
71 

Helper  

1  50 

1  50 

1  50 

1  75 

1  75 

2  25 

2  25 

2.25 

2  25 

2.25 

50 

32.  71 

6336  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

Rates  of  tariff  on  paper. 

Ground  wood,  1*2  cent  per  pound. 
Chemical  fiber,  J  cent  per  pound. 
Bleached  chemical  fiber,  i  cent  per  pound. 
Printing  paper,  value  2  cents  per  pound. 
Wrapping  paper,  various  grades. 
Parchment. 

Rates  on  supplies  for  paper  mills1  use. 

Clay  $2.50  per  ton 

Felts 44  cents  per  pound  and  60  per  cent  or  100  per  cent 

Colors 

Wire  cloth 35  per  cent 

Cotton  dryer  felts 45  per  cent 

Hemp  twines 13  cents  per  pound  or  100  per  cent 

Alum  and  alum  cake $  cent  per  pound  or    50  per  cent 

Lumber 

Machinery 45  percent 

Steel  forgings 35  per  cent 

Steel    sheets 35  per  cent 

Soda   ash 25  per  cent 

Leather  belting 35  per  cent 

Rubber  belting : 30  per  cent 

Salt '. 8  to  12  cents  per  hundred 

Bleach 20  per  cent 

Wages. 


American. 


European. 


Women, 
lien... 


About  $1  per  day  (indoor  work) 

From  $1.50  to  $5  per  day,  variation  based  on  skill 


$0.37Jto80.50 
.50  to   1.50 


Investment. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  amount  of  capital  invested  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  book  papers,  and  grades  of  paper  included  in  that  category,  is, 
in  round  figures,  about  $105,000,000.  In  this  investment  are  included 
the  working  capital  and  the  value  of  timber  lands  and  soda  fiber 
and  sulphite  mills,  which  are  maintained,  operated,  and  conducted  in 
connection  with  such  book-paper  plants. 

All  book-paper  mills,  however,  are  not  equipped  with  their  own 
chemical  fiber  mills  for  the  manufacture  of  sulphite  and  soda  pulp. 

Labor. 

The  aggregate  number  of  wage-earners  employed  in  the  mills 
manufacturing  book  paper  and  similar  grades  in  the  United  States, 
including  the  soda-fiber  and  sulphite  plants  operated  and  conducted 
in  connection  therewith,  is  estimated  to  represent  an  army  of,  approxi- 
mately, 30,000. 

Conclusion. 

It  is  contended  that — so  far  as  the  paper-making  industry  is  con- 
cerned— a  protective  tariff  which  insures  for  the  American  working- 
men  employed  therein  the  highest  scale  of  wages  of  any  similar  class 
of  labor  in  any  other  country,  and  at  the  same  time  provides  him  with 


BOOKS.  C337 

abundant  opportunity  for  employment,  is  of  itself  one  of  the  most 
potential  arguments  that  can  be  advanced  in  favor  of  its  retention. 

Experiment  might  not  only  prove  fallacious,  but  disturbing  to  the 
paper-making  industry  as  a  whole,  and  perhaps  inflict  unnecessary 
and  unjust  hardship  upon  our  American  wage-earners. 

The  tariff  duty  on  paper  and  pulp  should  be  maintained  and  con- 
tinued at  its  present  standard.  It  is  not  alone  required  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  paper  manufacturer,  but  likewise  in  the  interests  of  the 
large  army  of  American  laborers  dependent  upon  that  industry  for 
its  employment. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

GEORGE  SULLIVAN. 


PROF.  W.  H.  KRTJSE,  CONCORDIA  COLLEGE,  FORT  WAYNE,  IND., 
WISHES  SCIENTIFIC  WORKS  TO  BE  DUTY  FREE. 

FORT  WAYNE,  IND.,  November  %8,  1908. 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE, 

Washington,  D.  G, 

DEAR  SIR:  I  noticed  in  the  papers  the  other  day  that  a  number  of 
New  York  publishers  and  printers  appeared  before  your  committee 
to  urge  a  duty  on  books,  pamphlets,  and  periodicals  printed  in  foreign 
languages,  which  would  include  all  scientific  works.  No  doubt  thou- 
sands of  men  engaged  in  intellectual  pursuits  feel  exactly  as  I  do  in 
this  matter,  but  they  are  likely  to  let  this  thing  go  by  default  and  to 
come  out  with  their  protests  when  it  is  too  late.  In  your  letter  to 
Mr.  Carnegie  you  indicated  a  desire  to  hear  from  the  citizens  of  this 
country  in  regard  to  the  new  schedules,  and  this  encourages  me  to 
hope  that  you  and  your  committee  will  not  let  my  protest  go 
unheeded. 

Whether  we  like  it  or  not,  the  most  minutely  specialized  work  and 
research  is  still  done  in  Europe,  and  it  is  the  sheerest  folly  to  try  to 
change  this  by  a  duty  on  such  books.  Whenever  in  our  reading  and 
study  we  reach  a  point  that  puzzles  us  we  glance  over  the  catalogues 
of  European  publishers,  and  usually  find  a  few  pamphlets  and  mono- 
graphs restricted  absolutely  to  this  one  point.  This  places  at  our 
disposal  the  very  latest  and  best  information  that  the  world  possesses. 
No  encyclopedia  can  go  so  thoroughly  into  details  and  treat  a  subject 
so  fully  in  all  its  bearings,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fact  that  they  are 
necessarily,  from  five  to  fifteen  and  more  years  behind  the  advance 
guard  of  the  scientists.  Just  to  give  you  an  illustration:  A  physician 
of  my  acquaintance  wished  to  get  the  very  latest  information  on 
bleeding  of  the  lungs  (pulmonary  hemorrhages) ;  in  four  weeks  he  had 
a  pamphlet  of  about  two  hundred  pages  that  absolutely  covered  the 
suoject  and  gave  him  all  that  the  foremost  men  of  Europe  know. 
This  same  condition  obtains  hi  all  branches  of  knowledge,  partic- 
ularly natural  science  and  mathematics. 

It  seems  to  me  a  very  short-sighted  policy  to  obstruct  even  to  the 
smallest  extent  the  importation  of  ideas.  Germany  owes,  in  a  large 
measure,  its  tremendous  advance  along  industrial  lines  to  the  fact 
that  they  bring  exact  scientific  knowledge  to  bear  upon  problems  of 
manufacture.  In  America  we  are  rapidly  adopting  the  same  method, 
and  it  would  be  strange,  indeed,  if  we  Americans,  with  our  proverbial 


6338  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

knack  of  getting  material  benefits  from  abstruse  scientific  truths, 
should  not  far  outstrip  the  Europeans.  Only  recently  a  German 
professor  in  a  technical  school  warned  the  graduating  class  against 
admitting  Americans  to  their  factories,  "for,"  he  said,  "they  need 
only  see  a  machine  once  and  they  will  go  home  and  build  a  better 
one."  What  is  true  of  a  visit  to  a  factory  in  Europe  applies  in  its 
way  to  books  printed  in  a  foreign  language. 

You  are  no  doubt  aware  that  all  American  universities  require  a 
reading  knowledge  of  French  and  German  of  all  candidates  for  a 
higher  degree.  The  reason  of  it  is  that  no  man  can  do  thorough  work 
and  keep  abreast  with  the  times  in  any  line  of  research  without  these 
two  languages.  Those  publishers  of  New  York  are  assuming  a  very 
narrow  and  unpatriotic  attitude;  they  are  proposing  to  kill  the  goose 
that  will  in  time  lay  golden  eggs.  The  only  books  that  could  seriously 
compete  with  American  publications  are  those  from  England,  and  no 
one  has  thus  far  proposed  to  levy  a  duty  upon  them.  If  the  States 
are  justified  morally,  legally,  and  economically  in  appropriating  mil- 
lions of  dollars  every  year  to  the  maintenance  of  universities  and 
technical  schools,  some  man  with  more  logic  than  sense  might  con- 
clude a  bonus  ought  to  be  paid  to  every  man  importing  a  scientific 
work  from  abroad.  Of  course,  no  one  asks  that;  we  are  satisfied  to 
have  present  conditions  remain  as  they  are.  It  is  bad  enough  to  be 
subjected  to  the  tantalizing  torture  of  waiting  a  month  or  more  for 
a  book  you  want  and  really  need  in  order  to  go  ahead.  If  an  Ameri- 
can book  of  similar  scope  and  thoroughness  is  to  be  had,  we  naturally 
buy  it  rather  than  put  up  with  this  long  delay  that  so  frequently  dulls 
the  edge  of  our  enthusiasm.  The  gain  to  tne  Treasury  from  a  duty 
on  foreign  books  would  be  insignificant;  the  profits  of  these  publishers 
ridiculously  small  compared  with  the  immense  harm  such  a  provision 
of  the  law  would  do.  These  books  are  to  us  not  luxuries  but  neces- 
sities, and  we,  as  a  class,  are  so  placed  financially  that  a  duty  on  such 
books  would  be  a  real  hardship. 

Hoping  that  you  and  your  committee  will  make  no  change  in  the 
present  wise  policy,  I  am, 

Yours,  respectfully,  W.  H.  KRUSE, 

Concordia  College. 


W.  P.  CTJTTER,  FORBES  LIBRARIAN,  NORTHAMPTON,  MASS.,  SUB- 
MITS  SUPPLEMENTAL  STATEMENT  RELATIVE  TO  BOOKS. 

NORTHAMPTON,  MASS., 

November  SO,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  In  view  of  the  brief  submitted  to  you  by  the  Typoth- 
etse  of  the  city  of  New  York  at  the  hearing  on  November  21,  1908, 
and  the  brief  submitted  by  Mr.  Brassil,  representing  the  Employing 
Bookbinders'  Association  of  New  York,  and  that  of  Mr.  Rogers,  of  the 
International  Brotherhood  of  Bookbinders,  I  beg  leave  to  submit  the 
following  additional  brief. 

The  Typothetae  in  their  brief  ask  your  committee: 
1.  To  increase  the  duty  on  books  of  all  kinds,  including  blank  books 
and  pamphlets,  and  engravings,  bound  and  unbound,  photographs, 


BOOKS — W.    P.    CUTTER.  6339 

etchings,  maps,  charts,  music  in  books  or  sheets,  and  printed  matter, 
all  the  foregoing  not  specially  provided  for  hi  this  act,  from  25  to  75 
per  cent  ad  valorem. 

2.  To  allow  of  free  importation  for  the  Library  of  Congress  of  printed 
material  for  that  institution. 

3.  To  do  away  with  the  privilege  of  free  importation  for  public  and 
educational  institutions,  including  public  libraries. 

4.  To  do  away  with  free  importation  of  books  in  foreign  languages, 
and  of  books  in  the  English  language  which  have  been  printed  more 
than  twenty  years,  and  of  books  printed  by  individuals  for  free  dis- 
tribution, and  of  books  imported  for  the  use  of  the  United  States 
elsewhere  than  in  the  Library  of  Congress. 

I  shall  take  up  these  suggestions  in  the  above  order. 

1.  This  is  tariff  protection  which  is  prohibitory.     The  cost  of  the 
manufacture  (and  by  this  I  mean  the  composition,  making  plates, 
paper,  presswork,  and  casing)  of  the  ordinary  cloth-bound  book  does 
not  average  more  than  25  per  cent  of  the  invoice  value.     The  pro- 
tection advocated  would  amount  to  a  tax  of  300  per  cent  of  the 
cost  of  manufacture.     To  ask  the  citizens  of  this  country  to  bear 
such  a  burden  on  the  plea  that  it  would  protect  American  working- 
men  is  an  insult  to  the  intelligence  of  the  committee.     The  present 
duty  is  high  enough  to  afford  all  the  protection  needed.     1  quote 
from  a  letter  I  have  just  received  from  the  largest  importer  of  foreign 
books  in  New  York  City  the  following: 

I  do  not  think  that  during  the  last  five  years  there  have  been  published  five  booku 
in  a  foreign  language  which  it  would  have  been  profitable  to  reprint  in  this  country; 
in  fact,  I  do  not  know  of  any  at  present  that  has  sold  in  more  than  500  copies,  not 
only  through  us,  but  through  all  importers  combined.  There  are,  of  course,  imported 
a  number  of  English  books  and  these  come  in  in  sheets,  in  editions  possibly  from." 
500  to  1,000  copies  and  more.  They  are  imported  by  New  York  branches  of  London 
publishers  and  by  other  firms  that  act  as  special  agents  for  the  London  publishers. 
While  these  are  dutiable,  the  amount  collected  is  exceedingly  small,  since  it  was 
published  in  the  papers  about  a  year  ago  that  a  book  selling  in  this  country  at  $2  is 
invoiced  from  abroad  at  about  8  pence  in  sheets.  The  appraiser  tried  to  raise  the 
value,  but  the  case  went  to  court  and  the  importers  won  on  their  statement  that  they 
should  not  pay  any  duty  on  the  royalty  being  only  paid  on  copies  actually  sold, 
while  the  copies  they  were  importing  were  not  sold.  (From  letter  of  G.  E.  Stechert 
to  W.  P.  Cutter,  dated  November  25,  1908.) 

I  quote  this  letter  to  show  that  there  is  no  need  of  protection  tor 
books  in  foreign  languages,  as  there  is  small  sale  for  tnem  here,  and 
that  it  is  the  custom  of  New  York  houses  who  are  closely  connected 
with  these  New  York  Typothetse,  to  import  sheets  of  a  $2  book,  pay- 
ing a  duty  of  only  4  cents  a  copy;  that  at  the  same  time  the  indi- 
vidual importing  the  book  would  have  to  pay  at  least  40  cents  duty, 
and  under  the  suggested  amendment  he  would  have  to  pay  at  least 
$1.25  duty  on  a  book  that  cost  the  New  York  publisher  a  little  over 
30  cents,  duty  paid;  in  other  words,  the  printers,  who  are  either 
publishers  themselves,  or  work  for  them,  are  asking  an  outrageous 
amount  of  protection. 

2.  We  afl  agree  that  the  Library  of  Congress  should  have  every 
facility  for  obtaining  literature,  without  restriction.     I  would  suggest 
that  lithographs  should  be  added  to  the  schedule  in  paragraph  500. 
But  I  especially  call  your  attention  to  the  suggestion  that  all  books 
"for  the  use  of  the  United  States"  should  be  duty  free.     You  all 
know  that  there  are  many  collections  of  books,  not  only  in  Washing- 
ton, for  governmental  use,  but  in  Annapolis,  West  Point,  Willetts 


6340  SCHEDULE    M — PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

Point,  and  indeed  everywhere  that  the  Government  has  established 
institutions  where  study  is  necessary  for  the  proper  conducting  of 
government.  It  is  of  course  an  absurdity  to  asK  tne  Government  to 
pay  duty;  it  only  shows  the  lack  of  serious  study  embodied  in  the 
suggestions  of  the  Typothetae. 

3.  The  public  educational  institutions  of  this  country  have  enjoyed 
the  privilege  of  free  importation  of  books  and  scientific  instruments 
since  1816.     They  are  part  of  the  implements  of  the  profession  of 
education.     As  I  have  shown  in  my  former  brief,  the  importations  of 
books  are  a  very  small  percentage  of  the  total  consumption,  a  still 
smaller  percentage  being  books  which  would  ever  sell  in  this  country 
sufficiently  to  allow  of  reprinting  here. 

4.  No  country  in    the  world  taxes  books  printed  in  a  language 
other  than  that  spoken  in  the  country.     Such  a  tax  would  Le  a 
crime  against  our  people.     It  is  suggested  merely  to  place  importation 
in  the  hands  of  a  few  men  in  New  York,  who  are  grasping  for  all  they 
can  get.     It  is  retaliation  against  the  public  institutions  and  edu- 
cators of  this  country,  who  are  the  purchasers  of  90  per  cent  of 
these  books. 

Books  printed  more  than  twenty  years  are  second-hand  books. 
Not  1  per  cent  would  ever  be  printed  in  this  country.  Many  of 
them  are  already  bound  in  leather,  and  were  bound,  not  to  compete 
with  American  workmen,  but  to  preserve  them  for  future  genera- 
tions. They  are  bought  by  public  institutions  solely  for  their  con- 
tents, or  as  samples  of  the  printing  of  past  ages.  They  are  books 
for  scholars.  If  the  binding  is  an  artistic  binding,  it  ranks  with 
other  art  objects,  which,  for  the  education  of  our  people,  should 
come  in  free. 

Books  printed  privately  for  private  distribution  are  almost 
entirely  small  pamphlets,  with  negligible  value.  To  tax  them  is  an 
absurdity. 

As  near  as  I  can  determine  from  a  somewhat  close  examination  of 
the  statutes,  the  present  duty  of  25  per  cent  was  a  war  tax,  having 
been  first  levied  in  1864.  It  has  never  been  reduced.  It  has  served, 
not  only  to  foster  the  printing  and  publishing  trades,  insure  higher 
wages,  but  even  has  led  to  an  agreement  on  control  of  prices,  which 
was  first  made  in  1901  and  is  still  in  existence,  although  ostensibly 
abandoned  in  1907.  I  can  personally  see  no  reason  for  the  contin- 
uation of  such  a  duty.  It  serves  not  so  much  to  protect  the  Ameri- 
can workingman  as  to  build  up  a  monopoly  controlling  the  sale  of 
books  at  standard  high  prices,  and  as  such  is  fostering  a  combination 
which  the  courts  have  aeclared  illegal. 

I  personally  believe  that  the  duty  should  be  reduced.  I  do  not 
believe  it  should  be  entirely  stricken  off,  for  the  printing  of  books  in 
this  country  would  cease.  If  libraries  are  to  be  denied  free  entry, 
the  duty  should  be  decreased.  If  they  are  given  free  entry,  the 
libraries  as  such  have  no  opinion  to  express. 

I  append  several  letters  sent  to  J.  C.  Dana,  chairman  of  my  com- 
mittee. I  could  file  100  such  letters,  but  do  not  desire  to  cumber 
the  report  with  them. 

Very  respectfully, 

W.  P.  CUTTER, 
Committee  an  Book  Buying,  American  Library  Association, 


BOOKS — W.   P.   CUTTER.  6341 

EXHIBIT  A. 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY  OF  CINCINNATI, 

Cincinnati,  Ohio,  November  16, 1908. 
Mr.  JOHN  C.  DANA, 

Librarian  Newark  Free  Library,  Newark,  N.  J. 
MY  DEAR  MR.  DANA:  I  was  somewhat  staggered  upon  receiving 
yours  of  the  13th,  in  which  you  state  that  an  attempt  may  be  made 
to  do  away  with  the  free  importation  of  books  for  libraries.  It  goes 
without  saying  that  the  imposition  of  a  duty  on  books  imported  for 
libraries  would  be  a  direct  tax  on  education.  We  do  not  import 
wittingly  American  books,  that  is,  books  written  by  Americans.  We 
import  very  little  fiction,  but  we  do  import  a  good  many  books  in 
history,  literature,  science,  and  the  fine  arts.  We  import  those  books 
only  when  we  can  get  them  on  the  other  side  for  less  money  than  the 
same  books  can  be  had  in  the  United  States,  that  is,  when  we  can 
save  the  additional  charge  of  the  duty.  The  books  that  we  import 
are,  for  the  most  part,  to  be  had  only  by  importation;  they  are  not 
books  which  are  republished  on  this  side  of  the  water. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

N.  D.  C.  HODGES,  ' 

Librarian. 


EXHIBIT  B. 

CLEVELAND  PUBLIC  LIBRARY, 

Cleveland,  November  19, 1908. 
Mr.  JOHN  COTTON  DANA, 

Librarian  Free  Public  Library, 

Newark,  N.  J. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  DANA:  I  am  greatly  interested  in  retaining  the  right 
of  free  importation  of  books  for  libraries,  because  it  is  absolutely 
illogical  to  tax  an  institution  for  free  popular  education  and  incon- 
sistent with  recognized  public  policy  which  exempts  it  from  all  other 
taxes.  It  would  not  only  increase  by  the  amount  of  the  duty  the  cost 
of  English  books  which  libraries  import,  but  it  would  place  them  still 
more  at  the  mercy  of  the  publishers  in  this  country  by  destroying  the 
only  existing  competition.  I  sincerely  hope  that  the  law  will  remain 
unchanged  in  this  respect. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

W.  H.  BRETT,  Librarian. 


EXHIBIT  C. 

SALEM  PUBLIC  LIBRARY, 

Salem,  Mass.,  November  17,  1908. 
Mr.  J.  C.  DANA, 

Free  Public  Library,  Newark,  N.  J. 

DEAR  MR.  DANA:  In  the  revision  of  the  tariff  I  trust  that  there  will 
be  no  restriction  on  the  free  importation  of  books  by  public  libraries, 
colleges,  and  learned  societies.  Our  National  Government  has  always 
encouraged  learning  and  education,  but  an  import  duty  on  books 


6342  SCHEDULE   M — PULP,  PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

directly  discourages  both  of  these  important  interests.  By  increasing 
the  cost  of  books  it  diminishes  the  number  that  can  be  bought,  thereby 
lessening  the  library's  service  to  the  public.  It  is  directly  in  the  line 
of  the  library's  most  important  work,  the  educational,  that  this 
restriction  would  most  be  felt.  Popular  fiction  and  other  ephemeral 
books  are  generally  reprinted  in  this  country  at  prices  less  than  they 
can  be  imported,  while  the  more  serious  scholarly  books  are  so  costly 
to  reprint  and  the  demand  is  so  small  that  one  edition  serves  both  the 
foreign  and  American  market.  Any  action  that  increases  the  cost  of 
such  books  is  unworthy  of  our  enlightened  nation. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

GARDNER  M.  JONES. 


EXHIBIT  D. 

NEW  YORK  STATE  LIBRARY, 

Albany,  N.  Y.,  November  14,  1908. 
Mr.  J.  0.  DANA, 

Chairman  BooTcbuying  Committee  of  the 

American  Library  Association,  Newark,  N.  J. 
MY  DEAR  MR.  DANA:  I  am  distressed  to  learn  that  there  is  a  possi- 
bility of  another  attempt  at  the  abolition  of  free  importation  of  books 
for  libraries  at  an  early  hearing  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee. 
The  chief  reason  for  opposing  any  such  action  is  always  that  such 
restriction  lays  the  United  States  under  the  imputation  of  hostility, 
or  at  any  rate  of  discouragement,  toward  the  means  and  facilities 
for  not  only  creative  scholarship,  but  for  ordinary  intellectual  in- 
formation and  progress.  With  free  importation,  the  important 
libraries  of  the  country  can  provide  books  at  a  minimum  of  expense 
and  in  quantity  sufficient  to  provide  easy  resort  for  scholars.  With- 
out importation  these  scholars  and  thousands  of  individuals  would 
be  obliged  to  provide  such  books  for  themselves  at  much  greater  cost 
and  in  far  larger  quantities  than  if  the  libraries  could  make  them  more 
freely  and  generally  available. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

J.  I.  WYER,  Jr. 


EXHIBIT  E. 

THE  BUFFALO  PUBLIC  LIBRARY, 

Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  November  14,  1908. 
Mr.  JOHN  COTTON  DANA, 

Free  Public  Library,  Newark,  N.  J. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  DANA:  I  most  sincerely  hope  that  no  interest  will 
persuade  our  representatives  that  it  is  either  good  policy  or  can  in 
any  way  be  of  service  to  the  American  people  to  do  away  with  the 
privilege  of  the  free  importation  of  books  now  granted  to  educational 
institutions. 


BOOKS — W.   P.   CUTTEB.  6343 

Such  importations  are,  for  the  most  part,  of  books  not  reprinted 
in  tins  country,  but  of  great  value  to  the  few  through  whose  study 
the  whole  are  benefited.  Others  are  of  books  the  American  editions 
of  which  are  not  suitable  for  public  library  use  or  are  too  expensive 
for  such  use,  and  therefore  would  not  be  purchased. 

Few  American  publishers  could  in  any  way  benefit  by  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  bulk  of  the  books  now  imported  by  libraries,  and  it  would 
be  a  calamity,  as  well  as  a  great  tax  upon  public  education.  It 
would  be  to  grant  a  doubtful  benefit  to  a  few  individuals  at  the 
certain  expense  and  to  the  positive  harm  of  all  American  readers 
and  students. 

Yours,  very  truly,  WALTER  L.  BROWN, 

Librarian. 


EXHIBIT  F. 

LIBRARY  OF  PRINCETON  UNIVERSITY, 

Princeton,  N.  J.,  November  16, 1908. 
J.  C.  DANA,  Esq., 

Public  Library,  Newark,  N.  J. 
MY  DEAR  MR.  DANA:   Referring  to  yours  of  November  13: 

1.  The  chief  advantage  of  free  importation  of  books  for  libraries 
is  negative.     It  saves  us  a  nation  from  the  unequivocal  stamp  of 
hopeless  Philistianism. 

2.  The  justification  for  free  importation  is  of  course  popular  cul- 
ture or  education.     Free  importation  of  books  encourages  this.     As  a 
Republican  protectionist  •!  hold  that  the  business  of  education  should 
be  highly  protected  by  the  State  through  free  admission  to  all  con- 
sumers of  its  raw  materials,  whether  books  or  pictures,  and  by  large 
subsidies  in  the  way  of  national,  state,  and  municipal  appropriations 
for  the  purchase  of  books  for  free  public  libraries.     A  tax  on  books, 
pictures,  and  apparatus  is  a  tax  on  the  necessaries  of  education,  and 
is  justified  only  in  some  great  political  need,  such  as  a  war  tax. 

•  3.  Whatever  justification  there  may  be  for  a  tax  on  private  con- 
sumers of  books  and  pictures,  the  taxing  of  free  libraries  is  an  eco- 
nomic self-contradiction.  The  money  spent  for  the  books  is  raised 
by  local  taxation  or  given  for  the  public  good.  For  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment to  raise  money  for  federal  expenses  by  taxing  taxes  raised 
for  local  education  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  our  institutions  and  it 
is  self -contradictory  and  futile  in  that  it  is  simply  paying  out  of  one 
pocket  of  funds  intended  for  the  public  welfare  into  another.  In  this 
case  it  is  paying  out  of  education  into  federal  expenses,  but  at  bottom 
it  reduces  to  the  same  economic  absurdity  that  would  rise  if  a  munici- 
pality should  tax  its  own  school  buildings. 

4.   Practically  speaking,  the  advantage  of  free  importation  of  books 
is  like  the  advantage  of  the  free  importation  of  tools  of  precision  not 
made  in  this  country;    it  encourages  and  enables  the  production  of 
better  work,  without  interfering  at  all  with  home  industry. 
Very  sincerely,  yours, 

E.  C.  RICHARDSON. 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505.  GO-2— Vol  6 37 


6344  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

W.  P.  CUTTER,  NORTHAMPTON,  MASS.,  FURNISHES  ADDITIONAL 
STATEMENT  RELATIVE  TO  FREE  BOOKS. 

NORTHAMPTON,  MASS.,  November  30,  1908^ 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington.  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  It  has  occurred  to  me  that  a  few  suggestions  from  me 
in  my  private  and  personal  capacity  may  be  of  service  to  the  commit- 
tee in  considering  the  schedule  covering  paper  and  manufactures  of 
paper,  concerning  which  your  committee  was  kind  enough  to  hear  me 
in  an  official  capacity  on  November  21.  As  experience  is  the  first 
criterion  in  judging  of  one's  ability  to  give  an  opinion,  I  may  point  out 
that  I  have  been  engaged  in  the  purchase  of  books  for  public  institu- 
tions since  the  year  1890;  that  ten  years  of  this  service  was  in  the 
Library  of  Congress  and  the  library  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture; 
throe  years  in  the  library  of  a  small  college  in  Utah;  four  years  in  this, 
a  medium-sized  public  library,  much  frequented  by  scholars. 

There  seems  to  be  seme  ccnfusien  in  the  minds  cf  seme  of  the  com- 
mittee with  reference  to  binding  dene  abroad  for  expert  to  this  coun- 
try. In  the  trade,  a  leather  binding  is  known  as  an  "extra"  binding, 
as  opposed  to  the  commercial  cloth  bindings,  which  are  largely  the 
worK  of  machinery.  Extra  binding  is  practically  all  hand  work.  It 
may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  that  done  simply  to  insure  durability, 
and  that  done  to  decorate  the  book!  The  former  is  the  work  of  the 
ordinary  binder;  the  latter  that  of  the  art  binder.  The  latter  includes 
originality  of  design,  richness  of  material,  and  the  highest  grade  of 
work.  The  former  requires  durable  material,  honest  workmanship, 
and  that  is  all. 

The  ordinary  cloth  case  placed  on  a  book  by  the  publisher  is  suffi- 
ciently durable  for  private  use,  provided  the  book  is  not  too  heavy 
or  too  severely  used.  Even  for  private  use  leather  niakus  a  much 
more  durable  binding.  For  public  library  use,  especially  in  books 
having  a  large  circulation,  an  extra  durable  binding  of  leather,  with  a 
sewing  adapted  especially  to  library  conditions,  is  a  desideratum. 

We  may  then  say  that  there  are  really  four  kinds  of  bindings 
required: 

1.  Cloth  cases  for  private  libraries  and  ephemeral  literature. 

2.  Durable  leather  binding  for  private  libraries,  where  the  book 
is  either  heavy,  in  constant  use,  or  is  in  a  set  worthy  of  a  better  binding. 

3.  Plain,  but  especially  substantial  binding  for  books  having  large 
circulation  in  a  public  institution. 

4.  More  or  less  elaborately  decorated  binding,  for  rare  books,  or  the 
libraries  of  wealthy  persons  who  are  willing  to  pay  for  artistic  excel- 
lence and  expensive  work. 

In  considering  the  placing  of  a  duty  on  binding  it  should  be  borne 
in  mind  that  there  is  such  a  difference.  To  differentiate  further,  let 
me  say  that  of  ihe  above  classes,  class  1  is  very  cheap,  costing  only 
a  few  cents.  Class  2,  on  the  ordinary  octavo  book,  will  cost  from 
25  cents  to  $1  per  volume.  Class  3.  from  50  cents  to  a  dollar.  Class  4, 
from  $5  or  less  to  a  thousand  dollars  or  more  per  volume. 

There  are  some  of  our  citizens  who  prefer  genuine  Sevres  porcelain 
to  any  American  product.  There  are  some  who  prefer  Paris  gowns 


BOOKS W.   P.    CUTTER.  6345 

to  the  New  York  City  product.  So  there  are  some  who  prefer  a  bind- 
ing by  Zaehnsdorf  01  London,  or  Riviere,  to  any  work,  however  meri- 
torious in  design,  done  in  New  York  City.  They  prefer  these  bindings 
because  they  believe  that  they  are  more  artistic,  or  simply  because 
they  like  them  better.  If  we  consider  these  bindings  simply  from 
the  artistic  standpoint,  they  would  or  should  be  entered  free  as  works 
of  art.  If  we  consider  them  no  more  works  of  art  than  a  Paris  gown, 
they  might  well  be  dutiable,  not  only  for  revenue,  but  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  American  workman  who  is  attempting  to  develop 
artistic  binding  in  this  country.  But  the  duty  should  be  a  reasonable 
one. 

Class  2,  called  in  the  trade  edition  "extra  bindings,"  are  almost 
entirely  made  for  publishers  or  booksellers.  The  cost  of  the  extra 
binding  is  often  doubled  or  trebled  in  the  additional  cost  of  the  book 
in  an  extra  binding.  Such  binding  can  well  afford  a  moderate  duty 
for  purposes  of  protection  or  revenue.  Libraries  often  have  con- 
secutive volumes  of  sets  of  a  periodical  published  in  a  foreign  country 
bound  in  that  country,  for  the  sake  of  uniformity,  and  to  insure  parts 
not  being  lost.  Very  few  libraries  send  books  once  their  property  in 
this  country  to  any  other  to  be  bound,  except  as  a  few  may  desire 
especially  durable  work. 

Class  3  represents  this  special  work.  lean  say  from  my  own  expe- 
rience that  a  durable  binding  for  a  book  in  constant  circulation  is  one 
of  the  most  difficult  things  to  insure.  The  paper  now  being  used  in 
books  is  of  such  a  flimsy  character  that  especial  precautions  must  be 
taken  to  adapt  the  work  to  this  special  use.  Such  work  requires  espe- 
cial study  and  constant  experiments,  both  with  material  and  methods. 
Some  of  the  libraries  of  the  country  have  become  convinced  that  a  cer- 
tain firm  having  branches  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  in  Bath,  England, 
has  given  the  preparation  of  these  bindings  more  careful  study  than 
any  other  firm.  These  libraries  have  therefore  given  some  of  their 
binding  to  this  firm.  In  my  own  library  I  have  tried  many  binders. 
I  have  told  them  to  put  on  the  most  durable  binding  they  could  make. 
I  have  given  them  explicit  directions.  The  result  has  been  a  great  dis- 
appointment. The  binders  have  had  in  mind  cheapness  rather  than 
goodness.  Up  to  the  present  time  I  have,  after  all  these  trials,  em- 
ployed the  binder  in  Brooklyn  and  in  Bath.  Some  books  go  to  Eng- 
land; some  do  not.  The  books  cost  a  high  price  compared  with  the 
work  offered  by  the  ordinary  American  binder.  But  they  are  bound 
forever,  and  in  the  long  run  they  are  cheaper. 

The  binder  in  his  Brooklyn  shop  has  a  nonunion  shop.  There  have 
been  attempts  made  to  induce  him  to  go  into  the  union.  He  has 
refused.  He  pays  union  wages  and  his  people  work  union  hours. 

These  are  the  facts.  I  have  no  quarrel  with  the  American  binders, 
nor  am  I  under  any  obligation  to  any  binder  either  here  or  elsewhere. 
When  I  find  an  American  binder  that  will  do  the  work,  not  promise  to 
do  it,  but  really  do  it,  I  will  employ  him. 

I  take  the  liberty  of  appending  two  documents.  The  first  is  a 
communication  from  Mr.  Cedric  Chivers,  of  Brooklyn  and  Bath, 
England,  addressed  to  the  Library  Journal;  the  second  is  the  com- 
ment of  the  editor  of  that  publication.  The  former  statement, 
which  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  in  the  slightest  particular,  shows 
that  the  size  of  Mr.  Chiyers's  business  in  Brooklyn,  employing 
American  labor,  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  justify  nis  being  heard 
as  an  American  manufacturer. 


0346  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

I  append  also  the  original  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  A.  L.  Bailey,  chair- 
man of  the  American  Library  Association  Committee  on  Bookbind- 
ing, stating,  in  response  to  a  letter  of  mine,  his  official  opinion  of  this 
binding.  Mr.  Bailey  has  made  the  most  searching  investigations 
into  library  bindings,  and  his  opinion  is  worth  much  more  than  mine. 
Very  respectfully, 

W.  P.  CUTTER. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

THE   OTHER   SIDE   OF  THE    BOOKBINDING   CONTROVERSY. 

[The  Library  Journal,  November,  1908.] 

The  other  side  of  the  bookbinding  controversy  is  represented  hi 
the  following  statement  by  Mr.  Chivers : 

My  attention  has  been  called  to  the  publication  in  the  Library 
Journal  of  the  resolutions  recently  passed  by  the  board  of  aldermen 
of  the  city  of  New  York  and  to  the  affidavits  from  members  of  the 
International  Brotherhood  of  Bookbinders  regarding  sending  public 
library  books  to  England  for  binding. 

As  some  of  the  statements  made  appear  to  be  rather  misleading,  I 
beg  to  present  the  full  facts  in  the  case. 

From  the  wording  of  the  affidavits  it  would  seem  that  I  merely  have 
an  office  at  911-913  Atlantic  avenue,  Brooklyn,  for  the  sole  purpose 
of  receiving  and  dispatching  bookbinding  abroad,  and  that  all  work 
sent  to  me  is  done  by  aliens. 

The  truth  is  I  have  here  a  large  bookbinding  business  employing 
80  hands,  among  whom  there  are  only  two  women  and  two  men  who 
are  not  American  citizens. 

My  workshop  is  an  "open  one,"  but  some  of  the  men  in  my  employ 
are  union.  I  make  no  difference  when  putting  on  a  workman  as  to 
whether  he  is  union  or  not.  The  conditions  under  which  my  work- 
shops are  conducted  with  regard  to  hours  and  wages  are  second  to 
none  in  advantages  to  the  workers. 

It  has  been  complained  by  the  representatives  of  the  trades  union 
that  New  York  suffers  from  the  fact  that  while  unemployment  is 
rife,  work  is  being  sent  away  from  this  city.  I  wish  to  submit  that 
this  is  not  a  complete  or  fair  statement  of  the  case.  Per  contra,  I 
am  the  cause  of  more  bookbinding  being  done  hi  New  York  than 
was  done  before  I  established  my  business,  for  I  am  drawing  work 
from  other  places.  My  improved  methods  of  work  and  better 
materials  are  the  basis  of  practically  a  new  business  in  this  city, 
and  I  repeat,  there  is  to-day  more  bookbinding  being  done  here 
because  of  my  establishment,  and  not  less,  as  is  alleged. 

Regarding  the  sending  to  England  of  a  portion  of  the  work  I 
receive,  the  facts  are  these: 

I  was  invited  by  a  number  of  the  chief  librarians  of  the  United 
States  to  establish  myself  in  this  country  for  the  purpose  of  binding 
public  library  books  according  to  methods  and  patents  which  had 
effected  great  economies  in  England  and  its  colonies. 

About  four  years  ago  I  started  a  bookbinding  business  in  New 
York,  and  immediately  employed  a  considerable  stall  of  Brooklyn 


BOOKS \V.   P.    CUTTER.  6347 

work  people.  My  success  has  enabled  me  to  steadily  increase  this 
staff,  and  they  find  constant  employment  with  me  up  to  the  present 
time  without  a  day's  loss  of  time  or  wages. 

But  my  business  has  grown  so  rapidly  that  I  have  had  more  work 
than  it  has  been  possible  for  me  thus  far  to  educate  a  staff  to  accom- 
plish here.  In  spite  of  one  removal  I  am  now  negotiating  to  enlarge 
my  present  premises.  All  this  has  rendered  it  desirable  in  order 
to  give  prompt  service  to  the  libraries  to  temporarily  avail  myself 
of  my  English  workshops.  This  temporary  help  during  the  costly 
period  of  training  and  establishment  here  has  enabled  me  to  do 
work  at  a  less  cost  than  would  otherwise  be  possible. 

I  explained  to  the  trades  union  delegation  when  they  called  at  my 
bindery  that  having  a  part  of  the  work  done  abroad  was  only  a  tem- 
porary expedient,  and  that  I  am  rapidly  training  workers  into  my 
special  methods  and  enlarging  my  premises,  in  order  to  do  the  work 
in  this  country.  I  may  add  that  the  ability  to  send  a  share  of  the 
binding  abroad  has  greatly  benefited  the  public  institutions  for 
which  I  work,  because  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  establish 
such  methods  as  I  have  introduced  into  bookbinding  without  such 
aid. 

As  to  the  moral  and  legal  rights  of  the  case,  I  have  always  under- 
stood that  since  the  Congress  left  it  open  for  libraries  to  buy  and 
have  their  work  done  abroad  it  was  with  the  special  intention  that 
the  kind  of  business  I  have  been  doing  should  be  done  so  that  edu- 
cational institutions  should  be  advantaged. 

I  was  the  first  bookbinder  to  recognize  the  necessity  for  readapt- 
ing  bookbinding;  first,  to  the  severe  usage  to  which  books  are  sub- 
jected in  public  libraries.  Before  my  time,  and  now  beyond  the 
influence  of  my  work,  books  are  bound  for  hard  library  service  as 
they  are  bound  for  the  limited  service  of  the  private  house. 

Second.  I  have  and  am  adapting  the  binding  of  books  to  the 
various  needs  of  modern  papers,  which  during  the  last  twenty-five 
years  have  varied  more  in  quality  than  during  the  previous  four 
hundred  years.  On  both  accounts  I  have  made  several  improve- 
ments and  introduced  new  methods  in  order  to  meet  the  necessities 
of  both  cases. 

The  value  of  these  methods  and  patents  have  been  publicly  rec- 
ognized by  the  awards  of  the  gold  medal  at  St.  Louis,  1904;  dipldme 
d'honneur,  at  Liege,  1905;  grand  prix,  at  Milan,  1906;  and  the  grand 
prix  at  the  Franco-British  Exposition,  London,  1908.  My  exam- 
ples, also,  were  considered  worthy  of  public  exhibition  in  the  Library 
of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  C.,  during  1905,  when  a  show  case  con- 
taining samples  of  my  improvements  was  on  exhibition  during 
several  months. 

I  set  up  a  standard  of  work  for  public  libraries  in  this  country, 
enabling  books  to  serve  for  very  many  more  issues,  and  advantaging 
the  lending-library  system  of  the  United  States  by  giving  library 
books  much  longer  life.  In  other  words,  my  methods  have  enabled 
two  books  to  serve  the  library  where  formerly  three  were  used. 
As  a  result,  thousands  of  dollars  are  being  annually  saved  in  the 
libraries,  books  are  enabled  to  live  and  serve  much  longer,  more 
books  are  bought  with  the  money  saved,  and  the  cost  of  adminis- 
tration is  considerably  lessened. 

CEDRIC  CITTVEKS. 


6348  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

EXHIBIT  B. 

[Editorial  from  the  Library  Journal,  November,  1908.] 

The  bookbinding  question  raised  in  New  York  by  the  onslaught  of 
the  unions  upon  Mr.  Chivers  has  rather  far-reaching  relations.  The 
facts  are  that  Mr.  Chivers,  by  the  use  of  his  "  duro-flexible "  binding 
and  the  use  of  stout  washable  cloth  sides  with  pigskin  back  has  built 
up  a  library  business  in  Brooklyn  already  employing  80  work  people 
and  attracting  patronage  from  nearly  500  libraries  in  different  parts 
of  the  country.  The  American  business  was  beyond  the  possibilities 
of  his  present  American  organization,  and  perhaps  a  quarter  of  the 
work  was  sent  to  his  establishment  in  Bath,  England,  and  reim- 
ported  under  the  "free  importation  for  libraries "  clause  in  the  tariff. 
To  this  the  unions  naturally  took  exception,  and  after  various 
endeavors  elsewhere  they  finally  obtained  from  the  New  York  alder- 
men the  resolution  printed  in  the  last  issue.  The  statement  of  Mr. 
Chivers  in  the  present  number  tells  the  other  side  of  the  story  and 
corrects  a  number  of  misstatements.  Mr.  Chivers  has  done  a  great 
service  to  libraries  directly  and  in  bettering  the  standard  of  library 
workmanship  in  other  binderies,  and  it  would  be  a  pity  should  a 
narrow  and  restrictive  spirit  interfere  with  his  good  work.  There 
have  been  cases  where  members  of  a  trade  union  have  refused  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  privileges  of  a  local  library  because  its  work 
or  the  books  it  contained  did  not  bear  the  union  imprint.  This  is  of 
course  a  logical, result  of  the  extreme  union  spirit,  and  it  shows  to 
what  that  may  lead.  As  there  is  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Chivers  is  within 
the  law  in  these  reimportations,  the  attack  is  not  likely  to  be  of 
serious  result,  especially  as  it  is  understood  that  it  is  his  intention  to 
do  more  and  ultimately  all  of  the  work  in  his  American  establishment. 


EXHIBIT  C. 

THE  WILMINGTON  INSTITUTE  FREE  LIBRARY, 

Wilmington,  Del.,  November  24,  1908. 
Mr.  W.  P.  CUTTER, 

Librarian,  Forbes  Library, 

Northampton,  Mass. 

DEAR  MR.  CUTTER  :  In  answer  to  your  question  as  to  my  opinion 
of  the  Chivers's  binding,  I  wish  to  say  that  I  believe  Mr.  Chivers 
gives  the  best  binding  for  public  library  use  of  any  one  either  in  this 
country  or  abroad.  Several  binders  in  this  country  have  adopted 
many  of  Chivers's  methods,  and  in  some  cases  they  have  endeavored 
to  make  the  books  look  like  those  bound  by  Mr.  Chivers.  I  have 
not  seen  many  volumes  of  such  imitations,  but  such  as  I  have  seen 
are  not  comparable  to  the  books  bound  by  Mr.  Chivers  either  in 
appearance  or  workmanship. 

Very  truly,  yours,  A.  L.  BAILEY, 

Chairman  American  Library 
Association  Committee  on  Bookbinding. 


BOOKS.  C349 

THE  FACTJLTY  OF  SRYN  MA  WE  (PA.)  COLLEGE  URGES  THE  FREE 
IMPORTATION  OF  BOOKS  AND  CHARTS. 

DECEMBER  3,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  faculty  of  Bryn  Mawr  College,  informed  that 
certain  interests  are  urging  upon  your  honorable  body  changes  in  the 
tariff  which  it  believes  to  be  seriously  detrimental  to  the  cause  of  pub- 
lic education,  has  directed  the  undersigned  to  act  as  a  committee  to 
bring  to  your  notice  its  protest  against  these  changes. 

The  present  law  contains  certain  regulations  permitting  the  free 
importation  of  books,  charts,  maps,  scientific  apparatus,  chemicals, 
etc.,  for  colleges,  universities,  and  libraries,  and  it  is  very  desirable  that 
these  regulations  be  retained  in  the  revised  bill.  We  are  informed 
that  proposals  are  before  you  looking  to  the  abrogation  of  this  privi- 
lege, a  step  which  would  be  harmful  to  all  the  institutions  which  bene- 
fit by  the  existing  conditions;  and  in  their  behalf,  as  well  as  in  the  in- 
terests of  this  college,  we  urgently  beg  that  no  such  step  be  taken  by 
your  honorable  body.  Every  year  hundreds  of  students  leave  this 
country  to  visit  European  universities,  and  many  do  this  because  of 
the  greater  library  and  laboratory  facilities  to  be  found  on  the  Conti- 
nent and  because  of  the  liberal  manner  in  which  these  libraries  and 
laboratories  are  equipped  and  research  is  fostered  by  the  various 
governments.  If  the  laboratories  of  research  and  other  educational 
facilities  of  our  own  colleges  and  universities  are  to  be  made  in  any 
sense  comparable  with  those  of  Europe  they  must  have  every  burrien 
removed  which  can  Dossibly  limit  their  usefulness.  There  can  be  no 
truer  protection  to  American  industries  than  this  kind  of  protection 
of  American  colleges  and  of  American  scholars. 

We  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  another  proposed  change  in  the 
tariff  which  will  injuriously  affect  American  scholars.  We  are  in- 
formed that  you  are  asked  to  include  in  your  revision  the  removal 
of  the  provision  of  the  tariff  which  permits  the  free  importation  of 
books  in  foreign  languages,  and  also  those  in  English,  published 
more  than  twenty  years  ago.  The  provision  has  proved  most  helpful 
to  those  teachers  and  scholars  who  are  obliged  to  make  use  of  foreign 
books  in  their  work.  The  greater  number  of  these  books  are  never 
translated  into  English  at  all,  because  being  of  interest  only  to 
specialists  they  do  not  warrant  an  American  publisher  in  undertaking 
the  expense  of  reproduction,  while  such  as  are  translated  appear  in 
that  form  only  after  so  long  an  interval  that  their  usefulness  to 
teachers  is  materially  lessened.  American  scholars  in  many  subjects 
are  obliged  to  get  these  books  as  soon  as  published,  in  order  to  keep 
informed  as  to  the  progress  of  investigation  in  their  own  depart- 
ments. 

The  great  bulk  of  such  scholars  are  poor  men,  and  a  tariff  on 
foreign  books  is  for  them  a  grievous  burden,  which  is  at  the  same 
time  quite  unnecessary,  inasmuch  as  these  books  do  not  come  into 
competition  with  those  published  in  this  country,  and  consequently 
no  American  interest  is  prejudiced.  Indeed,  foreign  books  of  the 
class  described  not  merely  do  not  come  into  competition  with  Ameri- 
can publications,  but  assist  them  in  two  ways;  first,  the  scholar  who 
needs  foreign  books  to  keep  abreast  of  the  times  needs  domestic 


6350  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

ones  as  well,  and  our  experience  is  that  he  is  as  careful  to  provide 
himself  with  all  American  books  of  value  as  he  is  with  foreign; 
secondly,  foreign  books  act  as  a  stimulus  to  the  production  of  inde- 
pendent work  in  this  country. 

It  has  been  a  matter  of  congratulation  to  observe  the  increasing 
number  of  American  publications  in  educational  and  scientific  sub- 
jects that  have  been  issuing  from  the  American  press  in  recent 
years.  It  is  strictly  within  the  limits  of  accuracy  to  affirm  that  the 
authors  of  the  vast  majority  of  these  have  had  to  take  account  of 
the  recent  work  done  in  foreign  lands  in  their  subjects.  To  render  it 
difficult  to  become  familiar  with  the  work  of  foreign  scholars,  as  the 
proposed  tariff  on  foreign  books  would  do,  is  to  restrict  American 
production,  and  thus  go  contrary  to  the  very  principle  of  protection 
which  the  tariff  is  intended  to  foster. 

Secondly,  the  importation  of  old  books  is  a  matter  of  the  utmost 
importance  and  deserves  every  possible  encouragement.  There  are 
gradually  growing  up  in  this  country  libraries,  both  public  and  private, 
of  considerable  size  and  value.  These  collections  of  books  will  in  time 
become  such  as  to  make  us  relatively  independent  of  European 
libraries,  and  their  increase  deserves  to  be  furthered  in  every  possible 
way.  All  the  private  collections  will  in  time  be  scattered  to  form  new 
private  libraries  or  will  be  absorbed  into  the  larger  public  libraries. 
No  such  collection  can  be  sold  for  anything  like  the  cost  of  making  it, 
so  that  these  private  libraries  are  practically  never  a  source  of  profit 
to  their  owners.  The  proposed  tariff  on  books,  old  and  new,  will  make 
the  expense  of  extending  these  collections  greater  than  most  owners 
can  bear. 

We  therefore  respectfully  but  urgently  ask  that  no  such  restric- 
tions upon  the  usefulness  or  our  colleges  and  universities  and  upon  the 
full  development  of  American  scholarship  may  be  imposed  by  your 
honorable  body. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  faculty  of  Bryn  Mawr  College: 

JOSEPH  W.  WARREN, 
THEODORE  DE  LACUNA, 
WM.  B.  HUFF, 

Committee  of  the  Faculty. 

In  accordance  with  the  instructions  of  the  faculty: 

M.  CAREY  THOMAS, 
President  of  Bryn  Mawr  College. 


HON.  J.  VAN  VECHTEN  OLCOTT,  M.  C.,  FILES  LETTER  OF  C.  R. 
CORNING,  NEW  YORK,  ADVOCATING  FREE  BOOKS. 

NEW  YORK,  December  8,  1908. 
Hon.  J.  V.  V.  OLCOTT,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

MY  DEAR,  MR.  OLCOTT:  I  find  on  my  desk  a  memorandum  calling 
for  a  letter  to  you  concerning  the  tariff  on  books  which  we  discussed 
at  the  Union  League  Club  a  short  time  since. 

The  United  States  is  one  of  the  very  few  civilized  countries  in  which 
a  protective  tariff  on  books  is  maintained.  I  view  this  tariff  as  affect- 
ing principally  three  classes  in  the  community — the  author,  the 


BOOKS.  6351 

printer,  and  the  consumer.  Provided  the  author's  copyrights  are 
protected,  to  which  there  is  no  objection  in  the  world,  the  other  two 
alone  remain  for  consideration. 

The  printer  is  not  dependent  on  the  work  of  publishing  books  in 
thia  country  for  his  livelihood.  The  consumers  may  be  divided  into 
those  to  whom  a  rise  in  the  price  of  the  books  does  not  make  any 
material  difference,  but  there  is  a  very  large  intellectual  class  which, 
as  a  rule,  is  not  wealthy  and  which  needs  a  great  many  books,  which 
are  now  burdened  with  a  heavy  duty  for  its  work.  This  class  is  com- 
posed of  college  professors,  college  students,  professional  men  of  all 
Kinds,  such  as  engineers,  architects,  lawyers,  chemists,  physicists, 
and  others.  While  it  may  be  said  that  professors  and  students  can 
avail  themselves  of  the  libraries  of  the  institutions  which  they  are 
frequenting,  I  know  from  personal  experience  how  difficult  it  was 
when  I  was  a  student  to  at  times  secure  the  very  books  I  needed  most, 
because  some  one  else  needed  them  at  the  same  time  and  they  were  not 
in  the  library.  Reference  to  books  of  this  nature  in  the  library  of  an 
institution  is  often  not  at  all  the  equivalent  of  a  private  ownership,  as 
you  will  readily  understand. 

At  the  present  all  non-English  books  are  free  and  all  English  books 
more  than  21  years  old  are  also  free.  All  other  English  oooks  pay 
25  per  cent  duty,  and  not  only  is  this  duty  payable,  but  the  customs 
administration  of  the  law  in  this  matter  is  often  of  the  most  unfair. 
I  have  come  across  this  matter  personally  as  chairman  of  the  library 
committee  of  the  Union  League  Club.  "Y\  hen  I  ordered  Stieler's  Atlas, 
a  German  publication  with  all  its  descriptive  wording  in  German,  for 
the  use  of  the  library,  although  it  is  printed,  published,  and  essen- 
tially German,  the  ISew  York  custom-house  classed  it  as  an  English 
book  because  certain  geographical  names  were  English.  They  were 
English  simply  because  there  are  no  German  equivalents  and  they 
are,  so  far  as  all  intents  and  purposes  are  served,  used  in  German  as 
German  words. 

It  would  be  an  immense  boon  to  a  very  large  class  in  this  country 
if  all  books  and  all  bindings  on  such  books,  if  of  plain  character, 
were  made  free  of  duty.  I  speak  particularly  of  bindings  because  a 
great  many  books  published  in  English  are  published  without  bind- 
ings; they  are  simply  bound  when  they  come  from  the  press  in  plain 
linen  or  similar  material  instead  of  a  paper  cover,  which  is  the  method 
prevailing  on  the  Continent. 

Hoping  that  something  may  be  possible  in  this  matter,  I  remain, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

C.  R.  CORNING. 


JEROME   D.    GREENE,    SECRETARY   OF   FACULTY   OF  HARVARD 
UNIVERSITY,  WRITES  IN  ADVOCACY  OF  FREE  BOOKS. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  19,  1908. 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C., 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  CHAIRMAN:  I  am  inclosing  herewith  letter  from 
Mr.  Jerome  D.  Green,  who  is  secretary  of  the  faculty  of  Harvard 
University. 

Sincerely,  yours,  H.  S.  BOUTELL. 


6352  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

CAMBRIDGE,  December  17,  1908. 
Hon.  H.  S.  BOUTELL,  M.  C.,  Washington,  D.  G. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  hope  that  the  cause  of  education  and  of  the  diffusion 
of  culture  throughout  this  country  will  not  suffer  longer  the  handicap 
which  purely  mercantile  interests  are  imposing  by  their  support  of 
the  present  duty  on  books  printed  in  England.  Whatever  may  be 
said  about  the  interests  of  the  consumer  as  compared  with  those  of 
the  protected,  manufacturer  or  artisan  in  other  industries,  it  seems 
perfectly  clear  that  the  interests  of  the  consumer  are  paramount  where 
culture  is  concerned.  It  would  be  no  more  unjust  or  inexpedient, 
though  doubtless  more  difficult,  to  impose  a  tariff  on  the  importation 
of  ideas  than  to  put  an  obstructive  tax  on  books  and  works  of  art. 
When  one  considers  the  large  sacrifices  which  the  people  of  Illinois 
and  Wisconsin,  for  example,  make  to  support  their  educational  sys- 
tem— and  those  States  are  merely  leaders  in  a  movement  which  char- 
acterizes the  entire  country — it  seems  inconceivable  that  the  commer- 
cial interests  of  an  insignificant  number  of  men  should  be  allowed  to 
stand  in  the  way  of  what  is  really  one  and  the  same  cause,  namely, 
that  of  popular  education  and  enlightenment. 
Sincerely,  yours, 

JEROME  D.  GREENE. 


TRUSTEES  OF  NEW  YORK  LIBRARY,  ASTOR,  LENOX,  AND  TILDEN 
FOUNDATIONS,  OPPOSE  INCREASE  OF  BOOK  DUTY. 

ST.  Louis,  Mo.,  December  17,  1908. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  St 
Louis  Public  Library  on  Thursday,  December  17,  1908,  the  follow- 
ing resolutions  were  adopted: 

"The  board  of  directors  of  the  St.  Louis  Public  Library  have  learned 
with  much  regret  that  an  effort  is  making  to  increase  the  duty  now 
levied  on  books  and  other  printed  matter  imported  into  the  United 
States,  and  to  remove  from  the  free  list  all  classes  of  books  now 
included  therein. 

"The  existing  tariff  imposes  a  duty  of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  on 
books,  excepting,  however,  first,  books  printed  wholly  in  foreign 
languages;  second,  books  in  English  which  have  been  printed  more 
than  twenty  years;  third,  books  imported  for  the  use  of  the  United 
States  or  the  Library  of  Congress,  or  for  the  use  of  libraries,  educational 
institutions,  or  societies  of  a  literary  or  scientific  character. 

"An  import  duty  on  books  differs  entirely  in  its  effect  upon  the 
manufacturer  from  other  duties,  in  that  the  copyright  laws  afford 
protection  to  authors  and  publishers  quite  apart  from  the  tariff. 

"The  protection  afforded,  moreover,  is  extremely  limited,  affecting 
only  such  imported  modern  books  and  periodicals  as  are  printed  in 
English.  So  far  as  it  goes,  however,  the  duty  is  a  tax  on  Knowledge 
and  education;  an  unwise  tax  in  a  republic,  the  existence  of  which 
must  always  depend  on  the  intelligence  of  its  citizens. 

"The  removal  of  books  for  public  libraries  from  the  free  list  will 
be  distinctly  a  backward  step,  as  the  exemption  as  now  existing 


BOOKS.  6353 

has  been  the  law  for  many  years,  and  the  result  will  be  the  imposition 
of  a  serious  tax  upon  a  class  of  institutions  which  have  always  been 
favored  or  supported  by  all  enlightened  governments. 

"This  board  therefore  respectfully  protests  against  any  diminution 
of  the  privileges  that  libraries  now  possess,  and  further  expresses 
the  opinion  that  all  import  duties  upon  books  and  other  printed 
matter  should  be  entirely  abolished. 

"Resolved,  That  an  attested  copy  of  the  foregoing  minute  be  sent 
to  each  member  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  of  the  present 
House  of  Representatives  and  to  each  member  of  the  House  ana  of  the 
Senate  representing  the  State  of  Missouri." 

PAUL  BLACKWELDER, 
Acting  Librarian,  St.  Louis  Public  Library. 


TRUSTEES  OF  NEW  YORK  LIBRARY,  ASTOR,  LENOX,  AND  TILDEN 
FOUNDATIONS  OPPOSE  INCREASE  OF  BOOK  DUTY. 

NEW  YORK,  December  21,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Ways  and  Means  Committee,  Washington,  D.  C. 
DEAR  SIR:  By  direction  of  the  trustees  of  the  New  York  Public 
Library,  Astor,  Lenox,  and  Tilden  foundations,  I  have  the  honor  to 
transmit  to  you  herewith  an  attested  copy  of  a  minute  and  resolu- 
tions adopted  by  the  trustees  on  December  9,  1908,  upon  the  subject 
of  an  effort  which,  as  they  are  informed,  is  now  being  made  to  increase 
the  duty  now  levied  on  books  and  other  printed  matter  imported  into 
the  United  States,  and  to  remove  from  the  free  list  all  classes  of  books 
now  included  therein. 

Yours,  respectfully,  C.  H.  RUSSELL,  Secretary. 


NEW  YORK  CITY,  December  21,  1908, 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  New  York  Pub- 
lic Library,  held  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  Wednesday,  Decem- 
ber 9,  1908,  the  following  minute  and  resolutions  were  adopted: 

The  trustees  of  the  New  York  Public  Library  have  learned  with 
deep  regret  that  an  effort  is  making  to  increase  the  duty  now  levied 
on  books  and  other  printed  matter  imported  into  the  United  States, 
and  to  remove  from  the  free  list  all  classes  of  books  now  included 
therein. 

The  existing  tariff  imposes  a  duty  of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  on 
books,  excepting,  however,  first,  books  printed  wholly  in  foreign 
languages;  second,  books  in  English  whicn  have  been  printed  more 
than  twenty  years;  third,  books  imported  for  the  use  of  the  United 
States  or  the  Library  of  Congress,  or  for  the  use  of  libraries,  educa- 
tional institutions,  or  societies  of  a  literary  or  scientific  character. 


6354  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,  AND  BOOKS. 

An  import  duty  on  books  differs  entirely  in  its  effect  upon  the 
manufacturer  from  other  duties,  in  that  the  copyright  laws  afford 
protection  to  authors  and  publishers  quite  apart  from  the  tariff. 

The  protection  afforded,  moreover,  is  extremely  limited,  affecting 
only  such  imported  modern  books  and  periodicals  as  are  printed  in 
English.  So  far  as  it  goes,  however,  the  duty  is  a  tax  on  knowledge 
and  education;  an  unwise  tax  in  a  republic,  the  existence  of  which 
must  always  depend  on  the  intelligence  of  its  citizens. 

The  removal  of  books  for  public  libraries  from  the  free  list  will 
be  distinctly  a  backward  step,  as  the  exemption  as  now  existing  has 
been  the  law  for  many  years,  and  the  result  will  be  the  imposition 
of  a  serious  tax  upon  a  class  of  institutions  which  have  always  been 
favored  or  supported  by  all  enlightened  governments. 

This  board,  therefore,  respectfully  protests  against  any  diminution 
of  the  privileges  that  libraries  now  possess;  and  further  expresses 
the  opinion  that  all  import  duties  upon  books  and  other  printed 
matter  should  be  entirely  abolished. 

Resolved,  That  an  attested  copy  of  the  foregoing  minute  be  sent  to 
each  member  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  of  the  present 
House  of  Representatives  and  to  each  Member  of  the  House  repre- 
senting the  State  of  New  York. 

Resolved,  That  the  executive  committee  be  and  it  is  hereby 
authorized  to  take  such  measures  as  it  may  think  proper  to  have  the 
views  expressed  in  the  foregoing  minute  presented  to  the  committees 
of  the  present  and  the  next  Congress,  either  orally  or  otherwise  as  may 
be  thought  most  expedient. 

A  true  copy  from  the  minutes. 

Attest : 

C.  H.  RUSSELL, 
Secretary  of  the  Trustees  of  the  New  York  Public  Library. 

(The  above  resolution  was  concurred  in  by  the  trustees  of  the 
Brooklyn  Public  Library,  December  15,  1908.  Similar  resolutions 
were  adopted  by  the  Free  Public  Library  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  John 
Cotton  Dana,  librarian.) 


THE  TRUSTEES  OF  THE  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  OF  CINCINNATI,  OHIO, 
ADOPT  RESOLUTIONS  FAVORING  FREE  BOOKS. 

CINCINNATI,  OHIO,  December  82,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Committee  on  Wai/s  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 
DEAR  SIR:  At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  Public  Library  of 
Cincinnati,  on  Thursday,  December  17,  1908,  the  following  resolu- 
tions were  adopted : 

The  trustees  of  the  Public  Library  of  Cincinnati  have  learned  with 
deep  regret  that  an  effort  is  making  to  increase  the  duty  now  levied 
on  books  and  other  printed  matter  imported  into  the  United  States, 
and  to  remove  from  the  free  list  all  classes  of  books  now  included 
therein. 


BOOKS.  6355 

The  existing  tariff  imposes  a  duty  of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  on 
books,  excepting,  however,  first,  books  printed  wholly  in  foreign 
languages;  second,  books  in  English  which  have  been  printed  more 
than  twenty  years;  third,  books  imported  for  the  use  of  the  United 
States  or  the  Library  of  Congress,  or  for  the  use  of  libraries,  educa- 
tional institutions,  or  societies  of  a  literary  or  scientific  character. 

An  import  duty  on  books  differs  entirely  in  its  effect  upon  the 
manufacturer  from  other  duties,  in  that  the  copyright  laws  afford 
protection  to  authors  and  publishers  quite  apart  from  the  tariff. 

The  protection  afforded,  moreover,  is  extremely  limited,  affecting 
only  such  imported  modern  books  and  periodicals  as  are  printed  in 
English.  So  far  as  it  goes,  however,  the  duty  is  a  tax  on  knowledge 
and  education;  an  unwise  tax  in  a  republic,  the  existence  of  which 
must  always  depend  on  the  intelligence  of  its  citizens. 

The  removal  of  books  for  public  libraries  from  the  free  list  will  be 
distinctly  a  backward  step,  as  the  exemption  as  now  existing  has  been 
the  law  for  many  years,  and  the  results  will  be  the  imposition  of  a 
serious  tax  upon  a  class  of  institutions  which  have  always  been 
favored  or  supported  by  all  enlightened  governments. 

This  board  therefore  respectfully  protests  against  any  diminution 
of  the  privileges  that  libraries  now  possess;  and  further  expresses  the 
opinion  that  all  import  duties  upon  books  and  other  printed  matter 
should  be  entirely  abolished. 

Resolved,  That  an  attested  copy  of  the  foregoing  minute  be  sent  to 
each  member  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  of  the  present 
House  of  Representatives  and  to  the  Member  of  the  House  repre- 
senting the  First  Congressional  District  of  the  State  of  Ohio. 

Resolved,  That  the  executive  committee  be,  and  it  is  hereby,  au- 
thorized to  take  such  measures  as  it  may  think  proper  to  have  the 
views  expressed  in  the  foregoing  minute  presented  to  the  committees 
of  the  present  and  the  next  Congress,  either  orally  or  otherwise,  as 
may  be  thought  most  expedient. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

BOARD  or  TRUSTEES,  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  OF  CINCINNATI. 
By  EUGENE  SCHAEFER,  President. 


THOMAS  L.  MONTGOMERY,  PENNSYLVANIA  STATE  LIBRARIAN, 
OPPOSES  ANY  INCREASE  OF  DUTY  ON  BOOKS. 

HARRISBURG,  December  24,  1008. 
Hon.  JOHN  DALZELL,  M.  C., 

WasJdngton,  D.  C. 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  I  have  heard  that  there  is  an  effort  being  made  to 
increase  the  duty  now  levied  on  books  and  other  printed  matter  im- 
ported into  the  United  States,  and  to  remove  from  the  free  list  all 
classes  of  books  now  included  therein. 

There  is,  as  you  probably  know,  a  duty  at  present  of  25  per  cont 
ad  valorem  on  books  so  imported,  with  the  exception  of  books  printed 
wholly  in  foreign  languages,  books  printed  in  England  more  than 
twenty  years  ago,  and  books  imported  for  the  use  of  the  United  States, 


6356  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

the  Library  of  Congress,  or  for  the  use  of  libraries,  educational  insti- 
tutions, or  societies  of  a  literary  or  scientific  character. 

In  my  opinion,  it  would  be  a  hardship  to  all  these  institutions  to 
have  such  a  measure  enacted,  and  that  the  injury  imposed  would  be 
totally  out  of  proportion  to  the  benefit  which  would  accrue  to  the 
retail  bookseller  for  whose  benefit  this  amendment  is  suggested. 

The  importations  of  the  large  libraries  of  the  country  are  made  up 
of  items  which  can  not  be  secured  in  this  country  through  the  ordi- 
nary avenues  of  trade.  Very  few  institutions  made  use  of  English 
editions  of  current  books,  even  when  published  in  England  but  re- 
printed in  America. 

In  the  smaller  libraries,  of  which  there  are  thousands  in  the  United 
States,  the  importation  of  current  literature  from  abroad  is  almost 
unknown. 

To  enact  such  a  measure  as  would  prohibit  the  acquiring  of  books 
and  other  printed  matter  would  be  totally  out  of  keeping  with  the 
treatment  accorded  educational  institutions  by  all  enlightened  gov- 
ernments, and,  in  my  opinion,  this  would  be  the  result  if  the  pro- 
posed amendment  goes  into  effect. 

I  have  always  personally  expressed  strong  sympathy  with  the 
retail  dealer  in  books  in  the  difficulties  he  has  had  to  meet  by  reason 
of  the  encroachment  upon  his  business  by  the  department  stores,  but 
in  view  of  the  facts  which  have  been  stated  above  I  can  not  see  that 
he  will  be  at  all  benefited,  and  certainly  the  libraries  would  be 
injured. 

I  hope  that  you  may  see  the  fairness  of  our  reasoning  in  this  mat- 
ter and  oppose  the  passage  of  this  amendment  by  every  means  in 
your  power. 

Yours,  very  truly,  THOMAS  L.  MONTGOMERY, 

State  Librarian. 


THE   INTERNATIONAL  BROTHERHOOD   OF  BOOKBINDERS  ASKS 
PROTECTION  FROM  FOREIGN  LABOR. 

NEW  YORK,  December  29, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives. 

GENTLEMEN  :  During  the  recent  hearing  of  your  committee  on  the 
question  of  tariff  schedules,  our  organization  was  represented  by  Mr. 
George  Rodgers,  to  whom  your  committee  gave  a  hearing  on  Novem- 
ber 21,  when  the  subjects  considered  by  your  committee  were  pulp, 
paper,  books,  etc. 

While  Mr.  Rodgers  gave  you  a  pretty  fair  idea  of  what  is  required 
by  a  bookbinder  mechanic  of  this  country,  we  think  that  perhaps  a 
little  repeating  of  what  he  said,  or  adding  to  his  statement,  might 
not  be  amiss,  especially  so,  as  the  particular  clauses  in  the  tariff  that 
we  are  trying  to  have  corrected  means  a  great  deal  to  the  American 
mechanic. 

In  the  first  place,  we  want  to  say  that  we  have  no  fault  to  find  with 
the  tariff  as  at  present  levied.  Our  objections  are  principally  against 
three  of  the  clauses,  as  follows: 


BOOKS JAS.  W.  DOUGHERTY.  6357 

First.  That  clause  which  permits  the  importation  of  books  for  ed- 
ucational purposes  free  of  duty ;  and 

Second.  That  clause  which  permits  books  published  over  twenty 
years  to  come  in  free  of  duty ;  and 

Third.  That  clause  which  permits  books  printed  in  foreign  lan- 
guages to  come  in  free  of  duty. 

The  first-named  clause  is  being  used  to  a  very  great  extent  at  the 
present  time  in  the  furnishing  of  books  for  the  libraries,  both  public 
and  private,  of  this  country. 

There  is  a  firm  who  has  a  small  plant  located  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
who  makes  a  practice  to  purchase  the  flat  sheets  from  the  publisher 
in  this  country  of  books  of  American  -publication,  and  these  sheets 
are  shipped  to  the  city  of  Bath,  England,  where  this  firm  has  a 
rather  large  plant,  where  the  books  are  bound  by  foreign  workmen 
and  returned  to  this  country  for  use  of  the  libraries  as  cited  above, 
and  admitted  free  of  duty  under  the  educational  clause. 

Our  understanding  of  the  intent  of  this  law  is  that  books  of  an 
educational  character  would  only  include  books  such  as  histories  and 
works  of  a  like  character,  but  it  surely  should  not  intend  to  include 
novels  or  works  of  fiction,  which  most  of  the  libraries  are  made  up  of. 

The  book  published  over  twenty  years  and  admitted  free  of  duty 
applies  largely  to  the  finer  class  of  bindings  which  are  on  the  shelves 
of  our  more  wealthy  book  lovers  and  connoisseurs,  and  we  feel  that 
this  work  could  be  done  just  as  well  in  this  country  as  in  foreign 
lands;  in  fact,  we  believe  it  would  be  were  it  not  for  the  tariff  ex- 
emption which  allows  these  bindings  to  be  done  on  the  other  side, 
where  wages  are  less  than  one-half  of  the  average  of  what  they  are  in 
this  country. 

The  books  printed  in  foreign  languages  and  admitted  free  of  duty 
we  have  no  objection  to  as  long  as  the  books  are  published  and  bound 
abroad,  but  when  they  are  sent  abroad  from  this  country  for  re- 
binding  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  tariff  laws  are  being  violated. 

Ten  years  ago,  or  even  less,  statistics  compiled  by  our  organization 
show  that  there  were  over  1,000  bookbinders  employed  on  this  class 
of  work,  whereas  to-day  there  are  less  than  300.  The  cause  of  this 
has  been  that  the  publishing  firms  who  handle  these  classes  of  work 
find  it  a  great  deal  cheaper  to  send  it  to  English,  German,  or  French 
binders  in  preference  to  giving  it  to  the  American  mechanic,  and  we 
believe  the  free  clauses  in  the  tariff,  as  cited  above,  are  largely  to 
blame  for  this  change  in  conditions. 

We  feel  that  we  are  heavily  handicapped  by  these  conditions,  and 
our  hope  is  that  your  committee  will  see  its  way  clear  to  make  cor- 
rections as  will  give  this  work  to  the  American  mechanic  in  prefer- 
ence to  the  foreigner.  There  are  two  or  three  instances  which  we 
could  cite  where  firms  have  told  our  people  that  the  only  object  they 
have  in  sending  the  work  abroad  was  on  account  of  its  chenpness.  but 
that  they  did  not  deny  that  the  American  mechanic  could  perform 
the  work  just  as  well. 

I  trust  you  will  pardon  me  for  intruding  upon  your  deliberations 
at  this  time,  knowing  we  are  somewhat  late  in  presenting  this  state- 


6358  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

ment  of  facts,  but  we  are  intensely  interested,  and  will  therefore  ask 
that,  this  be  our  excuse. 

Thanking  you  in  advance  for  your  courtesy,  I  remain, 
Very  truly,  yours, 

JAS.  W.  DOUGHERTY, 

Secretary-  Treasurer 
International  Brotherhood,  of  Bookbinders. 


HON.  ERNEST  F.  ACHESON,  M.  C.,  FILES  LETTER  FROM  LIBRARIAN 
OF  THE  FREE  LIBRARY  OF  PHILADELPHIA  RELATIVE  TO  IM- 
PORTATIONS OF  BOOKS. 

1217-1221  CHESTNUT  STREET, 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  December  %9,  1908. 
Hon.  ERNEST  FRANCIS  ACHESON,  M.  C., 

House  of  Representatives, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  The  trustees  of  The  Free  Library  of  Philadelphia 
have  learned  that  there  is  an  effort  being  made  to  increase  the  duty 
now  levied  on  books  and  other  printed  matter  imported  into  the 
United  States  and  to  remove  from  the  free  list  all  classes  of  books 
now  included  therein. 

There  is,  as  you  probably  know,  a  duty  at  present  of  25  per  cent 
ad  valorem  on  books  so  imported,  with  the  exception  of  books  printed 
wholly  in  foreign  languages,  books  printed  in  English  more  than 
twenty  years  ago,  and  books  imported  for  the  use  of  the  United 
States,  the  Library  of  Congress,  or  for  the  use  of  libraries,  educational 
institutions,  or  societies  of  a  literary  or  scientific  character. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  our  board  that  it  would  be  a  grievous  hardship 
to  libraries  as  well  as  to  the  other  institutions  and  societies  men- 
tioned to  remove  books  from  the  free  list,  because  the  injury  imposed 
would  be  totally  out  of  proportion  to  the  benefit  which  would  accrue 
to  the  retail  bookseller. 

The  importations  of  the  large  libraries  of  the  country  are  mostly 
made  up  of  those  items  which  can  not  be  secured  in  this  country 
through  the  ordinary  avenues  of  trade.  Very  few  institutions  make 
use  of  the  English  editions  of  current  books,  even  when  published  in 
England  in  advance  of  the  American  reprint.  In  the  smaller  libra- 
ries, of  which  there  are  thousands  in  the  United  States,  the  importa- 
tion of  current  literature  from  abroad  is  almost  unknown. 

To  prohibit  the  acquiring  of  books  and  other  printed  matter  from 
foreign  countries  would  be,  in  our  opinion,  totally  out  of  keeping  with 
the  treatment  accorded  educational  institutions  by  all  enlightened 
governments. 

The  Free  Library  of  Philadelphia  has  always  entertained  the 
strongest  sympathy  for  the  retail  dealer  in  the  troubles  that  he  has 
had  to  meet  within  the  last  few  years  by  reason  of  the  encroachments 
made  on  his  business  by  changes  in  trade  methods  and  from  the  diffi- 
culties incident  to  the  carrying  of  a  large  stock,  which  is  necessary 
to  meet  the  wants  of  the  public;  but  in  view  of  the  facts  which  have 


BOOKS.  6359 

been  stated  above,  we  can  not  see  that  such  a  dealer  would  secure  any 
return  which  would  be  at  all  commensurate  with  the  injury  inflicted 
upon  the  institutions  designated. 

We  sincerely  trust  that  you  will  see  the  fairness  of  our  position  in 
this  matter,  and  by  every  means  in  your  power  oppose  the  passage 
of  this  suggested  amendment  to  the  tariff  law. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

JOHN  THOMSON, 
Librarian  and  Secretary  The  Free  Library  of  Philadelphia. 


THE  LIBRARY  COMPANY  OF  PHILADELPHIA  FAVORS  THE  DUTY- 
FREE  ADMISSION  OF  ALL  BOOKS  AND  PRINTED  MATTER. 

NORTHWEST  CORNER  LOCUST  AND  JUNIPER  STREETS, 

Philadelphia,  December  30,  1908. 
To  the  COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

The  Library  Company  of  Philadelphia,  founded  in  1731  by  Benja- 
min Franklin  and  his  friends,  has  had  an  existence  of  one  hundred 
and  seven  years,  during  which  time,  although  never  a  rich  institu- 
tion, by  care  and  economy  it  has  collected  some  200,000  volumes  or 
more,  which  the  public  freely  consults.  It  has  been  a  great  help  to 
the  company  that  it  has  been  able  to  import  its  foreign  books  free 
of  duty;  indeed,  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  make  so  valuable 
a  collection  without  this  help.  Now,  should  the  duty  be  increased 
and  the  free  entry  of  books  be  removed,  with  its  present  limited 
means,  a  very  heavy  blow  would  be  struck  at  the  usefulness  of  the 
library;  in  fact,  it  would  be  almost  necessary  to  cease  buying  books 
printed  in  Europe. 

Therefore,  the  directors  of  the  Library  Company  of  Philadelphia 
subscribe  to  and  most  heartily  indorse  the  following  resolutions  of 
the  New  York  Public  Library,  Astor,  Lenox,  and  Tilden  Founda- 
tions : 

At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  New  York  Public  Library  on  Wednesday, 
December  9,  1908,  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted : 

The  trustees  of  the  New  York  Public  Library  have  learned  with  deep  regret 
that  an  effort  is  making  to  increase  the  duty  now  levied  on  books  and  other 
printed  matter  imported  into  the  United  States  and  to  remove  from  the  free 
list  all  classes  of  books  now  included  therein. 

The  existing  tariff  imposes  a  duty  of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  on  books,  ex- 
cepting, however,  first,  books  printed  wholly  in  foreign  languages;  second, 
books  in  English  which  have  been  printed  more  than  twenty  years;  third,  books 
imported  for  the  use  of  the  United  States  or  the  Library  of  Congress  or  for 
the  use  of  libraries,  educational  institutions,  or  societies  of  a  literary  or  scien- 
tific character. 

An  import  duty  on  books  differs  entirely  in  its  effect  upon  the  manufacturer 
from  other  duties,  in  that  the  copyright  laws  afford  protection  to  authors  and 
publishers  quite  apart  from  the  tariff. 

The  protection  afforded,  moreover,  is  extremely  limited,  affecting  only  such 
imported  modern  books  and  periodicals  as  are  printed  in  English.  So  far  as  it 
goes,  however,  the  duty  is  a  tax  on  knowledge  and  education ;  an  unwise  tax 
in  a  republic,  the  existence  of  which  must  always  depend  on  the  intelligence  of 
its  citizens. 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  00-2— Vol  6 38 


6360  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

The  removal  of  books  for  public  libraries  from  the  free  list  will  be  distinctly 
a  backward  step,  as  the  exemption  as  now  existing  has  been  the  law  for  many 
years,  and  the  result  will  be  the  imposition  of  a  serious  tax  upon  a  class  of 
institutions  which  have  always  been  favored  or  supported  by  all  enlightened 
governments. 

This  board,  therefore,  respectfully  protests  against  any  diminution  of  the 
privileges  the  libraries  now  possess;  and  further  expresses  the  opinion  that  all 
import  duties  on  books  and  other  printed  matter  should  be  entirely  abolished. 

The  directors  of  the  Library  Company  of  Philadelphia  respectfully 
join  in  this  protest,  and  direct  that  a  copy  of  the  same  be  sent  to 
each  member  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  of  the  present 
House  of  Representatives  and  to  each  member  of  the  House  repre- 
senting the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

EDW.  S.  BUCKLEI'. 

S.  WEIR  MITCHELL. 

GEORGE  H.  FISHER. 

HENRF  C.  CHAPMAN. 

OWEN  WISTER. 

CLEMENT  BUCKLEY  NEWBOLD. 

G.  E.  DE  SCHWEINITZ. 

CHAS.  E.  DANA. 

SYDNEY  G.  FISHER. 

J.  PERCY  KEATING. 


THE  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS  OF  THE  LOS  ANGELES  (CAL.)  PUBLIC 
LIBRARY  WANTS  DUTY-FREE  BOOKS. 

Los  ANGELES,  CAL.,  January  1,  1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN:  At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Los 
Angeles  Public  Library  on  Wednesday,  December  29,  1908,  the  fol- 
lowing resolution  was  unanimously  adopted: 

Resolved,  That  the  directors  of  the  Los  Angeles  Public  Library,  which  serves 
a  population  of  300,000  and  circulates  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  million  vol- 
umes per  year  out  of  this  building,  besides  the  enormous  study-use  inside  the 
building  by  all  classes  of  students  in  art,  architecture,  and  science,  earnestly 
protest  against  the  removal  from  the  free  list  of  the  books  now  imported  into 
the  United  States,  particularly  by  libraries. 

The  most  important  text  books  in  many  branches  of  art,  architecture,  and 
history  are  of  necessity  imported.  Some  of  them  are  in  foreign  languages, 
some  procurable  only  in  foreign  countries.  A  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  tax  on 
these  books  simply  would  mean  that  this  city,  which  is  the  center  of  educa- 
tion for  nearly  a  million  square  miles,  would  be  reduced  in  effective  scholar- 
ship by  that  amount.  In  our  judgment  it  would  be  a  step  backward  toward 
barbarism  to  deprive  our  students  of  these  privileges. . 

We  respectfully  but  urgently  protest  against  any  withdrawal  of  privilege 
now  possessed  by  public  libraries  under  the  present  tariff. 

Resolved,  That  a  certified  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  each  member 
of  the  Committee  on  Wa.Vs  and  Means  of  the  present  House  of  Representatives 
and  to  each  Member  from  the  State  of  California. 

Attest:  CHAS.  F.  LTJMMTS, 

Librarian^  Los  Angeles  Public  Library. 


BOOKS.  6361 

THE  DETROIT  (MICH.)  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  COMMISSION  WANTS  NO 
INCREASE  IN  BOOK  DUTIES. 

DETROIT,  January  2, 1909. 
Hon.  JOHN  DALZELL,  M.  C., 

Ways  and  Means  Commitee, 

House  of  Representatives. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  am  instructed  by  the  Detroit  library  commission  to 
forward  to  you  the  inclosed  memorandum  of  action  unanimously 
taken  at  their  most  recent  meeting. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

H.  M.  UTLEY, 
Librarian,  Public  Library  of  Detroit,  Mich. 

The  Detroit  library  commission  respectfully  protests  against  the 
efforts  now  being  made  to  induce  Congress  to  increase  the  duty  at 
present  levied  on  imported  books  and  other  printed  matter  and  to 
remove  from  the  free  list  all  classes  of  books  now  included  therein. 

To  increase  the  duty  on  books  would  not  tend  to  the  encouragement 
of  any  industry,  but  would  simply  increase  the  profits  of  publishers 
at  the  expense  of  book  buyers.  Authors  and  publishers  are  now  pro- 
tected by  copyright  and  no  good  reason  appears  for  double  protection. 
To  withdraw  from  libraries  and  educational  institutions  the  privi- 
lege of  free  importation  of  books  would  be  distinctly  a  backward  step. 
Many  years  ago  Congress  relieved  libraries  and  educational  institu- 
tions from  import  duties,  on  the  theory  that  all  efforts  to  promote 
the  intelligence  of  the  citizens  should  be  encouraged  and  stimulated. 
Publishing  conditions  in  Great  Britian,  as  well  as  in  this  country, 
have  already  resulted  in  a  recent  considerable  increase  in  the  prices 
of  books.  The  funds  of  public  libraries,  raised  almost  wholly  by 
taxation,  are  necessarily  limited,  vand  many  libraries  find  their  pur- 
chasing resources  badly  handicapped  by  the  increased  cost  of  books. 
To  add  duties  on  all  foreign  publications  would  seriously  cripple 
many  of  these,  which  even  now  find  their  facilities  for  public  service 
much  curtailed. 

The  commission  sees  no  good  reason  for  changing  the  existing  laws 
and  earnestly  hopes  that  the  privileges  which  libraries  now  possess 
may  be  continued  and  extended. 

SIDNEY  T.  MILLER,  President, 

HINTON  E.  SPALDINQ,  Secretary, 

DIVIE  B.  DTJFFIELD, 

HERBERT  BOWEN, 

GEORGE  Osrus, 

RALPH  PIIELPS.  Jr., 

Detroit  Library  Commission. 


6362  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

HON.  A.  P.  GARDNER,  M.  C.,  SUBMITS  RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED  BY 
TRUSTEES  OF  BOSTON  ATHEN^UM  FAVORING  THE  REMOVAL 
OF  DUTY  FROM  BOOKS. 

WASHINGTON,  January  5,  1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives. 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  I  beg  to  inclose  you  herewith  resolutions  adopted 
by  the  trustees  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  favoring  the  removal  of  the 
duty  on  books  and  other  printed  matter. 

Very  truly,  yours,  A.  P.  GARDNER. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum  on  Monday, 
December  21,  1908,  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted : 

The  trustees  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum  have  learned  with  regret  that  an  effort 
Is  being  made  to  increase  the  duty  now  levied  on  books  and  other  printed  mat- 
ter imported  into  the  United  States,  and  to  remove  from  the  free  list  all  classes 
of  books  now  included  therein. 

We  commend  the  statement  of  Dr.  J.  S.  Billings  that,  "  So  far  as  it  goes,  the 
present  duty  is  a  tax  on  knowledge  and  education;  an  unwise  tax  in  a  republic, 
the  existence  of  which  must  always  depend  on  the  intelligence  of  its  citizens. 

"  The  removal  of  books  for  public  libraries  from  the  free  list  will  be  dis- 
tinctly a  backward  step,  as  the  exemption  as  now  existing  has  been  the  law  for 
many  years,  and  the  result  will  be  the  imposition  of  a  serious  tax  upon  a  class 
of  institutions  which  have  always  been  favored  or  supported  by  all  enlightened 
governments." 

The  trustees'  of  the  Boston  Athenreum,  therefore,  respectfully  protest  against 
any  diminution  of, the  privileges  that  libraries  now  possess;  and  further  express 
the  opinion  that  all  import  duties  upon  books  and  other  printed  matter  should 
be  entirely  abolished. 

Resolved,  That  an  attested  copy  of  the  foregoing  minute  be  sent  to  each 
member  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  of  the  present  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives and  to  each  Member  of  the  House  representing  the  Common  wealth 
of  Massachusetts. 

A  true  copy.     Attest:  ALBERT  THORNDIKE,  Secretary. 


UNION  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,  NEW  YORK,  APPEALS  FOR  DUTY 
FREE  SCIENTIFIC  AND  TECHNICAL  BOOKS. 

700  PARK  AVENUE, 
New  York,  January  6,  1909. 
CHAIRMAN  COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  send  to  you,  inclosed  herein,  a  pre- 
amble and  resolution  adopted  by  the  Society  of  Biblical  Literature 
and  Exegesis  at  its  annual  meeting,  held  at  Columbia  University  on 
December  30,  1908. 

Very  trulj,  yours,  JULIUS  A.  BEAVER, 

Corresponding  Secretary. 


BOOKS.  6363 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Literature  and  Exegesis, 
held  in  New  York  City  December  30,  1908,  the  following  preamble 
and  resolution  were  adopted: 

Whereas  the  present  duty  of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  on  books  in  the  English 
language  published  abroad  is,  so  far  as  scientific  and  technical  works  are  Con- 
cerned, of  the  nature  of  a  tax  on  scholars  without  compensating  advantages  of 
protection  to  authors  or  publishers,  or  of  appreciable  increase  of  revenue,  and 
is  to  that  extent  contrary  to  public  policy,  and  especially  to  that  policy  of  foster- 
ing learning  and  education  which  has  always  characterized  the  administration 
of  our  Government:  Therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Society  of  Biblical  Literature  and  Exegesis  petition  the 
Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  of  the  National  Congress  to  take  steps  for  the 
repeal  of  the  duty  on  books  of  a  scientific  and  technical  character  in  the  Eng- 
lish language,  published  abroad,  putting  these  books  on  the  same  footing  as 
books  published  in  a  foreign  language. 

A  true  copy. 

WILLIAM  H.  COBB, 

Recording  Secretary,  Union  Theological  Seminary. 


THE  MODERN  LANGUAGE  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA  ADOPTS 
RESOLUTIONS  RELATIVE  TO  WORKS  OF  ART,  BOOKS,  AND 
SCIENTIFIC  APPARATUS. 

107  WALKER  STREET, 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  January  7, 1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  PAYNE, 

Chairman  of  House  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 
DEAR  SIR:  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Modern  Language  Asso- 
ciation of  America,  held   at  Princeton   University,  December  30, 
1908,  the  following  resolutions  were  (unanimously)  adopted: 

Resolved,  (1)  That  the  Modern  Language  Association  of  America,  represent- 
ing the  scholars  and  teachers  of  the  modern  languages  and  literatures  in  the 
schools  and  colleges  of  the  United  States,  believing  that  the  present  tariff  laws, 
with  their  import  duties  upon  works  of  art,  books  printed  in  foreign  countries, 
and  scientific  apparatus,  impose  an  unjust  burden  upon  scientific  work  in  this 
country,  and  act  as  an  obstacle  to  the  advancement  of  learning  and  general 
culture,  while  accomplishing  little  as  regards  the  end  for  which  such  laws  are 
framed,  respectfully  petition  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  in  the  proposed 
revision  of  the  tariff  laws,  to  remove  the  existing  duties  upon  works  of  art 
and  their  reproductions,  including  photographs,  upon  all  books  printed  in 
foreign  countries,  and  upon  scientific  instruments  intended  for  the  private  use 
of  investigators. 

(2)  That  the  association  instruct  its  secretary  to  communicate  to  Congress, 
at  the  proper  time  and  through  the  proper  channels,  a  copy  of  these  resolutions. 

Respectfully  yours, 

C.  H.  GRANDGENT, 
Secretary  The  Modern  Language  Association  of  America. 


6364  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

PHOTOGELATrtf  PRINTS. 

[Paragraph  403.] 

THE  ALBERTYPE  CO.,   BROOKLYN,   N.   Y.,   PETITIONS  FOR  PRO- 
•      TECTION  FOR  AMERICAN  PHOTO  GELATIN  INDUSTRY. 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  November  17, 1908. 
Mr.  WM.  K.  PAYNE, 

Clerk  of  the  Committee-  on  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  G. 
DEAR  SIR  :  The  photogelatin-printing  business  has  been  established 
in  the  United  States  for  a  quarter  of  ^  century,  but  has  remained 
diminutive  in  comparison  with  the  extent  it  has  now  acquired  in 
Europe,  and  especially  in  Germany. 

The  printing  by  this  process  is  slow  and  greatly  subject  to  the  in- 
fluences of  weather  and  temperature.     The  cost  of  labor  therefore  is 
larger  proportionately  than  that  of  other  printing  methods. 
The  wages  paid  to  workmen  in  our  branch  are  on  the  average: 


United  States. 

Germany. 

Steam  printer  .       

$20.00  to  $25.00 

$7.00  to  $9  00 

Plate  maker  .  -    

25.00  to    35.00 

7.00  to   8.00 

Reproduction  photographer                                                    

20.00  to    35.00 

7.00  to   8  75 

Photographic  retoucher    -  

15.00  to    24.00 

6.00  to    7.00 

Rents  and  other  business  expenses  show  a  similar  proportion. 
Paper  and  cardboard  of  American  manufacture  cost  two  to  three 
times  the  German  prices  for  equal  grades. 

A  great  contributor  to  the  rise  of  the  photogelatin  printing  in  Ger- 
many of  late  years  has  been  the  growth  of  the  illustrated  post  card. 
The  production  of  the  American  view  and  art  post  card  has  almost 
been  monopolized  by  German  manufacturers,  whose  agents  here  pick 
up  the  views  of  every  city,  village,  and  crossroad,  of  every  scene,  of 
any  advertising  subject,  and  send  it  to  Germany  to  have  500,  1,000,  or 
more  post  cards  made  of  a  subject.  Not  that  we  could  not  make  an 
equally  good  article,  but  the  German  manufacturer  can  produce  the 
1,000  plain  gelatin  post  cards  for  7£  marks,  or  $1.80,  while  we  can  not 
produce  the  1,000  under  $5  or  $6. 

The  imported  gelatin  post  card  comes  under  the  customs  tariff 
schedule  of  printed  matter  and  pays  25  per  cent  duty. 

We  hand  color  many  gelatin  post  cards  of  our  own  make,  giving 
thereby  employment  to  3  artists  and  15  girls. 

The  importer  also  brings  over  many  hand-colored  post  cards,  omits 
the  designation  "  hand  colored,"  and  is  enabled  thereby  at  some  ports 
of  entry  to  pass  them  as  lithographs  between  eight  one-thousandths 
and  twenty  one-thousandths  of  an  inch  in  thickness  at  5  cents  per 
pound. 

The  majority  of  colored  post  cards  are  lithographs  or  chromo- 
litho,  and  pass  at  the  same  rate  of  duty  of  5  cents  per  pound,  equal 
to  about  45  cents  per  1,000  post  cards. 

Here  exists  a  flagrant  discrimination  against  the  American  manu- 
facturer. Compare  f.  i.  the  tariff  schedule:  Lithographic  cigar 


PHOTOGELATIN   FEINTS ALBERTYPE  COMPANY.  6365 

labels  in  less  than  eight  colors,  20  cents  per  pound;  lithographic 
cigar  labels  in  eight  or  more  colors,  30  cents  per  pound. 

The  German-made  colored  post  cards  vary  between  six  and  ten 
colors  and  pay  only  5  cents  per  pound  duty,  while  they  are  printed 
on  the  same  lithographic  presses  as  the  cigar  labels,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  great  minority  of  gelatine  hand-colored  make. 

Holiday  cards,  calendars,  booklets,  advertising  cards,  hangers, 
novelties,  and  pictures  of  many  kinds  share  in  the  same  discrimina- 
tion. Post  cards,  being  of  recent  growth,  have  not  before  come  to 
the  attention  of  the  Congress.  They  are  more  commercial  than  edu- 
cational, are  largely  used  for  advertising  towns,  resorts,  real  estate, 
anr!  nnv  kind  of  mercantile  enterprise. 

Well  might  the  domestic  manufacturer  receive  his  fair  share  of 
this  trade,  instead  of  four-fifths  of  post  cards  being  imported. 

The  unlimited  cheapening  of  the  article  through  foreign  competi- 
tion can  not  be  said  to  have  made  it  more  lucrative  to  the  retail  trade, 
but  has  tended  to  depreciate  it  in  the  public  estimation. 

By  the  official  report  on  the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  there 
were  imported  under  the  head  of  "  Books,  music,  engravings,  etch- 
ings, photographs,  and  other  printed  matter,"  in  the  fiscal  years  end- 
ing June  30,  1905,  free,  $2,609,181;  dutiable,  $1,980,677;  1906,  free, 
$3,000,326;  dutiable,  $2,599,622;  1907,  free,  $3,379,182;  dutiable, 
$3,072,127. 

The  European  apprentice  systems  further  contribute  to  the  low 
cost  of  foreign  labor,  while  here  we  do  not  have  any  unpaid  labor. 

Many  smaller  importations  of  post  cards,  fancy  cards,  other  printed 
matter,  photographs,  and  engravings  come  by  mail  cheaply  and 
quickly,  thus  further  diminishing  the  chances  of  the  domestic  manu- 
facturer. 

The  photographer,  as  a  rule,  can  not  afford  to  copyright  his  scenic 
views,  nor  does  the  law  ultimately  protect  him,  according  to  recent 
decisions  of  the  United  States  courts.  The  photographer's  views, 
therefore,  are  the  prey  of  the  foreigner's  agent.  Example:  We  in- 
struct our  traveling  photographer  to  photograph  for  us  certain 
scenes  in  Oregon  or  Texas.  He  does  it  at  great  expense.  We  publish 
the  views  in  the  form  of  post  cards  or  a  souvenir  book  or  a  calendar. 
The  foreigner,  through  his  alert  helpmate  here,  buys  the  finished  arti- 
cle for  a  few  cents  and  sends  it  to  Europe  for  copying.  In  a  short 
while  our  market,  local  or  general,  becomes  flooded  with  cheap  copies. 
The  domestic  manufacturer  may  then  turn  his  wits  to  new  fields,  but 
the  mail  offers  such  easy  facilities  to  the  copyists  here  and  abroad  that 
to-day  the  American  lithographers  and  kindred  trades  have  resigned 
themselves  to  the  conclusion  that  post  cards  and  similar  articles  belong 
to  the  foreigner. 

THE  ALBERTYPE  COMPANY. 

EXHIBIT  A. 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  November  18, 1908. 

I,  Walther  Hoeschel,  married  and  residing  at  179  Thirteenth  avenue, 
Astoria,  Queens  County,  State  of  New  York,  and  working  as  a  photo- 
graphic retoucher  with  the  Albertype  Company,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
for  the  past  three  years,  and  previously  with  Stengel  &  Co., 
photogelatin  printers,  Dresden  and  Berlin,  Germany,  two  years, 


6366  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

testify  from  my  own  knowledge  that  in  Germany,  in  the  photogelatin 
printing  line,  a  first-class  photographer  earns  20  to  35  marks  a  week 
($5  to  $8.75) ;  retoucher  earns  18  to  25  marks  a  week  ($4.50  to  $6)  ; 
apprentices,  some  nothing,  others  earn  2  to  4  marks  a  week  (50  cents 
to  $1). 

In  every  branch  of  the  business  apprentices  are  engaged,  almost 
one  to  every  workman.    Girls  feed  the  power  presses. 

To  this  statement  I  subscribe  my  name, 

WALTHER  HOESCHEL. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  this  18th  day  of  November. 
1908. 

[SEAL.]  HENRY  STUBING, 

Notary  Public,  Kings  County,  N.  Y. 


THE  CAREY  LITHOGRAPH  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  ASKS  FOR 
ADDITIONAL  PROTECTION  AGAINST  FOREIGN  POST  CARDS. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  November  19,  1908. 
Mr.  W.  K.  PAYNE, 

Clerk  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  C, 

DEAR  SIR:  We  have  been  advised  that  a  hearing  regarding  tariff 
schedule  covering  papers,  books,  etc.,  will  be  held  next  Saturday,  and 
that  the  subject  of  photogelatin  printing  will  be  heard  in  connection 
with  this  schedule.  As  figures  and  other  data  pertaining  to  this 
subject  have  undoubtedly  been  submitted  by  other  parties,  we  will, 
in  order  to  avoid  repetition,  refrain  from  stating  same,  but  we  wish 
to  submit  this  undeniable  fact: 

American  efforts  and  American  capital  have  created  a  demand  for 
gelatin  printing  in  this  country,  a  demand  which  is  constantly  in- 
creasing through  our  work,  while  European  establishments,  prin- 
cipally German,  are  getting  the  results.  Large  contracts  for  postal 
cards,  art  subjects,  etc.,  are  continually  placed  on  the  other  side  and 
executed,  and  this  is  not  done  for  reasons  of  superior  workmanship, 
but  simply  on  account  of  our  inability  of  competing  with  foreign 
quotations. 

Yours,  very  truly,  CAREY  LITHOGRAPH  COMPANY. 

PETER  J.  CAREY,  President. 


BRIEF  SUBMITTED  BY  THE  CAMPBELL  ART  COMPANY,  OF  ELIZA- 
BETH,  N.  J.,  RELATIVE  TO  PHOTOGELATIN  PRINTING. 

ELIZABETH,  N.  J.,  November  19, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington.  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  photogelatin  printing  process  was  introduced 
in  this  country  about  1871,  and  while  it  has  flourished  mightily 
abroad,  especially  in  Germany,  it  has  never  secured  in  this  country 
the  place  which  it  is  entitled  to  hold  as  the  best  process  for  the  repro- 


PHOTOGELATIN   PRINTS CAMPBELL,  ABT   CO.  6367 

duction  of  art  pictures  and  kindred  work,  where  fine  details  and 
graduation  of  tones  are  required. 

On  the  17th  of  this  month  the  Government  Printing  Office  called 
for  bids  on  nearly  3,000,000  photogelatin  prints  as  illustrations  for 
an  important  publication  where  the  above-mentioned  qualities  are 
absolutely  required.  There  are  not  three  photogelatin  plants  in  the 
United  States  capable  of  turning  out  this  work  within  the  desired 
time,  and  the  reasons  are  not  far  to  seek — the  low  duty  on  foreign 
photogelatin  work  and  the  tremendous  difference  in  the  cost  of  labor 
and  materials  between  Germany  and  the  United  States  tell  the  story. 

No  photogelatin  power  presses  are  made  in  this  country,  and  we 
have  to  pay  a  45  per  cent  duty  on  such  a  machine.  The  finished 
product  of  a  photogelatin  press  in  the  form  of  post  cards  come  in 
under  the  customs  tariff  as  printed  matter,  on  which  a  duty  of  but 
25  per  cent  is  imposed,  which  is  manifestly  unfair  and  a  discrimina- 
tion in  favor  of  foreign  capital  and  labor.  I  find  no  fault  with  the 
45  per  cent  duty  on  the  press,  but  I  submit  that  the  duty  on  the 
finished  product  should,  to  say  the  least,  be  no  less.  I  speak  of  post 
cards  because  they  represent  the  largest  single  item  of  imported 
gelatin  work. 

I  think  I  am  within  the  truth  in  stating  that  two  years  ago  more 
than  75,000,000  photogelatin  post  cards  were  imported.  I  have  not 
the  data  regarding  last  year.  Practically  none  of  this  work  was  done 
here,  although  we  needed  it  badly  enough.  Many  of  these  cards  are 
hand  colored,  but  come  in  under  the  same  25  per  cent  duty,  which  is 
a  still  harder  proposition  for  the  manufacturer  here  as  it  involves 
more  cheap  labor,  not  to  mention  the  very  prevalent  impression  that 
some  of  these  hand-colored  cards  come  in  at  certain  ports  of  entry 
under  the  classification  of  "  lithographs,"  "  chromos,"  etc.,  at  5  cents 
per  pound,  which  would  bring  the  duty  down  to  an  absurdity  on  this 
class  of  work. 

There  is  a  large  business  in  these  cards  in  South  America,  about 
one-half  as  much  as  in  this  country,  but  under  the  present  conditions 
we  can  get  none  of  it;  the  same  is  true  of  Mexico  and  Canada.  If  we 
can  not  secure  any  part  of  this  trade,  I  submit  that  we  should  at  least 
be  protected  in  our  own  country. 

The  following  is  a  comparative  scale  of  wages  which  shows  where 
we  find  ourselves  on  the  labor  problem: 


Germany. 

Unite.!  States. 

Photographer  

Per  week. 
$8.00 

Per  wtek. 
$25.00 

Retoucher 

$5.00  to   6.00 

$15.00  to    25.00 

Platerjnaker 

C  00  to   8  00 

20  00  to    30  00 

Printer.    .    .        .. 

7.00  to   9.00 

18.00  to    25.00 

Feeders  _ 

1  .V)  to    2  00 

3  00  to     6  00 

Other  handling  and  finishing  (.by  women  and  girls)  .  ._ 

1.50  to    3.00 

2  50  to     6.00 

Hand  coloring  .  „. 

2.00  to   4.00 

8.00  to    12.00 

Certain  features  of  this  process  call  for  skilled  labor,  which  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  get  in  this  country,  and  we  are  restrained  under 
the  law  from  making  contracts  for  foreign  labor.  If  men  of  the  re- 
quired ability  come  here  of  their  own  accord,  the  labor  unions  imme- 
diately get  hold  of  them  and  settle  the  wage  question  for  them  in  a 


6368  SCHEDULE   M PTJLP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

hurry.    Any  relief,  therefore,  in  the  way  of  cheaper  labor  is  exceed- 
ingly remote. 

Concerning  the  principal  materials  entering  into  onr  work,  we  find 
ourselves  in  practically  the  same  position,  as  the  following  figures 
will  show : 


Germany. 

United 
States. 

Per  pound. 
$O.OS 

Per  pound. 

$i>  13 

.60 

$0.93  to  '1.25 

Ink                     „       _ 

.50 

.95 

Of  course,  if  paper  were  on  the  free  list,  that  would  be  a  great  help 
to  us.  We  do  not  ask  that,  but  do  ask  that  the  adequate  protection 
of  one  industry  shall  not  operate  as  a  disadvantage  to  us  because  we 
are  not  properly  protected. 

The  duty  on  machinery,  gelatin,  ink,  and  paper  is,  in  every  case, 
higher  than  the  duty  on  photogelatin  printed  matter,  and  possibly 
no  further  argument  should  be  necessary  to  demonstrate  the  fairness 
of  an  advance  in  duty  on  the  latter.  As  to  how  much  this  advance 
should  be,  those  whom  I  represent,  in  a  measure,  here,  differ,  as  the 
briefs  will  show,  ranging  from  a  minimum  of  45  per  cent  to  a  max- 
imum of  100  per  cent.  The  Campbell  Art  Company,  for  whom  I 
speak  directly,  feels  that  a  maximum  of  75  per  cent  and  a  minimum 
of  60  per  cent  ad  valorem  would  be  equitable  and  reasonable  in  view 
of  the  figures  just  given,  which  can  readily  be  authenticated,  con- 
cerning the  relative  cost  of  labor  and  material  here  and  abroad. 

On  the  basis  of  such  an  advance  it  is  probable  that  ten  presses 
would  soon  be  running  where  one  is  in  operation  to-day,  and  that 
many  hundreds  of  both  skilled  and  unskilled  workmen  would  find 
steady  employment  where  scores  are  busy  to-day. 

I  submit  briefs  and  letters  from  the  Albertype  Company,  of  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y. ;  Meriden  Gravure  Company,  of  Meriden,  Conn. ;  Campbell 
Art  Company,  of  Elizabeth,  N.  J. ;  The  Photogravure  and  Color 
Company,  of  New  York;  Carey  Lithograph  Company,  of  New 
York;  E.  Moebius,  of  Camden,  N.  J. ;  Heliotype  Company,  of  Bos- 
ton, Mass.;  Taber  Art  Company,  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  constituting 
practically  all  of  the  important  concerns  in  this  country  in  this  line 
of  work. 

"We  buy  our  materials,  manufacture  our  products,  and  sell  our 
goods  in  this  country.  There  is  no  combination  among  the  people 
engaged  in  this  line  of  business,  and  I  can  assure  you  that  the  compe- 
tition between  ourselves  is  keen  enough  to  protect  the  public  so  far 
as  prices  are  concerned.  What  we  want  and  ask  for  is  such  measure 
of  protection  as  will  keep  our  factories  running  and  our  people  em- 
ployed. We  think  that  we  are  at  least  entitled  to  as  fair  treatment 
as  is  accorded  to  others,  and  this  we  feel  we  are  not  receiving  at  the 
present  time. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

ARTHTTR  F.  RICE, 
V ice-President  Campbell  Art  Company,  Elizabeth,  N.  J. 


PHOTOGELATIN   PRINTS CAMPBELL,  ART   CO.  6369 

EXHIBIT  A. 

123-125  FEDERAL  STREET,  CAMDEN.  N.  J., 

Tuesday,  November  17,  1908. 

Messrs.  CAMPBELL  ART  Co. 

(Mr.  A.  F.  RICE,  VICE-PRESIDENT,  Elizabeth,  N.  J. 

DEAR  SIR:  Replying  to  your  communications  of  November  12  and 
16,  I  regret  that  I  shall  be  unable  to  be  present  at  the  hearing  on 
November  21.  However,  as  you  desire  my  views  on  the  subject,  I 
will  state  that  it  appears  to  me  only  reasonable  that  the  duty  on  the 
printed  work  should  be  equal,  at  least,  to  that  imposed  on  the  photo- 
gelatin  press,  and  for  the  benefit  of  those  interested  in  the  printing 
in  this  country  as  much  more  as  possible.  As  matters  stand  at  pres- 
ent, it  is  impossible  for  printers  to  compete  with  the  foreign  price  on 
photogelatin  work,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  any  endeavor  to  have 
the  duty  on  imports  of  this  nature  increased  shall  meet  with  the  suc- 
cess fairness  justifies. 

Would  be  pleased  to  receive  copy  of  the  laws. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

E.  MOEBIUS. 


EXHIBIT  B. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  November  17, 1908. 
Mr.  ARTHUR  F.  RICE,  CAMPBELL  ART  Co., 

Elizabeth,  N,  J. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Your  favors  of  the  12th  and  16th  in  matter  of  the  duties 
on  gelatin  printing  at  hand,  and,  of  course,  writer  is  strongly  in  favor 
of  an  increase  in  the  present  rate  on  such  work.  The  postal-card  situ- 
ation illustrates  forcibly  the  need  of  such  increase.  We  have  figured  a 
number  of  times  on  large  orders  of  cards,  but  have  been  informed  by 
the  prospective  customer  that  our  prices  were  much  more  than  the 
ones  obtained  from  Germany.  As  this  business  has  attained  such 
large  proportions,  it  would  seem  only  right  that  the  American  manu- 
facturer and  workman  should  have  an  equal  chance  with  the  foreigner, 
especially  as  post  cards  can  hardly  be  classed  as  anything  else  but  a 
luxury.  The  cost  of  production,  of  course,  applies  equally  to  other 
uses  of  the  process.  A  lot  of  work  for  special  publications  is  now 
done  abroad,  in  some  cases  apparently  paying  no  duty  whatever,  as 
writer  remembers  hearing  of  a  large  book  of  photographs  of. views 
sold  to  artists  and  architects  which  was  all  large  page  illustrations 
printed  by  gelatin  process,  but  with  the  title  (a  few  words — the  name 
of  the  town  or  building)  printed  in  French  of  German,  entering  the 
country  as  a  foreign-language  publication  and  therefore  free  of  duty. 

Writer  would  like  to  be  present  at  the  hearing,  but  circumstances 
prevent.    He  wishes  you  all  success  in  your  efforts  in  behalf  of  the 
trade,  and  if  he  finds  any  opportunity  to  help  along  the  cause,  will 
certainly  take  advantage  of  it. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

(Signed)  W.  C.  RAMSAY. 


6370  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEBS,  AND  BOOKS. 

EXHIBIT  C. 

NEW  YORK,  November  17, 1908. 
Mr.  A.  F.  RICE,  VICE-PRESIDENT  CAMPBELL  ART  Co., 

Elizabeth,  N.  J. 

DEAR  SIR  :  We  are  in  receipt  of  your  favor  of  the  16th  instant,  in 
regard  to  meeting  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  to  be  held  at 
Washington  November  21. 

Mr.  Witterman,  of  the  Albertype  Company,  in  Brooklyn,  visited 
us  and  talked  this  matter  over,  and  we  assured  him  that  we  would  do 
our  share  in  bringing  about  the  desired  revision  of  the  tariff. 

Thanking  you  for  bringing  this  matter  to  our  attention,  we  are, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

CAREY  LITHOGRAPH  COMPANY. 


EXHIBIT  D. 

NEW  YORK,  November  17, 1908. 
CAMPBELL  ART  COMPANY, 

Elizabeth,  N.  J. 

GENTLEMEN:  In  reply  to  your  favor  of  November  16,  wish  to 
say  that  I  should  have  been  very  glad  to  join  with  you  in  your  effort 
to  revise  the  present  tariff  on  pictures,  but  the  time  is  so  short  that  I 
do  not  think  I  can  arrange  to  go  to  Washington  on  Saturday. 

Of  course  we  are  more  interested  in  the  duty  on  photogravure 
plates  and  prints.  One  trouble  is  that  our  fine  work  has  to  be  printed 
on  imported  paper,  on  which  there  is  a  heavy  duty.  This  places  us  at 
a  disadvantage  with  the  foreign  houses,  because  they  get  the  paper 
much  cheaper ;  and  with  a  small  duty  on  the  prints  makes  it  difficult 
for  us  to  compete  with  them. 

It  would  be  better  for  all  of  us  if  the  duty  on  fine  paper  that  can 
not  be  made  in  this  country  was  reduced  and  the  duty  on  the  pictures 
printed  on  this  paper  increased.  That  would  place  us  in  a  position  to 
sell  our  goods  in  South  America  and  Mexico. 

I  should  like  to  have  an  interview  with  your  representative  who  is 
going  to  Washington,  and  I  might  be  able  to  suggest  something  that 
would  be  to  our  mutual  benefit. 

The  photpgelatin  printers  of  this  country  are  constantly  going 
into  competition  with  the  photogravure  houses  in  Europe. 
Yours,  truly, 

PHOTOGRAVURE  AND  COLOR  COMPANY, 
KARL  A.  ARVIDSON. 


EXHIBIT  E. 

MERIDEN,  CONN.,  November  18,  1908. 
Mr.  ARTHUR  F.  RICE, 

V ice-President  Campbell  Art  Co.,  Elizabeth,  N.  J. 
DEAR  SIR:  Regret  to  say  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  appear 
before  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  on  the  21st,  and  should  be 
glad  if  you  could  represent  us,  as  well  as  yourself,  at  that  time. 


PHOTOGELATIN   PRINTS.  6371 

"We  hold  that  the  present  tariff  on  photo-gelatin  work  is  wholly 
inadequate  to  put  us  on  an  even  footing  with  the  German  manufac- 
turers, when  the  wages  paid,  hours  worked,  and  cost  of  materials  on 
the  other  side  are  considered. 

We  also  hold  that  it  is  a  manifest  injustice  to  compel  us  to  pay  45 
per  cent  duty  on  machinery  for  this  process  (and  we  can  get  this 
machinery  in  no  other  way  than  by  import),  and  then  protect  us  on 
the  product  of  the  machinery  by  only  35  per  cent  or  less. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

THE  MERIDEN  GRAVURE  COMPANY, 
J.  F.  ALLEN,  Treasurer. 


EXHIBIT  F. 

CHICAGO,  November  16,  1908. 
CAMPBELL  ART  COMPANY, 

Elizabeth,  N.  J. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  have  your  letter  of  November  12,  which  was  for- 
warded from  our  old  address. 

The  tariff  relative  to  the  photo-gelatin  industry  is,  as  you  say,  mani- 
festly unjust  and  we  are  cordially  in  sympathy  with  any  movement 
which  has  in  view  a  readjustment  of  this  matter. 

Considering  the  impossibility  of  American  photo-gelatin  firms  of 
competing  with  European  firms  under  the  present  tariff,  we  should 
suggest  that  the  presses  come  in  free  and  that  a  duty  of  100  per  cent 
or  more  on  the  finished  product  would  be  putting  us  on  a  more  equita- 
ble plane  of  competition. 

Thank  you  for  calling  our  attention  to  this  important  subject  and 
for  the  interest  you  are  taking  in  the  matter. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

WESTERN  PHOTOGRAVURE  COMPANY, 
Jos.  SCHOENINGER,  President. 


STATEMENT   OF  ARTHUR  F.   RICE,  FLATIRON  BUILDING,   NEW 
YORK  CITY,  RELATIVE  TO  PHOTOGELATIN  POST  CARDS. 

SATURDAY,  November  SI,  1908. 

Mr.  RICE.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  I  would  like  to  speak 
on  the  photo-gelatin  printing  process  as  affected  by  the  present  tariff. 

Mr.  HILL.  Do  you  know  what  paragraph  of  the  law  that  is  in? 

Mr.  RICE.  It  is  hard  to  say,  because  we  are  not,  I  think,  properly 
classified,  if  classified  at  all.  On  the  basis  of  the  duty  charged  on 
imported  photo-gelatin  work,  we  belong  in  paragraph  403. 

Mr.  HILL.  What  is  the  particular  business  you  are  in  ? 

Mr.  RICE.  The  photo-gelatin  printing  process,  and  I  will  say  that 
I  represent  practically  all  of  those  in  that  business.  We  thought  it 
was  unnecessary  to  bring  you  gentlemen  long  papers  on  this  subject. 
I  think  I  represent  all  these  people,  practically,  and  I  will  give  you 
the  names  of  those  I  represent,  and  what  I  have  to  say  will  occupy  but 
a  short  time.  The  photo-gelatin  printing  process  was  introduced  in 


6372  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEES,   AND  BOOKS. 

this  country  about  1871,  and  while  it  has  flourished  mightily  abroad, 
especially  in  Germany,  it  has  never  secured  in  this  country  the  place 
which  it  is  entitled  to  hold  as  the  best  process  for  the  reproduction  of 
art  pictures  and  kindred  work,  where  fine  details  and  graduation  cf 
tones  are  required. 

On  the  17th  of  this  month  the  Government  Printing  Office  called 
for  bids  on  nearly  three  million  photo-gelatin  prints  as  illustrations 
for  an  important  publication  where  the  above-mentioned  qualities 
are  absolutely  required.  There  are  not  three  photo-gelatin  plants 
in  the  United  States  capable  of  turning  out  this  work  within  the 
desired  time,  and  the  reasons  are  not  far  to  seek — the  low  duty  on 
foreign  photo-gelatin  work  and  the  tremendous  difference  in  the  cost 
of  labor  and  materials  between  Germany  and  the  United  States  tell 
the  story. 

No  photo-gelatin  power  presses  are  made  in  this  country,  and  we 
have  to  pay  a  45  per  cent  duty  on  such  a  machine. 

Mr.  HILL.  What  is  the  duty  on  the  product? 

Mr.  RICE.  Twenty-five  per  cent  as  it  comes  in  now,  classified  as 
printed  matter.  It  comes  in  under  the  duty  of  25  per  cent. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  do  you  want  to  make  it  ? 

Mr.  RICE.  The  finished  product  of  a  photo-gelatin  press  in  the 
form  of  post  cards  comes  in  under  the  customs  tariff  as  printed  mat- 
ter, on  which  a  duty  of  but  25  per  cent  is  imposed. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  How  much  do  you  want  to  make  the  duty  ? 

Mr.  RICE.  I  will  arrive  at  that.  I  have  the  briefs  here  of  all  the 
important  photo-gelatin  men.  The  bringing  in  of  the  finished  prod- 
uct of  the  process  at  a  duty  of  25  per  cent  is  manifestly  unfair  and  a 
discrimination  in  favor  of  foreign  capital  and  labor.  I  find  no  fault 
with  the  45  per  cent  duty  on  the  press,  but  I  submit  that  the  duty  on 
the  finished  product  should,  to  say  the  least,  be  no  lass.  I  speak  of 
post  cards  because  they  represent  the  largest  single  item  of  imported 
gelatin  work. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Have  you  a  written  brief  there? 

Mr.  RICE.  Yes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Then  I  think  you  had  better  submit  it  to  the  com- 
mittee in  that  form. 

Mr.  RICE.  Yes.  I  am  speaking  of  the  duty  on  the  finished  product 
which  comes  in  here,  to  our  great  detriment.  I  think  I  am  within 
the  truth  in  stating  that  two  years  ago  more  than  75,000,000  photo- 
gelatin  cards  were  imported.  I  have  not  the  data  regarding  last 
year.  Practically  none  of  this  work  was  done  here,  although  we 
needed  it  badly  enough.  Many  of  these  cards  are  hand  colored,  but 
come  in  under  the  same  25  per  cent  duty,  which  is  a  still  harder 
proposition  for  the  manufacturer  here,  as  it  involves  more  cheap 
labor,  not  to  mention  the  very  prevalent  impression  that  some  of 
these  hand-colored  cards  come  in  at  certain  ports  of  entry  under  the 
classification  of  "  lithographs,"  "  chromos,"  and  so  forth,  at  5  cents 
per  pound,  which  would  bring  the  duty  down  to  an  absurdity  on  this 
class  of  work.  There  is  a  large  business  in  these  cards  in  South 
America,  about  one-half  as  much  as  in  this  country,  but  under  the 
present  conditions  we  can  get  none  of  it;  the  same  is  true  of  Mexico 
and  Canada.  If  we  can  not  secure  any  part  of  this  trade,  I  submit 


PHOTOGELATIN    PRINTS ARTHUR  F.   RICE. 


6373 


that  we  should  at  least  be  protected  in  our  own  country.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  comparative  scale  of  wages,  which  shows  where  we  find 
ourselves  on  the  labor  problem : 


Germany. 

Unfted 
States. 

Photographer                             --      -  -  

Per  week. 
$3 

Per  week. 
$25 

Retoucher                  -        -  

5  to  6 

15  to  25 

6  to  8 

20  to  30 

Printer                                          -          

7  to  9 

18  to  25 

1.50  to  2 

3  to  0 

Other  handling  and  finishing  (by  women  and  girls)".. 

1.50  to  3 

2.50  to  0 

2  to  4 

8  to  12 

I  assure  you,  gentlemen,  that  those  are  conservative  figures.  There 
is  no  guesswork  about  them.  In  connection  with  the  briefs  submitted 
by  several  of  the  other  gentlemen  are  sworn  statements  in  respect  to 
the  labor  cost  in  Germany,  and  those  can  be  substantiated  here  at  any 
time.  Certain  features  of  this  process  call  for  skilled  labor,  which 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  in  this  country,  and  we  are  restrained 
under  the  law  from  making  contracts  for  foreign  labor.  The  ques- 
tion is  asked  why  they  do  not  all  come  here  from  Germany  and  why 
we  do  not  get  the  skilled  labor.  If  men  of  the  required  ability  come 
here  of  their  own  accord,  the  labor  unions  immediately  get  hold  of 
them  and  settle  the  wage  question  for  them  in  a  hurry.  Any  relief, 
therefore,  in  the  way  of  cheaper  labor  is  exceedingly  remote. 

Concerning  the  principal  materials  entering  into  our  work,  we  find 
ourselves  in  practically  the  same  position,  as  the  following  figures 
will  show : 


Germany. 

United 
States. 

Paper  „       

Per  pound. 
$0.06 

Per  pound. 
$0.13 

Gelatin  

.60 

.95  to  1.25 

Ink..      .                                                                                 ... 

.50 

.95 

Of  course,  if  paper  were  on  the  free  list,  that  would  be  of  great 
help  to  us.  We  do  not  ask  that,  but  do  ask  that  the  adequate  pro- 
tection of  one  industry  shall  not  operate  as  a  disadvantage  to  us  be- 
cause we  are  not  properly  protected.  The  duty  on  machinery,  gelatin, 
ink,  and  paper  is,  in  every  case,  higher  than  the  duty  on  photo- 
gelatin  printed  matter,  and  possibly  no  further  argument  should  be 
necessary  to  demonstrate  the  fairness  of  an  advance  in  duty  on  the 
latter.  As  to  how  much  this  advance  should  be,  those  whom  I  repre- 
sent in  a  measure  here  differ,  as  the  briefs  will  show,  ranging  from 
a  minimum  of  45  per  cent  to  a  maximum  of  100  per  cent.  The  Camp 
bell  Art  Company,  for  whom  I  speak  directly,  feels  that  a  maximum 
of  75  per  cent  and  a  minimum  of  60  per  cent  ad  valorem  would  be 
equitable  and  reasonable  in  view  of  the  figures  just  given,  which  can 
readily  be  authenticated  concerning  the  relative  cost  of  labor  and 
material  here  and  abroad.  On  the  basis  of  such  an  advance,  it  is 
probable  that  ten  presses  would  soon  be  running  where  one  is  in  oper- 
ation to-day,  and  that  many  hundreds  of  both  skilled  and  unskilled 


6374  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND   BOOKS. 

workmen  would  find  steady  employment  where  scores  are  busy  to-day. 
I  submit  briefs  and  letters  from  the  Albertype  Company,  of  Brooklyn ; 
Meriden  Gravure  Company,  of  Meriden,  Conn. ;  Campbell  Art  Com- 
pany, of  Elizabeth,  N.  J. ;  The  Photogravure  and  Color  Company,  of 
New  York;  Carey  Lithograph  Company,  of  New  York;  E.  Moebius, 
of  Camden,  N.  J. ;  Heliotype  Company,  of  Boston,  Mass. ;  and  Taber- 
Prang  Art  Company,  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  constituting  practically 
all  of  the  important  concerns  in  this  country  in  this  line  of  work. 
We  buy  our  materials,  manufacture  our  products,  and  sell  our  goods 
in  this  country.  There  is  no  combination  among  the  people  engaged 
in  this  line  of  business,  and  I  can  assure  you  that  the  competition  be- 
tween ourselves  is  keen  enough  to  protect  the  public  so  far  as  prices 
are  concerned.  What  we  want  and  ask  for  is  such  measure  of  protec- 
tion as  will  keep  our  factories  running  and  our  people  employed. 

Mr.  HILL.  How  many  of  you  are  there  engaged  in  this  printing 
from  gelatin  plates? 

Mr.  RICE.  The  eight  factories  I  have  named,  and  there  are  several 
smaller  concerns. 

Mr.  HILL.  What  is  the  total  American  production,  in  round  figures? 

Mr.  RICE.  That  would  be  a  difficult  question  to  answer. 

Mr.  HILL.  A  million  dollars? 

Mr.  RICE.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  Two  million  dollars? 

Mr.  RICE.  I  hardly  think  so. 

Mr.  HILL.  Do  you  know  what  the  importations  are?  They  are  not 
classified  separately  in  the  government  reports. 

Mr.  RICE.  I  spoke  of  post  cards  as  the  largest  item,  and  if  I  am  cor- 
rectly informed — and  I  believe  I  am — two  years  ago — I  can  not  tell 
what  it  was  last  year 

Mr.  HILL.  In  dollars  and  cents,  what  is  it  ? 

Mr.  RICE.  There  were  75.000,000  post  cards  imported. 

Mr.  HILL.  What  did  it  amount  to  in  dollars  and  cents? 

Mr.  RICE.  You  mean  their  price  or  ours  ? 

Mr.  HILL.  No;  the  total  amount,  after  they  are  admitted  into  this 
country.  What  would  be,  in  your  judgment,  the  total  importation? 
They  are  about  $2  to  $4  a  thousand,  we  will  say,  and  there  were 
75,000,000  of  them.  That  would  be  about  $200,000,  would  it  not? 

Mr.  RICE.  Yes;  $300,000,  nearly. 

Mr.  HILL.  Your  estimate  is  that  the  American  production  is  from  a 
million  to  two  million,  and  the  importation  is  from  $200,000  to 
$300,000? 

Mr.  RICE.  I  am  speaking  of  only  one  item,  namely,  post  cards. 

Mr.  HILL.  Yes. 

Mr.  RICE.  Then,  there  are  other  things  that  come  in,  art  pictures, 
catalogue  covers,  and  booklets,  and  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  for  in- 
stance, is  getting  some  work  in  Germany  to-day.  The  only  place 
where  the  American  photogelatin  printer  has  a  chance  to-day  is  where 
the  customer  must  have  his  work  immediately,  and  where  he  must 
have  good  quality,  because  you  can  get  as  good  quality  in  this  country 
as  in  Germany ;  but  if  a  man  has  to  wait  sixty  or  ninety  days  for  his 
goods,  an  American  manufacturer  can  sometimes  get  an  order  for  im- 
mediate shipment.  But  it  is  not  only  the  post  cards.  That  is  the 
most  striking  feature  of  it,  but  the  other  things  are  creeping  in  and 
getting  their  hold  because  of  the  difference  in  the  price. 


PHOTOGELATIN   PRINTS.  6375 

Mr.  HILL.  Will  you  look  into  the  matter  and  let  the  committee 
know  whether  the  American  production  is  increasing  and  the  foreign 
importation  falling  off,  or  whether  the  American  production  is  de- 
creasing and  the  foreign  importation  increasing? 

Mr.  RICE.  I  can  tell  you  that.  I  will  say  at  once  that  the  American 
production  is  falling  off.  For  instance,  we  used  to  make  a  lot  of 
these  post  cards.  We  made  them  for  ourselves  to  sell  and  for  other 
people  to  sell,  for  jobbers.  We  quit  that  business  because  we  had  to; 
we  could  not  continue  in  the  business.  In  other  words,  all  the  photo- 
gelatin  post  cards  made  in  this  country  to-day  do  not  amount  to  any- 
thing compared  to  what  they  were  a  few  years  ago,  and  they  are  being 
pushed  right  out  of  the  country,  so  that  there  is  no  market  in  this 
country.  There  is  only  one  answer  to  that  question. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  much  ad  valorem  duty  do  you  have  now? 

Mr.  RICE.  Twenty-five  per  cent.  The  photogelatin  printed  mat- 
ter— the  pictures,  because  that  is  what  the  matter  consists  of,  prac- 
tically, and  there  is  no  printed  matter  in  the  actual  acceptation  of  the 
term — comes  in  under  the  head  of  printed  matter  on  a  25  per  cent 
duty. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  you  want  it  raised  how  much  ? 

Mr.  RICE.  I  would  like  to  see  it  raised  to  60  per  cent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  effect  would  a  duty  of  60  per  cent  have  in 
the  trade  and  on  the  revenue? 

Mr.  RICE.  It  would  put  us,  I  think,  on  about  an  even  keel,  so  far  as 
purchases  are  concerned,  with  the  importer,  and  we  do  not  ask  any- 
thing else.  All  we  want  is  just  to  be  put  on  an  even  keel.  If  we  can 
not  merchandise  pur  goods  and  make  the  quality  as  good  as  the  for- 
eigner can,  that  is  our  lookout. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Do  you  think  that  60  per  cent  would  exclude  the 
foreign  goods? 

Mr.  RICE.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  much  of  the  American  market  would  your 
production  control? 

Mr.  RICE.  I  think  we  might  get  back  what  we  have  lost,  and  per- 
haps divide  the  business  with  them. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  think  that  it  would  give  you  control  of  50 
per  cent  of  the  business? 

Mr.  RICE.  I  think  so. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  not  more  than  that? 

Mr.  RICE.  Yes ;  and  I  do  not  know  whether  we  could  get  that. 


THE    CAMPBELL   ART    COMPANY,    ELIZABETH,    N.    J.,    SUBMITS 
SUPPLEMENTAL  BRIEF  ON  PHOTOGELATIN  PRINTS. 

ELIZABETH,  N.  J.,  December  1,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  ask  that  the  products  of  the  photo-gelatin  press 
be  classified  in  the  tariff  schedules  separately  from  other  "printed 
matter,"  excepting  photogravures,  as  both  the  process  and  the  prod- 
ucts differ  entirely  from  other  printed  matter,  and  at  present  are  not 
mentioned  at  all  in  the  tariff.  We  ask  that  the  duty  on  imports  of 
photo-gelatin  and  photogravure  work,  which  are  similar  in  character, 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  00-2— Vol  6 39 


6376  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

be  made  not  less  than  60  per  cent  ad  valorem,  for  the  reasons  stated 
below  and  in  our  original  brief. 

Strictly  speaking,  the  photo-gelatin  process  is  a  fine  art,  and  the 
work  turned  out  by  it  is  a  luxury.  The  process  is  very  slow — 500 
sheets  a  day  for  one  press,  as  against  3,000  to  5,000  from  a  type  of 
lithographic  press.  The  cost  of  the  work,  especially  as  a  finer  grade 
of  paper  must  be  used,  is  correspondingly  large.  This  narrows  our 
business  down  to  art  pictures  (samples  of  which  are  hereto  attached) 
and  to  the  highest  grade  of  commercial  work,  such  as  book  inserts, 
postcards,  expensive  calendars,  and  the  like.  There  is  not  enough 
art  business  to  keep  the  photo-gelatin  concerns  going,  and  the  com- 
mercial work,  on  which  our  very  existence  depends,  is  going  else- 
where, chiefly  to  Germany,  but  also  to  France,  Austria,  and  England. 
If  individuals  or  publishers  want  book  illustrations,  fine  catalogues, 
art  reproductions,  or  high-grade  post  cards,  they  order  them  chiefly 
from  abroad,  unless  they  are  in  a  hurry  for  the  delivery.  For  more 
than  thirty  years  this  dainty  and  beautiful  process  has  struggled 
along  in  this  country  without  making  money  for  anybody.  One  after 
another  of  those  engaged  in  it  have  sunk  their  capital,  and  those 
remaining  in  it  are  obliged  to  rely  on  accessory  lines  of  business  in 
order  to  keep  their  plants  running. 

Abroad  it  is  entirely  different.  In  Germany  huge  factories  opera- 
ting 20  or  more  power  presses  each,  are  running  from  ten  to  fourteen 
hours  a  day  and  thousands  of  people  are  employed  and  a  large  fraction 
of  the  output  is  marketed  in  the  United  States,  coming  in  as  "printed 
matter,"  at  25  j>er  cent,  if  it  does  not  come  in  under  the  head  of 
lithographs,  etc.,  at  a  still  lower  duty.  Here  it  is  not  considered 
important  enough  to  be  mentioned  in  the  tariff,  but  we  can  assure  you, 
gentlemen,  that  it  is  a  vastly  important  matter  to  the  eight  or  ten 
concerns  who  have  invested  between  two  and  three  million  dollars  in 
the  business,  and  we  trust  we  are  not  so  small  as  to  escape  notice 
altogether  in  the  adjustment  of  the  tariff.  We  ask  for  at  least  60  per 
cent  ad  valorem  on  photo-gelatin  and  photogravure  prints  and  cards, 
and  this  could  scarcely  be  called  an  advance  of  the  present  duty 
because  photo-gelatin  and  photogravure  work  has  not  been  classified 
at  all.  It  would  be  putting  us,  rather  late  to  be  sure,  where  we  belong, 
namely,  in  a  position  to  compete  successfully  with  foreigners  who 
pay  about  one-third  as  much  for  a  longer  day's  work,  and  one-half  as 
much  for  materials  as  we  are  obliged  to.  The  exports  of  photo- 
gelatin  work  from  this  country  in  1907  were  practically  nothing, 
probably  less  than  $10,000.  and  consisted  almost  entirely  of  repro- 
ductions of  copyrighted  pictures  protected  under  the  international 
copyright  law.  The  imports  for  that  year  (1907)  were  $350,000  at  the 
port  of  New  York  alone.  It  is  conservatively  estimated  that  $150,000 
more  came  in  at  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  other  ports  of  entry, 
making  $500,000  worth  of  photo-gelatin  imports  alone  without  count- 
ing gravures,  which  also  came  in  as  "printed  matter"  on  a  25  per  cent 
duty.  Five  hundred  thousand  of  these  recently  came  from  England 
on  one  consignment,  to  be  framed  and  sold  in  competition  with  our 
own  products. 

Since  submitting  our  original  brief  we  have  carefully  investigated 
the  output  from  the  eight  largest  photo-gelatin  concerns  and  find  it 
to  have  been  less  than  $1,000,000  for  1907,  whereas  the  entire  impor- 
tation of  photo-gelatin  and  photogravure  work  at  all  ports  of  entry 


PHOTOGELATIN    PRINTS — CAMPBELL   AKT   CO.  6377 

would  run  up  well  toward  that  sum.  In  the  largest  single  item,  post 
cards,  all  of  which  should  have  been  made  here,  we  have  been  put  out 
of  business.  The  plain  cards,  which  are  laid  down  in  New  York, 
duty  and  commission  paid,  at  from  $2  to  $4  per  thousand,  cost 
nearly  double  that  to  manufacture  here;  and  the  colored  cards,  which 
are  quoted  at  from  $4  to  $5  per  thousand,  are  a  still  more  difficult 
proposition.  (Attached  are  prices  quoted  by  dealers  to  substantiate 
the  above.) 

Properly  protected  there  is  no  reason  why  the  photo-gelatin  pro- 
cess should  not  flourish  here  as  well  as  abroad  and  become  an  impor- 
tant commercial  factor.  It  is  probable  that  an  increased  demand  for 
the  presses  would  bring  about  their  being  built  here  and  thus  create 
a  new  industry. 

The  question  of  encouraging  and  keeping  alive  the  photo-gelatin 
process  is  one  that  means  more  than  the  mere  welfare  of  those  who 
are  engaged  in  it.  The  process  itself  is  invaluable  for  the  fine  repro- 
duction of  art  pictures,  drawings,  or  natural  objects.  It  is  called  for 
by  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  1,1  le  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  the  United  States  Fish  Com- 
mission, the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Smithsonian  Institution,  Carnegie 
Institute,  anrl  others.  (Samples  along  these  lines  are  hereto  attached 
as  pvidence  both  of  the  quality  and  practical  usefulness  of  the  work.) 

We  do  not  expect  or  ask  for  a  monopoly  of  the  market  for  our  prod- 
ucts. We  realize  that  the  Government  is  largely  supported  by  the 
duties  imposed  on  importations,  and  we  are  willing  to  stand  our  share 
of  the  burden,  but  a  60  per  cent  duty  would  by  no  means  be  pro- 
hibitive, and  if  imports  fell  off  one-half,  which  is  extremely  improb- 
able, the  government  revenues  would  be  greater  than  they  are  to-day 
with  a  25  per  cent  duty,  and  the  other  half  of  the  business  would  be 
the  salvation  of  those  who  in  thirty  years  have  never  asked  for  help 
or  protection,  but  who  sorely  need  it  now. 

CAMPBELL  ART  COMPANY, 
ARTHUR  F.  RICE,  Vice-President. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

NEW  YORK,  November  18,  1908. 
The  CAMPBELL  ART  COMPANY,  City. 

GENTLEMEN:  In  reply  to  your  inquiry  of  the  17th,  we  are  sending 
you,  under  separate  cover,  samples  of  our  plain  photo-gelatin  cards 
and  offer  you  same  in  lots  of  25,000;  that  is,  1,000  each  of  25  subjects, 
at  S3. 25  per  1,000.  The  same  cards  in  hand  painted  would  cost  $5 
per  thousand  extra. 

We  arp  also  inclosing  you  some  samples  of  the  hand-painted  cards, 
and  should  be  pleased  to  soon  hear  from  you  again. 

We  have  a  cheaper  hand-colored  card  which  we  offer  at  $7.50  per 
thousand,  and  if  you  want  to  see  samples  kindly  let  us  hear  from  you. 
Our  terms  are  2  per  cent  ten  days,  or  thirty  days  net,  after  receipt  of 
goods. 

Hoping  to  soon  hear  from  you,  we  remain, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

LAESSIG  &  Co. 
Per  W.  E.  GERNAN. 


6378  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEES,   AND  BOOKS. 

EXHIBIT  B. 

NEW  YORK,  November  18,  1908. 
CAMPBELL  ART  COMPANY, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

DEAR  SIRS:  Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  17th  instant,  will  say 
that  we  can  make  delivery  of  black  and  white  gelatin  cards  in  eight 
weeks  after  receipt  of  photos.  Advance  samples  are  generally  re- 
ceived after  five  or  six  weeks,  and  the  goods  arrive  two  weeks  later. 
If  25  subjects  are  ordered  at  one  time,  we  can  quote  you  $3.10  per 
1,000,  and  the  same  card  hand-colored  style,  best  quality,  at  $5.75  per 
1,000  f.  o.  b.  New  York,  2  per  cent  ten  days,  or  thirty  days  net. 

We  also  print  500  of  a  subject  in  these  two  styles  if  necessary,  but 
of  course  the  prices  are,  in  proportion  to  the  larger  quantity,  much 
higher. 

We  inclose  you  herewith  a  few.  samples  of  our  works,  and,  hoping 
that  you  will  favor  us  with  your  esteemed  commands,  we  remain, 
Very  truly,  yours, 

NEWFIELD  &  NEWFIELD. 

P.  S. — If  you  desire  to  buy  in  marks  at  the  factory,  you  do  pay  all 
charges  from  either  Berlin  or  Frankfort  to  this  port.  You  can  save 
about  5  per  cent  on  the  above  quoted  prices,  but  this  would  only  pay 
you  if  you  get  shipments  of  not  less  than  50  mille  at  a  time.  • 


PAPER  NOVELTIES. 

[Paragraph  407.] 

THE  PAPER  NOVELTY  MANUFACTURING  CO.,  NEW  YORK  CITY, 
ASKS  A  COMPOUND  DUTY  ON  ITS  PRODUCTS. 

NEW  YORK,  November  19,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  beg  to  file  with  you  our  brief  regarding  the  tariff 
on  paper  decorations  and  paper  novelties. 

The  products  involved  are  paper  decorations  and  paper  novelties. 

These  are  at  present  classed  under  paragraph  407,  Schedule  M.  as 
all  other  paper  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act  and  are  at  present 
subject  to  a  duty  or  35  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

We  respectfully  recommend  that  these  articles  henceforth  be 
specially  classified  as  paper  decorations  and  paper  novelties  and  that 
they  henceforth  be  subject  to  a  specific  duty  of  6  cents  per  pound 
and  25  per  cent  ad  valorem.  In  view  of  this  we  recommend  that 
the  following  paragraph  be  inserted  into  the  new  tariff  law  "On  all 
paper  decorations  and  paper  novelties  a  specific  duty  of  6  cents 
per  pound  and  25  per  cent  ad  valorem." 

REASONS. 

Letter  A  from  S.  H.  Knox  &  Co.,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  of  the  5 
and  10  cent  syndicate,  having  eighty-odd  stores,  gives  some  idea 
of  the  quantity  of  this  line  of  goods  used  by  such  a  concern.  This 


PAPER   NOVELTIES PAPER  NOVELTY   MFG.   CO.  6379 

order  would  (including  a  proportionate  amount  of  10-cent  bells) 
have  amounted  to  upward  of  $15,000;  this  entirely  without  any 
other  form  of  paper  novelties  other  than  the  red  tissue  bell.  This 
concern  also  sells  green  paper  bells,  paper  garlands  and  wreaths,  and 
a  conservative  estimate  of  their  complete  order  in  paper  novelties 
would  be  $20,000. 

F.  W.  Woolworth  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  have  200  stores,  and  figures 
proportionately  they  would  use  $47,059  worth  of  these  goods  annually. 
S.  H.  Kress  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  and  F.  M.  Kirby  &  Co.,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pa.,  each  have  85  stores,  and  would  use  approximately  $20,000 
worth.  J.  G.  McCrorey  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  have  65  stores,  and 
would  use  probably  $15,000  worth  annually.  Then  there  are  E.  P. 
Charlton,  of  Fall  River,  Mass.,  with  32  stores;  S.  S.  Kreage,  of  Detroit, 
Mich.,  with  19  stores;  and  several  other  syndicates  with  10  and  15 
stores,  who  would  use  proportionate  amounts. 

Then  there  are  Sibley,  Lindsay  &  Curr  Company,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y., 
and  Butler  Brothers,  oi  New  York  City,  George  Borgfield  &  Co.,  of  New 
York,  Stroebel  &  Wilkin  Company,  of  New  York,  and  several  others 
throughout  the  country  who  use  from  $5,000  to  $20,000  worth  of 
goods  in  this  line  annually.  Then,  there  are  hundreds  of  stores  who 
use  from  $500  to  $3,000  worth  of  these  goods  throughout  the  year. 
At  present  fully  85  per  cent  of  the  business  in  this  line  goes  to  foreign 
manufacturers. 

Again,  calling  your  attention  to  letter  "A."  In  reply  we  wrote 
that  we  would  have  special  dies  made  for  any  size  that  might  be 
desired. 

Now,  calling  your  attention  to  letter  "B."  The  5-inch  bell 
referred  to  is  shown  by  sample  No.  1.  The  cost  was  62£  cents  per 
gross  to  produce.  We  submitted  bell  No.  2  as  one  for  60  cents  per 
gross,  but  it  was  too  small.  The  7-inch  bell  referred  to  was  repre- 
sented by  No.  3,  and  cost  was  $1.04^  per  gross  to  produce.  Letter 
No.  3  represents  the  regrets  of  Messrs.  S.  H.  Knox  &  Co.,  and  when 
Mr.  Connable  was  seen  by  one  of  our  representatives  on  the  occasion 
of  his  next  visit  to  New  York  he  informed  him  that  the  only  reason 
for  his  placing  the  order  with  an  import  house  was  because  of  our 
inabilitv  to  compete  in  the  smaller  sizes  of  bells,  in  which  he  did  his 
la'rgest  "business. 

Letter  No.  4  from  Messrs.  Sibley,  Lindsay  &  Curr  Company,  of 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  shows  plainly  the  inability  of  the  domestic 
manufacturer  to  compete  with  foreign  manufacture  of  the  goods. 
We  are  using  machinery  identical  to  that  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  the  foreign  article,  having  imported  our  original  machines  from 
Europe. 

The  differences  in  costs,  as  shown  by  the  example  cited  below, 
must  therefore  be  accounted  for  in  the  difference  between  wage 
scales  of  the  different  countries  as  compared  with  those  existing 
in  the  United  States. 

Bell  No.  4  is  an  imported  bell.  These  would  cost  us  27  cents  per 
gross  to  produce.  These  bells  are  sold  to  the  jobber  by  the  importer 
at  30  cents  per  gross.  The  importer  sells  these  good's  at  a  profit 
of  10  per  cent.  This  30  cents  then  represents  the  100  per  cent  of 
cost  (duty  paid)  and  the  10  per  cent  profit.  The  cost  (duty  paid), 
therefore  is  27$  cents  per  gross.  This  27J  cents  now  represents  the  100 


6380  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEKS,   AND  BOOKS. 

per  cent  billed  to  the  importer  and  the  35  per  cent  duty;  the  cost 
as  billed  to  the  importer  is  therefore  20 i  cents. 

In  this  class  of  goods  a  manufacturer  can  not  possibly  sell  at  less 
than  20  per  cent  profit,  as  he  must  figure  his  running  expenses  into 
the  goods  and  also  allow  for  wear  and  tear  on  the  machinery  and 
breakage  of  dies.  Granting  that  the  foreign  manufacturer  makes  in 
this  instance  the  minimum  profit,  this  20J  cents  now  represents  the 
100  per  cent  of  importer's  cost  and  this  20  per  cent  profit.  The 
manufacturer's  cost  price  is  therefore  practically  17  cents  per  gross; 
as  previously  stated,  it  would  cost  us  27  cents  per  gross  to  produce 
this  bell.  We  have  then  a  difference  of  10  cents  per  gross.  These 
goods  weigh  12  ounces  to  the  gross.  The  specific  duty  at  6  cents 
per  pound  would  equal  4£  cents.  The  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  duty 
would  equal  4£  cents.  Adding  the  two  we  have  8f  cents,  leaving  a 
difference  of  only  4£  cents  in  the  cost  of  production  of  the  foreign 
article  and  that  of  the  American. 

Bell  No.  5  represents  a  bell  of  foreign  manufacture,  which  is  sold  by 
the  importer  to  the  jobber  at  60  cents  per  gross,  whereas  the  same 
size  costs  us  to  produce  58  cents  per  gross.  Again,  figuring  off  the  10 
per  cent  importer's  profit,  the  33  per  cent  duty,  and  once  more  allow- 
ing that  the  foreign  manufacturer  makes  the  minimum  profit,  we  find 
the  cost  of  the  production  of  the  foreign  article  to  be  34|  cents.  This 
article  weighs  42  ounces  to  the  gross.  The  specific  duty  at  6  cents 
per  pound  would  be  17  cents.  Twenty-five  per  cent  ad  valorem  would 
be  8J  cents.  •  Added,  would  be  25£  cents.  Added  to  the  cost  price  of 
the  foreign  production  would  bring  it  practically  to  60  cents,  or  about 
2  cents  higher  than  the  cost  of  production  of  our  article. 

In  the  case  of  the  fan,  sample  No.  6.  These  are  sold  by  the  importer 
to  the  jobber  at  65  cents  per  gross.  Our  cost  is  63^  cents  per  gross. 
Again,  figuring  off  the  10  per  cent,  the  35  per  cent,  and  20  per  cent,  we 
find  the  manufacturer's  cost  of  the  foreign  article  to  be  36i  cents. 
The  weight  per  gross  is  3  pounds.  The  specific  duty  at  6  cents  per 
pound  equals  18  cents.  Twenty-five  per  cent  ad  valorem  equals  9£ 
cents.  Added,  equals  27£  cents;  plus  the  manufacturer's  cost  of  36^ 
cents  brings  it  to  63  £  cents,  or  one-eighth  of  a  cent  higher  than  our 
cost  of  production. 

Practically  the  same  ratio  of  comparative  costs  of  production  exist 
throughout  the  entire  line. 

Tt  can  be  seen,  therefore,  that  a  specific  duty  of  6  cents  and  a  duty 
of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  about  equalizes  the  cost  of  foreign  and 
domestic  production.' 

Although  it  is  impossible  to  get  at  the  exact  wage  scale  existing  in 
foreign  countries  in  this  line,  it  can  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  although 
we  are  using  the  same  machines  as  that  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  the  foreign  article,  the  difference  must  be  caused  by  the  difference 
of  wages. 

This  brings  our  petition  strictly  within  the  lines  of  the  Republi- 
can party  platform  in  that  part  of  the  tariff  plank  which  says  that  a 
sufficient  duty  will  be  levied  on  imported  articles  so  as  to  equalize 
the  wage  scale. 

This  industry  is  one  comparatively  young  in  this  country,  and  it  is 
one  in  which  the  field  is  enormous.  Were  sufficient  duty  levied  upon 
the  article  so  as  to  enable  the  domestic  manufacturer  to  compete  with 


PAPEE   NOVELTIES PAPER   NOVELTY    MFG.    CO.  6381 

the  foreign  manufacturer  of  the  goods  it  is  one  which  would  assume 
large  proportions  in  a  few  years. 

The  reason  a  specific  duty  and  ad  valorem  duty  are  asked  for  in 
preference  to  the  ad  valorem  duty  is  that  6  cents  per  pound  will 
account  for  the  difference  in  cost  between  materials.  Six  cents  per 
pound  and  15  per  cent  ad  valorem  is  the  duty  at  present  levied  on 
tissue  papers  in  reams.  The  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  allows  the 
domestic  manufacturer  a  fair  working  margin  to  account  for  his 
manufacturing  expenses,  such  as  rent,  cost  of  gas,  steam,  or  electric 
power,  wear  and  tear  on  machinery,  breakage  of  dies,  etc. 

We  trust  that  coming  as  we  do  strictly  within  the  lines  upon  which 
the  tariff  is  to  be  revised,  our  application  will  be  regarded  favorably. 
Very  respectfully, 

PAPER  NOVELTY  MANUFACTURING  Co. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

BUFFALO,  N.  Y.,  May  28,  1908. 
PAPER  NOVELTY  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN:  In  regard  to  the  Christmas-bell  business,  there  are 
some  novelties  in  the  way  of  paper  stars  that  we  can  only  get  on 
import,  and  we  do  not  want  sufficient  quantities  to  make  individual 
shipments.  Also  extra  inducements  were  tendered  us  to  get  the 
order  on  bells.  Both  of  these  matters  influenced  us  to  place  the 
order  elsewhere. 

The  writer  regrets  very  much  to  have  put  you  to  so  much  trouble, 
but  assure  you  that  the  quotations  are  strictly  confidential,  and  I 
appreciate  your  disposition  to  meet  our  wishes  in  every  way,  and 
trust  we  may  be  able  to  give  you  some  business  possibly  in  this  line 
out  of  stock  through  the  fall,  if  not  in  some  other  line,  that  will  reim- 
burse you  in  a  way  for  the  time  spent  with  us. 
Yours,  truly, 

S.  H.  KNOX  &  Co., 
Per  RALPH  CONNABLE,  JR. 


EXHIBIT  B. 

BUFFALO,  N.  Y.,  April  4,  1908. 
PAPER  NOVELTY  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

GENTLEMEN:  Yours  of  the  2d  at  hand,  and  in  reply  will  say  after 
going  over  our  figures  we  find  that  the  quantity  that  we  could  give 
you  of  the  small  paper  bells  is  not  very  heavy.  We  could  use  prob- 
ably 5,000  gross  to  sell  at  6  for  5  cents;  1,200  gross  to  sell  at  2  for  5 
cents;  1,200  gross  to  sell  at  5  cents;  all  red,  heavy  paper.  The  sizes 
you  submit  are  not  right  for  these  selling  prices  as  to  still  give  us  a 
good  margin.  The  bells  that  we  use  should  cost  us  not  far  from  60 
cents,  $2,  and  $4  per  gross. 

We  doubt  whether  this  quantity  would  warrant  you  in  getting 
up  special  dies  that  you  could  offer  us  at  about  these  prices. 
Yours,  truly, 

S.  H.  KNOX  &  Co., 
Per  CONNABLE. 


6382  .  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPEBS,   AND   BOOKS. 

EXHIBIT  C. 

BUFFALO,  N.  Y.,  April  10,  1908. 
PAPER  NOVELTY  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY, 

New  York,  N.  T. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  writer  was  in  New  York  this  week,  but  did  not 
have  time  to  stop  in  and  see  you.  We  therefore  reply  to  yours  of 
the  7th  and  will  sajr  the  5-inch  bell  would  be  all  right,  except  price, 
and  would  not  sell  it  at  6  for  5  cents.  You  should  have  something 
in  this  to  cost  not  over  60  cents  per  gross.  The  next  size,  3  for  5 
cents,  your  7-inch  bell  would  do  if  it  did  not  cost  us  over  $1.  You 
did  not  (juote  us  on  this  in  your  letter  of  April  7,  so  do  not  know  what 
your  price  is. 

Your  9-inch  would  answer  very  well  for  the  2  for  5  cents  bell,  and 
your  12-inch  possibly  for  the  5-cent  bell,  if  you  would  give  us  8  more 
layers  of  paper.  The  meshes  should  be  glued  a  trifle  closer  together. 

Now  this  gives  you  an  idea  of  what  we  want.  Please  advise  us 
what  you  can  do  in  the  matter. 

Yours,  truly,  S.  H.  KNOX  &  Co. 

GEORGE   BORGFELDT    &    CO.,   NEW   YORK,    OPPOSE   SUGGESTED 
CHANGE  IN  CLASSIFICATION  OF  PAPER  NOVELTIES. 

48-50  WEST  FOURTH  STREET, 

New  York,  January  25, 1909. 
CHAIRMAN  WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  beg  to  refer  briefly  to  the  request  filed  with  the 
committee  to  take  such  articles  as  Christmas  bells,  garlands,  and 
fans  (all  of  tissue  paper)  out  of  the  purview  of  paragraph  407  of 
the  Dingley  Act,  wherein  they  are  provided  for  as  manufactures  of 
paper  at  the  rate  of  35  per  cent  ad  valorem,  and  that  the  rate  on 
these  articles  be  increased  to  25  per  cent  ad  valorem,  and  6  cents  per 
pound,  making  an  ad  valorem  rate  of  between  50  and  60  per  cent. 

This  we  desire  to  strongly  protest  against  for  the  simple  reason,  if 
no  other,  that  such  action  would  impose  upon  the  importers  of  this 
merchandise  a  gratuitous  and  unnecessary  burden,  in  that  the  advance 
to  a  specific  rate  on  these  articles  of  about  60  per  cent  would  not  be 
of  benefit  to  the  American  manufacturer,  but  would,  on  the  contrary, 
be  of  harm  to  the  importer  and  necessarily  diminish  the  revenue 
derived  from  the  importation  of  these  articles. 

There  is  no  competition  between  the  domestic  and  the  imported 
article.  The  imported  article  can  not  compete  with  the  same  domestic 
article.  The  domestic  article  is  made  cheaper  and  is  marketed  cheaper 
than  the  same  can  be  imported,  and  the  sale  for  the  imported  article 
is  only  to  the  extent  that  it  is  new  and  novel.  As  soon  as  the  importers 
bring  out  novelties  and  new  goods,  place  the  same  upon  the  market, 
and  they  prove  successful,  they  are  at  once  imitated  by  the  American 
manufacturer,  and  manufactured  cheaper  than  they  can  be  imported. 
Importation,  therefore,  practically  ceases,  and  the  domestic  article 
takes  its  place.  This  holds  true  in  every  instance  after  a  novelty  has 
met  with  success  in  the  American  market. 

Reference  is  made  in  the  application  referred  to,  as  one  of  the 
reasons  the  domestic  interests  are  asking  for  the  increased  rate  on 


PAPER  NOVELTIES PRESS  BOARDS. 

these  tissue-paper  articles,  is  that  certain  5-cent  and  10-cent  houses 
throughout  the  country  are  importing  large  quantities  of  paper  bells, 
paper  garlands  and  wreaths,  which  it  is  thought  desirable  to  have 
made  and  sold  here.  An  element  which  enters  into  the  placing  of 
orders  for  these  articles  by  the  houses  in  question,  and  which  is  not 
considered  by  the  gentlemen  petitioning,  is  that,  in  our  opinion,  the 
question  of  price  is  not  controlling  or  the  one  that  leads  these  houses 
to  import  these  articles,  but  more  so  the  question  of  convenience  of 
packing  these  goods  with  toys  or  other  goods  which  they  get  from 
Europe.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  the  demand  of  the  individual 
small  store  of  these  syndicates  does  not  warrant  making  shipment  of 
these  items  alone.  These  stores  are  scattered  throughout  the  country 
and  in  the  smaller  cities. 

A  further  and  cogent  reason  against  removing  these  articles  from 
the  "  manufacture  of  paper  "  clause,  and  placing  a  specific  duty  upon 
them  as  "  paper  decorations  and  paper  novelties,"  is  that  it  would 
lead  to  endless  litigation,  and  untold  confusion  would  arise.  It  would 
be  utterly  impossible  for  any  examining  officer  to  classify  such  articles 
as  "  novelties."  What  would  be  a  novelty  to-day  would  cease  to  be  a 
novelty  to-morrow.  A  novelty  article  of  this  nature,  after  its  newness 
has  worn  away,  is  no  longer  a  novelty.  Webster  defines  a  novelty  as 
"  the  quality  or  state  of  being  novel ;  new ;  freshness ;  recentness  of 
origin  or  introduction ;  something  novel ;  a  new  or  strange  thing." 

With  reference  to  the  wage  scale  referred  to,  we  beg  to  say  that 
while  we  have  not  the  facts  and  figures  in  comparison  between  the 
two,  judging  from  existing  conditions  it  must  be  in  favor  of  America; 
otherwise  our  novelties  could  not  be  copied  and  undersold  here  in  the 
American  market.  There  is,  in  addition  to  the  duty  of  35  per  cent 
enjoyed  by  the  American  market,  also  the  geographical  protection,  not 
to  speak  of  the  cost  of  transportation  in  bringing  these  goods  a  dis- 
tance of  some  4.000  miles,  plus  the  additional  protection  arising  from 
(he  cost  of  cases,  amounting  to  about  three  times  as  much  abroad  as 
in  this  country.  Any  difference  in  the  labor  charge  we  believe  is  more 
than  offset  by  these  additional  charges  which  have  to  be  borne  by  the 
importer.  At  any  rate,  the  result  is  as  stated,  that  the  imported  arti- 
cle can  not  meet  the  domestic  article  in  competition,  and  the  principal 
sale  of  the  imported  article  is  so  long  as  it  is  "  novel." 

Respectfully  submitted. 

Gi:O.   BOROFELDT  &  Co. 


PRESS  BOARDS. 

[Paragraph  407.] 

THE    ROGERS    PAPER    MANUFACTURING    COMPANY    ASKS    FOR 
ADEQUATE  PROTECTION  FOR  PRESS  PAPER. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  81,  1908. 
To  Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee., 

Wa-shingtov.  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  have  the  following  facts  to  lay  before  you  and  the 
committee  in  reference  to  the  higher  grades  of  press  boards: 

The  present  duty  on  the  lower  grades  is  ample,  but  on  the  higher 
grades  it  is  inadequate. 


6384  SCHEDULE   M PULP,   PAPERS,   AND  BOOKS. 

The  high-grade  press  boards  are  known  in  the  American  market 
as  press  board,  press  paper,  and  sometimes  as  Fuller's  boards.  In 
the  European  market  they  are  often  simply  called  cardboard  or  press 
cardboard. 

This  product  does  not  appear  in  the  present  schedule.  It  is  com- 
monly included  under  miscellaneous  paper  products  like  boards  or 
cardboards,  but  it  is  an  entirely  different  manufacture.  Cardboards 
are  made  largely  from  a  waste  product  or  from  wood  pulp.  Press 
boards  of  these  higher  grades  are  made  entirely  from  the  best  kind 
of  new  rags,  and  are  finished  by  continuous,  long,  and  repeated 
rolling  and  by  friction  surface  burnishing,  which  consolidates  and 
highly  surface-finishes  it,  so  that  it  is  a  radically  different  article 
from  the  common  wood, 'straw,  or  binder's  board.  The  price  per 
ton  often  rises  to  $400,  according  to  the  labor  spent  in  the  rolling 
and  surface-finishing. 

Present  law,  see  schedule  M,  paragraph  407. 

Change  desired:  On  the  higher  grades,  selling  from  8£  cents  to  20 
cents  per  pound,  35  per  cent  to  70  per  cert. 

Reasons  therefor:  These  high-gr^de  press  boards  are  manufactured 
from  rags,  and  not  at  all  from  wood  pulp  or  waste  papers. 

Amount  of  product  in  the  United  States  is  estimated  about  6,000 
tons  per  year  on  all  grades. 

Price  of  high  grades  of  press  board  as  sold  in  the  market  is  8^  to  20 
cents  per  pound,  according  to  the  quality. 

Product  used  for  what  purpose :  Finishing  textile  goods,  especially 
silks,  woolens,  and  knit  goods. 

Number  of  persons  interested  in  the  industry  are  estimated  at  about 
250. 

Percentage  of  labor  to  cost  of  material  in  finished  product  of  the 
high  grades  of  press  board :  Approximately  80  per  cent  and  upward 
of  cost  of  product  is  labor  only. 

Opposition  from  abroad  is  active  and  increasing.  Owing  to  the 
lower  price  of  labor  abroad,  foreign  manufacturers  are  able  to  pay 
freight  charges,  a  profit  to  the  paper  dealer  or  middleman,  and  the 
present  duty  of  35  per  cent,  and  still  undersell  us  in  this  country. 
This  is  true  to  such  an  extent  that  at  the  present  time  we  manufac- 
turers here  are  shut  out  of  our  own  home  market  when  we  try  to  sell 
our  high  grades  of  press  boards. 

The  average  price  paid  a  workman  here  for  finishing  press  board 
will  run  from  $2.25  to  $3  per  day,  and  for  the  same  labor  abroad,  for 
finishing,  the  workman  is  paid  from  75  to  90  cents  per  day. 

The  foreign  manufacturer  has  little  if  any  advantage  over  us  ex- 
cepting as  to  labor,  but  in  our  particular  product,  this  highly  finished 
press  board,  the  cost  of  the  labor  is  fully  80  per  cent  of  the  entire  cost 
of  the  product;  hence  his  advantage  is  so  great  that  he  controls  our 
home  market  on  the  high  grades  of  press  board. 

Our  company  has  installed  considerable  machinery  for  finishing 
high  grades  of  press  board,  which  lies  idle  months  at  a  time  simply 
because  we  can  not  sell  our  product  here  in  our  home  market  under 
the  present  conditions. 


PRESS  PAPER— STRAWBOARD.  6385 

Give  us  cheap  labor  or  adequate  tariff  protection  and  we  can  pro- 
duce these  goods. 

We  have  the  honor  to  remain, 
Yours,  sincerely, 

THE  ROGERS  PAPER  MANUFACTURING  Co.  (Incorporated), 
KNIGHT  E.  ROGERS,  President. 


STRAWBOARD. 

[Paragraph  407.] 

THE  CALIFORNIA  PAPER  AND  BOARD  MILLS,  SAN  FRANCISCO, 
ASKS  A  HIGHER  DUTY  ON  STRAWBOARD. 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL.,  November  20,  1908. 
Hon.  J.  C.  NEEDHAM,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  G. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  NEEDHAM  : 

*  *  *  *  #  *  * 

We  are  the  only  company  left  on  this  coast  manufacturing  straw- 
boards,  all  the  others  having  gone  to  the  wall.  We  have  been  forced 
through  foreign  competition  on  strawboard  to  almost  abandon  the 
production  of  that  important  article. 

This  board  is  made  from  straw  produced  by  the  farmer  and  with 
the  use  of  lime  and  other  products  manufactured  on  this  coast. 
The  market  is  now  being  supplied  with  strawboard  from  Japan,  Ger- 
many, and  Holland. 

The  lowest  labor  that  we  have  in  our  employ  is  $1.75  per  day,  and 
this  varies  up  to  $5  per  day.  Our  last  figures  on  the  cost  of  produc- 
tion show  that  it  costs  us  $27.88  to  produce  a  ton. 

The  receiver  of  the  United  Boxooard  Company,  which  failed  in 
the  East  recently,  in  his  printed  report  shows  that  it  cost  them  East 
about  $26,  no  doubt  the  difference  being  in  slightly  reduced  com- 
mon labor. 

A  wholesale  paper  house  here  has  lately  contracted  for  500  tons  of 
strawboard  from  Holland  at  $28.50  per  ton  delivered  in  this  city, 
duty  and  freight  paid. 

As  the  raw  material  costs  them  very  near  as  much  as  it  does  us, 

S>u  will  see  the  difference  is  almost  entirely  in  the  cost  of  labor, 
educting  freight  and  the  present  tariff,  they  only  receive  about  $16 
for  their  boards  at  the  mill,  whereas  it  costs  us  at  least  $10  more  per 
ton  to  produce  the  same  board  at  our  mill,  which  difference  is  repre- 
sented in  the  increased  wages  we  pay  our  help. 

Under  the  circumstances,  not  only  should  the  duty  not  be  reduced 
on  strawboard,  but,  in  order  to  keep  this  industry  from  entirely 
ceasing,  it  should  be  increased. 

If  this  were  done  we  would  be  able  to  use  more  raw  material  pro- 
duced by  the  farmer  and  other  products  of  the  producer  in  this  State, 
keep  our  present  help  at  their  present  wages,  and  our  money  on  this 
coast,  instead  of  sending  it  abroad. 

I  am  writing  to  you  personally  because  of  my  old  acquaintance 
with  you,  and  also  because  this  company  is  the  only  one  on  this  coast 


6386  SCHEDULE   M PFLP,   PAPEKS,   AND  BOOKS. 

engaged  in  this  form  of  business,  and  it  was  impossible  to  join  with 
any  other  interests  in  presenting  the  matter. 

Japanese  strawboard  is  selling  in  this  market,  duty  and  freight 
paid,  for  $28  to  $30  per  ton,  according  to  sizes. 

Thanking  you  in  advance  for  any  attention  that  you  may  give  this 
request,  and  hoping  to  hear  favoraoly  from  you  in  regard  to  it,  I  am, 
Very  truly,  yours, 

M.  R.  HIGGINS,  President. 


SAMPLE  BOOKS  AND  CAKDS. 

CHICAGO,  November  H,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C., 

Chairman  of  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  respectfully  call  your  attention  to  the  importation 
of  sample  books  and  sample  cards  from  foreign  countries,  and  in 
particular  from  Germany  and  Switzerland. 

We  find  the  law  governing  sample  books  very  slack,  inasmuch  as 
the  law  reads  that  samples  ol  no  value  should  enter  our  ports  free  of 
duty. 

This  may  be  justice  all  right,  or  very  desirable  for  the  importer, 
but  it  is  certainly  a  great  injustice  to  the  sample-book  and  sample- 
card  manufacturers  of  the  United  States. 

Samples  entering  this  country  without  a  duty  might  be  justified, 
but  that  sample  books  which  contain  samples  snould  not  be  subject 
to  a  duty  is  an  absolute  injustice  to  the  manufacturers  of  sample 
books  and  sample  cards  in  this  country,  as  well  as  to  the  bookbinders 
and  printers  employed  in  that  trade. 

We  have  taken  this  matter  up  with  the  American  Protective  Tariff 
League  of  New  York,  of  which  we  are,  by  the  way,  members,  and  they 
advise  us  that  on  the  25th  instant  the  matter  of  pulp,  paper,  and 
books  will  come  before  your  committee. 

We  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  importation  of  sample  books  and 
sample  cards  are  railroaded  through  the  custom-house  with  a  few 
samples  in  them,  making  them  sample  books  of  no  value  under  the 
present  law.  and  yet  these  books  are  filled  for  several  seasons  with 
new  samples  and  carried  by  the  various  salesmen  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific  coast. 

We  know,  for  instance,  of  firms  who  are  importing  certain  sample 
books  amounting  to  from  $500  to  $2,000  a  year,  and  on  all  the  book- 
binding and  printing  not  a  cent  of  revenue  is  paid,  because  the  claim 
is  made  that  sample  books  enter  this  country  free  of  duty. 

If  it  would  be  necessary  for  us  to  send  a  sample  to  you  we  shall 
gladly  do  so,  or  furnish  you  with  any  further  information  you  might 
desire.  As  a  rough  estimate,  and  a  very  conservative  figure,  we  be- 
lieve at  least  $100,000  importations  per  year  are  made  which  are  not 
paying  duty. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  E.  W.  BREDEMEIER  &  Co., 

E.  W.  BREDEMEIER. 


PAPER  MATERIALS GEO.  W.  WHEELWRIGHT  PAPER  CO.       6387 

PAPER  MATERIALS. 

GEORGE  W.  WHEELWRIGHT  PAPER  COMPANY,  BOSTON,  MASS., 
ADVOCATES  REDUCTION  OF  DUTY  ON  ALL  ARTICLES  WHICH 
ARE  USED  IN  PAPER  MAKING. 

95  MILK  STREET,  BOSTON,  January  4,  1909. 

To  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives : 

Respectfully  represents  the  George  W.  Wheelwright  Paper  Com- 
pany of  Massachusetts,  manufacturers  of  book  and  card  papers,  that 
it  sent  representatives  to  the  hearing  before  your  committee  on  No- 
vember 21,  1908,  and  that  lack  of  time  prevented  your  committee 
from  hearing  these  representatives,  and  the  said  company  therefore 
asks  leave  to  file  this  short  brief. 

Your  petitioner  desires  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  it, 
like  other  manufacturers,  is  a  large  consumer  as  well  as  producer. 
There  has  not  been  made  to  your  committee  any  suggestion  that  the 
rates  of  duty  on  paper  should  be  increased. 

In  the  general  scheme  of  tariff  revision  it  seems  proper  that  with 
the  idea  of  raising  revenue  and  reducing  the  artificial  scale  of  prices 
the  duties  of  many  imported  articles  will  be  considerably  reiduced. 
That  such  a  reduction  would  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  community  at 
large,  and  of  the  manufacturers  in  particular,  seems  to  have  been  the 
opinion  of  both  political  parties  in  the  last  campaign,  and  it  seems 
clear  that  it  is  only  by  reduction  that  the  cost  of  the  articles  con- 
sumed in  paper  making,  for  instance,  can  be  reduced  for  the  benefit  of 
the  consumer  as  well  as  of  the  manufacturer. 

The  experience  of  the  past  twenty  years  has  shown  that  the  con- 
sumer of  paper  has  constantly  benefited  by  the  lowering  of  manu- 
facturers' costs,  and  that  the  consumer  has  had  almost  the  entire 
benefit  of  the  savings  of  the  manufacturers  as  represented  in  in- 
creased plants;  the  increased  production,  the  essential  element  in 
the  reduction  of  costs,  being  made  possible  only  by  increased  facili- 
ties, requiring  large  investments. 

As  an  illustration  of  this  reduction,  the  price  of  uncalendered 
book  paper  in  1888  was  6  cents  per  pound  and  is  to-day  4  cents 
per  pound.  The  industry  seems  to  have  reached  the  point  that, 
while  some  further  reduction  in  cost  of  production  may  be  arrived 
at  by  improved  economical  methods  of  manufacture,  the  only  great 
reduction  of  cost  possible  would  be  from  a  reduction  in  the  price 
of  the  articles  consumed  in  manufacture.  Below  is  appended  the 
table  of  duties  upon  articles  consumed  in  paper  manufacture. 

Lumber,  sawed  boards,  etc.,  planed  on  one  side,  $1  per  thousand, 
and  higher  as  further  worked  on,  up  to  $2.50  per  thousand.  (Paper 
manufacturers  consume  large  quantities  of  lumber  in  making  pack- 
ing cases,  and  a  great  quantity  of  heavy  lumber  is  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  mills  and  works  which  have  to  be  continually  renewed.) 

Steel  castings,  etc.,  section  135  of  the  tariff  of  1897.  Steel  beams, 
0.5  of  a  cent  per  pound.  Machinery,  45  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Coal,  bituminous,  $0.67  per  ton. 

Wire  cloth:  The  rate  of  duty  imposed  on  wire,  which  is  45  per 
.cent  ad  valorem,  and  in  addition  thereto  1J  cents  per  pound. 


6388  SCHEDULE   M PULP,,   PAPEKS,   AND  BOOKS. 

Felts  valued  at  over  $0.70  per  pound,  the  duty  per  pound  is  four 
times  the  duty  imposed  by  the  Dingley  bill  on  1  pound  of  unwashed 
wool  of  the  first  class,  that  is  $0.44  and  55  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Chemicals:  Alum,  duty  one-half  cent  per  pound,  price  1  cent  de- 
livered our  mill.  Soda  ash,  three-eighths  cents  per  pound,  price  1.04 
cents  per  hundred  pounds  delivered.  Bleaching  powder,  one-fifth 
of  a  cent  per  pound,  price  per  hundred  pounds  1.35  delivered. 

Colors:  Prussian  blue,  8  cents  per  pound.  Ocher,  one-eighth  of 
a  cent  per  pound.  Ultramarine  blue,  3|  cents  per  pound.  Wood 
pulp  chemical  bleached,  one-fourth  of  a  cent  per  pound ;  unbleached, 
one-sixth  of  a  cent  per  pound.  Wood  pulp  ground,  one-twelfth  of 
a  cent  per  pound. 

As  far  as  your  petitioner  is  aware,  no  request  has  been  made  your 
committee  to  increase  the  duties  on  any  of  these  articles  except  upon 
colors.  The  manufacturers  of  coal-tar  dyes  have  asked  you  for  (a) 
the  removal  of  the  duty  on  all  intermediate  products,  and  (6)  an 
increase  from  30  per  cent  to  40  per  cent  ad  valorem  of  the  duty  on 
aniline  dyes. 

These  manufacturers  now  import  intermediate  products,  which 
may  have  reached  the  seventh,  eighth,  or  ninth  stage  in  a  scale  of 
ten  steps  in  the  process  of  manufacture,  the  object  being  to  get  as 
near  the  finished  article  as  possible  without  subjecting  it  to  the  duty 
of  the  final  resulting  color.  The  conversion  of  these  intermediate 
products  into  aniline  dyes  is  very  slight  and  simple.  The  manufac- 
ture of  coal-tar  dyes  in  their  entirety  from  the  raw  material  is  an 
industry,  but  the  buying  of  intermediate  products  and  converting 
them  into  dyes  is  a  business  but  not  an  industry. 

Your  petitioner  wishes  to  record  its  objection  to  the  increase  of 
the  duty  on  aniline  dyes. 

But  your  petitioner,  thinking  it  probable  that  your  committee  will 
determine  in  their  revision  of  the  tariff  upon  a  general  lowering  of 
duties,  desires  to  make  clear  to  you  the  great  benefit  which  would 
accrue  to  it  as  a  manufacturer  were  the  burden  of  the  tariff  on  the 
above  articles  lightened. 

Were  this  done,  a  reduction  in  the  duties  upon  manufactured 
book  paper  could  properly  be  made. 

Such  a  reduction,  particularly  of  the  duties  on  coal,  iron,  lumber 
and  wood  pulp,  would  tend  to  preserve  the  natural  resources  of  the 
country,  and  to  bring  about  a  decided  reduction  in  the  cost  of  paper. 
(It  is  estimated  that  each  ton  of  book  paper  manufactured  is  en- 
hanced in  cost  some  $3  by  the  duties  upon  the  factors  which  go  to 
make  it.)  The  protection  which  is  given  to  a  manufacturer  by 
cheapness  of  raw  material  and  of  articles  consumed,  aids  him  in  all 
his  transactions,  domestic  and  foreign,  and  enables  him  to  maintain 
a  steady  production. 

Particularly  in  regard  to  coal  is  a  reduction  or  a  taking  off  of  the 
duty  much  to  be  desired;  for  example  your  petitioner  makes  about 
15,000  tons  of  paper  per  annum,  and  consumes  in  so  doing  about 
15,000  tons  of  coal.  As  its  mills  are  situated  in  New  England,  it 
is  at  a  disadvantage  in  the  matter  of  the  price  of  coal  over  mills  in 
any  other  of  the  paper-making  States  outside  New  England.  Even 
if  the  price  of  the  coal  now  consumed  is  not  increased  by  the  whole 


PAPER  MATERIALS GEO.   W.  WHEELWRIGHT  PAPER  CO.      6389 

amount  of  the  duty  on  it,  it  is  clear  that  there  is  some  enhancement 
of  cost.  The  matter  of  coal  prices  is  largely  a  question  of  freights; 
New  England's  natural  coal  fields  are  in  the  maritime  provinces, 
while  western  parts  of  Canada  would  naturally  get  their  coal  from 
the  United  States  were  it  not  for  the  tariff  line. 

Esparto  grass  is  a  very  valuable  fiber  for  the  manufacture  of  paper. 
This  grass  is  not  grown  in  this  country  in  any  commercial  quantities, 
and  should  be  put  on  the  free  list,  and  pulp  made  from  this  grass, 
which  now  is  subject  to  a  duty  of  45  per  cent,  should  certainly  not 
pay  a  higher  duty  than  chemically  prepared  wood  pulp ;  but,  as  it  is 
a  pulp  which  can  not  be  produced  in  competition  with  wood  pulp,  it 
would,  however,  be  very  desirable  to  place  it  on  the  free  list.  Esparto 
pulp  is  made  in  England  to  advantage,  because  the  grass  is  brought 
back  together  with  ores  by  the  ships  bearing  coal  to  the  ore-producing 
countries  which  also  produce  Esparto  grass,  such  as  Spain  and 
Algiers. 

Our  commercial  arrangements  do  not  permit  this  interchange. 

The  cost  of  manufacturing  book  paper  is  not  only  increased  by  the 
above  duties  on  the  articles  consumed  in  the  process,  but  by  the  higher 
wages  paid  in  this  country.  More  than  twice  the  daily  wage  is  paid 
than  in  Great  Britain,  for  instance.  When  these  increased  costs  are 
considered,  it  is  evident  that  the  duty  on  the  final  product  is  moderate 
and  just. 

In  conclusion,  your  petitioner  would  state  that  it  recognizes  the 
necessity  of  the  Government  raising  a  revenue  adequate  for  its  needs, 
and  it  feels  it  to  be  just  that  the  paper  industry  should,  in  common 
with  the  other  gre&t  industries,  bear  its  share  of  the  burden.  It  be- 
lieves that  the  tariff  should  be  so  contrived  as  to  cheapen  the  raw 
materials  of  manufacture,  to  conserve  the  natural  resources  of  the 
country,  and  to  bring  about  a  reduction  of  the  artificial  prices  of  all 
commodities  which  greatly  increase  the  cost  of  living  and  have  of 
late  years  made  the  burden  of  local  taxes  exceedingly  heavy. 

"Respectfully  submitted. 

GEO.  W.  WHEELWRIGHT  PAPER  COMPANY, 
By  GEO.  W.  WHEELWRIGHT,  President. 


SCHEDULE  N. 


SUNDRIES. 


75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 40  6391 


SCHEDULE  N-SUNDRIES. 


BEADS. 

[Paragraph  408.] 

THE  EMBROIDERY  AND  LACE  MANUFACTURERS'  ASSOCIATION 

OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  SUGGESTS  AN  AMENDMENT  TO  THE 

TARIFF  PROVISION  FOR  BEADS. 

488  to  492  BROADWAY, 
New  York,  November  27, 1908. 
The  COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  recommend  that  paragraph  408  (Schedule  N, 
sundries)  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows : 

PAB.  408.  Beads  of  all  kinds,  not  threaded  or  strung,  thirty-five  per  centum 
ad  valorem ;  fabrics,  nets  or  nettings,  laces,  embroideries,  galloons,  wearing 
apparel,  ornaments,  trimmings,  and  other  articles  not  specially  provided  for  in 
this  act,  composed  wholly  or  in  part  of  beads  or  spangles  made  of  glass  or 
paste,  gelatin,  metal,  or  other  material,  sixty  per  centum  ad  valorem:  Pro- 
vided, That  no  article  composed  wholly  or  in  part  of  beads  or  spangles  made 
of  glass  or  paste,  gelatin,  metal,  or  other  material  shall  pay  duty  at  a  less  rate 
than  imposed  in  any  schedule  of  this  act  upon  articles  without  such  beads  or 
spangles. 

The  object  of  this  proviso  is  the  same  as  a  similar  proviso  at  the 
end  of  paragraph  339  in  Schedule  J,  so  as  to  preclude  the  possibility 
of  any  article  coming  in  at  a  lower  rate  than  intended  by  the  mere 
addition  of  some  beads  or  spangles,  and  thereby  defeating  the  intent 
of  the  act  in  regard  to  such  articles. 
Yours,  truly, 

THE  EMBROIDERY  AND  LACE  MANUFACTURERS' 

ASSOCIATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 
Per  A.  H.  KURSHEEDT,  President. 


AMERICAN  BRAID  MANUFACTURERS  RECOMMEND  A  NEW  CLASSI- 
FICATION FOR  BEADS  OF  ALL  KINDS. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  1, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  "  Beads  of  all  kinds,  not  threaded  or  strung,  thirty-five 
per  centum  ad  valorem;  fabrics,  nets  or  nettings,  laces,  embroideries, 
galloons,  wearing  apparel,  ornaments,  trimmings,  and  other  articles 

6393 


6394  SCHEDULE  N SUNDRIES. 

not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  composed  wholly  or  in  part  of 
beads  or  spangles  made  of  glass  or  paste,  gelatin,  metal,  or  other 
material,  but  not  composed  in  part  of  wool,  sixty  per  centum  ad 
valorem." 

We  recommend  that  paragraph  408  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as 
follows : 

Beads  of  all  kinds,  not  threaded  or  strung,  thirty -five  per  centum  ad  valorem ; 
fabrics,  nets  or  nettings,  laces,  embroideries,  galloons,  wearing  apparel,  orna- 
ments, trimmings,  and  other  articles  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  com- 
posed wholly  or  in  part  of  beads  or  spangles  made  of  glass  or  paste,  gelatin, 
metal,  or  other  material,  sixty  per  centum  ad  valorem :  Provided,  That  no 
article  composed  wholly  or  in  part  of  beads  or  spangles  made  of  glass  or  paste, 
gelatin,  metal,  or  other  material  shall  pay  duty  at  a  less  rate  than  imposed  In 
any  schedule  of  this  act  upon  articles  without  such  beads  or  spangles. 

The  object  of  this  proviso  is  the  same  as  a  similar  proviso  at  the 
end  of  paragraph  339  in  Schedule  J,  so  as  to  preclude  the  possibility 
of  any  article  coming  in  at  a  lower  rate  than  intended,  by  the  mere 
addition  of  some  beads  or  spangles,  and  thereby  defeating  the  intent 
of  the  act  in  regard  to  such  articles. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

BRAID  MANUFACTURERS'  ASSOCIATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 
HENEY  W.  SCHLOSS,  President. 


STRAW  BRAIDS  AND   HATS. 

[Paragraph  409.] 

PARSONS  BROTHERS,  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  ASK  AN  ADVANCE  OF 
DUTY  ON  BLEACHED  AND  DYED  CHIP  AND  STRAW  BRAID. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  &£,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

House  of  Representatives. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  have  the  honor  to  invite  your  attention  to  the 
needs  of  a  higher  duty  on  dyed  and  bleached  chip  and  straw  braids 
which  are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  hats. 

The  present  duty  on  bleached  and  dyed  braids  is  but  5  per  cent 
more  than  that  charged  on  the  raw  material — i.  e.,  "  not  dyed  or 
bleached,  15  per  cent ;  if  dyed  or  bleached,  20  per  cent " — and  this  5 
per  cent  does  not  give  the  American  dyer  a  sufficient  margin  to  com- 
pete with  the  foreign  dyer,  who  has  the  advantage  of  cheaper  labor 
and  materials. 

The  chemicals  and  dyes  entering  into  the  dyeing  and  bleaching  of 
braids  to  the  extent  of  nearly  60  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  production, 
and  these  chemicals  and  dyes  are  dutiable  under  the  present  tariff, 
25  per  cent. 

Therefore,  we  pray  you  that  the  duty  on  bleached  and  dyed  chip 
and  straw  braid  (Schedule  N,  No.  409)  be  advanced  from  20  per  cent 
ad  valorem  to  30  per  cent  ad  valorem. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

PARSONS  BROTHERS    (INCORPORATED), 
J.  U.  PARSONS. 


STRAW   BRAIDS.  6895 

BRIEF  FILED  BY  R.  H.  COMEY  COMPANY,  OF  CAMDEN,  N.  J., 
AND  PARSONS  BROTHERS,  OF  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  RELATIVE  TO 
DUTY  ON  STRAW  BRAIDS. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  #S, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE,  Chairman,  and  the 

Members  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

House  of  Representatives. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  have  the  honor  to  invite  your  attention  to  the 
need  of  a  higher  protective  duty  on  dyed  and  bleached  straw  and  chip 
braids,  which  are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  hats. 

The  paragraph  which  we  wish  changed  is  No.  409,  Schedule  N. 
of  the  present  law. 

Our  desire  is  that  it  should  be  changed  to  read  thus : 

409.  Braids,  plaits,  laces,  and  willow  sheets  or  squares  composed  wholly  of 
straw,  chip,  grass,  palm  leaf,  willow,  osier,  or  rattan,  suitable  for  making  or 
ornamenting  hats,  bonnets,  or  hoods,  not  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained, 
fifteen  per  cent  ad  valorem;  if  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained,  thirty  per 
centum  ad  valorem ;  hats,  bonnets,  and  hoods,  composed  of  straw,  chip,  grass, 
palm  leaf,  willow,  osier,  or  rattan,  whether  wholly  or  partly  manufactured, 
but  not  trimmed,  thirty-five  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  if  trimmed,  fifty  per 
centum  ad  valorem.  But  the  terms  "  grass  "  and  "  straw  "  shall  be  understood 
to  mean  these  substances  in  their  natural  form  and  structure,  and  not  the 
separated  fiber  thereof. 

Our  reasons  for  desiring  this  change,  which  we  consider  good  and 
which  can  be  fully  substantiated,  are  as  follows: 

The  business  of  dyeing  straw  and  chip  braids  is  very  similar  to  the 
business  of  dyeing  cotton  and  woolen  yarns.  On  these  last-named 
articles  the  present  duty  is  3  cents  per  pound  on  raw  material  and  6 
cents  per  pound  on  dyed  or  bleached  material,  the  duty  on  the  dyed 
or  bleached  being  double  that  on  the  raw. 

The  present  duty  on  straAv  or  chip  braids,  raw,  is  15  per  cent  and 
the  duty  on  dyed  or  bleached  braid  is  20  per  cent. 

We  are  thus  afforded  a  protection  only  33^  per  cent  greater  than  the 
duty  on  the  raw  material,  as  compared  to  the  double  duty  on  dyed 
yarns. 

There  is  a  certain  pattern  imported  from  Italy  to  the  extent  of 
several  million  pieces  annually  which  costs  in  Italy  only  6  cents  per 
piece  in  the  raw  or  undyed  state. 

Our  Italian  competitors  can  afford  to  dye  this  pattern  for  one- 
half  cent  per  piece  in  our  money.  The  lowest  possible  price  at  which 
we  can  dye  the  same  pattern  is  If  cents  per  piece. 

The  extra  5  per  cent  duty  in  this  case  means  only  less  than  one-half 
cent  per  piece  each  added  to  the  cost  of  the  raw  material,  which 
enables  importers  in  this  country  to  bring  this  braid  in  all  dyed  and 
bleached  and  sell  it  at  lower  cost  than  that  at  which  we  could  possi- 
bly produce  it. 

Our  average  labor  costs  us  $2  per  day.  In  England  the  average 
labor  employed  in  the  same  business  costs  60  to  75  cents  per  day,  in 
Italy  40  cents  per  day,  and  in  China  and  Japan  12  cents  per  day. 

Chemicals  and  dyestuffs  which  we  use  in  producing  our  colors 
and  bleaches  are  dutiable  at  from  25  to  35  per  cent,  averaging  30  per 
cent.  The  flax  and  hemp  twine  that  we  use  is  taxed  35  per  cent. 

All  of  these  articles  can  be  obtained  by  foreign  dyers  much  cheaper 
than  we  can  buy  them  in  the  American  market,  and  this,  together  with 


6396  SCHEDULE  N SUNDRIES. 

their  low  labor  cost,  enables  them  to  turn  out  work  of  a  quality  equal 
to  ours  at  an  immensely  lower  cost  in  everything. 

The  customs  records  show  that  the  amount  of  chip  and  straw  braids 
imported  from  England  and  Italy  has  greatly  increased — from  $815,- 
428  in  1903  to  $1,311,000  in  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1907.  Of 
this  amount » in  1907  $509,000  represented  the  value  of  dyed  and 
bleached  straw  and  chip  imported  from  these  two  countries. 

Figuring  the  dyeing  and  bleaching  as  equal  to  20  per  cent  of  the 
value,  this  represents  approximately  $100,000  of  dyeing  and  bleaching 
business  lost  to  American  labor  in  this  year. 

The  imports  of  braid  from  China  during  the  same  period  increased 
from  $550,376  in  1903  to  $1,747,703  in  1907. 

The  Chinese  and  Japanese  braids  have  been  the  most  popular  for 
the  last  two  or  three  years,  and  it  is  only  a  question  of  a  short  time 
when  the  Japanese  and  Chinese  will  take  up  the  dyeing  and  bleaching 
of  braids  which  they  produce  themselves.  The  Japanese  already 
have  sent  over  small  sample  lots  of  good  black. 

This  is  entirely  feasible,  as  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  six  years 
ago  we  conceived  the  idea  of  dyeing  and  painting  the  ordinary  bam- 
boo porch  curtains,  which  are  imported  into  this  country  in  large 
quantities.  This  idea  was  promptly  taken  up  by  the  trade,  and  we 
did  an  increasing  business  for  three  years.  Last  year  we  imported 
an  immense  quantity  of  these  curtains,  but  when  we  attempted  to 
sell  them  found  we  had  competition  in  the  same  article. 

The  bamboo  curtain  raw  can  be  landed  in  this  country  for  75  cents 
per  hundred  feet.  We  figure  our  dyeing  costs  us  75  cents  per  hundred 
feet,  and  sell  these  curtains  at  $2  per  hundred  feet.  The  Japanese- 
dyed  curtains  were  landed  in  this  country  at  $1  per  hundred  feet, 
thus  indicating  that  they  can  afford  to  dye  and  sell  them  at  an  addi- 
tional cost  of  only  25  cents  per  hundred  feet. 

We  have  asked  you  in  another  memorial  to  give  us  some  protection 
in  this  article,  but  simply  cite  it  to  show  that  it  is  perfectly  feasible 
for  the  Japanese  or  Chinese  to  take  up  the  dyeing  and  bleaching  of 
straw  braids. 

This  danger  is  imminent  and  would  most  certainly  result  in  the 
annihilation  of  our  industry  if  we  are  not  afforded  the  better  pro- 
tection herein  asked  for. 

There  are  agents  in  this  country  representing  foreign  dyers  who 
carry  various  dyed  and  bleached  goods  the  importation  of  which, 
at  the  small  additional  duty,  results  in  the  loss  to  the  Government 
of  duty  on  chemicals,  dyestuffs,  etc.,  which  would  otherwise  accrue 
through  our  consumption  of  same,  and  open  to  American  labor  a 
field  for  employment,  and  yet  make  no  difference  to  the  home  con- 
sumer. 

There  are  in  Massachusetts  alone  large  manufacturers,  some  of 
whom  employ  over  600  hands  and  at  least  20  of  whom  employ  dyers 
and  bleachers  to  handle  small  odd  lots  of  work ;  the  large  quantities 
of  regular  work  being  imported  all  dyed  and  bleached,  because  the 
low  additional  duty  does  not  nearly  bring  the  cost  up  to  what  it 
would  be  for  these  braids  dyed  and  bleached  here. 

There  are  also  job  dyers  and  bleachers,  who  are  of  our  class,  who 
obtain  only  those  orders  which  are  needed  to  fill  the  immediate  de- 
mands of  small  manufacturers  who  can  not  always  be  supplied  by  the 


STRAW   BRAIDS B.   H.   COMEY  ET  AL.  6397 

importers.  These  orders  we  get  solely  because  of  our  convenient 
location  and  in  spite  of  the  higher  prices  we  are  compelled  to  charge. 

Under  present  conditions  our  factories  are  running  only  about  nine 
months  of  the  year,  and  consumers  use  the  imported  article  on  account 
of  its  cheapness,  and  we  secure  orders  that  are  necessary  to  fill  in. 

If  the  higher  duty  is  passed,  it  will  have  a  tendency  to  compel  the 
manufacturer  to  give  the  Americans  the  work  instead  of  placing  his 
orders  with  the  importers,  who  in  turn  place  their  orders  abroad,  but 
who  ask  a  heavy  margin  ror  their  risk  and  services. 

The  question  is  on  the  same  basis  and  should  be  treated  with  the 
same  consideration  as  that  relating  to  the  dyed  and  bleached  yarns, 
of  which  we  have  given  you  illustration  before. 

The  present  system  of  duties  upon  dyed  and  bleached  straw  braid 
is  almost  like  placing  a  tariff  upon  the  different  parts  of  a  watch 
when  they  are  imported  separately  and  allowing  the  complete  watch 
to  come  in  free. 

The  imposing  of  extra  duty  on  these  goods  would  not  increase  the 
price  to  the  consumer,  because,  although  manufacturers  find  it  cheaper 
to  use  imported  stock  already  dyed  or  bleached,  the  importer  has  his 
profit,  which  results  in  the  manufacturer  paying  very  nearly  as  much 
for  imported  as  for  domestic  work.  Thus  the  consumer  is  not  bene- 
fited by  the  low  duty  on  these  goods,  while  the  American  laborer 
loses  heavily,  and  if  the  higher  duty  asked  for  were  imposed  the 
Government  would  gain  revenue  on  chemicals  and  dyestuff,  which 
would  be  used  in  the  dyeing  process. 

Therefore,  in  order  that  we  may  successfully  compete  with  foreign 
dyers,  and,  furthermore,  in  order  to  discourage  the  Japanese  and 
Chinese  from  embarking  in  this  industry,  we  recommend  and  sug- 
gest that  the  duty  on  dyed  and  bleached  braids  composed  of  chips, 
grass,  willow,  rattan,  or  straw  for  the  manufacture  of  hats,  which  at 
present  is  20  per  cent,  be  increased  to  30  per  cent. 

If  this  duty  were  increased  upon  the  articles  as  prayed  for,  we 
could  increase  our  plants  here,  employ  more  men,  and  run  constantly 
throughout  the  year. 

At  the  present  time  the  dyers  of  straw  and  chip  braids  in  this 
country  are  debarred  from  doing  any  dveing  or  bleaching  work  for 
hat  manufacturers  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  Mexico,  or  other 
foreign  countries  because  of  the  duty  on  raw  straw  and  chip  braids. 

The  Dominion  of  Canada  and  Mexico  particularly  purchase  all  of 
their  straw  and  chip  braids  in  Europe  and  have  it  dyed  and  bleached 
there,  and  the  American  dyers  and  bleachers  are  excluded  from  any 
participation  because  of  the  duty  which  would  be  levied  upon  these 
braids  if  brought  into  the  United  States  to  be  dyed. 

We  think  it  feasible,  and  would  recommend,  that  this  situation  be 
covered  by  a  provision  providing  that  any  straw  or  chip  braids 
shipped  direct  from  foreign  countries  to  dyers  and  bleachers  in  the 
United  States,  the  same  to  be  dyed  and  bleached  and  immediately 
reexported  to  the  owners,  to  come  in  free  of  duty. 

The  drawback  system  in  force  at  present  permits  a  return  of  about 
two-thirds  of  the  original  duty  levied  when  the  custom-house  charges 
and  broker  expenses  are  taken  into  consideration.  The  one-third  that 
is  lost  is  too  large  a  handicap  to  enable  us  to  compete  successfully 
with  foreign  dyers  and  bleachers. 


6398  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

If  such  an  arrangement  as  we  suggest  could  be  considered,  it  would 
result  in  much  additional  business  and  the  employment  of  consider- 
able more  labor  in  this  country. 

In  conclusion,  let  us  say  that  no  trust  or  combination  can  be  formed 
to  raise  prices  by  the  dyers  of  '•hip  and  straw,  because  dyers  are 
numerous  and  customers  can  easily  arrange  to  dye  their  own  braids. 
Most  of  the  dyeing  done  in  the  United  States  is  already  done  by 
the  hat  factories. 

Example. 

[Importation  order,  2,000,000  pieces  of  Italian  chip.] 

2,000,000  pieces,  at  raw  price  in  Italy  (6  cents) $120,000 

15  per  cent,  present  duty  on  raw  braid 18,  000 


Cost  landed  raw  in  United  States 138,  000 

Actual  dyeing  cost  in  United  States,  including  labor,  four  times  as  high 
as  Italy,  dyestuff,  chemicals,  etc.,  dutiable  at  30  to  35  per  cent; 
twine,  etc.,  dutiable  at  35  per  cent  (If  cents  per  piece) 35,000 


Total  cost 173,  000 


2,000,000  pieces,  at  raw  price  in  Italy  (6  cents  per  piece) 120,000 

If  dyed  in  Italy  with  labor  20  per  cent  of  our  cost  in  United  States; 
chemicals  and  dyestuffs  65  to  70  per  cent  of  our  cost  in  United 
States;  twines,  etc.,  65  per  cent  of  our  cost  in  United  States  (£  cent 
per  piece) 10, 000 


130,  000 
Present  duty,  20  per  cent 26,000 


Total  cost  landed  in  United  States  to  importers 156,  000 


2,000,000  pieces,  at  dyed  cost  in  Italy  (6i  cents) 130,000 

Duty  asked  for,  30  per  cent 39, 000 


Total  cost  landed  in  United  States  to  importers 169,  000 

Even  under  duty  asked  for,  we  would  be  underbid  $4,000  on  such 
an  order. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

R.  H.  COMEY  COMPANY  (!NC.),  Camden,  N.  J. 

PARSONS  BROS.  (!NC.),  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


STATEMENT  BY  H.  B.  VANDERHOEF,  OF  NEW  YORK,  REPRESENT- 
ING THE  MANUFACTURERS  OF  STRAW  HATS  AND  IMPORTERS 
OF  STRAW  HAT  MATERIAL. 

SATURDAY,  November  28, 1908. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  I  represent  the  manufacturers  of  straw  hats  and 
importers  of  straw-hat  material,  mentioned  under  section  409  now 
embraced  in  three  paragraphs,  viz,  the  braids  from  which  the  straw 
hats  are  made,  the  bodies,  which  we  call  hoods,  and  which  come  from 
foreign  climes,  and  manufactured  trimmed  hats. 

We  think  the  classifications  should  be  changed.    There  is  a  very 
great  injustice  in  the  present  classification.     I  have  a  brief  here, 
which  I  do  not  propose  to  read,  but  which  I  propose  to  file  with  the 
committee.     I  think,  however,  I  can  explain  briefly  by  some  ex- ' 
amples,  and  if  you  will  bear  with  me  a  moment  I  will  explain  them. 


STRAW   HATS H.    B.   VANDEBHOEP.  6399 

Under  the  first  paragraph  comes  straw  braid,  as  we  call  it.  It 
comes  principally  from  China  and  Japan.  It  is  straw  grown  in  the 
field,  taken  therefrom  and  plaited  by  hand.  There  never  has  been,  to 
my  knowledge,  a  piece  of  braid  plaited  in  any  other  way  than  by 
hand.  The  present  duty  on  such  an  article  is  15  per  cent  in  its  natural 
state  and  20  per  cent  bleached.  There  is  not  an  article  of  this  kind 
produced  in  this  country ;  not  a  yard  that  I  know  of  is  being  produced 
here  now,  nor  can  it  be. 

I  now  exhibit  to  the  committee  a  braid  upon  which  we  pay  15  per 
cent  duty,  which  is  landed  and  sold  in  New  York  for  one-tenth  of  a 
cent  per  yard.  I  now  show  you  the  other  extreme,  being  a  fine  braid 
that  goes  to  make  fine  hats.  On  that  the  same  duty  is  paid,  and 
it  figures  out  about  one-half  a  cent  per  yard;  so  I  claim,  gentlemen, 
that  the  present  duty  on  these  straw  braids  should  be  maintained. 
We  are  a  small  industry.  I  figure  that  we  have  paid  to  the  National 
Government  one-half  or  1  per  cent  of  the  entire  duty  paid  the  country 
in  duties— one-half  of  1  per  cent,  not  in  this  article  alone,  but  on  the 
other  articles  I  show. 

The  Government  needs  revenue.  Here  is  an  article — straw  braids — 
on  which  we  can  all  well  afford  to  pay  what  we  are  paying  now,  and 
our  manufacturers  advocate  no  change. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  you  can  not  make  that  stuff  in  the  United  States  at 
all,  what  necessity  have  you  in  any  way,  shape,  form,  or  fashion  for 
a  tariff  on  it? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Our  necessity  is  not  free  raw  material.  If  we 
have  the  duty  taken  off  of  braid  and  off  of  everything  that  goes  to 
make  a  straw  hat,  we  could  not  compete  to-day  with  the  foreign 
labor.  Straw  used  to  come  in  on  the  free  list.  America  was  the 
dumping  ground  for  China  and  Japan.  There  were  no  standards, 
and  there  was  no  regularity.  The  consequence,  there  were  auctions, 
and  bankers,  commission  men,  and  all  sorts  of  people  offering  the 
goods,  and  we  never  knew  what  the  qualities  were.  That  was  a  very 
grave  condition ;  so  much  so  that  the  manufacturers  never  knew  where 
they  stood. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Can  not  a  hat  manufacturer  tell  the  quality  of  that 
sort  of  goods  as  soon  as  he  sees  the  goods  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  No;  the  braid  does  not  run  regularly.  The 
Chinamen  and  Japanese  are  not  very  straight  people  to  deal  with. 
I  have  known  of  a  case,  for  instance,  where  they  would  bill  240 
pieces  to  the  bale  and  there  would  be  other  material  stuffed  into  that 
tale. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Could  you  not  sell  these  hats  cheaper  if  you  had  the 
free  raw  material? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  We  could,  but  there  is  no  need  for  selling  them 
cheaper.  They  are  retailed  from  10  cents  apiece  up  to  $10  apiece, 
and  there  is  not  a  man,  woman,  or  child  going  without  a  straw  hat  in 
this  country  because  of  the  price  of  it. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Could  you  not  sell  a  better  hat  cheaper  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  We  might,  but  I  claim  a  man  picking  cotton, 
hoeing  corn,  or  driving  a  truck  need  not  wear  a  more  expensive  hat. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  He  would  much  prefer  to  wear  a  10-cent  hat  as  against 
a  5-cent  hat. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  I  do  not  know  of  a  5-cent  hat.  All  hats  give  the 
same  wear  and  keep  the  sun  from  the  person's  head. 


6400  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Is  it  not  true  you  are  afraid  there  will  be  a  great 
many  more  hat  factories  in  this  country  if  you  let  that  stuff  in  free? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  No;  that  is  not  the  point. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  say  there  was  so  much  material  here  at  one  time 
that  the  manufacturers 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  It  came  free  to  1897. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  say  the  manufacturers  were  embarrassed  by  the 
great  amount  of  stuff  that  came  to  this  country? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Our  industry  is  not  embarrassed,  whether  duty 
is  on  or  taken  off  of  our  raw  materials.  It  does  not  matter  a  particle 
to  us.  I  am  only  saying  that  for  good  reasons  it  would  be  better  to 
leave  it  as  it  is. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  What  are  those  reasons? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  The  revenue  for  the  Government  is  the  main 
thing.  We  claim  here  is  an  article  on  which  the  Government  can 
raise  revenue  without  detriment  to  interests  here. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  What  is  the  revenue  now  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Fifty  per  cent. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  What  is  the  actual  amount? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  About  a  million  dollars. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Suppose  we  doubled  the  tariff,  would  it  make  hats  any 
more  expensive? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Sure.  You  can  not  use  braid  of  double  the 
value  and  make  the  same-priced  hat. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  owing  to  how  much  profit  you  make  now? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  If  you  want  to  know  about  my  profits  I  can  tell 
you  about  that.  We  have  to  have  in  the  manufacture  of  straw  hats 
about  as  much  capital  as  our  total  sales  amount  to.  In  other  words, 
we  turn  our  capital  once  a  year.  If  we  turn  it  once  and  a  quarter,  we 
are  lucky,  and  we  make  from  5  to  10  per  cent  and  consider  ourselves 
fortunate. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  make  5  or  10  per  cent? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Depending  on  the  times  and  conditions. 

The  next  classification  to  which  I  will  call  attention  is  what  we 
import  in  the  hood  shape. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Before  you  go  on  with  that,  it  is  mysterious  to  me  why 
you  do  not  want  that  on  the  free  list,  and  I  have  asked  you  to  bring 
out  the  reason. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  I  would  not  want  to  have  this  country  made  the 
dumping  ground  of  China  and  Japan. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Why  not? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Because  our  experience  in  the  past  was  that  there 
were  no  standards  to  raw  material. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Then  you  were  embarrassed  by  a  superfluity  of  raw 
material  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  We  like  the  present  condition  better  than  we 
did  the  condition  then. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  You  would  like  the  duty,  not  by  way  of  protection 
to  American  labor,  but  to  protect  you  from  inconvenience  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  The  importers  who  handle  the  braid  are  with 
us  on  this  subject,  and  the  manufacturers  are  united  in  the  matter. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  This  is  the  first  time  I  ever  saw  anybody  embarrassed 
by  too  much  raw  material. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ? 


STRAW   HATS — H.   B.   VANDERHOEF.  6401 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  say  you  want  the  duty  because  you  do  not  want 
eo  much  of  that  brought  in  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Yes,  sir;  we  get  all  we  want  of  it.  I  do  not 
want  to  have  poked  under  my  nose  twice  what  I  do  want. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Why  not,  if  you  get  it  cheaper? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  It  is  the  quality.  They  now  have  standard 
qualities,  and  if  the  Chinamen  plaited  50  bales  of  the  material  and  I 
wanted  to  get  that  amount  of  first  quality  coming  through  the  regular 
channels  there  would  be  no  question  about  it  being  first  quality.  If 
the  conditions  are  changed,  as  you  suggest,  the  agent  in  China  would 
inspect,  and  seeing  it  was  not  first  quality  would  not  buy  it.  Then 
the  Chinamen  would  try  somebody  else  on  the  first-quality  scheme, 
and  it  would  not  go.  Then  the  first  thing  you  know,  if  we  had  a 
free  list,  some  commission  man  would  have  this  same  braid,  call  it 
first  quality,  when  it  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  third  or  fourth  quality, 
and  it  would  be  held  here  and  finally  offered  at  all  sorts  of  prices. 
Quality  is  of  extreme  importance. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Would  not  the  manufacturer  know  it  was  not  first 
quality  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  He  could  not  tell  until  he  inspected  it  in  the 
factory.  That  is  the  very  worst  thing  about  straw  braid — its  irregu- 
larity. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  do  not  want  the  tariff  changed? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  You  must  understand  that  straw  is  straw,  and  it 
grows  in  the  field,  and  every  single  crop  is  different.  There  are  no 
two  straw  crops  alike,  and  it  has  to  be  carefully  sorted,  carefully 
prepared,"  and  carefully  made.  It  is  a  delicate  article,  a  delicate 
proposition,  different  from  wool  or  anj^thing  of  that  sort  that  is  a 
standard  product.  I  wgnt  straw  braid  to  remain  as  it  is  now — 15  per 
cent  on  raw  material. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  am  not  going  tb  question  you  any  more  about  it. 
This  is  the  first  time  I  ever  saw  a  manufacture  embarrassed  by  the 
presence  of  a  surplus  of  raw  material. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  I  am  simply  giving  my  reasons  for  it.  Shall  I 
leave  this  subject  now? 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Yes. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Under  the  present  classification  "  B  "  are  what 
we  call  "  body  hats,"  or  "  hoods,"  paying  duty,  35  per  cent.  They 
are  made  in  Italy  and  Sumatra  and  in  China.  I  claim  that  there 
[indicating]  is  a  hat  that  simply  represents  the  labor  in  making — that 
is,  the  plaiting.  I  now  show  you  another  hat  of  the  same  body,  which 
has  been  shaped  and  pressed,  and  on  which  there  has  been  a  certain 
amount  of  labor  applied.  We  say  these  two  hats  should  not  come 
in  under  the  same  tariff.  This  first  hat  which  I  exhibit  to  the  com- 
mittee is  one  that  can  not  be  worn  until  it  is  shaped.  This  other  hat 
is  a  hat  that  can  be  worn  as  it  now  is.  The  American  laborer  should 
have  some  protection  against  the  labor  that  has  been  put  on  in  Europe, 
and  we  say  it  is  wrong  to  have  these  two  hats  come  in  under  the  same 
tariff. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Are  both  of  these  hats  imported  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Are  they  both  leghorns? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.     Yes,  sir;  both  made  in  Italy. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Do  you  just  buy  the  braid  ? 


6402  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  No;  this  hat  is  made  just  as  it  is. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  import  the  hat  that  way  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Yes ;  we  import  the  hat  that  way.  Here  is  an- 
other one  that  is  imported  this  way  [exhibiting  hat  to  the  committee] . 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  can  not  import  this  hat  and  compete  -as  against 
the  other  one  which  is  completed  in  Europe  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  No,  sir.  This  hat  [indicating]  can  be  blocked 
in  Italy  for  60  cents  a  dozen.  Adding  the  extra  cost  in  freight  be- 
cause of  greater  bulk,  it  brings  it  to  about  a  dollar  a  dozen.  It  costs 
us  over  here  $3  a  dozen. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  I  had  just  touched  the  second  and 
third  classifications.  The  second  classification  was  the  hat  in  a  hood 
form  and  not  shaped.  The  third  classification  was  the  hat  shaped, 
which  we  think  should  pay  more  duty  than  the  one  not  shaped.  That 
hat  at  present  pays  35  per  cent  [indicating]  ;  that  pays  35  per  cent 
[indicating].  On  that  article  there  is  a  large  business  done  and 
the  American  manufacturers  get  no  benefit  from  it  whatsoever.  The 
work  is  done  in  countries  where  labor  can  be  performed  for  one- 
fourth  for  what  it  is  performed  for  here,  and  if  we  had  the  proper 
protection  or  duty  on  those  two  articles  the  American  manufacturer 
and  American  laborer  would  receive  some  benefit. 

In  the  fourth  classification  are  two  hats,  one  made  in  England  and 
another  made  in  America.  The  hats  were  made  with  identically 
the  same  braids  and  trimmings  and  were  treated  in  exactly  the  same 
manner  and  by  the  same  class  of  labor.  On  the  braid  item  in  the  hat 
we  pay  15  per  cent  duty;  on  the  trimmings  (the  band)  we  pay  50 
per  cent  duty;  on  the  leather  we  pay  35  per  cent  duty,  and  on  the 
satin  we  pay  50  per  cent  duty.  On  the  lace  lining  in  the  hat  we 
pay  60  per  cent  duty,  and  so,  as  I  have  said  before,  our  little  industry 
gives  the  Federal  Government  one-half  of  1  per  cent  of  all  the  duties 
collected  under  the  present  tariff,  and  we  claim  that  paying  duties  as 
we  do  on  every  article  that  goes  to  make  up  that  hat  we  are  entitled 
to  protection  from  goods  made  in  foreign  lands.  When  we  get  the 
absolute  difference  in  the  cost  of  those  two  hats  we  figure  the  braid 
item  the  same  in  both  places,  less  the  15  per  cent  in  England ;  the  bands 
the  same  way,  less  50  per  cent  in  England;  the  lace  the  same  way, 
50  per  cent,  which  brings  it  down  to  a  question  of  labor.  England 
produces  that  hat,  in  point  of  labor,  for  $1.88.  It  costs  us  $7.50  for 
performing  exactly  the  same  labor  on  the  hat,  and  under  the  present 
duty  that  hat  can  be  landed  here 

Mr.  CLARK.  A  dozen? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Seven  dollars  and  fifty  cents  a  dozen.  That  hat 
can  be  bought  in  England  by  any  retailer  in  this  land,  or  any  whole- 
saler in  the  land  can  buy  it  at  30  shillings,  that  is,  figuring  it  at  $7.50 
a  dozen,  and  we  have  to  pay  duty,  freight,  packing  charges,  which,  as 
near  as  we  can  figure  it,  brings  it  up  to  40  cents  per  shilling;  so  that 
hat  landed  in  New  York  at  40  cents  a  shilling  costs  $12.  That  hat 
made  in  New  York  in  precisely  the  same  way  costs  $14.94,  and  we 
claim  that  we  can  not  continue  to  make  hats  when  hats  can  be  landed 
here  at  any  such  difference  of  labor. 

Now,  gentlemen,  there  are  the  classifications,  giving  the  Federal 
Government  a  handsome  revenue  to-day.  It  is  immaterial  to  us 
whether  you  take  the  duty  off  the  raw  material  or  whether  you  leave 
it  as  it  is,  or  whether  you  add  to  that  article;  we  prefer  to  have  it 
left  as  it  is  because  we  think  that  you,  looking  after  the  Government's 


STRAW   HATS H.   B.   VANDERHOEF.  6403 

interests,  and  we  being  taxpayers,  the  Federal  Government  should 
have  a  revenue  from  that  article  where  it  can  not  be  produced  in  this 
country.  On  that  article  [indicating  hood  hat]  we  want  it  left  at 
least  at  35  per  cent  duty.  On  that  article  [indicating  hood  hat 
blocked]  we  simply  want  the  difference  of  manufacture.  That  hat 
is  partly  manufactured,  and  we  claim  that  it  is  not  right  to  have 
it  come  in  under  that  classification  when  it  is  partly  manufactured. 
On  this  fourth  classification  we  think  we  should  be  protected,  being 
liberal  subscribers  to  the  revenue.  I  repeat  that  we  pay  one-half  of 
1  per  cent  of  all  the  duties  collected,  and  if  we  pay  the  duties  on 
this  merchandise,  we  claim  that  we  should  have  protection  on  this 
one  line. 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  am  ready  to  answer  any  questions  which  the 
committee  desires  to  ask. 

Mr.  CLARK.  All  the  revenues  you  pay  the  Government  you  ulti- 
mately collect  from  somebody  else,  do  you  not? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  I  beg  your  pardon. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  speak  as  though  you  went  down  into  your  own 
individual  pocket  and  paid  this  one-half  of  1  per  cent  to  the  Govern- 
ment? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  No,  sir ;  everybody  in  the  country  is  paying  that. 
Unless  we  manufactured  hats  this  duty  would  not  be  paid. 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  what  I  thought  myself. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  volume  of  the  straw  hats  that  are 
made  in  the  country? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  We  manufacturers  make  about  $12,000,000  worth 
of  straw  hats. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  much  is  the  importation? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  For  instance,  the  importations  of  braid,  which 
comes  under  that  classification,  for  the  last  ten  years  have  averaged 
$400,000  duty. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  value?  We  want  to  get  the  volume 
of  business,  and  then  you  can  give  the  duty. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  I  have  not  the  figures,  but  I  have  figured  the 
duty.  I  have  not  the  volume  here.  For  instance,  for  the  last  ten 
years  we  have  paid  on  hats  of  that  article  [indicating]  on  an  average 
of  $400,000  duty.  Two  or  three  million  dollars  a  year,  I  should  think, 
was  the  gross  importation  of  that  article. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  hat  has  no  competition  here.  Now  what  is 
the  importation  of  hats? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  There  is  nothing  of  this  kind  made  in  this  coun- 
try— nothing  of  that  kind.  There  is  not  a  single  hat  made  in  this 
country  that  would  come  in  that  class.  The  only  hats  that  we  make 
in  this  country  come  in  this  class  [indicating]. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  volume  of  business  in  that  class? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  In  this  class,  I  should  say  about  $12,000,000. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  volume  of  importation? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Importation  of  manufactured  hats? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Yes. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  That  is  a  sliding  scale;  the  importations  are 
going  ahead  by  leaps  and  bounds  in  that  department.  I  will  give  it 
to  you. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Give  it  to  us  for  1907.     That  is  a  good  year. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  In  1898  there  were  $36,000  worth  imported,  and 
in  1907  $148,870.77. 


6404  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  you  produce  12,000,000? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Twelve  million;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  your  importations  do  not  amount  to  1  per 
cent? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  No,  sir;  there  is  a  change  of  style  and  fancy. 
Now,  a  rough  braid  like  this  [indicating^  is  a  thing  that  comes  and 
goes  according  to  style  and  fancy.  This  [indicating]  has  not  cut 
much  of  a  figure  in  the  last  five  or  ten  years,  but  it  is  cutting  a  great 
figure  to-day,  and  I  predict  that  the  importations  of  this  coming 
season  will  be  five  times  as  much  as  for  the  last  year.  We  know  that 
the  largest  of  our  customers  have  sent  agents  to  England  to  buy  these 
hats,  and  we  know  of  orders  they  gave  last  year,  which  had  not  been 
done  to  any  extent  theretofore.  It  is  simply  a  matter  of  change  of 
style  and  fancy.  We  think  we  ought  to  have  a  tariff  to  protect  us. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  ask  for  a  prohibitive  tariff,  for  if  it  increased 
five  times  over  what  it  was  last  year,  that  would  only  be  5  per  cent, 
which  is  a  practically  prohibitive  tariff. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  We  think,  in  view  of  our  paying  the  tariff  on  all 
these  things,  that  we  should  have  a  protective  tariff  on  that.  We 
have  a  hat  that  we  can  sell  in  America  for  $12  which  is  almost  as 
good  as  that.  The  hat  will  be  of  this  style  [indicating],  and  will 
give  a  man  almost  as  much  satisfaction. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  Government  is  expected  to  receive  a  revenue 
from  importations.  There  is  no  competition  in  these  other  articles; 
they  are  merely  internal-revenue  articles,  but  you  want  the  duty  fixed 
on  this  article  where  the  competition  to-day  is  only  1  per  cent  and  the 
best  you  say  it  may  grow  to  in  the  future  would  not  be  but  4  per 
cent? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  That  is  purely  an  estimate.  Now,  for  instance, 
as  a  practical  manufacturer,  I  am  trying  to  take  orders  on  that  hat, 
but  I  can  not  do  it.  Why?  Simply  because  this  is  interfering  and 
not  giving  me  an  opportunity  to  run  my  factory.  Now,  gentlemen. 
if  you  will  pardon  me,  speaking  for  our  industry,  I  want  you  to  look 
at  this  question  just  as  though  you  were  a  hat  manufacturer.  That 
is  the  only  fair  way  to  look  at  it. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  But  you  overlook  the  fact  that  this  committee  has 
not  only  to  look  at  it  from  your  standpoint  but  from  the  standpoint 
of  revenue. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  That  is  right,  and  if  it  was  depriving  the  Amer- 
ican citizens  of  one  hat  I  would  not  be  here  before  you.  Our  in- 
dustry, as  I  have  before  stated,  requires  as  much  capital  as  the  volume 
of  our  sales;  in  other  words,  if  we  do  $1,000,000  worth  of  business 
we  have  to  have  $1,000,000  worth  of  capital,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
year  our  profit  will  not  be  10  per  cent  and  most  of  the  time  5. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Is  not  10  per  cent  a  pretty  fair  profit? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  We  are  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  profit. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Then  what  is  it  that  you  want  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  I  simply  want  protection  in  that  10  per  cent 
profit. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Nobody  is  trying  to  take  it  away  from  you. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  If  you  do  not  give  me  the  duty  on  that  arti- 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  duty  is  on  it  now  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Is  anybody  trying  to  take  it  away? 


STRAW   HATS H.    B.   VANDERHOEF.  6405 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  I  do  not  know. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Then  what  is  the  argument  about  it? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  We  want  it  advanced. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  want  it  advanced? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  will  not  get  it  as  far  as  I  am  concerned. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  That  is  all  right.  I  am  simply  here  to  tell  you 
what  the  American  industry  needs;  that  is  all.  When  I  show  you 
that  a  hat  can  be  produced  in  England  for  $1.88  which  will  cost  $7.50 
here,  it  is  up  to  you  gentlemen  to  say  whether  you  want  to  protect 
American  industry  or  not. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Can  you  tell  me  why  Mr.  Knox  can  manufacture  his 
hats  for  seven  and  a  half  times  as  much? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  I  will  tell  you.  In  the  first  place,  Mr.  Knox  is 
under  a  tremendous  expense  of  manufacture.  Everything  he  does  is 
by  strictly  hand  labor.  He  pays  the  highest  price  for  labor  known 
in  this  country  for  the  same  work  that  is  done.  He  is  under  enor- 
mous expense  for  selling  his  output. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  bought  a  hat  in  Washington  for  $2  and  it  had  some 
grease  on  it,  and  I  went  into  Knox's  place  and  laid  that  hat  down  on 
the  counter  when  I  was  in  New  York  and  bought  a  new  hat  and  paid 
him  $5  for  it,  and  when  the  grease  was  removed  there  was  nobody 
but  an  expert  who  could  tell  one  hat  from  the  other.  Now,  how  did 
it  happen  to  cost  Knox  so  much  more  than  the  hat  manufactured 
here  in  Washington? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  What  kind  of  a  hat  did  you  buy? 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  bought  one  that  you  could  not  tell  from  a  Knox  hat. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Was  it  an  English  hat? 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  could  not  tell  you  what  it  was. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  I  think  it  was  an  English  hat  that  has  come  in 
and  knocked  the  American  hats  out. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Now,  you  have  99  per  cent  of  the  production  in 
hats  in  this  country  and  only  1  per  cent  of  importation.  Unques- 
tionably the  American  market  is  being  protected  to-day.  There  can 
be  no  argument  about  that. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  In  that  connection  I  would  like  to  ask  you  a  ques- 
tion. What  protection  has  the  American  consumer — the  wearer  ol 
hats — as  against  the  prices  fixed  by  the  parties  who  have  99  per  cent 
of  the  market  by  reason  of  that  tariff? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  There  is  no  fixed  price  in  our  trade.  There  is 
no  trust  or  combination  of  any  sort  whatsoever,  in  treatment,  process, 
or  anything  of  that  kind.  Every  manufacturer  of  hats  stands  on  his 
own  legs  and  is  doing  business  in  his  own  way,  and  the  net  profit  to 
the  manufacturer  is  small. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  What  is  the  difference  in  the  labor  cost  for  a  hat 
like  that  [indicating]  in  England  and  in  America  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  It  costs  $1.88  in  England  and  $7.50  here. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  A  dozen? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  That  is  the  difference  of  the  labor  cost? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Labor  alone. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  One  is  about  $5  more  than  the  other  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Yes. 

Mr.  RANDELL,.  Then  a  man  in  America  can  do  about  one-fifth  of 
what  a  man  can  do  in  England? 


6406  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  It  is  all  piecework;  it  is  all  paid  for  by  the 
amount  done. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  If  one  man  in  America  can  only  do  one-fifth  as  much 
as  a  man  in  England,  why  does  he  not  quit  that  work  and  do  some- 
thing else? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Because  we  have  to  pay  him  the  price  plus 

Mr.  RANDELL.  They  say  that  a  tailor  is  only  one-ninth  of  a  man, 
and  it  would  seem  that  a  hatmaker  is  only  one-fifth  part  of  a  man, 
measured  from  the  American  standpoint? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  I  know  that  our  men  work  at  from  $3  to  $5  a 
day. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  They  make  other  things  in  America,  too,  besides 
hats? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  In  England  they  dp  not  work  for  that.  For 
instance,  with  regard  to  this  hat  [indicating],  I  know  as  an  absolute 
fact — because  I  have  some  of  the  Italian  people  in  our  employ 
to-day — that  a  man  will  make  only  $1  for  doing  that  in  Italy,  and  I 
can  not  get  it  done  for  less  than  $3. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  What  does  a  man  who  buys  a  hat  like  that  [indicat- 
ing] in  America  have  to  pay  for  it — I  mean  a  hat  like  that  one ;  you 
say  the  labor  only  costs  a  dollar  and  something  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  There  is  a  hat  [indicating]  that  we  sell  at  $18 
a  dozen. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  And  the  labor  cost  is  $7.50  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Yes,  sir;  $7.50. 

Mr.  RANDELL.^  What  is  the  other  cost  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  It  is  made  up  of  braid,  band,  satin,  kip,  and 
leather  sweat. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  What  is  the  cost  per  dozen  for  material  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Four  dollars  and  fifty-three  cents. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  The  balance  is  the  selling  profit,  is  it  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Yes,  sir ;  the  overhead  charge,  and  selling  profit, 
and  office  expenses. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  It  is  all  overhead  charge,  is  it  not? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  We  call  it  overhead  charge  where  it  does  not 
include  the  piece.  There  is  a  10  per  cent  profit  to  us  on  that  hat,  sell- 
ing it  at  $18  a  dozen. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Let  me  say  a  word.  We  grow  cotton  in  the  South  in 
competition  with  Indian,  Chinese,  and  Egyptian  labor,  which  I 
understand  is  15  or  20  cents  a  day.  Now,  how  are  we  going  to  do  it  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  I  do  not  know,  sir. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  They  do  it,  and  they  do  it  successfully  in  the  South. 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  I  may  ask  you  a  question  there.  There  [indicat- 
ing] is  a  hank  of  braid  plaited,  of  straw,  furnished  complete,  all  in  one 
piece,  sent  into  this  country  with  15  per  cent  duty  at  half  a  cent  a 
yard.  Let  me  see  American  labor  anywhere  do  that ;  we  never  heard 
of  such  a  thing. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  We  pay  our  share  of  the  tariff  and  get  none  back,  and 
we  are  growing  cotton  in  competition  with  Indian  and  Japanese 
labor,  and  you  folks  up  here  who  claim  to  be  so  smart,  you  manufac- 
turers, are  unable  to  compete  with  European  labor  and  white  labor. 
Now,  why  is  that? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  It  is  simply  the  scale  of  wage,  for  an  Italian 
laborer  will  work  there  at  60  cents  a  day,  and  we  have  to  pay  $3  a  day ; 
so  it  is  very  easily  accounted  for. 


STKAW   HATS H.    B.   VANDEKHOEP.  6407 

Mr.  GRTGGS.  I  told  you  how  we  make  cotton  in  the  South  as  to  labor. 
I  will  tell  you  how  we  manage  labor  with  respect  to  cotton.  The 
landlord  furnishes  the  land  and  the  tools,  and  pays  half  the  expenses, 
and  divides  the  profits  with  the  man  who  makes  it.  Now,  why  can 
you  not  make  a  deal  like  that  with  your  labor  up  here  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  Our  concern  has  been  in  business  since  1848.  We 
have  the  most  skillful  mechanics,  and  play  our  game  as  intelligently 
as  we  think  it  can  be  played.  We  are  an  old  firm  and  are  leaders  in 
the  manufacture  of  hats. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  have  no  doubt  about  that;  but  with  us,  if  cotton  is 
low  the  pay  is  low ;  if  the  crop  is  short  the  pay  is  short  to  the  land- 
lord and  to  the  laborer.  Why  can  you  not  do  something  like  that 
instead  of  coming  here  and  begging  from  the  Government  ? 

Mr.  VANDERHOEF.  We  have  trade  unions  in  our  country  and  it  is 
sometimes  difficult  to  handle  the  situation. 


BRIEF    SUBMITTED    BY    H.    B.    VANDERHOEF,    REPRESENTING 
VARIOUS  HAT  MANUFACTURING  CONCERNS. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  November  28,  1908. 
WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  In  behalf  of  a  number  of  manufacturers  of  men's 
straw  hats  I  desire  to  submit  for  your  consideration  their  views 
regarding  the  present  tariff  on  straw  hats,  classified  under  Schedule 
"  N,"  section  409,  of  the  act  of  July  24,  1897,  relying  upon  the  party 
pledge  for  a  revision  of  the  tariff. 

At  the  outset  we  desire  to  go  firmly  upon  record  as  desiring  two 
separate  forms  of  relief  and  believe  that  we  can  satisfy  the  Congress 
that  we  are  entitled  to  both : 

First.  An  increase  in  the  rate  of  duty  now  paid  on  straw  hats,  etc., 
classified  under  Schedule  "  N,"  section  409,  of  the  act  of  July  24, 1907. 

Second.  A  change  in  the  duty  from  an  ad  valorem  rate  to  a  com- 
pound rate  and  an  amendment  to  the  present  classification. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  men's  straw-hat  industry 
we  are  united  on  one  proposition,  and  that  is  that  the  recent  decided 
increase  in  the  importations  of  foreign-made  hats  manufactured  from 
straw  braid  is  a  serious  menace  to  our  industry.  Intense,  and  some- 
times bitter,  rivalry  exists  between  the  manufacturers  in  our  trade, 
the  result  of  the  close  competition  and  struggle  for  business,  but  in 
our  fight  for  protection  at  your  hands  and  a  preservation  of  the  busi- 
ness we  stand  united.  There  is  no  combination  in  the  trade,  no  ar- 
rangement as  to  the  standard  of  prices,  terms,  or  discounts;  indeed, 
not  even  a  trade  organization  exists. 

The  entire  industry  affected  by  this  particular  section  of  the  tariff 
is  not  big  by  way  of  comparison  with  other  industries,  and  yet  we 
represent  approximately  a  capital  employed  of  nearly  $10,000,000, 
divided  into  82  establishments  and  operating  in  15  States.  We  em- 
ploy nearly  6,500  wage-earners,  substantially  all  of  whom  are  men 
and  women.  Our  product  exceeds  $12,000.000  annually,  all  of  which 
is  sold  in  the  United  States,  it  being  impossible  for  us  to' successfully 
compete  in  any  foreign  market. 

7r.!»4i— IT.  Doc.  ir,or>,  <'»o-2— Voi  6 41 


6408 


SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 


We  are  large  contributors  to  the  Government  for  tariff  paid  on 
our  materials  and  on  our  straw-hat  bodies  coming  into  the  country  in 
the  rough  shape. 

Every  single  item  out  of  which  our  hat  is  made  and  trimmed  is 
purchased  abroad,  with  the  exception  of  some  trimmings  on  the  cheap- 
est grades  and  some  of  the  highest  quality  of  silks  on  the  best  grades, 
but  these  domestic  materials  bear  an  infinitely  small  percentage  to  the 
entire  consumption — indeed,  too  small  to  even  mention. 

We  schedule  here  the  materials  contained  in  a  straw  hat,  together 
with  the  rate  of  duty  imposed : 

Per  cent. 

Straw  braid 15 

Straw  braid  (bleached,  stained,  or  dyed) 20 

Trimmings  (silk  bands  and  binding) 50 

Satin  (linings) 50 

Cut  leather 35 

Lace  (tips) 60 

The  United  States  does  not  produce  the  straw  that  is  braided  and 
forms  the  body  of  the  hat.  Every  single  dollar's  worth  is  imported 
and  straw-hat  manufacturers  contribute  to  the  revenue  of  the  Gov- 
ernment (Evans's  Compilation  of  Imports  and  Duties)  an  annual 
average  of  about  $400,000,  reaching  the  high-water  mark  in  1907  of" 
over  $500,000,  for  duty  on  braids,  unbleached  and  bleached.  It  is 
impossible  to  accurately  state  how  much  duty  we  pay  on  our  silks, 
satins,  leathers,  etc.,  but  an  annual  duty  of  $500,000  is  not  an  unfair 
estimate.  We  also  paid  as  duty  on  untrimmed  hats  nearly  $5,000,000 
since  the  passage  of  the  Dingley  Act,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  table 
herein. 


Year. 

Value. 

Duty. 

1898... 

8543,  244.  57 

8190  135  60 

1899  

527,  710.  16 

184,698  59 

1900  

687.  370.  60 

240.  579.  71 

1901  

885,041.66 

309  76-1  63 

1902  

1,322,747.02 

462,  961.  43 

1903  

1,322,752,54 

462  963  43 

1904  

1,093,686.33 

382,789  90 

1905  

1,098  729  21 

384  655  30 

1906  

1  865  432  95 

659  901  54 

1907  

2  436  214  94 

852  675  27 

1908  

2,031  359.71 

710  975  92 

Total  

13,794  288  69 

4  835  001  32 

From  a  compilation  of  these  statistics  it  will  appear  that  our  in- 
dustry has  been  paying  as  revenue  to  the  government  an  annual 
average  of  $1,300,000  as  duty  upon  our  materials  and  bodies. 

Are  we  not  entitled  to  protection  on  our  manufactured  product  ? 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  duty  on  all  of  our  material  scales  from  15 
to  50  per  cent,  and  that  the  duty  on  the  finished  product  is  35  per 
cent  where  the  hat  is  untrimmed  and  50  per  cent  where  the  hat  is 
trimmed  or  ready  to  wear.  So  that  it  is  readily  observed  that  the 
difference  in  bringing  the  braid  into  the  United  States  in  its  natural 
state  and  made  into  a  hat  body,  shaped  and  blocked,  is  but  20  per  cent 
and  the  difference  in  bringing  in  the  braid,  bands,  bindings,  silks, 
leathers  in  their  natural  state  and  when  made  into  and  placed  on 
hat,  averages  from  22£  per  cent  to  25  per  cent,  taking  into  considera- 
tion the  variable  quantity  of  trimmings  that  enter  into  the  making 
of  a  hat. 


STEAW   HATS H.   B.   VANDERHOEF. 


6409 


Can  we  compete  against  the  foreign  manufacturer  with  a  protection 
of  20  per  cent  to  25  per  cent  on  our  product?  This  committee  has 
heard  a  good  bit  of  fact  about  cheap  foreign  labor  and  the  straw 
hatting  industry  is  no  exception  to  the  rule — a  hat  can  be  manufac- 
tured abroad  at  25  per  cent  of  the  cost  paid  in  the  United  States. 

Now  the  labor  cost  on  straw  hats  averages  about  40  per  cent  of  the 
net  cost  of  the  hat,  so  that  if  we  receive  but  a  protection  of  from  20 

Eer  cent  to  25  per  cent  on  the  finished  product  and  our  labor  costs  us 
our  times  as  much  it  is  easily  calculated  that  the  foreign  manufac- 
turer can  undersell  us  in  the  United  States. 

In  order  to  give  you  gentlemen  an  accurate  and  intelligent  com- 
parison of  the  foreign-made  and  the  domestic-made  hats,  we  offer 
here  two  schedules  showing  the  comparative  costs,  and  the  hats  are 
identified  as  exhibits. 

Schedule  "A"  (Exhibit  1)  is  the  cost  price  of  a  straw  hat  manu- 
factured in  England  and  sold  there  to  retailers  at  30s..  or  about  $7.50, 
a  dozen.  •  This  hat  has  been  extensively  sold  in  the  United  States  and 
can  be  landed  at  the  retailer's  door  in  New  York  City  at  $7.50  plus 
the  duty  of  50  per  cent  ($3.75)  and  the  transportation  charges  of  50 
cents  per  dozen,  making  a  total  cost  of  $11.75  to  the  retailer. 

Against  this  hat  we  quote  in  Schedule  "  B  "  (Exhibit  2)  the  same 
identical  hat,  manufactured  in  New  York  City,  showing  a  total  actual 
cost  of  $14.94,  irrespective  of  any  manufacturer's  profit  or  interest  on 
investment,  as  follows: 


EXHIBIT  1. 

SCHEDULE  A.— English  -  made  hat 
sold  in  England  for  30s.,  or  $7.50,  and 
delivered  in  the  United  States  for 
$11.15,  duty  and  charges  paid. 

Material : 

Braid    (15  per  cent 

duty) $1.68 

Band     (50    per    cent 

duty) .  59 

Lace    and    satin    (50 
and    60    per    cent 

duty)  .57 

Leather  (35  per  cent 

duty) .47 

Thread    .18 

$3.  49 

Labor  _.  1.  88 


5.37 
Selling  charges   (5  per  cent  on 

$7.50) .  38 

Office  expenses,  etc .  55 


Actual  cost 6.30 

Discount  (5  per  cent  on  $7.50 )_       .38 
Profit  (3  per  cent) .82 


7.50 
Duty  (50  per  cent) 3.75 

Transportation  .50 

11.75 


EXHIBIT  2. 

SCHEDULE  B. — American  hat  mad& 
out  of  same  quality  of  material  and 
sold  for  $18. 

Material : 

Braid $1.94 


Baud 

Lace  and  satiu. 

Leather  

Thread  _. 


88 
,90 
,63 
,18 


$4.53 
Labor  _.  7.  5X> 


12.  OS 


Selling  charges   (7  per  cent  on 
$18) 1.  2$ 

Office  expenses,  etc 1.  65 


Actual  cost 14.  94 

Discount  (7  per  cent  on  $18) __     1.2ft 
Profit  (10  per  cent) 1. 8O 


18.00 


6410 


SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 


It  therefore  appears  that  we  have  these  bald  differences  in  pricos 
between  two  hats  manufactured  out  of  the  same  identical  material : 

Difference  in  cost  of — 

Material $1.  04 

Labor 5.  (52 

Selling  charges .  88 

Office  expenses . 1. 10 


Less  duty  (50  per  cent) $3.75 

Transportation  charges .  50 


8.64 


4.25 

4.39 

We  start  out  with  an  actual  difference  of  $6.66  between  the  actual 
cost  of  the  labor  and  the  material  o.n  a  grade  of  hats  sold  in  Europe 
at  $7.50  per  dozen,  so  that  the  duty  of  50  per  cent  is  a  long  way  from 
giving  us  the  necessary  protection.  And  when  we  attempt  to  figure 
the  overhead  charges,  meaning  selling  expense,  office  expense,  rent, 
etc.,  the  range  grows  so  wide  that  it  becomes  heartrending  to  us  to 
»iaborate  on  it  in  argument.  The  tables  exhibited  here  represent  real 
solid  facts,  and  can  be  verified  by  any  inquiry.  It  will  be  observed 
that  the  materials  used  in  the  American  hat  cost  the  same  as  the 
materials  used  in  the  foreign  hat,  plus  the  duty  and  transportation 
charges.  There  is  no  difference  between  the  intrinsic  values  of 
both  hats. 

The  same  situation  exists  in  all  grades  and  reaches  even  larger 
proportions  as  the  prices  ascend. 

The  question  presents  itself,  why  does  this  difference  exist?  You 
know  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  the  material  and  you  see  that  the 
labor  on  a  hat  is  almost  twice  the  investment  of  the  material.  We 
have  given  you  the  exact  relative  cost  of  the  labor  in  both  the  United 
States  and  in  Europe.  This  great  difference  in  labor  is  but  the 
growth  of  recent  years  and  we  are  paying  fully  50  per  cent  more 
to-day  than  we  paid  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  Dingley  Act, 
and  European  labor  has  not  increased  a  single  penny. 

HAT  IMPORTATIONS. 

In  order  that  our  argument  may  appear  orderly  we  quote  the  table 
of  importations  of  trimmed  hats  or  hats  ready  to  wear. 


Year. 

Value. 

Duty. 

1898       .  .               ...            

836,654  01 

$18  327  03 

1899  

40,  392.  91 

20,  196.  48 

]900                 .             ..               

61  261  40 

30  630  74 

1901  

64,  896.  64 

32  448  35 

5902  

61,  166.  14 

25,  583.  14 

1903  

38,  788.  62 

19,  394.  83 

1904  

49,  526.  55 

24,  763.  81 

1906  

54,  186.  49 

27,093  27 

1906  

88,  772.  16 

44,  386.  09 

1907  

148,  870.  77 

74  435.39 

It  will  be  observed  that  there  was  a  large  increase  in  1907  and  the 
climax  of  a  gradual  increase  since  1898,  and  we  desire  to  say  a  word 
or  two  on  this  subject.  The  finished  hat  imported  did  not  seriously 
interfere  with  our  home  industry  prior  to  1906.  At  that  time  a  strong 


STRAW    HATS H.    B.   VANDEEHOEF.  6411 

desire  on  the  part  of  retailers  to  purchase  felt  hats  manufactured  in 
Europe  manifested  itself  and  naturally  reflected  the  same  desire  as  to 
straw  hats.  They  were  sold  over  the  same  counters  and  bought  by 
the  same  buyers,  and  it  has  ever  been  that  both  industries  have  felt 
the  same  industrial  and  commercial  changes.  Quick  to  realize  that 
felt  hats  could  be  bought  abroad  cheaper  than  at  home,  they  sought 
the  same  market  for  straw  hats,  and  soon  ascertained  that  they  could 
get  the  same  grades  and  qualities  as  produced  in  this  market  at 
reduced  values.  Thus  the  tremendous  increase  in  1907  and  1908 ;  and 
we  state,  with  the  facts  in  our  possession,  that  the  orders  for  the 
summer  of  1909  will  more  than  double  the  importations  of  1908.  And 
why  not?  We  don't  blame  the  retailer.  We  may  talk  as  much  as  we 
will  when  we  are  trying  to  sell  our  own  goods ;  that  is  "  trade  license ;" 
but  he  can  buy  the  same  article  we  manufacture  abroad  at  25  per  cent 
less,  delivered  at  his  door. 

It  is  true  that  the  skill  of  the  European  workman  in  years  back 
made  his  article  less  sightly  and  therefore  less  salable,  but  that  differ- 
ence no  longer  exists.  They  have  adopted  American  methods  and 
American  machines,  and  they  meet  us  on  an  equal  footing,  and  we 
can  not  face  the  parallel.  It  is  deadly,  and  unless  we  have  more  pro- 
tection, the  straw  hatting  industry  will  gradually  be  a  relic  of  the  past 
and  will  be  crucified  by  the  failure  of  the  Government  to  give  it 
protection  against  a  new  condition. 

RELIEF  DESIRED. 

We  desire  to  change  the  form  of  duty  to  a  compound  rate  instead 
of  an  ad  valorem  rate,  in  order  to  reduce  the  opportunity  for  under- 
valuation, and  when  this  desire  is  expressed  by  the  manufacturer  we 
believe  the  Congress  should  grant  it. 

We  further  desire  an  additional  classification  because  of  evils  which 
have  grown  up  in  the  trade,  and  which,  if  remedied,  will  make  the 
tariff  a  more  equitable  one.  Under  the  present  act  we  are  affected 
by  three  classifications: 

Per  cent. 

Braid  in  its  natural  state 15 

Straw  hats  manufactured,  but  not  trimmed 35 

Straw  hats  trimmed 50 

There  has  been  a  tremendous  increase  in  the  importation  of  un- 
trimmed  hats,  most  of  them  from  the  southern  countries  of  Europe 
and  South  Ame'rica — a  class  of  hats  commonly  known  as  Java,  milans, 
leghorns,  and  panamas.  These  hats  are  imported  into  the  United 
States  usually  in  a  rough  condition;  that  is,  only  the  body  is  made, 
and  the  hat  is  not  even  shaped  or  blocked.  We  can  not  manufacture 
these  hats  here;  they  are  all  made  by  the  cheapest  sort  of  peasant 
labor  in  tropical  countries.  We  can  shape,  block,  and  trim  the  hats, 
and  this  work  forms  quite  an  important  item  in  the  industry. 

Under  the  present  schedule  it  is  possible  to  shape  and  block  these 
hats  abroad  and  bring  them  into  the  United  States  at  the  same  rate 
as  if  the  shaping  and  blocking  had  not  added  to  the  value  of  the  hat, 
because  this  labor  still  leaves  the  hat  "  untrimmed."  Now  these  hats 
can  be  shaped  and  blocked  abroad  from  40  cents  to  80  cents  a  dozen, 
while  the  same  labor  expended  here  to  block  and  shape  these  hats  cost 
from  $2.50  to  $3.50  per  dozen,  the  net  result  being  that  these  hats 
blocked  and  shaped  come  into  the  country  with  the  added  value  of 


^64 12  SCHEDULE  N SUNDRIES. 

blocking  and  shaping  at  the  same  rate  as  the  unblocked  body.  Of 
course  if  the  duty  is  to  remain  at  an  ad  valorem  rate  this  blocking 
and  shaping  adds  value  to  the  hat,  and  the  duty  is  correspondingly 
greater ;  but  if  the  Congress  changes  the  rate  as  desired,  a  new  classifi- 
cation must  be  introduced. 

We  therefore  earnestly  request  you  to  give  our  statement  earnest 
consideration,  call  for  additional  information  if  you  will,  make  inde- 
pendent investigation,  we  hope,  and  revise  the  present  act  to  give  us 
the  protection  we  need. 

We  therefore  ask  that  the  present  act  be  amended  as  follows : 

A.  Braids,  plaits,  laces,  arid  willow  sheets  or  squares  composed  wholly  of 
straw,  chip,  grass,  palm  leaf,  willow,  osier,  or  rattan  suitable  for  making  or 
ornamenting  hats,  bonnets,  or  hoods,  not  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained,  15 
per  cent  ad  valorem;  if  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained,  20  per  cent  ad 
valorem. 

B.  Hats,  bonnets,  and  hoods  composed  of  straw,  chip,  grass,  palm  leaf,  willow, 
osier,   or   rattan,   partly  manufactured   but  not  blocked,   shaped,   pressed,   or 
trimmed,  35  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

C.  Hats,  bonnets,  and  hoods  composed  of  straw,  chip,  grass,  palm  leaf,  willow, 
osier,  or  rattan,  wholly  or  partly  manufactured,  blocked,  shaped,  or  pressed,  but 

•  not  trimmed,  valued  at  not  more  than  $6  per  dozen,  $1  per  dozen ;  valued  at 
more  than  $6  and  not  more  than  $12  per  dozen,  $2  per  dozen;  valued  at  more 
than  $12  and  not  more  than  $24  per  dozen,  $2.50  per  dozen ;  valued  at  more  than 
$24  per  dozen,  $3  per  dozen ;  and  in  addition  thereto  on  all  the  foregoing  35 
per  cent  ad  valorem. 

D.  Hats,   bonnets,   and   hoods  composed  of   straw,   chip,   grass,   palm,   leaf, 
willow,  osier,  or  rattan,  wholly  or  partly  manufactured  and  trimmed,  valued  at 
not  more  than-  $2  per  dozen,  50  cents  per  dozen ;  valued  at  more  than  $2  per 
dozen  and  not  more  than  $4  per  dozen,  $1  per  dozen ;  valued  at  more  than  $4 
per  dozen  and  not  more  than  $7  per  dozen,  $2  per  dozen ;  valued  at  more  than 
?7  per  dozen  and  not  more  than  $12  per  dozen,  $4  per  dozen;  valued  at  more 
than  $12  per  dozen  and  not  more  than  $18  per  dozen,  $6  per  dozen ;  valued  at 
more  than  $18  per  dozen,  $8  per  dozen,  and  in  addition  thereto  on  all  the 
foregoing  35  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Mr.  H.  B.  Vanderhoef  represents  the  following:  Bringham-Hop- 
kins  Company,  Knox  Hat  Manufacturing  Company,  Blum  &  Koch, 
Montague  &  Gillet  Company,  Samuel  Mundheim  Company,  John 
Zimmermann  &  Sons,  Philadelphia  and  China  Trading  Company, 
M.  M.  Booth  &  Co.,  The  Hills  Company,  J.  S.  Plummer  &  Co.,  Oliver 
&  Co.,  Vanderhoef  &  Co.,  M.  S.  Levy  &  Sons,  Townsend-Grace  Com- 
pany, M.  S.  Morj  &  Co.,  Isler  &  Guye,  Dearbergh  Brothers,  W.  J. 
Dixon  &  Co.,  Walser  Manufacturing  Company,  Chas.  Levy  &  Sons, 
and  Geo.  B.  Burnett  &  Sons. 


STATEMENT  OF  0.  H.  WASHBTJRN,  OF  12  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK 
CITY,  N.  Y.,  RELATIVE  TO  STRAW  BRAIDS. 

SATURDAY,  November  28,  1908. 

Mr.  WASHBURN.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  committee, 
five  minutes  will  do;  and  I  want  to  direct  your  attention  to  the 
straw-braid  paragraph,  409,  about  which  there  has  already  been  a 
little  discussion  to-day.  I  wish  to  call  attention,  not  so  much  to  the 
rate  of  duty  which  that  paragraph  provides,  as  to  the  phraseology. 
The  part  of  which  I  complain  is  this : 

Braids,  plaits,  laces,  and  willow  sheets  or  squares,  composed  wholly  of  straw, 
•chip,  grass,  palm  leaf,  willow,'  osier,  or  rattan,  suitable  for  making  or  orna- 
menting hats,  bonnets,  or  hoods,  not  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained,  fifteen 
per  centum  ad  valorem. 


STRAW   BRAIDS O.   H.   WASHBURN.  6413 

As  you  are  aware,  the  act  of  1897  provided  for  the  first  time  for  a 
rate  of  duty  upon  straw  braids.  Prior  to  that  they  were  on  the  free 
list.  The  act  of  1897  for  the  first  time  inserted  the  word  "  wholly." 
That  paragraph  has  been  construed  by  the  courts,  by  the  circuit 
court  of  appeals  at  New  York;  and  as  a  result  of  the  construction 
which  that  court  has  placed  upon  that  paragraph,  straw  braids  which 
are  sewn  or  woven  with  cotton  thread  (the  cotton  thread  being  used 
only  as  a  binding  material  to  hold  the  strands  of  straw  together) 
have  been  held  not  to  be  braids  of  straw,  although  they  are  braids  of 
straw  just  as  much  as  this  coat  that  I  wear  is  a  woolen  coat,  although 
it  is  lined  with  other  material  and  has  buttons  of  other  material. 
They  have,  therefore,  been  classified  as  "  manufactures  of  straw," 
paying  exactly  twice  as  much  duty  as  it  was  the  intent  of  Congress  it 
should  pay,  to  wit,  15  per  cent  ad  valorem ;  and  that  is  the  rate  pro- 
vided in  paragraph  409.  They  pay  30  per  cent  under  paragraph  449. 

What  we  ask  of  this  committee  is  this — that  the  word  wholly  " 
be  stricken  out,  so  that  braids  of  this  character,  samples  of  which  I 
pass  up,  the  chief  value  of  which  is  straw,  may  be  classified  under  the 
straw-braid  paragraph,  where  they  really  properly  belong. 

That  is  my  first  point. 

Secondly,  the  next  clause  of  the  paragraph  provides: 

If  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained,  twenty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

That  means  "  bleached  or  dyed  in  the  piece,"  because,  as  was 
pointed  out  this  afternoon,  there  are  no  straw  braids  made  in  this 
country.  It  is  quite  immaterial  to  my  clients  whether  that  rate  of 
duty  is  retained  or  not.  They  do  not  care  anything  about  that,  be- 
cause, as  a  matter  of  fact,  these  straw-braid  dealers  have  their  own 
bleacheries  and  their  own  dyeing  plants.  They  do  that  work  them- 
selves as  their  orders  require.  But  that  rate  of  duty  catches  a  certain 
class  of  variegated  braids,  such  as  the  sample  I  hand  up  to  you,  some 
of  the  individual  strands  of  which  are  dyed,  other  individual  strands 
being  unbleached.  The  result  is  that  they  are  classified  as  bleached, 
dyed,  colored,  or  stained,  at  20  per  cent  ad  valorem,  although  this 
paragraph  was  inserted  to  protect  certain  dyeing  plants  in  this  coun- 
try which  buy  these  goods  in  the  piece. 

Therefore,  what  I  want  to  suggest  (and  I  will  file  a  brief  in  ample 
time :  I  am  asking  in  the  meantime  only  for  this,  and  I  think  I  have 
made  the  point  clear)  is  this: 

First,  paragraph  409 :  "  Braids,  plaits,  laces,  and  willow  sheets  or 
squares,  composed  of  straw"  (striking  out  the  word  "wholly"), 
"  chip,  grass,  palm-leaf,  willow,  osier,  or  rattan,  suitable  for  making 
or  ornamenting  hats,  bonnets,  or  hoods,  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valo- 
rem." 

That  is  practically  no  change  from  the  present  act,  because  it  sim- 
ply strikes  out  the  word  "  wholly." 

If  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained  in  the  piece,  twenty  per  centum  ad 
valorem. 

I  will  amplify  that  point  in  the  brief  which  I  am  to  file. 


6414  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

BKIEF  SUBMITTED  BY  0.  H.  WASHBURN,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  RELA- 
TIVE TO  CLASSIFICATION  OF  STRAW  BRAIDS. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  28, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  respectfully  invite  attention  to  paragraph  409  of 
the  present  act,  which  now  restricts  the  hat  braids,  plaits,  and  laces 
therein  mentioned  to  such  as  are  "  composed  wholly  "  of  straw,  chip, 
grass,  palm  leaf,  etc.  The  courts  have  felt  obliged  to  construe  this  pro- 
vision strictly,  and  accordingly  various  straw  braids  stitched  or  woven 
together  with  a  cotton  thread,  without  which  they  could  not  be  held 
together  or  held  to  be  a  merchantable  article,  have  been  excluded 
from  the  provisions  of  this  paragraph  on  the  ground  that  they  are 
not  composed  wholly  of  straw.  This  ruling  (Schmitz  v.  United 
States,  146  Fed.  Rep.,  p.  127)  has  affected  unfavorably  the  importa- 
tion of  certain  varieties  of  foreign  hat  braids  which  are  of  peculiar 
design  and  are  not  produced  in  this  country.  The  cotton  thread 
which  is  used  as  binding  material  is  necessary  to  keep  the  straws 
together,  as  otherwise  they  would  fall  asunder,  and  is  the  most  inex- 
pensive binding  material  that  can  be  employed.  Its  cost  is  insignifi- 
cant. It  does  not  seem  to  us  that  it  is  the  intent  of  Congress  to  re- 
quire importers  of  braids  of  this  character  to  pay  a  duty  of  30  per 
cent  ad  valorem,  as  they  are  required  to  do  at  present  under  para- 
graph 449  (which  is  just  double  the  duty  provided  for  in  paragraph 
409)  upon  straw  braids — merely  because  the  straw  braids  that  they 
import  are  stitched  or  woven  with  cotton  thread.  Because  of  this 
situation  importers  of  braids  of  this  character  have  been  obliged  to 
cease  almost  entirely  importing  straw  braids  stitched  with  cotton 
thread,  and  to  import  instead  straw  braids  stitched  with  one  of  the 
vegetable  fibrous  materials  mentioned  in  the  paragraph  in  order  to 
compete  with  other  straw  and  chip  hat  braids  which  pay  only  a  15 
per  cent  duty. 

Your  honorable  committee  is  no  doubt  aware  that  paragraph  518 
of  the  McKinley  Act  of  1890  provided  for  the  free  entry  of  the 
braids,  plaits,  etc.,  composed  of  straw,  chip,  grass,  and  the  like,  suit- 
able for  making  or  ornamenting  hats.  The  same  liberal  provision 
was  preserved  in  paragraph  417  of  the  act  of  1894.  Indeed,  goods 
of  this  character  were  made  dutiable  for  the  first  time  under  the 
present  act.  At  the  same  time,  the  words  "  composed  wholly  "  were 
inserted,  which  have  had  an  effect  not  intended,  as  we  believe,  by  the 
framers  of  the  act.  We  do  not  desire  to  be  understood  as  asking 
for  the  restoration  of  straw  hat  braids  to  the  free  list,  though  such 
a  step  is  much  to  be  desired,  and  would  not  conflict  with  any  domes- 
tic industry,  but  we  do  urge  upon  this  honorable  committee  that  the 
language  of  the  first  clause  of  paragraph  409  be  amended  so  as  to 
conform  more  exactly  to  that  found  in  paragraph  518  of  the  McKin- 
ley Act  of  1890,  by  striking  out  the  word  "  wholly."  We  would 
suggest  the  reenactment  in  the  new  tariff  of  paragraph  518,  which 
was  as  follows : 

518.  Braids,  plaits,  laces,  and  similar  manufactures  composed  of  straw,  chip, 
grass,  palm  leaf,  willow,  osier,  or  rattan,  suitable  for  making  or  ornamenting 
bats,  bonnets,  and  hoods — 


STBAW   BRAIDS O.    H.   WASHBUKN.  6415 

not  bleached,  dyed,  etc.  It  will  be  observed  that  while  the  first  clause 
of  paragraph  409  is  restricted  to  such  braids,  plaits,  etc.,  as  are  com- 
posed wholly  of  straw  and  the  like,  the  provision  for  straw  hats, 
bonnets,  and  hoods  contains  no  such  restrictions,  but  provides  for 
hats,  bonnets,  and  hoods  composed  of  straw.  The  result  is  that 
straw  hats  in  chief  value  of  straw,  untrimmed,  are  required  to  pay 
a  duty  of  35  per  cent  ad  valorem,  whereas  some  straw  braids  in  chief 
value  of  straw,  which  are  used  in  making  hats,  are  required  under 
the  present  act  to  pay  a  duty  as  high  as  30  per  cent  ad  valorem, 
although  it  has  been  the  policy  of  former  acts  to  admit  such  braids 
free. 

OLIVER  Co. 

A.  ENGLE. 

JOHN     ZlMMERMANN     Co. 

T.  DERGUN. 

ZlMMERMANN  &  MARX. 

J.  S.  PLUMMER  &  Co. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

NEW  YORK,  November  27, 1908. 
Messrs.  COMSTOCK  &  WASHBURN, 

New  York  City. 

DEAR  SIRS  :  Referring  to  the  conversation  we  had  with  your  repre- 
sentative, we  herewith  take  the  liberty  of  calling  your  attention  to 
a  further  irregularity  in  the  present  tariff  regarding  straw  braids. 
The  same  reads  as  follows : 

Braids,  plaits,  laces,  etc.,  not  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained,  15  per  cent 
ad  valorem ;  if  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained,  20  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

It  is  clear,  and  in  fact  we  know  it  to  be  a  fact,  that  the  5  per  cent 
extra  for  braid  bleached,  dyed,  stained,  etc.,  was  put  in  to  protect 
the  two  dyeing  concerns  which  were  in  existence  at  the  time  the  tariff 
was  made,  and  which  are  practically  consolidated  to-day,  and  do 
almost  all  the  bleaching  and  dyeing  for  some  of  the  trade,  which, 
however,  amounts  only  to  the  five  one-hundredths  part  of  what  is 
imported,  inasmuch  as  all  our  largest  manufacturers  dye  and  bleach 
their  own  goods  and  do  not  need  any  protection.  There  is  actually 
no  dj^ed  braid  imported  a.t  all  and  very  little  bleached  goods,  not 
because  the  5  per  cent  additional  duty  keeps  the  manufacturers  from 
using  foreign  dyed  or  bleached  braid,  but,  as  pointed  out  above, 
because  most  of  them  dye  their  own  braid,  which  they  do  just  as  well 
as  any  foreign  dyer,  and  they  naturally  dye  the  braid  as  they  need 
it,  and  could  never  afford  to  have  braiols  dyed  on  the  other  side  on 
account  of  the  loss  of  time. 

With  the  bleaching  it  is  a  little  bit  different,  inasmuch  as  some 
manufacturers  give  to  a  certain  braid  (called  Tientsin  square  make 
mottled)  the  preference  to  goods  bleached  on  the  other  side  over 
domestic  bleach,  which  former  is  superiof  to  the  latter,  but  here,  too, 
the  bulk  of  the  goods  are  bleached  in  this  country  by  the  manufactur- 
ers' own  bleachers. 

There  is,  consequently,  no  excuse  for  having  the  additional  5  per 
cent  on  imported  bleached  and  dyed  goods,  inasmuch  as  even  when 


6416  SCHEDULE   N SUNDEIES. 

there  was  no  duty  on  straw  braids  no  manufacturer  ever  thought  of 
having  his  goods  bleached  or  dyed  abroad,  as  the  colors  may  change 
almost  every  week  and  he  dyes  and  bleaches  the  goods  as  he  wants 
them,  and  as  he  has  his  own  dyer  in  his  factory  he  will  naturally  get 
whatever  he  requires  within,  twenty- four  hours,  and  exactly  in  the 
shades  he  needs. 

Under  the  present  interpretation  of  the  tariff  we  have  not  only  to 
pay  20  per  cent  on  bleached  and  dyed  goods,  but  also  on  what  we  call 

variegated  "  goods,  which  are  either  made  of  natural  straw  mixed 
with  colored  straw,  or  occasionally  also  of  bleached  straw  mixed  with 
colored  straw,  but  such  effects  can  never  be  produced  by  any  dyer  in 
the  piece.  The  raw  material  has  to  be  dyed  and  then  plaited  with 
natural  or  bleached  straw.  There  is,  consequently,  a  tax  of  5  per  cent 
on  this  braid  which  was  never  intended,  nor  could  it  ever  benefit  any 
dyer  or  bleacher.  We  inclose  a  long  cutting  which  shows  plainly 
enough  that  the  raw  material  for  these  variegated  braids  must  first 
be  dyed,  and  that  such  effects  can  never  be  produced  by  dyers  here, 
and  consequently  do  not  need  any  protection. 
We  remain,  dear  sirs,  yours,  very  truly, 


BRAID    MANUFACTURERS    WISH    AN    INCREASE    OF    DUTY    ON 
ARTICLES  MADE  FROM  STRAW  BRAID. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  December  .7,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  0. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  recommend  the  insertion  of  the  following  new 
paragraph  in  Schedule  N,  sundries: 

Trimmings,  medallions,  ornaments,  or  garnitures  made  of  braids,  or  in  which 
braid  is  the  component  material  of  chief  value,  shall  pay  the  same  rate  of  duty 
as  imposed  in  this  act  on  such  braids,  and,  in  addition  thereto,  a  duty  of 
twenty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  to  your  committee  that  trim- 
mings, medallions,  ornaments,  etc.,  made  from  braid  require  addi- 
tional labor  in  manufacturing  same. 

This  labor  is  mostly  hand  sewing,  and  is  done  at  very  low  prices 
in  the  manufacturing  districts  of  Europe.'  The  cost  of  similar  labor 
in  this  country  is  from  three  to  five  times  as  much  as  in  Europe. 

We  therefore  ask  for  the  very  moderate  protection  of  20  per  cent 
ad  valorem  to  compensate  for  this  difference  in  labor,  so  as  to  enable 
the  American  manufacturer  to  compete. 

Respectfully  submitted  by  the  Braid  Manufacturers'  Association 
of  the  United  States. 

HENRY  W.  SCHLOSS,  President. 


STRAW   BRAIDS ITALIAN   CHAMBER   OF   COMMERCE.          6417 

ITAIIAN  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  ASKS  RE- 
DUCTION  OR,  REMOVAL  OF  STRAW  BRAID  AND  OTHER  DUTIES. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  1, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  O. 

GENTLEMEN:  Under  Schedule  N,  sundries,  of  the  present  tariff 
the  Italian  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  New  York  respectfully  submits 
to  this  honorable  committee  the  following  recommendations  and 
arguments  for  the  reduction  or  removal  of  duties  on  the  articles 
hereunto  specified : 

PARAGRAPH   409 — STRAW   AND   WILLOW  BRAIDS   AND   PLAITS   FOR   MAKING 
OR   ORNAMENTING    HATS    AND   BONNETS. 

The  above  stated  and  kindred  materials  for  the  making  of  straw 
or  willow  and  similar  hats  and  bonnets  are  now  subject  to  a  duty  of 
15  per  cent  ad  valorem  if  not  bleached  or  dyed,  and  of  20  per  cent 
if  bleached  or  dyed.  The  importation  of  such  materials  for  con- 
sumption in  the  United  States  during  the  year  ending  June,  1907, 
amounted  respectively  to  $2,984,566  and  $508,993,  while  their  total 
importations,  irrespective  of  classification  and  quantity  destined  to 
home  consumption,  amounted  in  the  same  year  to  $3,988,033,  of 
which  $674,374  from  Italy,  $1,747,703  from  China,  $636,628  from 
the  United  Kingdom,  $444,320  from  Japan,  and  $146,107  from 
France,  which  are  the  most  important  sources  of  supply  for  this 
material. 

Although  a  manufactured  product,  not  being,  however,  by  itself 
a  finished  product,  it  has  practically  the  character  of  a  raw  material 
necessary  for  the  making  of  straw  hats;  and  as  no  such  material  is, 
to  our  knowledge,  manufactured  in  the  United  States  and  can  not 
be  produced,  owing  to  the  absence  of  certain  factors,  which  is  impos- 
sible to  remedy  with  the  tariff,  and  therefore  no  reason  exists  for  pro- 
tective duties,  the  above-stated  rates  should  be  reduced  and  one  group, 
at  least  of  these  articles,  viz,  that  of  straw  braids  and  plaits,  not 
bleached  or  dyed,  representing  six-sevenths  of  the  total  importation, 
should  be  placed  on  the  free  list,  in  order  that  American  labor  may 
benefit  to  a  greater  extent  from  the  manufacture  in  this  country  of 
the  finished  article. 

PARAGRAPH  409 — STRAW  AND  WILLOW  HATS  AND  BONNETS. 

These  articles  of  wearing  apparel,  which  are  so  essential  to  the 
comfort  of  our  population  during  the  warm  summer  months,  pay  at 
present  at  the  rate  of  35  per  cent  ad  valorem  if  not  trimmed  and  of 
50  per  cent  ad  valorem  if  trimmed.  The  amounts  entered  for  home 
consumption  in  fiscal  year  ending  June,  1907,  were,  respectively,  of 
$2,436,214  and  $148,870,  which  figures  show  that  the  finishing  of  the 
hats,  the  most  profitable  part  of  the  business,  is  done  in  this  country 
to  the  advantage  of  American  labor.  Italy  alone  supplied  in  fiscal 
year  1907,  $870,172  of  straw  hats,  followed  by  South  America,  with 
$684,305 ;  France,  with  $367,261 ;  Mexico,  with  $279,583. 

While  this  chamber  is  not  asking  for  any  reduction  of  duty  on  the 
finished  hats,  it  believes,  however,  that  a  reduction  should  be  made 


6418  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

in  the  rate  of  duty  on  such  lines  as  "  Leghorn  rough "  and  willow 
hats,  representing  a  cheaper  article  than  the  Panamas  and  destined 
to  the  consumption  of  the  masses  of  our  population,  who  feel  most  the 
strain  of  the  increased  cost  of  living. 

PRECIOUS  STONES — CORAL,  AND  MANUFACTURES  OF. 

Coral,  in  its  natural  state,  is  exempt  of  duty,  and  this  chamber 
recommends  it  ^hould  remain  on  the  free  list,  as  there  is  no  coral 
produced  in  the  United  States  and  hardly  any  imported  in  such  con- 
dition. The  following  refers  to  manufactures  of  coral,  viz,  coral 
cut  and  polished,  but  not  set : 

Although  this  article  is  now  improperly  classified  under  paragraph 
115,  Schedule  B,  marble  and  stone,  and  manufactures  of,  of  the 
present  tariff,  subject  to  a  duty  of  50  per  cent  ad  valorem,  we  contend 
it  should  be  classified  as  "precious  stones"  under  paragraph  435, 
subject  to  a  duty  of  10  per  cent  ad  valorem.  To  this  it  can  lay  the 
claim  of  precedent. 

On  no  other  article,  perhaps,  has  the  application  of  duties  under 
the  present  tariff  been  so  erratic  and  changeable  as  on  coral,  accord- 
ing to  the  interpretation  given  to  the  law  by  customs  collectors,  which 
has  been  the  cause  of  great  prejudice  to  coral  interests,  thus  con- 
fronted by  the  abnormal  situation  of  never  knowing  exactly  how  they 
stand  in  such  important  matter  as  duty,  and  also  the  cause  of  conflict 
between  collectors  of  customs  and  the  Board  of  General  Appraisers. 

Upon  the  appeal  of  coral  interests  against  the  classification  of 
manufactures  of  coral  as  manufactures  of  marble  and  stone,  subject 
to  the  50  per  cent  rate  under  paragraph  115,  the  board  rendered  a 
decision  classifying  them  as  "  precious  stones  "  under  paragraph  435, 
and  for  some  time  they  paid  duty  as  such  at  the  rate  of  10  per  cent 
ad  valorem.  For  the  last  six  months,  however,  they  have  by  the 
collector  of  customs  been  put  back  to  paragraph  115  and  duty 
charged  at  the  rate  of  50  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

The  injustice  of  classifying  manufactures  of  coral  as  manufactures 
of  marble  and  stone  merely  for  the  fiscal  purpose  of  charging  a  higher 
duty  is  self-evident,  as  coral  goods  undergo  hardly  any  manufacture, 
save  a  little  cutting  and  polishing,  and  have  essentially  the  character 
of  precious  stones  in  their  use  by  the  people.  They  supply  a  popular 
demand,  generally  among  classes  of  less  affluent  means;  who  can  not 
afford  expensive  stones  and  who  should  not  be  deprived  of  the  pleas- 
ure of  wearing  such  if  they  so  desire.  Although  there  are  some  ex- 
pensive kinds  of  coral,  this  article  may  be  qualified  as  essentially  the 
"  poor  man's  precious  stone,"  and  therefore  should  not  be  charged 
such  exorbitant  duty  as  50  per  cent. 

Not  only  is  no  coral  produced,  but  none  is  cut  or  manufactured  in 
the  United  States.  There  is  therefore  no  need  of  protection.  Never 
was  the  consumption  of  cut  and  polished  coral  so  notable  in  the 
United  States,  nor  the  revenue  from  this  article  so  satisfactory,  as 
when  it  was  admitted  at  the  rate  of  10  per  cent  ad  valorem,  which 
encouraged  consumption.  A  higher  duty,  such  as  the  present  50 
per  cent  rate,  is  simply  prohibitive  and  also  prejudicial  from  a 
revenue  standpoint.  A  10  per  cent  rate  under  paragraph  435,  while 
not  unfair  to  the  coral  interests,  would  encourage  consumption  and 
revenue. 


BTRAW   BRAIDS ITALIAN   CHAMBER   OF   COMMERCE.          6419 

This  chamber  unites  with  the  Jewelers'  Board  of  Trade,  of  Maiden 
lane,  New  York,  in  their  respectful  request  to  this  honorable  com- 
mittee that  coral  manufactures  be  removed  from  paragraph  115  and 
classified  as  "precious  stones"  under  paragraph  435  of  the  present 
tariff,  subject  to  an  ad  valorem  rate  of  10  per  cent. 

HIDES  OF  CATTLE. 

They  come  under  paragraph  437  of  the  present  tariff,  subject  to  a 
duty  of  15  per  cent  ad  valorem.  Why  such  duty  was  imposed  in 
1897  on  cattle  hides,  after  having  been  free  of  duty  for  twenty-five 
years  previously,  is  still  unexplained,  and  this  radical  departure  in 
revenue  legislation,  from  which  not  the  slightest  benefit  has  derived 
to  the  farmers,  who,  like  all  consumers  of  leather,  have  instead  suf- 
fered from  it  by  reason  of  the  increased  price  of  shoes  and  other 
leather  goods,  stands  for  early  repeal. 

The  imposition  of  this  duty  has  not  advantaged  revenue  to  any 
great  extent,  the  Government  deriving  little  over  $2,000,000  from  it, 
while,  with  a  domestic  hide  supply  too  small  for  and  about  one-third 
less  than  the  requirements  of  the  domestic  consumption  of  leather 
and  which,  unlike  manufactured  products,  can  not  be  increased  at 
will,  hides  being  as  a  by-product  dependent  upon  the  number  of  cat- 
tle slaughtered,  it  places  limitations  on  the  opportunities  of  the  great 
tanning  and  leather  industries  of  this  country,  which  a  wise  economic 
policy  should  maintain  instead,  as  wide  as  possible,  in  the  interest 
of  American  labor,  which  would  find  increased  employment  by  the 
unshackled  development  of  such  industries.  This  benefit  now  goes 
to  the  manufacturing  countries  of  Europe,  which,  by  admitting  hides 
free  of  duty,  are  thus  enabled  to  convert  the  surplus  hides  of  other 
countries  into  articles  for  the  export  trade  of  the  world  and  in  com- 
petition with  similar  American  goods. 

The  decreased  exports  of  sole  leather  from  the  United  States,  from 
45£  million  pounds  in  fiscal  year  1895  to  3H  million  in  fiscal  year 
1908,  of  which  the  duty  on  hides  has  been  the  cause;  the  absence  of 
any  benefit  accruing  to  the  farmers  from  such  duty  (cattle  prices 
being  regulated  by  the  demand  for  beef  for  food  and  the  higher  or 
lower  rates  paid  for  hides  haying  no  relation  to  the  prices  paid  for 
cattle  on  the  hoof,  hides  having  often  been  dearer  when  prices  for 
cattle  are  cheapest),  with  the  positive  injury  of  the  greater  cost 
for  shoe  and  harness  leather,  of  which  farmers  are  perhaps  the 
greatest  consumers;  the  impossibility  of  rendering  the  domestic  sup- 
ply of  hides  adequate  to  the  requirements  of  the  domestic  consump- 
tion and  exportation  of  leather,  cattle  being  raised  for  beef  and  not 
for  the  hide,  which  is  a  by-product  and  not  a  factor  of  the  price  paid 
for  cattle  on  the  hoof;  the  injury  derived  from  the  duty  on  hides 
to  other  lines  of  industry  by  reason  of  the  increased  cost  of  belting; 
the  artificial  increase  of  value  from  5  cents  in  1896  to  G  cents  in 
1907  per  pound  on  the  hides  to  the  sole  benefit  of  a  few  packers 
tending  to  monopolize  the  supply;  the  necessity  for  protection  to 
American  labor  by  promoting  such  great  interests  as  represented 
by  the  tanning  and  leather  industries,  with  an  annual  output  of 
goods  worth  about  $700,000,000,  an  invested  capital  of  about  $400.- 
000,000,  and  annual  wages  paid  to  the  amount  of  over  $100,000,000, 
an  industry  which  finds  such  favorable  conditions  in  this  country 


6420  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

not  only  by  reason  of  the  great  number  of  cattle  produced,  but  also 
by  the  abundant  supply  of  material  of  the  best  kind,  such  as  fur- 
nished by  the  great  oak,  hemlock,  and  chestnut  forests  of  the  United 
States,  for  the  tanning  of  leather;  these  are  only  some  of  the  many 
arguments  that  could  be  stated  in  support  of  the  repeal  of  the  duly 
on  hides,  and  the  restoration  on  the  free  list  of  this  raw  material, 
so  vital  to  the  leather-trade  expansion  of  the  United  States. 

GLOVES  OF  KID  OR  OTHER  LEATHER. 

The  present  duties  on  this  article,  ranging  from  $1.75  to  $6.15  for 
ladies'  gloves  and  from  $3  to  $5.80  for  men's  gloves,  are  excessive,  rep- 
resenting an  increase  on  the- original  cost  from  about  21  to  over  81 
per  cent,  but  objection  is  made  to  the  present  rates  especially  because 
they  are  not  proportionate  to  the  value  of  the  article.  For  instance, 
ladies'  unlined  gloves  not  over  14  inches  in  length,  costing  $5.05  per 
dozen  pairs,  pay  a  duty  of  $2.50  per  dozen — that  is,  at  the  rate  of 
49.48  per  cent — while  a  much  more  expensive  glove,  over  14  and  not 
over  17  inches  in  length,  lined,  costing  $15.08  per  dozen  pairs,  pays  a 
duty  of  $4.75  per  dozen,  or  at  the  rate  of  30.78  per  cent.  It  would  be 
reasonable  that  a  glove  more  expensive  than  another  should  pay  pro- 
portionately higher  duty,  but  this  principle  is  not  adhered  to  in  the 
duties  on  this  article,  and  cheaper  grades  of  gloves  pay  a  much  higher 
ad  valorem  rate  than  more  expensive  grades,  which  is  unjust. 

Gloves  are  not  a  luxury,  but  a  necessary  article  of  wearing  apparel, 
and  should  not  be  taxed  such  high  rates.  It  appears,  moreover,  to  this 
chamber  that  a  better  distribution  and  systematizing  of  the  burden  of 
duty  on  this  article,  so  as  to  make  the  rates  more  equitable  and  pro- 
portionate to  the  value  represented  by  the  goods,  is  recommendable, 
both  in  the  interest  of  consumers  and  revenue. 

WORKS  OF  ART. 

A  feature  of  the  present  tariff  that  calls  loudly  for  repeal  is  para- 
graph 454,  imposing  a  duty  of  20  per  cent  ad  valorem  on  works  of 
art,  which  has  been  reduced  to  15  per  cent  in  the  case  of  works  of  art 
from  countries  having  entered  into  reciprocity  treaties  with  the 
United  States  (France,  Germany,  Italy,  Spain,  Switzerland,  and 
Cuba). 

Works  of  art  exert  a  great  educational  influence  on  the  people,  and 
in  a  country  like  this,  which,  through  its  admirable  educational 
system  and  institutions,  can  point  with  justifiable  pride  to  the  high 
standard  attained  in  this  essential  element  of  national  life  and 
progress,  it  seems  an  irony  to  maintain  a  duty  on  such  an  important 
educational  factor  as  works  of  art. 

As  the  national  resources  of  this  country  have  been  developed  and 
the  affluence  of  its  people  increased,  the  necessity  of  cultivating  to  a 
more  adequate  extent  the  artistic  sentiment,  of  encouraging  and  de- 
veloping the  study  of  the  fine  arts  and  the  application  of  arts  to  man- 
ufactures and  practical  life,  is  being  more  and  more  recognized. 

Why  should  not  Americans  attain  as  high  a  proficiency  in  art  as 
they  have  already  achieved  in  other  lines  of  endeavor?  To  promote 
this  end,  however,  opportunities  for  study  and  cultivation  of  art  must 
be  brought  nearer  to  the  people  and  made  accessible  not  only  to  the 
wealthy,  but  to  all  classes  of  our  population,  and  this  can  only  be  stim- 


STRAW  AND   CHIP  BRAIDS.  6421 

ulated  through  a  liberal  policy  in  opening,  instead  of  shutting,  as  we 
do  at  present,  our  doors  to  artistic  productions  from  all  other 
countries. 

In  all  the  most  advanced  countries  of  the  civilized  world  works  of 
art  are  admitted  free  of  duty,  and  this  country  should  not  take  an 
anoma^us  stand  by  maintaining  a  duty  which  serves  but  little  pur- 
pose even  from  the  standpoint  of  revenue,  the  Government  deriving 
yearly  but  $774,409  from  it. 

The  discrimination  in  favor  of  the  production  of  American  artists 
residing  temporarily  abroad,  which  is  admitted  free  of  duty,  when 
the  universal  purport  of  art  is  considered,  does  not  invalidate  the 
plea  of  this  chamber  for  the  restoration  of  works  of  art  to  the  free 
list. 

At  all  events  this  chamber  wishes  to  recomend  an  amendment  to 
paragraph  454,  viz,  the  suppression  of  that  part  running  as  fol- 
lows :  "  But  the  term  '  statuary,'  as  used  in  this  act,  shall  be  under- 
stood to  include  only  such  statuary  as  is  cut,  carved,  or  otherwise 
wrought  by  hand  from  a  solid  block  or  mass  of  marble,  stone,  or 
alabaster,  or  from  metal,  and  as  is  the  professional  production  of  a 
statuary  or  sculptor  only." 

According  to  the  present  construction  of  the  foregoing  by  the 
collector  of  customs,  a  cast-bronze  statue  is  not  considered  a  work 
of  art,  but  a  manufacture  of  metal  dutiable  at  the  rate  of  45  per 
cent  ad  valorem  under  paragraph  193.  This  is  unjust,  and  the  cast- 
bronze  statue  (casting  being  the  necessary  process  of  production), 
provided  it  is  the  professional  production  of  a  statuary  or  sculptor 
only,  should  be  dutiable  as  a  work  of  art. 

In  case  works  of  art  are  not  placed  on  the  free  list,  this  chamber 
desires  to  submit  further  recommendations,  viz : 

(a)  That  no  duty  should  be  charged  on  breakages,  which  are 
anything  but  rare,  and  which  practically  destroy  the  value  of  the 
work. 

(•&)  That  the  market  value  of  a  work  of  art  on  which  duty  is  as- 
sessed should  be  the  price  actually  paid  to  seller  at  its  place  of 
origin,  and  not  the  value  placed  on  such  work  by  dealers  on  such 
markets  as  Rome,  Florence,  Venice,  Paris,  and  London,  which  in- 
cludes often  heavy  charges  for  freight,  storage,  and  middleman's 
profit. 

Respectfully  submitted  for  the  Italian  Chamber  of  Commerce,  in 
New  York. 

E.  MARIANI,  Vice-President. 

G.  R.  SCHROEDER,  Secretary. 


THE  R.  H.  COMEY  COMPANY,  CAMDEN,  N.  J.,  FILES  SUPPLEMENTAL 
BRIEF  RELATIVE  TO  STRAW  AND  CHIP  BRAIDS. 

CAMDEN,  N.  J.,  December  3,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

HONORABLE  SIR:  Supplementing  our  memorial  submitted  a  few 
days  ago,  we  can  not  impress  too  strongly  upon  you  the  fact  that  the 


6422  SCHEDULE  N SUNDRIES. 

threatened  Japanese  and  Chinese  competition,  of  which  we  spoke 
in  our  first  memorial,  is  not  fancied  or  imaginary,  but  entirely  real. 

We  have  had  repeated  letters  from  Japanese  students  in  this 
country  requesting  permission  to  go  through  our  factories,  which, 
of  course,  we  have  been  compelled  to  refuse. 

We  have  also  had  a  visit  from  the  president  of  the  Japanese  Man- 
ufacturers' Association,  who  was  accompanied  by  four  young  Jap- 
anese, who  also  wanted  to  go  through  our  plant. 

The  Japanese  have  already  sent  over  braids  dyed  black,  and  there 
is  no  doubt  but  what  they  are  working  with  a  view  of  taking  up  the 
proposition  of  dyeing  and  bleaching  these  braids  before  exportin-g 
them  to  America. 

The  present  tariff  duty,  which  protects  us  to  the  extent  of  only  5 
per  cent  ad  valorem  against  European  competition,  is  entirely  inad- 
equate, and  if  we  are  compelled  to  face  Japanese  competition  there 
is  no  question  but  that  our  business  will  be  ruined. 

We  assume  that  the  dyeing  and  bleaching  of  straw  and  chip  braids, 
based  upon  the  number  employed  in  our  factories,  gives  employment 
to  at  least  2,000  people  in  our  country.  This  means  bread  and  butter 
for  probably  8,000  more. 

The  English  take  advantage  of  their  low  labor  cost  by  producing 
results  in  white  and  colors  superior  to  anything  we  can  produce  for 
the  same  money  here. 

The  Italians,  while  their  results  generally  are  not  as  good  as  ours, 
are  able  to  pay  the  extra  duty  and  export  dyed  and  bleached  braids 
to  this  country  at  prices  considerably  below  ours. 

The  fact  that  $509,000  of  dyed  and  bleached  goods  came  in  from 
Europe  last  season,  out  of  a  total  of  about  $1,800,000,  or  approxi- 
mately one-third,  we  think  is  sufficient  to  show  that  this  European 
competition  is  injurious  to  our  business  to  an  alarming  degree,  aside 
from  threatened  Japanese  competition,  and  we  hope  you  will  give  us 
the  protection  asked  for  in  our  petition  first  submitted. 

As  far  as  the  ultimate  cost  of  the  goods  to  the  actual  consumer 

foes,  we  would  state  that  the  dyeing  and  bleaching  cost  per  dozen 
ats  will  not  average  50  cents  per  dozen.  You  will  readily  see  that 
a  small  additional  duty  on  the  dyeing  or  bleaching  cost  can  not  possi- 
bly affect  the  price  to  the  consumer  of  men's  hats,  which  are  retailed 
at  anywhere  from  $1  to  $5  each.  Nor  can  it  affect  the  price  of  ladies' 
hats  to  the  consumer,  as  they  are  retailed  at  any  price  from  $1  up 
to  $10  for  average  quality,  and  the  prices  depend  entirely  on  fashion 
or  style. 

The  increased  duty  we  have  asked  for  can  not  possibly  work  any 
hardship  upon  anyone,  and  will  certainly  result  in  giving  employ- 
ment to  a  considerable  amount  of  American  labor,  and  at  the  same 
time  actually  result  in  increased  revenue  to  the  Government  on  ac- 
count of  the  additional  dyes  and  chemicals  dyers  and  bleachers  could 
consume,  which  dyes  and  chemicals  are  mostly  imported  and  are 
taxed  higher  in  proportion  than  the  dyed  and  bleached  straws  are. 

Naturally  the  few  importers  of  straw  and  chip  braids  will  be  op- 
posed to  any  advance  in  duty  on  dyed  and  bleached  straw  braid,  as 
it  will,  to  a  certain  extent,  affect  their  profits;  but,  as  we  understand 
it,  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  is  considering  the  average  Ameri- 
can's pocketbook,  rather  than  a  few  importers,  and  we  trust  that 


STRAW   BRAIDS  AND   HATS.  6423 

you  will  agree  with  our  view  of  the  matter  and  grant  our  request  to 
increase  the  duty  on  dyed  and  bleached  straw  and  chip  braids  from 
20  per  cent  to  30  per  cent  ad  valorem. 
Yours,  truly, 

E.  H.  COMET  COMPANY, 
L.  A.  GOODWIN,  Secretary. 


SUPPLEMENTAL  STATEMENT  FILED  BY  H.  B.  VANDERHOEF,  NEW 
YORK  CITY,  FOR  MANUFACTURERS  AND  IMPORTERS  OF  STRAW 
BRAIDS  AND  HATS. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  12, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WATS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives: 

GENTLEMEN  :  This  memorial  is  presented  in  behalf  of  the  straw- 
hat  manufacturers  and  importers  of  straw  braids  hereinafter  named, 
and  I  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  statement  of  facts  and  re- 
quests, supplementing  the  statement  heretofore  made  by  me  before 
your  honorable  committee  on  November  28,  1908,  and  the  brief  filed 
by  me  in  conjunction  with  the  said  statement. 

The  statement  heretofore  submitted  was  hastily  prepared,  we 
having  but  a  short  notice  that  an  opportunity  would  be  given  to 
manufacturers  to  appear  before  your  committee,  and  since  that 
appearance  concerted  action  has  been  effected  among  the  manufac- 
turers of  men's  straw  hats,  ladies'  straw  hats,  and  the  importers  of 
straw  braids,  and  the  requests  hereinafter  submitted  represent  the 
desires  of  the  united  trade. 

We  are  concerned  with  paragraph  409,  Schedule  N,  of  the  act  of 
July  24,  1897,  and  we  desire  the  following  specific  changes  in  this 
paragraph.  We  quote  herewith  in  the  left-hand  column  the  first 
portion  of  the  paragraph  as  at  present  enacted,  and  in  the  right-hand 
column  the  proposed  paragraph  as  amended  with  the  amendments 
which  we  desire  in  italics. 

Braids,  plaits,  laces,  and  willow  sheets  Braids,  plaits,  laces,  and  willow  sheets 

or  squares,    composed  wholly  of  straw,  or  squares,    the  chief  component  part  of 

chip,  grass,  palm  leaf,  willow,  osier,  or  which  is  composed  of  straw,  chip,  grass, 

rattan,  suitable  for  making  or  ornamenting  palm  leaf,  willow,  osier,  rattan,  horse  hair, 

hats,   bonnets,   or  hoods,   not   bleached,  cuba  bark,  or  manila  hemp,  suitable  for 

dyed,    colored,    or    stained,    fifteen    per  making  or  ornamenting  hats,  bonnets,  or 

centum  ad  valorem;  if  bleached,  dyed,  hoods,  natural,  bleached,  dyed,  colored, 

colored,  or  stained,  twenty  per  centum  ad  or  stained,  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem, 
valorem. 

In  order  that  the  committee  may  have  a  clear  and  intelligent  con- 
ception of  our  argument  we  have  prepared  a  number  of  exhibits  show- 
ing substantially  all  of  the  various  characters  of  braids  suitable  for 
ornaments  or  making  hats  and  which  we  file  herewith. 

PEOPOSED   AMENDMENT   A. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  first  insertion  in  the  language  of  the 
proposed  amendment  includes  the  words  "the  chief  component  part 
of  which"  and  excludes  the  word  "wholly."  The  purpose  of  this 

75941—11.  I>(i<-.  ir,i»:-! 


6424  SCHEDULE.  N SUNDRIES. 

proposed  amendment  has  already  been  laid  before  you  in  a  statement 
submitted  by  Mr.  O.  H.  Washburn  on  November  28.  "VVe  respect- 
•fully  confirm  all  of  the  statements  made  by  Mr.  Washburn.  This 
amendment  is  aimed  at  a  particular  class  of  straw  braids  known  as 
Ex.  Nos.  15  and  16,  and  if  the  committee  will  only  examine  these 
exhibits  they  will  readily  indicate  that  the  suggestion  we  make  is  one 
supported  by  reason  and  logic.  This  character  of  braid  is  imported 
into  this  country  and  is  made,  substantially,  wholly  out  of  straw,  and 
yet  not  "wholly"  out  of  straw  viewing  it  from  a  legal  interpretation, 
because  the  straw  embroidery  is  sewed  to  the  straw  braid  with 
"cotton."  Now,  this  "cotton"  forms  an  infinitesimal  small  part  of 
the  straw  braid — in  fact,  less  than  one-thousandth  part  of  the  value — 
and  yet  by  reason  of  this  cotton  in  the  braid  it  has  been  classified 
under  "manufactures  of  straw  and  cotton"  and  pays  a  duty  of  30 
per  cent.  The  purpose  of  the  braid,  and  the  only  purpose,  is  to  make 
or  ornament  hats  and  bonnets,  and  it  certainly  should  come  under 
the  same  classification  as  other  straw  braid. 

PROPOSED   AMENDMENT   B. 

We  propose  to  insert  the  words  "horsehair,"  "manila  hemp,"  and 
"cuba  bark"  in  the  general  classification,  these  words  not  existing 
in  the  act  as  at  present  constructed.  "Horsehair"  braids  properly 
belong  in  this  classification  when  the  braids  are  suitable  for  and  are 
to  be  used  for  making  or  ornamenting  hats.  This  class  of  braids  (Ex. 
24  and  25)  is  manufactured  out  of  horsehair  coming  from  Russia  and 
made  into  the  braid  in  Switzerland.  It  is  knotted  into  threads,  put 
on  spools  and  made  into  braids,  cleaned,  bleached,  and  imported  into 
this  country. 

In  a  decision  of  the  United  States  circuit  court  of  appeals,  second 
district,  suit  5029  (Paterson  v.  The  United  States),  decided  Novem- 
ber 16,  1908,  it  was  held  that  horsehair  braids  suitable  for  making  or 
ornamenting  hats  should  be  properly  classified  under  paragraph  409, 
and  we  refer  your  committee  to  this  decision,  and  only  ask  that  you 
place  this  character  of  braids  in  the  same  classification  that  the 
United  States  courts  have  determined  it  properly  belongs. 

PROPOSED   AMENDMENT    0. 

We  have  inserted  the  words  "manila  hemp,"  and  respectfully 
request  this  amendment,  for  the  folio  whig  reason:  There  was  im- 
ported into  this  country  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  Dingley  Act 
considerable  quantities  of  braid,  suitable  for  making  and  ornamenting 
hats,  made  out  of  "manila  hemp,"  and  on  this  "manila  hemp"  braid 
we  are  now  paying  a  duty  of  60  per  cent.  This  hemp  comes  exclu- 
sively from  Manila,  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  should  be  classified, 
the  same  as  ordinary  "straw"  braid  and  "horsehair"  braid.  Every 
single  inch  of  it  is  imported  from  foreign  countries  and  can  not  be 
produced  in  this  country.  Prior  to  the  passage  of  the  Dingley  Act 
these  braids  came  in  under  the  same  classification  as  straw  braids, 
etc.,  but  under  the  construction  of  the  act  of  1897  have  been  classified 
as  "manufactures  of  vegetable  fiber,"  and  we  are  paying  60  per 
cent  duty.  This  is  a  prohibitive  duty  on  this  particular  braid,  and 
as  a  result  thereof  there  has  been  no  appreciable  quantity  imported 
since  1897. 


STRAW   BRAIDS  AND    HATS H.   B.    VANDERHOEF.  6425- 

We  respectfully  submit  that  this  braid  should  be  classified  under 
paragraph  409,  because  its  use,  like  the  other  classifications  in  this 
paragraph,  is  for  the  ornamenting  and  making  of  hats. 

PROPOSED    AMENDMENT   D. 

We  have  further  inserted  the  words  "cuba  bark."  This  proposed 
amendment  covers  a  class  of  braids  made  out  of  the  shavings  from  the 
trunk  of  a  tree  in  connection  with  the  straw,  and  the  braid  is  used 
and  only  suitable  for  making  and  ornamenting  hats,  and  we  therefore- 
respectfully  submit  that  this  particular  braid  properly  belongs  under 
the  classifications  in  paragraph  409.  This  character  of  braid  has  been 
classified  by  the  board  of  appraisers  as  properly  belonging  in  the 
paragraph  409  under  the  similitude  clause,  and  we  wish  to  have  this 
character  of  braid  properly  classified  legislatively  rather  than  by  a 
quasi  judicial  classification. 

In  conjunction  with  all  of  the  foregoing,  it  will  be  observed  that  we 
have  asked  for  these  amendments  in  order  to  right  an  injustice 
accorded  to  all  persons  who  in  any  way  are  affected  by  the  use  of  these 
three  particular  characters  of  braids,  all  of  which  are  used  exclusively 
for  the  making  or  ornamenting  of  hats. 

The  manifest  purpose  of  paragraph  409  was  to  cover  all  character 
of  braids  from  which  straw  hats,  bonnets,  etc.,  were  manufactured 
or  ornamented,  and  it  is  unfair  to  prefer  several  classes  of  braid  over 
other  classes  when  consideration  is  given  to  the  fact  that  all  of  these 
classifications  are  the  exclusive  product  of  foreign  countries,  the  same 
as  straw,  chip,  etc. 

BLEACHED,    DYED,    STAINED,    ETC.,    BRAIDS. 

We  desire  to  go  firmly  on  record  as  being  decidedly  opposed  to  any 
increase  in  the  duty  on  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained  braids,  as 
•contended  for  by  the  firms  of  R.  H.  Comey  &  Co.  and  Parsons  &  Co. 
in  the  memorial  submitted  to  your  committee  on  November  28,  1908., 

These  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  and  stained  braids  now  pay  a  duty  of 
20  per  cent,  or  5  per  cent  additional  more  than  when  they  come  in 
their  natural  state,  and  there  is  no  sound  reason  why  there  should  be 
any  higher  duty  upon  the  braid,  dyed,  or  bleached,  etc.,  than  in  its 
natural  state,  notwithstanding  any  statements  to  the  contrary  before 
your  committee.  We  go  firmly  upon  the  record  as  authoritatively 
stating  that  substantially  all  of  the  bleached,  dyed,  and  stained  braids 
which  are  now  imported  are  of  a  character  which  can  not  be  produced 
in  the  United  States.  Every  opportunity  has  been  given  to  the 
United  States  bleachers  and  dyers  to  produce  this  bleach,  but  they 
can  not  succeed  in  doing  it,  and  the  manufacturers  and  importers  have 
been  obliged  to  import  these  braids  bleached  from  abroad.  Indeed,  if 
it  were  possible  to  obtain  it  in  this  country  it  would  be  decidedly  to 
their  advantage,  as  it  would  involve  less  risk. 

All  of  the  braid  which  comes  into  this  country  in  its  natural  state 
must  first  be  bleached  or  dyed  before  it  can  be  manufactured  into 
a  hat,  and  practically  all  of  this  bleaching  or  dyeing  not  done  by 
the  manufacturers  themselves  is  done  by  the  two  firms  who  ask  for 
the  increase.  These  two  firms  are  actually  one  and  the  same,  and 
these  two  establishments,  or  this  one  combination,  in  turn  controls 
the  entire  bleaching  industry  in  this  country.  They  have  estab- 
lished a  uniform  schedule  of  prices,  which  the  manufacturers  and 


<)426  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

importers  must  pay  because  there  are  no  other  establishments  well 
enough  equipped  to  successfully  do  the  work.  If  it  were  any  pro- 
tection to  these  two  firms  we  should  not  desire  that  this  additional 
£  per  cent  be  removed,  much  less  oppose  an  increase.  The  bleached, 
•colored,  dyed,  and  stained  braids  which  are  imported  are,  com- 
mercially speaking,  raw  material  in  all  respects  similar  to  the  braids 
which  come  into  this  country  in  their  natural  state. 

There  has  been  no  decided  increase  in  the  importations  of  bleached, 
dyed,  etc.,  braids,  as  contended  for  by  the  bleachers,  and  where  there 
has  been  any  increase  in  any  particular  year,  it  has  been  due  solely 
to  the  vagaries  of  style  and  fashion  increasing  the  demand  in  certain 
years  for  dyed  and  stained  braids  of  a  character  which  can  not  be 
successfully  dyed  or  stained  in  tlu's  country.  Indeed,  the  argument 
of  the  bleachers  appears  ridiculous  to  the  minds  of  persons  familiar 
with  the  sensitive  changes  of  fashion,  and  it  would  be  the  height  of 
business  folly  to  import  quantities  of  dyed  braids  and  subject  the 
importer  to  the  risk  of  a  change  in  style  and  fashion  if  the  same 
braids  could  be  dyed  or  stained  in  the  United  States.  Whenever 
there  is  a  possibility  of  obtaining  the  dyed  or  bleached  article  in  this 
country,  the  United  States  bleachers  invariably  get  the  preference, 
even  at  additional  cost. 

We  think  the  best  answer  we  can  give  to  the  argument  of  these  two 
bleaching  establishments  is  that  all  large  manufacturers  of  straw  hats 
bleach  and  dye  practically  all  of  their  own  goods,  and  if  it  were  possible 
to  buy  the  bleached  and  dyed  article  abroad  cheaper  than  having  it 
bleached  and  dyed  in  this  country  these  manufacturers  would  not 
invest  a  large  amount  of  capital  in  these  dyeing  and  bleaching  plants, 
but  would  import  the  bleached  and  dyed  braid  from  abroad,  and  in 
considering  this  argument  it  must  not  be  overlooked  that  the  braid  is 
all  imported.  This  class  of  manufacturers  have  no  interest  in  this 
particular  rate,  but  we  are  answering  the  argument  of  the  bleachers 
solely  in  the  interest  of  those  manufacturers  who  have  no  bleaching 
plants  of  their  own  and  who  do  not  desire  to  be  left  at  the  mercy  of  this 
pleaching  trust,  which  has  exclusive  control  of  this  particular  industry 
in  the  United  States. 

If  this  increased  duty  of  10  per  cent  desired  by  the  bleachers  is 
granted,  the  additional  taxation  must  be  borne  by  the  consumer,  for 
the  same  per  cent  of  profit  will  be  added  to  the  cost  of  the  dyed 
braid  before  the  dyed  braid  reaches  the  consumer  in  the  shape  of  a 
finished  hat. 

Are  all  the  wearers  of  colored  straw  hats  to  be  sacrificed  and  charged 
-an  additional  price  to  benefit  two  bleaching  establishments  who  have 
already  "waxed  fat"  in  an  industry  which  they  practically  monopo- 
lize? 

In  order  that  the  committee  may  have  the  benefit  of  a  comparative 
table,  we  quote  an  example  showing  the  cost  of  foreign  and  domestic 
bleached  "Milans,"  a  character  of  straw  braided  in  Italy. 

100, 000  pieces  natural  Milans  at  raw  price  in  Italy  (36  cents  per  piece) $36, 000 

15  per  cent  duty  on  raw  braid 5,400 

41,400 

Bleaching  cost  of  R.  H.  Comey  &  Co.  aa  per  their  price  list  of  1907-8  (5  cents 
per  piece) 5, 000 

46,400 


STRAW   BRAIDS  AND    HATS H.   B.    VANDERHOEF. 

100,000  pieces  bleached  Milana  at  bleached  price  (41  cents  per  piece — 25  cen- 
times, or  5  cents,  a  piece  more  than  natural) $41, 000 

20  per  cent  duty  on  bleached  goods,  present  tariff 8, 200 

49,200 


100,000  pieces  bleached  Milans  at  bleached  price  (41  cents  per  piece) 41, 000- 

30  per  cent  duty  on  bleached  goods,  new  tariff 12,  300 

53, 300 


Protection  for  dyers  and  bleachers  at  present  tariff 2, 800 

Protection  and  consequent  possibility  of  raising  prices  for  dyers  and  bleachers 
at  new  tariff *.• 6, 900= 

It  will  be  observed  that  under  the  present  duty  there  is  ample  pro- 
tection for  the  domestic  bleacher,  and  if  the  duty  is  raised  to  30  per 
cent  it  will  be  prohibitive  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  Place  our 
table  side  by  side  with  the  bleacher  table  and  make  an  independent 
investigation.  This  bleached  Milan  and  bleached  3-end  chip  con- 
stitute fully  75  per  cent  of  the  entire  importation  of  all  bleached 
braids  into  the  United  States  from  all  countries.  The  bleached 
Milan  is  bleached  in  Italy,  and  the  3-end  chip,  although  of  Italian 
production  (Carpi-Modena),  has  to  be  shipped  to  Luton,  England, 
to  be  bleached,  for  the  very  reason  that  not  even  in  Italy  can  they 
give  the  same  satisfactory  result  as  they  do  in  England;  and  even  if 
the  duties  were  raised  to  30  per  cent  the  manufacturers  would  be 
compelled,  on  account  of  the  superiority  of  the  article,  to  use  imported 
bleach,  and  this  to  the  detriment  of  the  consumer.  The  increased 
taxation  would  affect  the  masses  of  the  people,  as  these  braids  in 
particular  are  used  by  the  masses  throughout  the  country.  No 
bleached  braids  are  imported  from  China  or  Japan,  nor  ever  likely 
to  be. 

HATS  BLOCKED  OR  SHAPED,  BUT  NOT  TRIMMED. 

We  further  beg  leave  to  suggest  that  we  withdraw  the  request 
heretofore  made  that  there  be  an  additional  classification  and  marked 
"Classification  C"  in  our  brief  heretofore  submitted.  We  find  that 
the  character  of  hats  set  forth  in  that  classification  comes  wholly 
from  foreign  countries  and  are  finished  there,  except  the  trimming,, 
and  we  do  not  desire  the  duty  increased. 

TRIMMED   HATS. 

We  further  respectfully  submit  that  in  the  hurried  haste  in  which 
our  former  statement  was  prepared,  we  did  not  convey  to  the  com- 
mittee the  precise  protection  which  we  needed  upon  the  finished  hat 
hi  order  to  equalize  the  difference  between  the  cost  of  production  in 
the  United  States  and  the  cost  of  production  in  Europe.  Our  state- 
ment was  complete  enough  in  indicating  the  difference  in  the  cost  of 
materials  and  the  cost  of  labor,  etc.,  and  we  therefore  will  add  nothing 
further,  except  to  suggest  the  rate  of  duty  which  we  deem  necessary 
to  equalize  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  production  and  place  us  upon 
an  equal  footing  with  the  foreign  manufacturer.  We  can  not  lay  too* 
much  stress  upon  this  finished  product,  and  again  urge  you  to  please 
give  serious  consideration  to  the  facts  we  have  heretofore  stated. 
We  lay  before  you  actual  facts,  not  contemplated  facts  or  speculative 
theories. 


6428  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

We  therefore  ask  the  present  act  be  amended  in  the  following  form, 
in  so  far  as  it  applies  to  pur  industries : 

Braids,  plaits,  laces,  willow  sheets  and  squares,  the  chief  component 
part  of  which  is  composed  of  straw,  chip,  grass,  palm  leaf,  willow 
sheets,  horsehair,  manila  hemp,  cuba  bark,  or  rattan  suitable  for 
making  or  ornamenting  hats,  bonnets,  and  hoods,  natural,  bleached, 
dyed,  colored,  or  stained,  15  per  cent  ad  valorem;  hats,  bonnets,  and 
hoods,  composed  of  straw,  chip,  grass,  palm  leaf,  willow  sheets,  osier, 
or  rattan,  whether  wholly  or  partly  manufactured,  but  not  trimmed, 
35  per  cent  ad  valorem;  if  trimmed  and  valued  at  not  more  than  $1 
per  dozen,  50  cents  per  dozen;  value^  at  more  than  $1  per  dozen  and 
not  more  than  $2  per  dozen,  $1  per  dozen;  valued  at  more  than  $2 
per  dozen  and  not  more  than  $3  per  dozen,  $1.50  per  dozen;  valued 
At  more  than  $3  per  dozen  and  not  more  than  $4  per  dozen,  $2  per 
•dozen;  valued  at  more  than  $4  per  dozen  and  not  more  than  $6  per 
dozen,  S3  per  dozen ;  valued  at  more  than  $6  per  dozen  and  not  more 
than  $8  per  dozen,  $4  per  dozen;  valued  at  more  than  $8  per  dozen 
and  not  more  than  $10  per  dozen,  $5  per  dozen;  valued  at  more  than 
$10  per  dozen  and  not  more  than  $13  per  dozen,  $6  per  dozen;  valued 
at  more  than  $13  per  dozen  and  not  more  than  $15  per  dozen,  $7  per 
dozen;  valued  at  more  than  $15  per  dozen  and  not  more  than  $18 
per  dozen,  $8  per  dozen;  valued  at  more  than  $18  per  dozen  and  not 
more  than  $21  per  dozen,  $9  per  dozen;  valued  at  more  than  $21  per 
dozen,  $10  per  dozen  and  m  addition  thereto  35  per  centum  ad 
valorem. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

H.  B.  VANDERHOEF. 

Representing  the  following:  Brigham,  Hopkins  Company,  M.  S. 
Levy  &  Sons,  Townsend,  Grace  Company,  Montague  &  Gillet  Com- 
pany, Baltimore,  Md.;  Vanderhoef  &  Co.,  New  York  City,  Norwalk, 
Conn.,  Milford,  Conn.,  Wrentham,  Mass.;  Blum  &  Koch,  Samuel 
Mundheim  Company,  William  J.  Dixon  &  Co.,  Charles  Levy's  Sons, 
New  York  City;  George  B.  Burnett  &  Son,  New  York  City,  Amherst, 
Mass.;  Tenney,  Hills  &  Hall,  New  York  City;  Heimann  &  Lichten, 
New  York  City,  Monson,  Mass.;  William  Knowlton  &  Sons,  New 
York  City,  Upton,  Mass. ;  M.  S.  Mork  &  Co.,  New  York  City,  Newark, 
N.  J.;  Searle,  Dailey  &  Co.,  New  York  City,  Medfield,  Mass.;  The 
Knox  Hat  Manufacturing  Company,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.;  The  Hills 
Company,  Amherst,  Mass. ;  R.  S.  Tompkins  Company,  Fishkill,  N.  Y. ; 
William  Carroll  &  Co.,  New  York  City,  Fishkill,  N.  Y.;  Carroll, 
Hixon,  Jones  Company,  Milford,  Mass.;  Westboro  Hat  Company, 
Westboro,  Mass.;  Hart  &  Kirtland,  New  York  City;  Williamson  & 
Sleeper,  New  York  City,  Boston,  Mass.;  M.  M.  Booth  &  Co.,  Peters- 
burg, Va. ;  Slocum  Straw  Works,  National  Straw  Works,  Milwaukee, 
Wis. ;  E.  Eiger  &  Bros.,  Leyser,  Green  Company,  Chicago,  111.;  Max 
Mindheim,  New  York  City;  Hirsh  &  Guinzberg,  Medway,  Mass.; 
Isler  &  Guye,  Dearbergh  Bros.,  C.  Schmitz  &  Co.,  J.  S.  Plummer  &  Co., 
Olivier  &  Co.,  Carlowitz  &  Co.,  John  Zimmermann  Company,  John 
Donat  &  Co.,  New  York  City;  Philadelphia  and  China  Trading  Com- 
pany, New  York  City,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


STRAW  AND    CHIP  BRAIDS.  6429 

AMERICAN  DYERS  AND  BLEACHERS  OF  STRAW  AND  CHIP  BRAIDS 
ASK  FOR  AN  INCREASE  OF  DUTY. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  18,  1908. 
WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

House  of  Representatives. 

GENTLEMEN:  We,  the  undersigned  dyers  and  bleachers  of  Amer- 
ica, desire  to  present  for  your  consideration  our  views  on  the  necessity 
for  a  higher  duty  on  dyed  and  bleached  straw  and  chip  braids  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  hats. 

The  paragraph  to  which  we  would  call  your  attention  is  409,  under 
Schedule  N  of  the  present  law,  which  reads  as  follows: 

409.  Braids,  plaits,  laces,  and  willow  sheets  or  squares,  composed  wholly  of  straw, 
chip,  grass,  palm  leaf,  willow,  osier,  or  rattan,  suitable  for  making  or  ornamenting 
hats,  bonnets,  or  hoods,  not  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained,  fifteen  per  centum 
ad  valorem;  if  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained,  twenty  per  centum  ad  valorem; 
hats,  bonnets,  and  hoods,  composed  of  straw,  chip,  grass,  palm  leaf,  willow,  osier,  or 
rattan,  whether  wholly  or  partly  manufactured,  but  not  trimmed,  thirty-five  per 
centum  ad  valorem;  if  trimmed,  fifty  per  centum  ad  valorem.  But  the  terms  "grass" 
and  "straw"  shall  be  understood  to  mean  these  substances  in  their  natural  form  and 
structure,  and  not  the  separated  fiber  thereof. 

We  ask  that  the  words  "twenty  per  centum"  be  striken  out  and 
" thirty  per  centum"  substituted.  In  other  words,  that  the  duty 
.on  dyed  and  bleached  straw  and  chip  braids  shall  be  increased  from 
20  per  cent  ad  valorem  to  30  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

We  have  no  objection  to  the  duty  of  15  per  cent  ad  valorem  on 
the  natural  braids,  as  we  presume  this  is  levied  for  the  purpose  of 
revenue,  and  we  have  no  interest  in  the  actual  value  of  the  merchan- 
dise we  handle  in  any  event. 

We  claim,  however,  that  there  should  be  a  greater  difference  than 
5  per  cent  additional  on  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained  braids. 

The  custom-house  records  show  that  last  year  $509,000  out  of 
$1,800,000,  or  nearly  one-third  of  the  braids  imported  from  Europe, 
were  either  dyed  or  bleached. 

Any  possible  loss  in  revenue  caused  by  the  additional  duty  asked 
for  would  be  more  than  offset  by  the  increased  duty  on  chemicals  and 
dyestuffs  that  would  be  used  if  we  had  this  work  to  handle  in  this 
country. 

Dyers  in  Italy  are  paid  on  an  average  of  40  to  50  cents  per  day, 
while  our  labor  cost  averages  $2  per  day.  The  chemicals  and  dye- 
stuffs  which  we  use  are  dutiable  at  from  25  to  35  per  cent.  Tnis, 
together  with  the  increased  cost  of  labor  in  this  country,  makes  it 
impossible  for  us  to  compete  with  Europe  when  we  have  a  protection 
of  only  5  per  cent. 

We  ask  for  a  protection  to  the  extent  of  the  difference  in  the  cost 
of  production  at  home  and  abroad. 

All  we  want  is  an  opportunity  to  do  work  on  equal  terms  with 
Europe. 

There  are  30  manufacturers  who  maintain  dyers  and  bleachers  in 
their  own  plants,  and  in  addition  there  are  11  job  dyehouses  and 
bleacheries  in  this  country.  While  some  of  these  manufacturers  desire 
no  distinction  made  between  the  duty  on  dyed  and  raw  straw  braids, 
we  feel  that  our  industry  is  certainly  entitled  to  as  much  protection 
as  dyers  and  bleachers  of  textile  goods. 


6430  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

We  would  call  your  attention  also  to  the  fact  that  the  Japanese  are 
sending  over  braids  composed  partly  of  natural  straw  and  partly  of 
dyed  straw,  woven  together.  These  braids  are  used  in  this  country 
in  the  same  condition  as  that  in  which  they  arrive,  and  are  to  ail 
intents  and  purposes  dyed  braids,  and  should  therefore  come  under 
the  dyed  and  bleached  rate  for  government  revenue  rather  than  for 
protection. 

These  braids  are  sold  here  at  practically  the  same  prices  as  raw 
braids,  thus  showing  that  in  Japan  the  cost  of  dyeing  is  practically 
nothing  as  compared  to  ours. 

We  fear  greatly  that  within  the  next  few  years  the  Japanese  will 
take  up  the  dyeing  and  bleaching  of  braids  and  export  them  here,  hi 
which  case  our  industry  will  be  entirely  ruined. 

The  duty  asked  for,  therefore,  is  not  only  a  protection  against  Euro- 
pean labor  but,  further,  will  act  to  discourage  the  Japanese  and 
Chinese  from  embarking  in  this  industry  to  the  detriment  of  the 
American  labor. 

Hoping  you  will  give  this  petition  your  favorable  consideration  and 
recommend  the  advance  in  duty  as  we  have  requested,  we  remain, 
Very  respectfully, 

Wm.  Randall  &  Sons  (Incorporated),  F.  H.  Randall, 
Secretary,  112  Raymond  street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.; 
Parsons  Dyeing  and  Cleaning  Company,  Nathan  G. 
Parsons,  President,  194  Huntington  street,  Brooklyn,. 
N.  Y. ;  Stock  &  Co.,  8-12  Jones  street,  New  York  City; 
James  J.  McCool,  Mansfield,  Mass.;  Wm.  E.  Murphy, 
Wrentham,Mass.;  E.  A.  Norton,  Bradford, Mass. ;  Em- 
mons  Brothers  Company,  Haverhill,  Mass. ;  Daniel  H. 
Young,  Monson,  Mass.;  J.  S.  Overhiser,  Amherst, 
Mass.;  Lewis-Brown  &  Co.,  252  Moffatt  street,  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y. ;  Young  Brothers,  Foxboro,  Mass. ;  E.  A. 
Young,  Franklin,  Mass.;  Joseph  Norman,  Norman 
Douglass,  Medway,  Mass.;  Thomas  Caton,  Foxboro, 
Mass.;  George  S.  Thompson,  110  Utica  street,  Bos- 
ton, Mass. ;  William  C.  Young,  Westboro,  Mass. 


THE  BRAID  MANUFACTURERS'  ASSOCIATION,  NEW  YORK  CITY, 
SUBMITS  SUPPLEMENTAL  STATEMENT  RELATIVE  TO  STRAW 
BRAIDS  AND  HATS. 

682  BROADWAY, 

New  York  City,  January  27,  1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTL.EMEN  :  We  have  noticed  in  the  print  of  the  "  Tariff  Hear- 
ings," dated  Wednesday,  December  30,  1908,  two  briefs  requesting 
various  amendments  to  paragraph  409. 

The  first  brief  is  from  the  Millinery  Jobbing  Association  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  second  brief  is  from  the  manufacturers  and 
importers  of  straw  braids  and  straw  hats. 


STRAW    BRAIDS    AND    HATS HENRY    W.    SCHLOSS    ET    AL        6431 

In  the  first  of  the  above  briefs  their  second  request  is  to  have 
inserted,  immediately  preceding  paragraph  409,  a  new  paragraph,  to 
read  as  follows: 

Braids,  plaits,  laces,  and  plateaux,  composed  wholly  or  in  chief  value  of  flax, 
cotton,  hemp,  ramie,  or  other  vegetable  fiber  suitable  for  making  or  ornamenting 
hats,  bonnets,  or  hoods,  35  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

We  earnestly  oppose  the  insertion  of  this  paragraph,  as  the  articles 
therein  mentioned  are  manufactured  by  us  in  this  country,  and  are 
provided  for  elsewhere  in  the  existing  tariff  (paragraph  339)  at  a 
duty  of  60  per  cent  ad  valorem,  which,  as  we  have  shown  in  our  other 
briefs,  is  absolutely  essential  to  enable  us  to  compete  with  the  foreign 
manufacturers  of  these  articles.  Even  at  the  existing  duty  of  60  per 
cent  large  quantities  of  these  goods  are  imported,  and  the  millinery 
jobbers,  in  requesting  the  insertion  of  this  paragraph,  seek  indi- 
rectly to  nullify  the  duty  provided  for  these  articles  in  another  part 
of  the  act  and  to  thereby  reduce  the  duty  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
entirely  kill  the  domestic  manufacture  of  this  class  of  braids.  We 
therefore  respectfully  call  this  matter  to  your  attention,  with  the 
earnest  request  that  no  such,  paragraph  shall  be  inserted. 

The  fifth  request  in  their  brief  is  to  amend  paragraph  409  by 
inserting  after  "  wholly  "  the  words  "  or  in  chief  value.'*  The  effect 
of  this  addition  would  be  to  largely  increase  the  class  of  goods  which 
would  come  in  at  the  low  rate  of  15  per  cent  ad  valorem,  bringing  in 
at  that  rate  many  articles  which  now  pay  60  per  cent  ad  valorem  and 
which  are  at  present  manufactured  or  come  in  competition  with 
goods  manufactured  by  domestic  manufacturers. 

We  therefore  request  that  these  words  shall  not  be  added  to  para- 
graph 409. 

In  the  second  of  the  briefs  above  mentioned,  submitted  by  the 
manufacturers  and  importers  of  straw  braids  and  hats,  they  request 
the  striking  out  in  paragraph  409  of  the  following  words,  "  composed 
wholly  of,"  and  inserting  instead  the  words,  "  the  chief  component 
part  of  which  is  composed  of." 

The  result  of  this  change  would  be  that  any  of  the  articles  men- 
tioned of  which  the  principal  component  was  straw,  chip,  etc.  (irre- 
spective of  whether  this  principal  component  constituted  the  chief 
value  or  not)  would  come  in  at  the  low  rate  of  15  per  cent  ad 
valorem.  The  component  of  chief  value  might  be  cotton  or  silk,  ac- 
cording to  which  they  are  assessed  at  present  at  60  per  cent  ad  va- 
lorem. This  change  would  therefore  nullify  other  sections  of  the  act 
covering  these  braids,  etc. 

We  also  ask  that  the  other  words  which  they  wish  inserted  in 
the  paragraph  409,  namely,  "  horsehair,  cuba  bark,  or  manila  hemp," 
be  not  inserted,  as  they  would  result  in  bringing  in  at  the  Jo  w  rate  of 
15  per  cent  ad  valorem  braids  which  come  in  competition  with  those 
now  made  by  the  United  States  manufacturers,  through  making  the 
rate  so  low  that  we  could  not  compete  therewith. 

We  desire,  furthermore,  to  respectfully  call  the  attention  of  the 
committee  to  the  fact  that  at  the  time  of  the  enactment  of  the  present 
tariff  act  most  of  the  braids  covered  by  paragraph  409  were  com- 
paratively plain  in  structure  and  were  principally  made  by  hand. 
Since  that  time: 

First. — Machinery  has  been  invented  for  the  manufacture  of  a 
large  number  of  styles  of  these  braids. 


6432  SCHEDULE  N SUNDRIES. 

Second. — Many  patterns  of  fancy  braids  which  are  used  for  trim- 
ming or  ornamenting  hats  are  imported  at  the  low  rate  provided  in 
this  paragraph. 

On  account  of  the  invention  of  the  machinery  on  which  these  braids 
can  be  manufactured,  many  of  these  patterns  could  now  be  manu- 
factured in  this  country  in  competition  with  the  foreign  braids, 
provided  the  rate  of  duty  was  assessed  at  the  same  rate  as  is  assessed 
on  braids  made  of  other  materials  (60  per  cent  ad  valorem). 

We  submit  these  facts  to  the  attention  of  your  committee  for  such 
action  as  may  seem  desirable  under  the  circumstances. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

BRAID  MANUFACTURERS'  ASSOCIATION, 
Per  HENRY  W.  SCHLOSS, 
A.  S.  WAITZFELDER, 
FRED  WIESBADER, 

Committee. 


SUPPLEMENTAL  STATEMENT  OF  DYERS  AND  BLEACHERS  OF 
STRAW  BRAIDS  IN  REPLY  TO  THE  ASSOCIATION  OF  MANUFAC- 
TURERS AND  IMPORTERS. 

CAMDEN,  N.  J.,  January  28, 1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  O. 

GENTLEMEN:  This  memorial  is  presented  in  behalf  of  the  straw 
braid  dyers  and  bleachers,  who  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following 
statement  of  facts  and  requests,  supplementing  and  substantiating 
the  statements  heretofore  made  before  your  honorable  committee  on 
November  28,  1908,  and  December  17,  1908,  since  the  filing  of  which 
the  Association  of  Manufacturers  and  Importers  of  Straw  Braids 
and  Hats  have  through  their  executive  committee  submitted  supple- 
mentary statements  set  forth  in  the  proceeds  of  Wednesday,  Decem- 
ber 30,  which,  if  not  untrue,  are  at  least  misleading  and  which  we 
desire  to  refute  as  follows: 

They  say: 

"  There  is  no  sound  reason  why  there  should  be  any  higher  duty  on 
the  braid  dyed  or  bleached  than  in  its  natural  state. 

We  beg  to  state : 

There  are  many  reasons  why  we  should  be  protected.  One  sound 
reason  is  because  we  employ  American  labor  and  pay  duty  on  dyes 
and  chemicals,  which  enter  into  the  bleaching  cost  to  the  extent  of 
50  per  cent. 

They  state: 

"  We  go  firmly  on  record  as  authoritatively  stating  that  substan- 
tially all  the  bleached,  dyed,  and  stained  braids,  which  are  now  im- 
ported, are  of  a  character  which  can  not  be  produced  in  the  United 
States." 

In  answer  to  this  we  beg  to  submit : 

As  dyers  of  all  kinds  of  straw  braid,  for  both  ladies'  and  men's 
hats,  jobbers  and  retail  milliners,  that  we  are  better  authority  on  this 
question  than  the  framers  of  the  above  statement,  who  are  not  famil- 
iar with  the  jobbing  and  millinery  side  of  the  business,  which  con- 
sumes the  greater  portion  of  all  imported  dyed  and  bleached  braid , 
and  we  beg  to  state  that  we  have  demonstrated,  and  stand  ready  to 


STEAW    BRAIDS   AND    HATS R.    H.    COMEY    CO.  6433 

prove,  our  ability  to  equal  any  foreign  result,  either  bleached  or 
dyed,  with  the  single  exception  of  white  3-end  chip,  upon  which  we 
obtain  a  result  unexcelled,  except  by  the  art  of  one  man  in  England, 
whose  low  price,  and  our  lack  of  protection,  leaves  no  incentive  for 
American  effort. 

In  order  that  your  committee  may  have  the  benefit  of  a  compara- 
tive table,  we  give  an  example  showing  the  cost  of  foreign  and 
domestic  bleach  on  3-end  chip : 

1,000,000  pieces  natural  3-end  chip,  at  10  cents $100,  000 

15  per  cent  duty  on  natural 15,  000 


115,  000 
To  produce  equal  result,  bleaching  cost  in   United  States,  at  $0.05 

per   piece 50,  000 


165,  000 

1,000,000  pieces  foreign  bleached,  at  12$  cents $125,  000 

20  per  cent  present  duty  .(15  per  cent  on  raw,  5  per  cent  if  bleached)—      25,  000 


150,000 

1,000,000  bleached  in  England,  at  $0.02$  more  than  natural,  $0.12i___  $125,  000 
30  per  cent  duty  asked  for  (15  per  cent  on  raw,  15  per  cent  extra  if 

bleached) 37,500 


162,  500 

They  state: 

"  Practically  all  of  this  bleaching  or  dyeing  not  done  by  the  manu- 
facturers themselves  is  done  by  the  two  firms  who  ask  for  the  in- 
crease." 

In  answer  we  beg  to  refer  you  to  the  brief  submitted  by  the  Ameri- 
can Dyers  and  Bleachers  of  Straw  and  Chip  Braids,  printed  under 
Tariff  Hearings,  Saturday,  December  26,  1908,  the  signatures  to 
which  only  partially  represent  people  engaged  in  this  industry. 

They  state: 

"  These  two  firms  in  turn  control  the  entire  bleaching  industry  in 
this  country." 

We  beg  to  state : 

These  two  firms  are  in  direct  competition  with,  and  obtain  a  large 
share  of  their  work  from,  houses  whose  signatures  appear  on  this 
manufacturers  and  importers'  statement,  21  of  whom  have  their  own 
dyehouses  and  bleacheries,  while  the  balance  (9)  patronize  the  job 
dyers  and  bleachers,  and  the  others  are  importers,  some  of  whom  are 
branches  representing  European  houses. 

There  are  many  job  dyers  and  bleachers  who  compete  strenuously 
for  the  business  in  this  country. 

They  state: 

"  The  bleached,  colored,  dyed,  and  stained  braids  which  are  im- 
ported are,  commercially  speaking,  raw  material  in  all  respects  sim- 
ilar to  the  braids  which  come  into  this  country  in  their  natural 
state." 

We  beg  to  state: 

Dyed  braids  can  no  more  be  considered  as  raw  material  than  dyed 
or  bleached  cotton,  silk  or  wool  are  raw  material  to  textile  manu- 
facturers. 


6434  SCHEDULE  N SUNDBIES. 

They  state: 

"  It  would  be  the  height  of  business  folly  to  import  quantities  of 
dyed  braid  and  subject  the  importer  to  the  risk  of  a  change  in  style 
and  fashion  if  the  same  braids  could  be  dyed  or  stained  in  the  United 
States." 

We  beg  to  state : 

There  is  an  immense  quantity  of  Italian  fancy  patterns  which  can 
be  dyed  just  as  satisfactorily  in  America,  but  they  are  dyed  in  staple 
colors,  at  very  low  prices,  abroad.  These  braids  are  used  principally 
in  ladies'  hand-made  hats,  which  the  signers  of  the  brief  referred  to 
do  not  handle  and  with  which  they  are  not  at  all  familiar. 

They  state: 

"  We  are  answering  the  argument  of  the  bleachers  solely  in  the 
interest  of  those  manufacturers  who  have  no  bleaching  plants  of 
their  own  and  who  do  not  desire  to  be  left  at  the  mercy  of  this  bleach- 
ing trust,  which  has  exclusive  control  of  this  particular  industry  in 
the  United  States." 

We  beg  to  state : 

It  is  plainly  evident  that  their  brief  is  submitted  solely  in  the  inter- 
est of  certain  importers  and  a  few  of  the  larger  manufacturers  who, 
maintaining  their  own  dyeing  plants,  consider  that  job  dyers  are 
responsible  for  the  smaller  manufacturers'  continuance  in  business, 
and  who  otherwise  would  desire  protection  for  the  dyeing  branch  of 
their  own  industry. 

We  can  state  authoritatively  that  not  less  than  nine  out  of  every 
ten  manufacturers  prefer  that  our  industry  should  be  maintained, 
rather  than  that  they  be  left  at  the  mercy  of  foreign  importation  or  be 
obliged  to  maintain  their  own  dye  and  bleach  houses,  which  even  the 
larger  manufacturers  would  not  dp  except  for  convenience,  a  large 
percentage  of  them  being  isolated  in  country  towns. 

Outside  of  our  interest  held  in  Parsons  Brothers  (Incorporated) 
there  is  no  "  understanding  "  whatever  in  the  straw  job  dyeing  and 
bleaching  business  of  this  country.  Competition  is  keen  and  fully 
developed. 

They  state: 

"  The  additional  taxation  must  be  borne  by  the  consumer." 

We  beg  to  state : 

Men's  Milan  hats  retail  from  $3  up. 

Ladies'  Milan  hats  are  much  higher. 

Fifteen  per  cent  duty  on  20  pieces,  which  make  a  dozen  hats,  at  35 
cents  per  piece  equal  $1.08,  or  9  cents  a  hat,  which  is  the  total  pro- 
tection asked  for.  This  would  never  affect  the  retail  price  of  the 
goods. 

They  give  on  page  6626  a  comparative  table  showing  the  cost  of 
foreign  and  domestic  bleached  Milan,  which  does  not  represent  true 
conditions. 

We  beg  to  say  that  the  5  cents  per  piece  mentioned  by  them  as  the 
United  States  bleaching  price  is  for  a  very  ordinary  result,  and  the 
5  cents  does  not  include  a  50  per  cent  additional  cost  in  the  United 
States  for  reeling,  while  bleaching  and  reeling;  are  both  included 
in  the  5  cents  charged  in  Italy.  (See  comparative  table  following.) 

Besides,  this  braid  is  largely  collected  in  Italy  by  bleachers,  and 
unless  our  price  is  considerably  less  than  theirs  Italy  will  continue 
to  hold  this  trade. 


STRAW  BRAIDS  AND    HATS.  6435 

We  beg  to  present  a  comparative  table,  showing  the  cost  of  foreign 
and  domestic  bleached  Milans: 

300,000  pieces  natural  Milan  at  raw  price,  Iraly,  $0.36... $36,000 

15  per  cent  duty  on  raw  braid 5,  400 

41, 400 

Highest  grade  bleaching  cost  to  equal  Italian,  $0.09 9,  000 

Reeling  in  rows,  bleaching  cost  to  equal  Italian,  $0.02$ 2,  500 


52,  900 

100,000  pieces  bleached  at  bleached  price,  Italy,  $0.05 41,000 

100,000  pieces  bleached  and  reeled  in  Italy,  15  per  cent  on  raw,  15  per 

cent  extra  bleached,  equaling  30  per  cent  asked  for 12,  300 


53,300 

Milan  braid  represents  a  class  of  goods  that  pays  the  highest  duty. 
The  importation  of  such  braid  is  insignificant  in  comparison  to  the 
total. 

Cheaper  braids,  used  by  the  ordinary  consumer,  would  pay  an  in- 
significant duty  in  comparison. 

For  instance,  3-end  chip,  which  is  quoted  in  the  brief  to  which  we 
refer,  would,  under  the  increased  duty  asked  for,  cost  only  one  and  a 
fraction  cent  per  piece  more,  meaning  only  an  additional  cost  of  4  to 
5  cents  per  hat. 

They  state: 

"  Two  bleaching  establishments  have  already  '  waxed  fat '  in  an 
industry  which  they  practically  monopolize." 

We  beg  to  state: 

The  second  largest  straw  job  dyeing  and  bleaching  company  in  this 
country,  with  an  investment  in  plant  and  equipment  of  $120,000,  went 
into  bankruptcy  last  year. 

They  are  now  reorganized  and  want  a  chance  to  live  by  getting  a 
greater  volume  of  work. 

They  state: 

"  No  bleached  braids  are  imported  from  China  or  Japan." 

We  beg  to  state : 

Dyed  braids  are  imported  from  Japan,  and  there  is  no  reason  why 
they  should  not  follow  with  bleached  braids  later ;  in  which  event  the 
protection  asked  for  is  inadequate. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

R.  H.  COMET  COMPANY. 


SUPPLEMENTAL  BRIEF  OF  THE  LACE  AND  EMBROIDERY  MANU- 
FACTURERS' ASSOCIATION  RELATIVE  TO  STRAW  BRAIDS. 

31  UNION  SQUARE,  WEST, 

New  York,  January  %9,  19Uy. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  the  print  of  the  "  Tariff  Hearings,"  under  date  of 
Wednesday,  December  30,  1908,  we  notice  a  brief  from  the  Millinery 


6436  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Jobbing  Association  of  the  United  States  in  which  they  request 
the  insertion  of  a  new  paragraph,  to  immediately  precede  paragraph 
No.  409,  said  new  paragraph  to  read  as  follows : 

Braids,  plaits,  laces  and  plateaux,  composed  wholly  or  in  chief  value  of 
flax,  cotton,  hemp,  ramie  or  other  vegetable  fiber,  suitable  for  making  or  orna- 
menting hats,  bonnets,  or  hoods,  thirty-five  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

Our  association  includes  a  large  number  of  manufacturers  of  em- 
broideries, including  laces  and  embroidered  plateaux,  composed 
wholly  or  in  chief  value  of  cotton,  flax,  or  other  vegetable  fiber,  and 
as  many  of  these  goods  are  suitable  for  making  or  ornamenting 
hats,  the  adoption  of  the  above  paragraph  would  enable  the  importa- 
tion of  these  articles  at  the  rate  of  35  per  cent  ad  valorem  instead 
of  at  the  rate  provided  for  them  in  Schedule  J,  paragraph  No.  339 
(which  is  at  present  60  per  cent). 

It  seems  to  us,  in  view  of  this  brief  having  been  submitted  by  an 
association  of  millinery  importers,  who  have  imported  quantities  of 
these  goods  and  are  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  tariff  regarding 
them,  that  their  request  for  the  insertion  of  a  paragraph  which  would 
nullify  the  duty  assessed  upon  these  goods  in  another  portion  of 
this  act,  and  thereby  enable  their  importation  at  a  lower  rate  than 
intended  for  them,  should  lead  your  committee  to  scrupulously 
examine  all  requests  emanating  from  such  a  source. 

In  this  connection  we  also  earnestly  oppose  any  broadening  of 
paragraph  No.  339,  as  requested  by  them,  by  inserting  after  the 
word  "  wholly  "  the  words  or  in  chief  value. 

We  have  always  considered  the  low  .rate  of  15  per  cent  ad  valorem 
specified  for  goods  enumerated  in  paragraph  409  as  dangerous, 
through  affording  a  loophole  for  importing  at  this  rate  goods  which 
were  intended  to  be  assessed  at  a  higher  rate  in  other  parts  of  the  act. 

We  -see  no  reason  why  this  rate  should  not  be  considerably  in- 
creased, as  it  would  thereby  foster  the  manufacture  in  this  country 
of  certain  quantities  of  the  articles  therein  mentioned  and  result  in 
obtaining  considerable  more  revenue  for  the  Government  on  those 
which  would  continue  to  be  imported. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

LACE  AND  EMBROIDERY  MANUFACTURERS' 

ASSOCIATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 
Per  A.  H.  KURSHEEDT,  President. 


THE  R.  H.  COMEY  COMPANY,  CAMDEN,  N.  J.,  SUBMITS  ADDITIONAL 
STATEMENT  IN  ADVOCACY  OF  INCREASED  DUTIES  ON  DYED 
AND  BLEACHED  STRAW  AND  CHIP  BRAID. 

CAMDEN,  N.  J.,  February  13,  1909. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Supplementing  our  memorials  of  November  '28,  1908, 
"  Tariff  Hearings,"  and  December  17,  1908,  and  also  our  memorial 
of  January  28,  1909,  relative  to  a  higher  protective  tariff  on  dyed 
and  bleached  straw  and  chip  braid,  paragraph  409,  Schedule  N,  we 
beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  statement. 


STRAW    BRAIDS BRUSHES    AND    BRISTLES.  6437 

We  inclose  samples  of  Japanese  dyed  Bedford  chip,  which  comes 
in  60-yard  pieces,  and  which  is  now  being  sold  in  the  American 
market.  This  braid  sells  at  22£  cents  per  60-yard  piece  in  the  nat- 
ural, while  the  Japanese  dyed,  as  per  inclosed  sample,  sells  at  25 
cents  per  piece,  or  only  2£  cents  per  piece  additional  over  the  natural. 

We  are  unable  with  American  labor  and  35  per  cent  duty  on  dyes 
and  chemicals  to  do  the  dyeing  on  these  goods  for  less  than  9  cents, 
per  piece,  so  you  will  understand  our  fear  of  Japanese  competition 
and  our  need  of  the  protection  asked  for  on  dyed  and  bleached  braids. 

Please  note  comparative  table  showing  cost  of  this  braid  if  im- 
ported natural  and  dyed  in  United  States  and  also  if  imported 
already  dyed  from  Japan. 

If  imported  natural  and  dyed  in  United  States: 

1,000,000  pieces  natural  Bedford  cord,  at  12  cents $120,  000 

15  per  cent  duty  on  natural 18,  000 


138,000 

To  produce  equal  result,  dyeing  cost  in  United  States  at  9  cents  per 
piece 90,  000 


228,  000 

If  imported  dyed  from  Japan  at  present  duty  of  20  per  cent  on 
dyed: 

1,000,000  pieces  natural,  at  12  cents--!  $14P.  .^.^ 

Cost  of  Japan  dyeing,  at  2*  cents.-/— 

20  per  cent  duty  on  dyed . 29,  000 


174,000 

If  imported  dyed  from  Japan  at  30  per  cent  duty  asked  for  on 
dyed: 

1,000,000  pieces  natural,  at  12  cents— \  $ia    ^ 

Cost  of  Japan  dyeing,  at  2i  cents J— 

SO  per  cent  duty  asked  for  on  dyed 43,500 

188,500 
Kespectfully  submitted. 

R.  H.  COMET  COMPANY, 
R.  H.  COMEY,  President. 


BRUSHES  AND   BRISTLES. 

[Paragraphs  410  and  411.] 

THE  A.  H.  SONN  BRUSH  COMPANY,  OF  TROY,  N.  Y.,  SUGGESTS  NEW 
CLASSIFICATION  FOR  BRUSHES  AND  BRISTLES. 

TROY,  N.  Y.,  November  J&4,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

HONORABLE  SIR  :  We  are  interested  in  Schedule  N,  paragraph  410 
on  brushes,  ^and  411  on  bristles,  and  beg  to  submit  the  following  for 
your  information  and  consideration,  praying  that  the  tariff  may  be 
changed  as  set  forth  herewith : 


6438 


SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 


Paragraph  410  of  old  law  reads  as  follows :  "  Brushes,  brooms,  and 
feather  dusters,  of  all  kinds,  and  hair  pencils  in  quills  or  otherwise, 
forty  per  centum  ad  valorem." 

It  is  our  petition  that  this  paragraph  be  changed  to  read  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Brushes  of  all  kinds,  sixty-five  per  centum  ad  valorem." 

Foreign  brushes  imported  under  paragraph  JflO  on  which  the  duty  is  now  40 

per  cent  ad  valorem. 

July  1,  1897,  to  July  1,  1S98 $745,  267 

July  1,  1S98,  to  July  1,  1S99 800,  624 

July  1,  1899,  to  July  1,  1900 977,487 

July  1,  1900,  to  July  1,  1901 1, 142,  234 

July  1,  1901,  to  July  1,  1902 1,151.016 

July  1,  1902,  to  July  1,  3903 1,245,567 

July  1,  1903,  to  July  1,  1904 1,  372,  227 

July  1,  1904,  to  July  1,  1905 1,  306,  446 

July  1,  1905,  to  July  1,  1906 1,  357, 114 

July  1,  1906,  to  July  1,  1907 1,  586,  556 

July  1,  1907,  to  July  1,  1908 1,  648,  310 

Reason  for  desiring  a  higher  duty  on  foreign  brushes.  In  foreign 
countries  labor  averages  as  follows: 

Males ____per  day__  $0.  50 

Females do .  15 

Children do .  05 

Against  average  wages  we  have  to  pay : 

Males    1 per  day__  $2.  50 

Females ^ do 2.  00 

Boys do 1.  00 

The  larger  percentage  of  labor  is  composed  of  females  and  boys. 
With  the  present  low  tariff  of  40  per  cent  ad  valorem,  we  can  not 
make  brushes  and  put  them  on  the  market  to  compete  with  the  foreign 
products,  as  our  higher  cost  of  labor  and  higher  expenses  make  our 
brushes  cost  more  to  produce. 

Paragraph  411  of  old  law  reads  as  follows :  "  Bristles  sorted, 
bunched  or  prepared,  seven  and  one-half  cents  per  pound." 

It  is  our  petition  that  this  paragraph  411  be  changed  to  read  as 
follows :  "  Bristles  sorted,  bunched  or  prepared,  on  free  list." 

Bristles  of  all  kinds  imported  under  paragraph  $11,  on  which  we  pay  a  specific 
duty  of  7$  cents  per  pound. 


• 

Total. 

Value. 

Chinese 
bristles. 

Value  of 
Chinese 
bristles. 

July  1,  1897,  to  July  1,  1898  
July  1  1898  to  July  1,  1899  

Pounds. 
1,583,887 

I,N:  15.156 

$1,249,119 
1,  458,  252 

Pounds. 
264,  356 
388,932 

8122,244 
170,  333 

July  1  1899  to  July  1  1900                                   

2,  526,  805 

2,  152,  897 

515,368 

232,  377 

July  1  1900  to  July  1,1901  

1,684,575 

1,730,197 

233,210 

126,  840 

July  1,  1901,  to  July  1,  1902  

2,013,109 

2,  047,  331 

389,819 

209,899 

Julvl,  1902,  to  Julv  1,  1903  

3,044,045 

2,654,604 

794,340 

403,  116 

July  1,  1903,  to  Julv  1,  1904  

2,576,616 

2,641,535 

921,269 

474,904 

Julvl  1904  to  July  1,  1905  

2,  461  ,  464 

2,  366,  414 

825,273 

271,  710 

Julv  1,  1905,  to  July  1,  1906  

2.72M,  114 

2,  686,  357 

890,  741 

478,  140 

July  1  1906  to  July  1,  1907  

3,  433,  941 

3,  256,  552 

1,  159,487 

657,651 

Statistics  show  that  July  1,  1896,  to  July  1,  189T,  only  108,335 
pounds  of  Chinese  bristles  were  imported.  Note  the  proportion  of 
Chinese  bristles  in  pounds  to  the  total  number  of  pounds  imported. 


BRUSHES  AND  BRISTLES.  6439 

A  normal  assortment  consists  of  66  cases  of  110  pounds  each,  as 
follows:  Twenty-three  cases  2£  inches,  7  cases  2£  inches,  8  cases  3 
inches,  7  cases  3£  inches,  5  cases  3£  inches,  4  cases  3f  inches,  3  cases 

4  inches,  2  cases  4£  inches,  2  cases  4£  inches,  1  case  4f  inches,  4  cases 

5  to  6  inches. 

There  are  enough  separate  cases  of  2£  inches  imported  to  about 
even  up  the  66-case  assortment,  making  the  startling  total  of  36  per 
cent  of  Chinese  bristles  used  in  the  United  States  of  2^-inch  length. 
The  average  price  of  this  size  in  the  United  States  has  been  approxi- 
mately 27  cents  per  pound.  Deducting  the  duty,  transportation,  and 
insurance  charges,  and  a  reasonable  profit  to  the  bristle  importer,  it 
is  fair  to  assume  that  the  price  in  China  and  Japan  on  2£  inches  has 
averaged  not  over  16  cents  per  pound.  This  specific  duty  now  im- 
posed, 7|  cents  per  pound,  is  equivalent  to  48  per  cent  on  2£  inches, 
the  most  used  size. 

Eeasons :  Bristles  are  not  a  product  of  the  United  States,  and  there- 
fore would  not  affect  a  producer  in  this  country,  but  would  be  a  great 
help  to  the  manufacturers  in  the  United  States,  as  it  would  allow 
them  to  purchase  bristles,  which  is  the  next  largest  expense,  for  a 
lower  price,  and  taken  in  connection  with  an  advance  of  duty  on  for- 
eign brushes,  would  put  them  on  a  more  equal  basis  with  foreign 
manufacturers. 

At  the  present  rate  of  duty  on  brushes  and  duty  on  bristles  the 
manufacturers  in  this  country  can  not  compete  with  the  foreign-made 
goods. 

Trusting  you  will  consider  this  matter  carefully,  and  praying  that 
our  petition  will  be  granted,  we  remain, 
Very  truly,  yours, 

A.  L.  SONN  BRUSH  Co. 


LANSINGBURG,    N.    Y.,    BRUSH    MANUFACTURERS    ASK   AN    IN- 
CREASE OF  DUTY  ON  TOILET  BRUSHES. 

LANSINGBURG,  N.  Y.,  November  #£,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  undersigned  manufacturers  of  hair,  cloth,  hat, 
and  other  toilet  brushes  in  this  great  brush  center  for  these  kinds, 
which  constitute  perhaps  90  per  cent  of  brushes  imported,  though  but 
perhaps  25  per  cent  of  brushes  made  in  this  country,  would  respect- 
fully petition  that  an  adequate  rate  of  duty  be  placed  on  these  and, 
if  necessary,  other  kinds  of  brushes. 

Of  late  years  the  Japanese,  with  their  skilled  but  incredibly  low- 
paid  labor,  have  been  and  are  beginning  to  flood  our  country  with 
hair,  cloth,  tooth,  and  other  toilet  brushes,  and  at  a  price  far  below 
the  mere  cost  of  manufacturing  in  this  country.  To  illustrate,  we 
with  this  mail  you  a  Japanese  nailbrush  marked  "  from  E.  &  C.  Wood 
Co.,  Lansingburg,  Troy,  N.  Y.,"  which  was  sold  by  a  New  York 
importer  to  an  Albany  dealer  for  scant  7  cents  each,  which  no  one  in 
this  country  can  produce  for  12  cents  each,  and  in  this  vast  country 
not  one  now  ventures  to  make  brushes  in  the  costly  manner  this  brush 
is  made. 

755)41— H.  Doc.  J505.  (H>-2— Vol  0 43 


6440  SCHEDULE  N SUNDRIES. 

Not  one  person  in  the  United  States  now  makes  the  ordinary  bone- 
handle  toothbrushes,  though  years  ago  such  were  made  at  this  great 
brush  center  and  elsewhere. 

It  is  true  a  few  peculiar,  patented  toothbrushes  are  made  and  sold 
at  four  times  the  price  of  the  Japanese  article. 

Unless  this  inundation  is  stayed  the  bulk  of  these  kinds  of  brushes 
and  perhaps  some  others  are  to  be  furnished  from  Japan,  which  looms 
up  as  the  destroyer  of  some  of  our  industries.  Apparently  exclusion 
pi  some  of  the  products  of  Mongolian  labor,  as  well  as  such  labor 
itself  as  now,  would  meet  the  emergency. 

More  or  less  industries  rely  on  your  committee  to  devise  adequate 
measures  of  reasonable  protection  against  this  yellow  peril. 

Our  member,  Hon.  W.  H.  Draper,  is  of  course  in  favor  of  all  in- 
terests hereabouts. 

Below  are  rates  that  so  far  as  we  can  learn  are  necessary  to  enable 
any  one  in  this  country  to  compete  with  the  Japanese : 

Hair,  cloth,  hat,  bath,  complexion,  flesh,  nail,  and  bonnet  brushes. 
80  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

E.  &  C.  Wood  Co.,  C.  Wood,  president;  Monarch  Brush 
Co.,  by  M.  M.  Wiener,  vice-president;  O.  D.  Ennin's 
Sons;  Wm.  J.  O.  Beyin  Brush  Co.;  Empire  Brush 
Co.;  The  John  Morrison  Brush  Co.;  Drack  Bros.; 
A.  L.  Sonn  Brush  Co. ;  Greenburg  &  Morse. 


A.  &  E.  BURTON  COMPANY,  OF  BOSTON,  THINK  THERE  IS  NEED  OF 
AN  INCREASE  IN  THE  DUTY  ON  BRUSHES. 

73  AND  75  PEARL  STREET, 

Boston,  November  27,  1908. 
To  Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  As  brush  manufacturers,  we  would  like  to  give  our 
opinion  as  to  the  wants  of  the  trade. 

The  duty  is  now  40  per  cent  ad  valorem,  and  should  be  increased 
to  properly  protect  labor.  In  the  last  ten  years  at  the  present  duty 
of  40  per  cent  the  importations  of  brushes  have  more  than  doubled. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  brushes  made  in  this  country  are  hand 
labor,  and  in  our  factory  45  per  cent  of  the  whole  cost  of  the  brushes 
is  labor,  40  per  cent  bristles,  and  15  per  cent  other  manufactures. 
This  percentage  varies  in  different  factories  according  to  the  goods 
they  make. 

Our  labor  averages  to  earn,  men,  $1.75  per  day;  women,  70  cents 
per  day,  where  the  average  pay  on  these  same  goods  manufactured  in 
Japan  is,  males,  50  cents  per  day ;  females,  15  cents  per  day,  and  chil- 
dren, 5  cents  per  day ;  consequently  a  duty  of  60  per  cent  will  not  any 
more  than  protect  our  labor,  and  we  think  the  duty  should  be  60  per 
cent. 

The  duty  is  now  7|  cents  per  pound.  As  there  are  practically  no 
bristles  raised  in  this  country  at  this  time,  as  hogs  naturally  lose  their 
bristles  when  domesticated,  we  think  all  bristles,  sorted,  bunched,  or 
prepared,  should  come  in  free. 

We  remain,  yours,  respectfully, 

A.  &  E.  BURTOX  Co., 
F.  H.  CARTER,  Treasurer. 


BRUSHES  AND  BRISTLES.  6441 

THE  GRAND  RAPIDS   (MICH.)   BRUSH  COMPANY  WISHES  FREE 
BRISTLES  AND  AN  INCREASE  OF  DUTY  ON  BRUSHES. 

• 

GRAND  RAPIDS.  MICH.,  November  85, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Referring  to  Schedule  N,  paragraphs  410  and  411, 
which  relate  to  the  duty  on  brushes  and  bristles,  we  desire  to  call  the 
attention  of  your  honorable  committee  to  some  facts  and  figures  in 
connection  with  the  manufacturing  of  brushes  in  the  United  States 
and  in  foreign  countries.  In  doing  this  we  are  speaking  from  our 
own  standpoint  as  manufacturers  of  toilet  brushes  and  kindred  lines 
(except  toothbrushes),  but  not  as  manufacturers  of  paint  brushes  or 
artists'  brushes,  which  is  an  entirely  different  line  of  our  industry; 
and  we  hope  to  convince  you  that  the  present  tariff  on  brushes  is  en- 
tirely inadequate,  and  not  high  enough  to  protect  the  interests  of  the 
laboring  classes  employed  in  our  industry  in  the  United  States.  The 
people  employed  in  this  industry  are  or  necessity  possessed  of  more 
than  the  average  intelligence,  because  of  the  care  and  attention  to 
detail  required  in  the  proper  performance  of  their  duties,  therefore 
they  are  entitled  to  a  good  average  wage,  and  we  claim  that  40  per 
cent  ad  valorem  does  not  cover  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  labor 
which  exists  between  this  country  and  the  foreign  countries  who 
manufacture  brushes  and  sell  them  in  the  United  States.  The  follow- 
ing average  wages  paid  in  the  brush  industry  of  the  different  countries 
will  clearly  show  this: 

Per  day. 

United  States $1.55 

England .  90 

France .80 

Germany   (free  labor) .60 

Germany   (prison  labor) .20  to  .30 

Japan .20 

The  United  States  consul  at  Tokyo  states  that  employees  in  Japan 
brush  factories  are  paid  as  follows: 

Per  day. 
Males $0.  50 

Females .  15 

Children .  05 

Average  for  the  working  force  of  a  normal  factory,  20  cents  per 
day.  This  is  on  a  basis  of  two  men,  three  women,  and  three  children. 

By  carefully  figuring  our  costs  we  find  that  in  the  hairbrush  line 
60  per  cent  or  the  total  cost  in  this  country  is  for  labor,  and  taking 
two  concrete  examples  as  follows:  A  hairbrush  which  costs  us,  for 
material,  $0.95,  and  for  labor,  $1.40 ;  total,  $2.35 ;  we  sell  at  $3  per 
dozen.  A  Japanese  manufacturer  makes  this  brush  at  a  cost  of,  for 
material,  $0.85,  for  labor.  $0.25;  total,  $1.10.  In  billing  this  to  New 
York  to  his  agent  he  would  not,  of  course,  be  justified  in  billing  it  at 
cost,  but  by  adding  a  good,  fair  factory  profit  he  can  bill  it  at  $1.35., 
on  which  he  pays  40  per  cent  duty,  or  $0.54;  total,  $1.89;  and  this 
represents  the  cost  of  the  brush  to  the  Japanese  manufacturer's  agent 
in  New  York.  This  example  shows  you  that  it  would  take  76  per. 
cent  on  the  price  at  which  the  Japanese  manufacturer  would  bill  his 
goods  into  New  York  port  to  make  the  cost  to  the  New  York  agent 
equal  ours,  or  $2.35. 


6442  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

A  German  manufacturer  will  make  a  brush  at  a  cost  of,  for  ma- 
terial, $0.85 ;  for  labor,  $0.56 ;  total,  $1.41.  This  he  could  bill  to  his 
New  York  agent  at  $1.70,  and  have  a  profit  of  20  per  -cent  for  his 
factory.  He  pays  40  per  cent  duty  on  $1.70,  or  68  cents.  This  makes 
the  brush  cost  his  New  York  agent  $2.38.  and  this  applies  to  German 
free  labor,  but  the  German  prison  labor  will  figure  just  about  the 
same  as  Japanese  labor. 

Another  example  is  a  hairbrush  which  costs,  for  material,  $4.81; 
for  labor,  $7.09;  total,  $11.90;  and  which  we  sell  at  $16  per  dozen. 
The  Japanese  manufacturer  can  build  it  at  a  cost  of,  for  material, 
$4.81;  for  labor,  $1.19;  total,  $6.  He  invoices  it  to  his  New  York 
agent  at  a  profit  of  33 1  per  cent,  or  $8  per  dozen,  on  which  he  pays 
$3.20  duty,  making  a  cost  to  his  New  York  agent  of  $11.20.  This 
enables  him  to  sell  the  brush  at  $15  per  dozen,  or  $1  under  us,  after 
the  manufacturer  has  already  made  a  profit  of  $2  per  dozen,  or  33£ 
per  cent  at  home. 

In  this  instance  it  would  take  a  duty  of  50  per  cent  on  $8  per  dozen, 
which  we  have  supposed  is  the  price  the  manufacturer  would  bill  the 
goods  into  New  York  at,  to  his  agent,  to  equal  our  cost.  Tn  this  con- 
nection we  might  say  that  there  is  nothing  to  hinder  either  of  these 
parties  from  invoicing  the  goods  to  their  New  York  agents  at  factory 
cost,  in  which  event  it  would  take  even  larger  percentages  than  50  and 
76  to  cover  the  difference  in  these  two  specific  cases. 

If  Japanese  manufacturers  sell  direct  to  the  American  jobber,  they 
could  sell  the  cheaper  brush  at  $2,  and  pay  40  per  cent  duty,  or  80 
cents,  making  rt  cost  the  merchant  $2.80,  as  against  $3,  which  we  must 
get.  In  the  case  of  the  better  brush  he  could  sell  it  direct  to  the  mer- 
chant at  $9  per  dozen,  and  the  merchant  pays  $3.60  duty,  making  it 
cost  him  $12.60  for  the  same  brush  for  which  we  must  charge  him 
$16.  This  example  shows  you  that  this  brush  should  have  been 
assessed  a  duty  of  a  fraction  less  than  78  per  cent,  making  the  cost  to 
the  jobber  in  this  country  equal  to  our  selling  price,  and  that  permits 
the  Japanese  manufacturer  to  make  a  profit  of  50  per  cent  on  his 
cost,  while  we  make  a  profit  of  only  32  per  cent  on  our  cost  with  a 
larger  investment  than  the  Japanese  manufacturer  makes. 

The  same  brush  made  in  France  or  England  and  paying  a  duty  of 
40  per  cent  would  be  very  nearly  on  an  equal  basis  with  United 
States  manufacturers'  prices,  and  if  made  in  Germany  would  require 
about  45  or  50  per  cent  to  equal  our  cost. 

The  two  examples  given  above  have  shown  you  the  relative  differ- 
ence between  the  cost  of  a  fairly  cheap  brush  and  a  good-priced  one 
and  demonstrates  our  proposition. 

In  figuring  the  petter-priced  one  we  have  allowed  the  Japanese 
manufacturer  the  same  amount  for  materials  that  we  figure  for  our- 
selves, which  is  altogether  too  generous,  because  he  has  the  bristles  at 
his  door  without  the  duty,  and  with  very  cheap  labor  for  preparing 
the  same,  so  that  we  have  no  doubt  that  item  could  be  reduced  consid- 
erably if  figured  exactly.  The  following  table  will  show  you  the  im- 
portations of  brushes  from  all  countries  covering  a  period  of  ten  years, 
under  a  duty  of  40  per  cent  ad  valorem : 

July  1,  1897,  to  July  1,  1898-     $745,267 

July  1,  1898,  to  July  1,  1899 890,624 

July  1,  1899,  to  July  1,  1900 977,  487 

July  1.  1900,  to  July  1,  1901 1, 142,  234 

July  1,  1901,  to  July  1,  1902 1,151,016 


BRUSHES  AND   BRISTLES — GRAND  RAPIDS  BRUSH  CO.         6443 

July  1,  1902,  to  July  1,  1903__                                                               $1,  245,  DC- 
July  1,  1903,  to  July  1,  1904 1,  372,  227 

July  1,  1904,  to  July  1,  1905 1,306,466 

July  1,  1905,  to  July  1,  1906 1, 357, 114 

July  1,  1906,  to  July  1,  1907 1,  586,  556 

July  1,  1907,  to  July  1,  1908 1,  648,  310 

We,  ourselves,  nor  any  other  brush  manufacturers  that  we  are 
aware  of.  are  not  asking  for  anything  more  than  to  be  put  on  an  ex- 
actly equal  basis  with  the  manufacturers  of  foreign  brushes  when 
they  sell  their  goods  in  our  own  country.  It  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  the  tendency  in  this  country  is  to  constantly  shorten  the  hours 
of  labor,  and  consequently  increase  the  cost  of  making  goods,  while 
in  the  foreign  countries  the  hours  are  long  and  the  people  are  as 
skilled  as  our  own,  and  the  manufacturers  possessed  of  all  the  latest 
machinery  with  which  to  do  their  work,  and  we  desire  to  call  your 
attention  to  the  fact  that  in  the  year  1890  the  importation  to  this 
country  of  Japanese  brushes  was  about  $1,000,  in  1907  it  amounted  to 
over  $400,000,  the  large  advance  having  been  in  the  last  five  years, 
with  a  tariff  of  40  per  cent,  and  if  these  conditions  continue  it  will 
result  first  of  all  in  the  American  manufacturers  being  forced  to  cut 
wages,  and  finally  it  will  result  in  our  annihilation,  because  when  we 
begin  to  cut  wages  our  employees  will  find  other  industries  that  have 
not  been  so  affected,  and  where  the  wage  scale  can  be  kept  up.  The 
result  will  be  that  we  can  not  get  help  at  prices  that  we  can  afford  to 
pay,  and  we  will  be  practically  out  01  business. 

We  are  not  asking  for  an  unreasonable  advance  in  the  tariff  on 
brushes,  therefore,  when  we  suggest  that  it  ought  to  be  as  high  as  60 
per  cent,  which  you  will  see  is  not  quite  up  to  the  average  of  the  two 
examples  given  above. 

The  foreign  manufacturers  have  no  duty  to  pay  on  bristles  used  in 
the  brushes  they  make,  and  while  this  is  not  a  large  percentage  item 
in  the  case  of  high-priced  bristles,  yet  in  the  cheaper  grades  it  becomes 
a  large  factor,  amounting  to  from  334  to  25  per  cent  on  the  cost  of 
the  bristles  used.  Therefore  you  can  see  that  if  the  bristles  item  in 
a  brush  is  $4  and  the  bristles  are  high  priced,  so  that  the  present 
duty  would  only  mean  about  1  or  2  per  cent,  it  adds  only  from  4  to  8 
cents  a  dozen  to  the  cost  of  our  brush ;  but  in  the  case  of  the  cheaper 
brush,  where  the  bristle  cost  is  70  cents  and  the  duty  at  7£  cents  a 
pound,  or  11  per  cent,  it  makes  a  difference  of  7  cents  per  dozen,  or 
3  per  cent  on  the  total  cost  of  the  brush. 

You  will  please  note  the  following : 

First.  There  are  almost  no  brushes  exported  from  the  United 
States  to  foreign  countries.  We  have  made  several  attempts,  but  are 
not  able  to  compete  with  foreign  manufacturers  on  an  equal  basis. 

Second.  There  exists  no  combination  or  trust  among  or  between  the 
manufacturers  of  brushes  in  the  United  States  for  the  regulation  of 
prices  or  wages. 

Third.  That  the  40  per  cent  duty  on  brushes  is  insufficient  and  does 
not  cover  the  difference  between  the  cost  of  labor  in  foreign  countries 
and  in  the  United  States;  that,  in  our  opinion,  60  per  cent  duty  will 
not  be  too  high  to  actually  cover  this  difference. 

Fourth.  That  not  only  is  the  wage  scale  smaller  in  foreign  coun- 
tries, but  the  working  hours  are  longer  than  in  the  United  States; 
and  in  one  country,  at  least,  no  day  of  rest  is  observed. 


6444  SCHEDULE   N — SUNDRIES. 

Fifth.  That  foreign  goods  are  shipped  largely  into  this  country 
through  an  agent,  thus  making  the  undervaluation  of  goods  easy, 
and  this  agent  oftentimes  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 

Sixth.  That  large  quantities  of  prison  goods  are  made  in  Germany, 
and  it  is  not  possible  to  trace  tihese  goods  when  brought  to  this  mar- 
ket, as  there  is  no  distinctive  mark  on  them. 

Seventh.  Very  strong  combinations  of  brush  makers  exist  in  Ger- 
many, and  in  Japan  the  industry  is  backed  by  the  Government  in 
the  case  of  one  at  least  of  the  large  factories. 

Eighth.  That  all  the  brush  makers  of  the  United  States  contribute 
in  taxes  toward  the  support  of  the  local  government,  and  are  paying 
out  to  their  employees  each  week  large  sums  of  money  in  pay  rolls, 
which  is  kept  in  circulation  through  this  means,  and  have  large  sums 
of  money  invested  in  their  respective  plants. 

We  only  request  that  you  give  the  matter  your  attention,  and  after 
verifying  our  figures,  which  can  be  readily  done,  we  feel  sure  that 
you  will  consider  the  need  of  the  people  who  labor  in  this  business 
and  fix  the  tariff  at  a  point  where  the  present  schedule  of  wages 
can  be  maintained  in  our  United  States  factories,  and  the  foreign 
competition  will  be  on  an  equal  basis  with  us  when  we  go  to  the 
same  men  to  sell  goods.  We  are  perfectly  willing  to  stand  or  fall  on 
the  merits  of  our  business  and  the  skill  of  our  employees. 

The  duty  of  7£  cents  per  pound  on  bristles,  we  believe,  can  be 
largely  reduced,  or  entirely  taken  off,  because  at  the  present  time  the 
production  of  bristles  in  the  United  States  is  very  small,  and  it  is  not 
an  industry  that  will  grow,  but  is  bound  to  become  obsolete,  whether 
protected  or  not,  because  of  the  conditions  that  exist  relative  to  the 
slaughtering  of  hogs  while  they  are  still  young  and  before  any  bris- 
tles have  grown  on  them  to  speak  of. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  there  are  no  good  stiff  bristles  grown  in  this 
country  now,  and  only  a  few  hundred  pounds  in  the  last  year  or  two 
of  medium  stiff  goods.  For  a  year  or  two  past  the  supply  of  soft 
American  bristles  has  been  entirely  insufficient,  and  has  forced  manu- 
facturers to  use  cheap  grades  of  Chinese  bristles  as  a  substitute, 
and  on  these  cheap  grades  of  Chinese  bristles  the  duty  of  7£  cents 
a  pound  amounts  to  as  high  as  33J  per  cent  of  the  cost.  We  see  no 
reason,  therefore,  why  the  duty  on  bristles  should  be  continued. 
Respectfully,  yours, 

GRAND  RAPIDS  BRUSH  Co., 
J.  D.  M.  SHIRTS, 
Vice-President,  Treasurer,  and  Manager. 


THE  JOHN  I.  WHITING-J.  J.  ADAMS  COMPANY,  BRUSH  MANUFAC- 
TURERS, BOSTON,  MASS.,  RECOMMEND  THE  REMOVAL  OF  DUTY 
FROM  BRISTLES. 

SATURDAY,  November  28,  1908. 

Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. : 
We  beg  to  advise  you  that  we  are  manufacturers  of  nearly  all 

kinds  of  brushes,  and  submit  herewith  circulars  showing  particulars 

of  our  general  line. 

Our  cash  capital  invested  in  the  manufacture  of  brushes  is  $1,000,- 

000.    We  employ  between  1,000  and  1,100  persons  in  our  factories 


BRISTLES — JOHN  L.   WHITING- J.   J.   ADAMS  CO.  6445 

making  brushes,  and  have  contracts  with  outside  factories  in  the 
United  States,  making  handles  and  woodwork  for  our  brushes,  which 
employ  200  to  300  additional  persons.  Our  yearly  pay  roll  is  from 
$275,000  to  $350,000  in  our  own  factories.  To  this  we  think  it  is 
proper  to  add  the  labor  of  wood- working  factories  which  make  our 
brush  handles,  making  additional  United  States  labor  cost  of  our 
product  from  $75,000  to  $100,000  on  handles  alone. 

We  also  use  large  quantities  of  brass,  copper,  steel,  tin  plate, 
leather,  tacks,  varnish,  and  incidental  supplies  produced  in  the  United 
States.  No  advances  in  selling  prices  of  brushes  have  ever  taken 
place  in  the  United  States  except  those  forced  by  increased  cost  of 
raw  materials,  and  none  are  likely  to  occur. 

Brush  manufacturers  in  the  United  States  have  been  for  many 
years  subjected  to  severe  competition  by  the  importation  from  Ger- 
many, France,  and  Japan  of  manufactured  brushes,  sold  at  less  prices 
than  can  be  named  on  brushes  manufactured  in  the  United  States  by 
existing  higher-cost  labor.  These  importations  amount  yearly  to 
over  one  and  a  half  million  dollars'  worth  of  brushes  at  importers' 
prices.  If  the  duty  were  50  per  cent  ad  valorem  instead  of  40  per 
cent,  as  at  present,  more  brushes  .would  be  manufactured  in  the 
United  States,  yet  the  increased  duty  would  not  be  prohibitory. 

Manufacturers  of  brushes  in  the  United  States  have  the  factories 
and  work  people  and  the  best  facilities  for  making  brushes  in  the 
world,  but  kinds  in  which  labor  is  the  great  element  of  cost  are  made 
elsewhere,  owing  to  lower  labor  cost  in  countries  of  present  origin 
than  in  this  country.  Given  protection  to  equalize  difference  in 
cost  of  labor,  United  States  brush  manufacturers  will  furnish  em- 
ployment to  great  numbers  of  work  people  on  brushes  in  addition  to 
those  now  employed. 

The  following  statement  of  importations  of  brushes  since  1893 
shows  how  rapidly  foreign  manufacturers  have  increased  their  sales 
of  brushes  in  the  United  States : 

July  1,  1893,  to  July  1,  1S94 $559,  767 

July  1,  1894,  to  July  1,  1895 660,  583 

July  1,  1895,  to  July  1,  1896 753,  928 

July  1,  1896,  to  July  1,  1897 782,  802 

July  1,  1897,  to  July  1,  1898 745,  267 

July  1,  1898,  to  July  1,  1899 890,  624 

July  1,  1899,  to  July  1,  1900_, 977,  487 

July  1,  1900,  to  July  1,  1901 1, 142,  234 

July  1,  1901,  to  July  1,  1902 1, 151.  016 

July  1,  1902,  to  July  1,  1903 1,  245.  671 

July  1,  1903,  to  July  1,  1904 1,  372,  227 

July  1,  1904,  to  July  1,  1905 1,306,446 

July  1,  1905,  to  July  1,  1906 1,  357. 114 

July  1,  1906,  to  July  1,  1907 1,  586,  556 

July  1,  1907,  to  July  1,  1908 1,  648.  310 

Imported  brushes  have  no  features  to  their  advantage  over  those 
made  in  the  United  States  in  regard  to  finish,  style,  or  quality.  The 
sole  reason  why  they  are  sold  here  is  that  prices  are  less  than  we 
can  afford  to  sell  same  kinds  at  with  present  labor  cost.  This  condition 
exists  particularly  with  respect  to  toilet  brushes,  such  as  hair,  tooth, 
cloth,  nail,  and  artist  brushes,  and  similar  kinds,  and  also  some  others 
in  which  labor  is  the  great  element  of  cost. 

Brushes  in  the  United  States  are  very  largely  the  product  of  small 
factories,  distributed  in  many  places,  there  being  but  few  large 
manufacturers.  There  is  no  trust  or  combination  in  the  brush  in- 


6446  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

dustry  in  the  United  States  to  influence  prices.  Competition  between 
manufacturers  is  vigorous  and  profits  are  small.  The  business  is 
not  generally  prosperous,  and  during  the  past  four  or  five  years,  in- 
cluding years  of  general  prosperity  in  the  whole  country,  many 
failures  of  brush  manufacturers  have  occurred,  as  large  and  perhaps 
a  larger  percentage  than  in  any  other  industry. 

Brushes  of  best  grades  are  exported  from  the  United  States  to  a 
limited  extent.  If  the  manufacture  of  the  kinds  now  imported  could 
be  firmly  established  here,  there  is  every  reason  for  believing  that 
a  considerable  export  trade  on  them  could  be  built  up. 

BRISTLES. 

The  principal  material  used  in  the  manufacture  of  brushes  is 
bristles,  which  have  a  specific  duty  of  7£  cents  per  pound,  equivalent 
to  2^  or  3  per  cent  average  cost  on  such  brushes  as  are  made  of  bristles. 
Other  brush  materials,  such  as  Tampico,  soft  hairs,  and  different 
fibers,  are  free  of  duty. 

The  duty  on  bristles  is  now  specific,  7-|  cents  per  pound,  on  such  as 
are  imported.  This  duty  could  be  abolished  and  all  bristles  put  on 
free  list  without  doing  injury  to  any  industry  in  the  United  States 
and  to  the  advantage  of  brush  manufacturers  here.  It  is  impracti- 
cable to  import  them  in  raw  condition  free  of  duty. 

Bristles  are  a  by-product,  and  the  kinds  imported  can  not  be  pro- 
duced in  the  United  States.  All  manufacturers  of  brushes  in  all  parts 
of  the  world  must  go  to  Russia,  Germany,  France,  and  China  for 
their  bristles.  American  hogs  are  killed  young,  before  their  bristles 
are  of  much  length  or  size,  and  over  three-quarters  of  the  quantity 
produced  is  not  over  2f  inches  long,  and  is  used  almost  entirely  for 
cheaper  kinds  of  household  brushes. 

The  fact  that  crude  bristles  will  not  be  imported  into  the  United 
States  is  demonstrated  by  the  few  that  have  been  under  the  present 
law.  The  entire  importation  of  crude  bristles  imported  July  1,  1907, 
to  July  1, 1908,  was  5,549  pounds.  If  bristles  of  all  kinds  were  on  the 
free  list,  it  would  cause  a  reduction  in  the  selling  price?  of  brushes 
made  of  bristles  of  from  2  to  3  per  cent. 

The  following  statement  gives  importations  of  dutiable  bristles  into 
the  United  States  since  1893 : 

Pounds. 

July  1,1893,  to  July  1,1894 1,231.599 

July  1,1894,  to  July  1,1895 1,525,424 

July  1, 1895,  to  July  1, 1896 1,  571,  894 

July  1,1896,  to  July  1,1897 1,347,270 

July  1,1897,  to  July  1,1808 1,533,887 

July  1,1898,  to  July  1,1899 1,835,156 

July  1,1899,  to  July  1,1900 •_ 1,503,018 

July  1,1900,  to  July  1,1901 1,633,036 

July  1,1901,  to  July  1,1902 1,972,572 

July  1,  1902,  to  July  1,  1903 3,009,806 

July  1, 1903,  to  July  1, 1904 2,  576,  615 

July  1,1904,  to  Julyl,190o 2,461,464 

July  1,1905,  to  July  1,1906 2,728,114 

July  1,1906,  to  July  1,1907 3,433,941 

July  1,1907,  to  July  1,1908 2,550,911 

The  large  increase  in  pounds  since  1902  is  due  to  great  quantities 
of  lower-priced  black  Chinese  bristles  imported,  which  have  replaced 
the  more  expensive  better  quality  of  Russian,  German,  and  French 


BRUSHES  AND   BRISTLES.  6447 

bristles.    Black  Chinese  bristles  make  brushes  which  wear  out  more 
quickly,  and  also  are  shorter  than  the  Russian  and  German. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

JOHN  L.  WmTiNG-J.  J.  ADAMS  Co., 
LEW  C.  HILL,  President. 


STATEMENT  OF  JOSEPH  C.  BONNER,  REPRESENTING  THE  AMES- 

BONNER  COMPANY,  OF  TOLEDO,  OHIO,  RELATIVE  TO  DUTIES  ON 

BRUSHES  AND  BRISTLES. 

SATURDAY,  November  28,  1908. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  much  time  do  you  want,  Mr.  Bonner? 

Mr.  BONNER.  Five  minutes  or  less. 

Mr.  Chairman,  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  it,  I  have  a  feeling 
almost  akin  to  veneration  in  addressing  the  Committee  on  Ways  and 
Means,  owing  to  the  fact  that  on  one  occasion  I  was  here  in  the  cause 
of  brushes  when  its  former  lamented  chairman,  the  greatest  exponent 
of  protection,  William  McKinley,  was  in  the  chair.  Later  I  had  the 
privilege  of  serving  on  his  staff,  and  in  1907,  in  the  electoral  college, 
of  voting  for  him  as  President  of  the  United  States. 

I  have  come  nearly  600  miles  to  have  the  privilege  of  presenting 
this  cause  to  you.  I  think  it  is  unfortunate  that  the  committee  have 
been  laboring  so  industriously  so  many  hours  to-day  that  I  can 
scarcely  present  this  matter  in  such  a  shape  that  I  think  you  would 
most  enjoy  hearing  it.  I  will  not  endeavor  to  do  so — simply  to  say 
this:  The  statistics  compiled  by  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  the 
Treasury  Department  show  that  -  the  importation  of  brushes  since 
the  enactment  of  the  McKinley  law  has  increased  to  110  per  cent. 
From  Japan  the  increase  in  percentage  is  4,000  per  cent.  It  is  an  ab- 
normal increase.  The  general  increase  of  all  commerce  of  the  United 
States,  according  to  the  statistics,  is  42  per  cent.  In  exports  of 
brushes  from  the  United  States  the  percentage  is  23  per  cent,  while 
the  general  exports  of  all  commerce  in  the  United  States  have  in- 
creased in  the  abnormal  amount  of  210  per  cent. 

In  the  human  wage  scale  brush  workers  are  the  lowest  in  this 
country  and  abroad.  A  State  Department  consular  report  has  come 
to  the  brush  manufacturers  of  this  country  within  ten  days,  which 
indicates  that  the  labor  wage  there  on  brushes  is  in  Japan  50  cents 
for  men,  15  cents  for  women,  and  5  cents  for  children.  Under  the 
plan  of  the  future  tariff  schedule  on  brushes  there  are  two  distin- 
guishing characteristics — two  families  of  brushes,  so  to  speak — that 
should  be  recognized.  I  refer  to  household  and  toilet  goods  on  the 
one  hand  and  paint  and  varnish  goods  on  the  other.  In  the  one  case 
the  percentage  of  labor  to  material  is  about  as  3  to  1,  and  in  the  other 
case  it  is  about  5  to  5  or  3  to  7,  according  to  the  average. 

As  to  the  question  of  the  profits  the  American  manufacturer  can 
make  under  the  circumstances  of  the  abnormal  importations,  as  is 
shown  by  the  brief  which  I  will  submit,  and  also  as  to  the  question  of 
whether  we  are  producing  at  higher  or  lower  prices  and  furnishing 
the  people  with  brushes  at  better  prices  than  heretofore,  all  bristle 
hair  brushes,  are  sold  to-day,  as  against  like  brushes,  at  25  cents  in 
1890,  and  I  will  say  that  the  manufacturers  of  this  country  will 
supply  for  10  cents  a  hairbrush,  a  clothes  brush,  a  shoe  brush,  a 


6448  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

shaving  brush,  a  paint  brush,  an  artist's  brush.  There  is  no  more 
intricate  machinery  used  in  the  manufacturing  industrial  arts  than 
the  machinery  that  has  been  introduced  by  the  brush  makers  and  is 
in  use  in  this  country  in  the  production  of  toilet  brushes.  And  with 
our  facilities  we  will  take  the  output  of  a  factory  and  offer  it  to 
anyone  for  one  to  five  years — I  refer  to  brushes  such  as  we  make, 
toilet  brushes — for  10  cents  a  dozen  profit.  That  is  what  we  are 
reduced  to,  and  this  is  what  is  necessary  under  the  circumstances  of 
the  brush  situation.  We  require  much  higher  tariff. 

There  is  this  condition  confronting  the  American  brush  manufac- 
turers, as  we  see  the  small  spot  in  the  horizon:  That  while  in  1890 
Mr.  McKinley  undertook  to  adjust  conditions  as  between  wages  in 
this  country  and  foreign  countries,  to-day  they  are  utilizing  the  same 
machinery  that  we  are  and  the  same  facilities  plus  the  Mongolian 
cheap  labor.  So  that,  as  I  stated,  it  has  become  possible  (and  it  does 
occur  in  the  brush  business)  for  them  to  import  at  the  abnormal  rate 
of  110  per  cent  as  against  the  42  per  cent  for  general  imports,  and  the 
exports  from  this  country  are  23  per  cent  as  against  210  per  cent  for 
general  exports. 

I  do  not  feel  that  I  should  take  any  more  of  the  committee's  time 
at  this  late  hour,  and  will,  if  privileged,  submit  a  brief  on  brushes, 
asking  two  separate  tariff  schedules;  also  a  brief  for  bristles  to  be 
placed  on  the  free  list. 

JOSEPH  C.  BONNER,  OF  TOLEDO,  OHIO,  FILES  BRIEF  RELATIVE  TO 
THE  DUTIES  IMPOSED  ON  BRUSHES. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  28,  1908. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS. 

SIRS:  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  statement,  in  ac- 
cordance with  conditions  of  hearings  on  tariff  revision,  subject  of 
brushes,  Schedule  N,  paragraph  410: 

The  principal  feature  of  the  foreign  commerce  in  brushes  is  evi- 
denced in  the  annual  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  the  Treas- 
ury Department  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1890,  compared  with 
like  statements  of  subsequent  years  to  and  including  1907,  as  shown 
by  the  following  tables: 

Brushes. 


Year. 

Imports. 

Exports. 

1890                                                          .  

|767,128 

$151,128 

1891                                    -  -  ---        

863,573 

150,609 

1892                                                                          -  

797,879 

181,110 

1893                                                   

814,062 

241,343 

1894                                                                                                     -     

559,767 

179,098 

1895                                                               .      

660,585 

165,672 

1896                                  -        -  -     —  

753,928 

180,183 

1897                                                                    . 

782,802 

186,066 

1898                                                    -        -  — 

745,267 

158,272 

1899                                                                             „     _      

890,629 

211,931 

1900                                                    -          —-  

977,513 

232,986 

1901      

1,142,385 

254,047 

1902                                                          ...     .     

1,151,018 

261,729 

1903                                                                                                    

1,245,671 

283,994 

1904                                                          _     .        

1,372,227 

275,522 

1905    -  -      -        —  .  —  

1,306,446 

827,083 

1906                                                                    _     

1,357,114 

866,103 

1907  „ 

1,586,556 

415,733 

BRUSHES  AND  BRISTLES — JOSEPH  C.   BONNEB.  6449 

The  total  foreign  commerce  of  all  merchandises  of  the  United 
States  shows: 


Year. 

Total  United 
States  im- 
ports. 

Total  United 
States  ex- 
ports. 

1890— 

$789,310,409 

$845,293,823 

1907  .     ... 

1,434,421,425 

1,803,  718,  034 

The  brush  commerce  is  marked  by  three  notable  characteristics: 
First,  a  phenomenal  increase  of  imports ;  second,  only  nominal  figures 
found  in  the  brush  exports;  third,  a  comparison  of  brush  imports 
with  the  total  importations  of  the  United  States  for  the  years  1890 
with  1907,  as  shown  by  the  reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  indi- 
cates that  the  percentage  of  increase  in  general  imports  equaled  42, 
while  that  of  brushes  increased  by  the  abnormal  percentage  of  110. 

A  study  of  the  details  of  the  commerce  of  the  United  States  with 
all  parts  of  the  world  during  the  last  twenty  years  as  to  percentage 
shows  a  more  rapid  growth  of  our  sales  of  all  merchandises  than  of 
our  purchases,  the  exports  at  the  same  time  considerably  exceeding 
the  imports,  the  percentage  being  219.  In  the  face  of  this  fact  is  the 
astonishing  showing  that  the-  exportation  of  domestic  brushes  for 
years  1890-1907  equaled  but  23  per  cent  of  brush  imports.. 

The  Bureau  of  Statistics  for  1907  states  that  advance  in  price  has 
been  reflected  in  the  values  of  both  exports  and  imports.  It  reads : 

Comparing  prices  of  articles  exported  or  imported  in  1907  with  those  of  the 
fiscal  year  of  1899,  the  first  full  year  after  the  enactment  of  the  existing  tariff 
law  and  a  period  thereafter  unaffected  by  tariff  changes,  a  large  number  of 
articles  imported  and  exported  show  in  1907  marked  increases  in  prices  over 
those  of  1899,  the  increase  in  many  cases  above  50  per  cent  and  some  cases 
more  than  100  per  cent.  Manufacturers'  materials  in  both  raw  and  partially 
manufactured  stocks  show  striking  advance  in  prices  in  both  imports  and 
exports  comparing  prices  in  1907  with  those  of  1899. 

While  manufactures  generally  show  these  advances  in  prices  of 
materials  and  manufactures,  there  is  also  indicated  through  defi- 
nitely ascertained  knowledge,  the  general  experience  of  producers 
and  sellers  of  brushes,  that  the  selling  prices  of  this  particular  manu- 
facture have  shown  a  continuous  and  a  gradual  lowering  in  sales 
prices. 

To  summarize  the  movements  of  brushes  between  the  United  States 
and  foreign  countries  for  the  period  1890-1907,  it  will  be  seen : 

First.  Importation  of  brushes  increased  110  per  cent,  while  the 
total  imports  of  the  United  States  increased  but  42  per  cent. 

Second.  Exportation  of  brushes  equaled  but  23  per  cent  of  brush 
importations,  while  the  general  export  commerce  of  the  United 
States  exceeded  general  importations  by  210  per  cent. 

Third.  The  domestic  prices  of  brushes  have  lowered  generally  in 
face  of  the  marked  advance  in  a  large  number  of  other  manufactured 
articles  affected  by  the  tariff,  this  in  face  also  of  general  advance  in 
manufacturers'  raw  materials  and  labor.  For  instance,  a  toilet  hair- 
brush article  sells  to-day  for  10  cents,  made  of  all  bristle,  equal  in 
quality  as  good  as  sold  at  25  cents  in  1890. 

These  three  salient  features  of  the  brush  industry  may  be  analyzed 
by  a  statement  reflecting  the  condition  of  the  domestic  brush  business 
for  the  period  1890-1907. 


6450  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

Parenthetically,  tariff  Schedule  N,  paragraph  410,  specifically 
prescribes  to  cover  brushes,  brooms,  feather  dusters  of  all  kinds,  hair 
pencils  in  quills  or  otherwise.  The  importation  of  brooms  is  only 
nominal  in  volume,  and  in  1907  showed  but  $1,655  as  a  high  average. 
In  the  brush  art  the  tariff  acts  have  recognized  no  differential  pro- 
visions or  rates  for  the  purpose  of  assessing  duty,  all  varieties  of 
brushes  being  liquidated  at  custom-house  at  40  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

The  commercial  designation  of  brushes,  however,  is,  broadly, 
divisible  into  two  general  groups — group  A,  toilet  and  household 
brushes ;  group  B,  painter's,  shaving,  and  artist's  brushes. 

Brooms  and  dusters  should  not  be  properly  classed  in  either  group. 
They  are  produced  by  entirely  different  processes,  are  made  of  unlike 
materials,  are  not  items  really  in  customs  commerce,  because  Ameri- 
can designs,  or  corn  brooms,  are  not  produced  abroad,  yet  in  the  labor 
statistical  reports  it  is  indicated  that  many  more  people  are  employed 
in  broom  making  than  in  the  brush  manufacture.  For  all  purposes 
of  computation  brooms  should  be  entirely  segregated  from  brushes, 

Manufacturers  of  brushes  of  either  group  A  or  group  B  rarely 
engage  in  the  production  of  the  other  group.  The  organization  of 
the  businesses,  the  character  of  the  trade  sold,  the  utilities,  tools,  and 
processes  of  production  used,  the  training  of  labor  to  knowledge  of 
the  processes  are  as  a  sealed  book  of  the  one  producer  as  against  the 
other. 

In  the  manufacture  of  group  A — toilet  goods — consist  such  as  hair- 
brushes, toothbrushes,  clothes,  bath,  and  nail  brushes;  household 
brushes,  such  as  shoe  brushes,  scrubbing,  stove,  plate ;  horse  and  mill 
brushes.  Some  of  the  most  intricate  and  complicated  machinery  is 
utilized  in  their  manufacture  that  is  known  in  all  the  manufacturing 
industrial  arts.  Single  brush  factory  equipments  in  this  country 
of  machines  to  produce  toilet  and  household  brushes  have  exceeded 
in  cost  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars.  Highly  skilled  machinists 
and  tool  makers  keep  such  machines  in  perfect  working  condition. 
Skilled  men  and  skilled  women  operate  these  machines.  Seventy-five 
per  cent  of  the  importation  of  all  brushes  into  the  United  States 
under  the  40  per  cent  ad  valorem  duty  are  toilet  brushes  of  variety 
group  A. 

Practically  all  tooth  brushes  sold  in  this  country  are  imported,  and 
they  are  used  by  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  United  States. 
Why  is  this  so?  The  answer  is  plain — inadequate  tariff  protection. 
And  this  application  is  alike  to  all  toilet  brushes. 

Why  is  there  insufficient  duty,  and  what  would  be  the  proper  pro- 
tection ? 

The  writer  was  privileged  intimate  official  association  with  the 
author  of  the  McKmley  tariff  bill.  As  the  outcome  of  conferences 
and  hearings  an  arbitrary  rate  of  40  per  cent  was  made  and  exists 
to-day  in  the  brush  tariff  schedule.  The  Mills  bill  rating  was  20  per 
cent,  and  the  brush  producers  asked  55  per  cent.  The  result  is,  many 
manufacturers  have  had  to  quit  operations. 

The  Bureau  of  Statistics  clearly  shows  by  reports  the  fallacy  of 
such  named  tariff  conclusions,  abnormal  increase  of  import  brushes 
by  110  per  cent,  .while  general  customs  imports  equal  only  42  per 
cent.  Increasingly  large  brush  imports  come  from  all  the  important 
foreign  countries,  but  particularly  from  Japan,  whence  comes  the 


BRUSHES  AXD  BBISTLE3  -  JOSEPH   C.   BOKNEB.  6451 


increase  for  the  years  1890-1907  of  4.000  per  cent,  or  25  per  cent  of 
all  brush  import?  to  the  United  States. 

In  the  brush  group  A  labor  constitutes  65  to  75  per  cent  of  the  cost 
of  the  produced  article.  The  intricate  brush  machinery  before  men- 
tioned of  this  group  was  introduced  at  great  expense  and  estimated 
labor  sa  rings  to  meet  foreign  cheap  labor  and  to  further  lessen  cost 
of  the  manufacture  and  the  selling  prices.  It  was  an  accomplish- 
ment in  fact.  To-day  the  world  makes  no  better  brushes  than  the 
United  States  can  produce;  still  importations  increase  in  volume  and 
out  of  percentage  proportions  to  other  lines  of  manufactures.  The 
brush  industry  i.s  thus  bearing  more  than  its  just  share  of  the  national 
burden,  if  protection  be  a  burden. 

Brush  makers'  wages,  both  domestic  and  foreign,  all  statisticians 
agree  are  of  the  lowest-paid  wage  scale  of  human  employment.  The 
reason  for  this  must  now  be  understood,  and  it  is  a  condition  con- 
fronting the  underlying  fabric  of  our  American  industrial  existence. 
It  is  found  in  the  foreign  industrial  producer.  The  foreigners  all 
are  utilizing  the  world's  best  machinery,  tool  inventions,  and  facili- 
ties. notably  Japan,  dually  cooperating  in  such  use  the  cheapest  hu- 
man skill  and  power,  with  Japan  working  at  a  brush  wage  rate  of 
50  cents  per  day  for  men,  15  cents  for  women,  and  5  cents  for  chil- 
dren, as  shown  by  a  November,  1908,  consular  report;  and  so,  with 
but  40  per  cent  duty,  they  terribly  undersell  our  brush  wares  in  this 
market.  Such  is  our  unnatural  competition  to-day.  So  far  have 
our  brush  manufacturers  been  pushed  by  this  unfair  competition  that 
in  the  work  plan  of  1905  women  wage-earners  employed  numbered 
3,054.  children  448.  the  cheapest  American  labor,  with  546  shops  less 
shown  to  be  in  operation  than  in  1890.  These  figures  are  extracted 
from  Bureau  of  the  Census  for  1905,  Bulletin  No.  57. 

The  Ohio  bureau  of  labor  for  1907  shows  brush  reports  on  labor 
averages  of  daily  wage  earnings  to  be.  men,  $1.92;  women,  77  cents; 
boys  (16  to  18  years),  62  cents. 

After  the  enactment  of  the  McKinley  tariff  law  and  because  of  the 
introduction  of  many  labor-saving  processes,  it  was  hoped  that  it 
would  be  possible  for  domestic  brush  makers  to  get  the  competition 
share  of  the  trade  of  this  country,  but  almost  immediately  did  the 
active  foreign  brush  makers  provide  machinery,  adopt  all  the  labor- 
saving  devices  and  use  them  just  as  cleverly  as  we  do.  They  pay  no 
duty  on  bristles.  We  pay  T|  cents  per  pound,  or  the  equivalent  of 
average  of  30  per  cent  ad  valorem.  Again,  we  pay  35  cents  per  pound 
labor  to  dress  bristles  as  against  one-fifth  of  such  cost  to  the  foreigner. 
Again,  the  Japanese  merchant  does  not  appear  to  possess  that  ele- 
ment in  national  characteristics  known  as  commercial  integrity,  for 
in  dealing  with  the  United  States  customs  the  Board  of  Appraisers 
reports  show  greater  percentages  of  advances  hi  valuations  assessed 
on  Japanese  goods  than  are  marked  against  any  other  country. 

The  Director  of  Bureau  of  Census  says  in  communicated  letter  of 
November.  1908: 

In  the  analysis  of  brush  labor  statistics  care  should  be  taken  that  incorrect 
conclusions  as  to  the  cost  of  manufacture  or  profits  made  be  not  drawn  from 
the  tables.  Not  only  do  the  figures  take  no  cognizance  of  the  depreciation  in 
the  plant,  but  they  are  defective  in  not  including  other  important  costs.  The 
expense  incident  to  the  sale  of  product  is  omitted.  Moreover,  the  figures  take 
no  cognizance  of  the  interest  on  capital  invested  or  losses  dne  to  bad  debts. 
There  are  no  statistics  available  In  regard  to  the  manufacture  of  brashes  in 
Japan,  England,  Germany,  or  France, 


6452  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

There  are  not  and  there  never  have  been  brush  industrial  combina- 
tions in  the  United  States;  no  trusts;  no  labor-union  brush  makers; 
no  profit  dividends  aggregating  more  than  what  would  equal  interest- 
rate  returns  on  government  bonds. 

We  believe  it  to  be  the  intention  of  the  tariff-making  power  to 
reconstruct  the  tariff  along  lines  that  will  exclude  unnatural  foreign- 
labor  competition,  commensurate  with,  but  not  beyond,  what  will 
secure  work  for  our  skilled  labor  at  living  wage  scale  that  they  may 
enjoy  ambitions,  have  homes  and  property,  instead  of  looking  for- 
ward to  possible  trade  extinction. 

Results  from  the  operations  of  the  existing  tariff  schedule  of  40  per 
cent  ad  valorem  demonstrates  undeniably  that  it  will  require,  and  we 
earnestly  desire  and  ask  that  60  per  cent  ad  valorem  duty  be  pre- 
scribed for  brushes,  Group  A,  to  enable  domestic  manufacturers  to 
meet  the  at  present  unfair  competition  with  foreign  cheap  labor,  but, 
to  anticipate  the  near  future  conditions,  will  say  75  per  cent  will 
hardly  accomplish  it. 

This  tariff  classification  to  be  paragraphed  as  toilet  and  household 
brushes  or  drawn-work  brushes,  or  where  the  brush  materials  are 
drawn  or  punched  and  held  in  the  bored  block. 

In  the  brush  Group  B,  paint  brushes,  shaving  and  artist's  brushes 
and  kindred  varieties,  since  the  raw  materials  constitute  25  to  70  per 
cent  of  the  cost  and  labor  in  the  reverse-named  percentages  of  the 
produced  article,  naturally  the  brush  values  are  much  higher,  and  the 
foreign  competition,  while  most  troublesome  under  the  present  40 
per  cent  ad  valorem  rate,  is  not  yet  quite  so  ruinous  as  is  the  foreign 
competition  in  toilet  brushes,  Group  A.  Almost  as  many  skilled 
operators  are  employed,  the  capital  outlay  for  machinery  and  tool 
plants,  though,  are  not  nearly  as  large  as  for  brush  manufacture  under 
Class  A.  Brushes  Class  A  are  scarcely  exported.  Brushes  are  ex- 
ported under  the  classification  B  in  a  small  way,  but  not  at  all  with 
freedom  of  the  markets.  But  this  notable  fact  must  be  in  mind : 

American  makers  of  painter's  and  artist's  brushes  are  to-day  buy-  • 
ing  of  importers  their  supplies  of  cheap-grade  brushes.  They  can  not 
compete.  This  brush  group  ranks  first  in  gross  values  of  products 
and  a  good  second  in  number  of  wage-earners  employed.  We  urge 
that  the  basic  principles  of  protection  as  intentionally  applied  re- 
quires the  placing  of  brushes  in  Group  B  on  an  ad  valorem  duty 
rate  of  55  to  60  per  cent.  In  the  specific  description  of  Group  B  we 
would  suggest  for  the  schedule  title — Brushes,  shaving,  paint,  and 
artist  goods,  or  all  varieties  known  as  pan  or  cement-processed  brushes. 

We  think  we  have  fairly  and  justly  presented  the  brush  situation. 
We  should  have  equal  competition,  not  annihilation,  as  is  already 
shown  with  regard  to  toothbrushes.  Our  recommendations  are  in 
the  public  interest,  brush  products  entering  into  a  part  of  the  daily 
life  of  everybody.  Yet  so  cheaply  now  are  brushes  sold  that  for  10 
cents  can  be  bought  a  hairbrush,  or  a  clothes,  shoe,  tooth,  shaving, 
paint  or  a  horse  brush.  The  toilet-brush  producers  will  not  in  this 
country  to-day  show  an  average  profit  in  their  line  of  manufacture 
of  5  cents  per  dozen.  Our  factory  was  established  in  1845. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

Jos.  C.  BONNER, 
President  Ames-Bonner  Company,  Toledo,  Ohio, 


BRUSHES  AND  BBISTLES.  6453 

STATEMENT  OF  COL.  ALBERT  CLARKE,  OF  77  SUMMER  STREET, 
BOSTON,  MASS.,  RELATIVE  TO  BRUSHES  AND  BRISTLES. 

SATURDAY,  November  28,  1908. 

Mr.  CLARKE.  I  appear  for  Mr.  L.  C.  Hill,  of  Boston,  who  has  been 
here  to-day,  but  has  been  obliged  to  leave.  He  just  wished  to  have 
me  explain  to  the  committee  why  he  is  not  present  and  to  submit 
his  brief. 

I  also  appear  for  Mr.  Frank  N.  Look,  of  the  Florence  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  of  Florence,  Mass.,  merely  to  submit  a  letter  which  he 
addressed  to  me  and  which  I  will  file  because  it  is  a  model  of  con- 
densation, and  contains  a  great  many  very  interesting  facts  on  this 
brush  industry  and  the  competition  which  our  manufacturers  have 
with  Austrian  and  Japanese  brushes. 

I  believe,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  I  have  done  my  errand,  and  do  not 
need  to  say  more. 


FLORENCE,  MASS.,  November  %6, 1908. 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C., 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

^Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  have  been  manufacturing  toilet  brushes  for  forty- 
two  years  and  employ  about  500  people.  For  a  number  of  years  we 
have  been  endeavoring  to  manufacture  popular-priced  toothbrushes, 
now  principally  made  in  Asiatic  and  European  countries. 

A  few  facts  bearing  upon  the  exact  labor  conditions  are  impressive. 
We  employ  no  child  labor.  In  Japan  children  are  more  or  less  em- 
ployed, at  less  than  1  cent  per  hour.  Women  with  us  earn  from  10 
to  20  cents  per  hour ;  in  Japan  from  1£  to  2  cents  per  hour.  We  pay 
pur  male  labor  from  15  to  35  cents  per  hour.  In  Japan  male  labor 
is  paid  about  5  cents  per  hour.  In  a  large  brush  manufactory  em- 
ploying over  700  hands  in  Austria  skilled  male  labor  receives  from 
9  to  11  cents  per  hour.  Women  are  paid  from  5  to  6  cents  per  hour. 
In  this  particular  factory  the  highest  paid  man,  a  master  mechanic, 
receives  about  15  cents  per  hour,  whereas  with  us  we  would  pay  40 
to  50  cents  per  hour. 

As  labor  is  more  than  one-half  the  cost  of  toothbrushes,  the  present 
rate  of  duty  of  40  per  cent  ad  valorem  still  gives  the  Japanese  and 
the  Europeans  decided  advantage  over  American  labor  on  the  present 
basis  of  American  wages.  Japanese  toothbrushes  made  by  hand  con- 
front one  everywhere  throughout  the  United  States,  at  prices  which 
absolutely  preclude  successful  competition  by  American  labor,  even 
under  the  present  duty  of  40  per  cent. 

The  introduction  of  modern  machinery  in  Japan,  such  as  is  in  gen- 
eral use  in  Europe,  especially  in  Germany  and  Austria,  coupled  with 
the  very  low-priced  labor  of  Japan,  would  produce  a  startling  effect 
upon  the  brush  industry  in  America.  In  the  application  of  machin- 
ery to  the  manufacture  of  toothbrushes  Germany  and  Austria  es- 
pecially are  in  advance  of  the  rest  of  the  world,  including  America 
as  well. 

In  Austria  and  in  Germany  many  operations  are  performed  by 
women  where  we  are  obliged  to  employ  men,  thus  creating  a  much 


6454  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

wider  difference  in  labor  costs  than  is  apparent  in  an  actual  compari- 
son of  wages  paid.  This  must  be  equally  true  of  conditions  in  Japan, 
where  wages  paid  women  are  so  much  less  than  paid  in  Austria  and 
Germany.  In  Belgium  and  in  Germany  women  dress  bristles  and  do 
classes  of  work  which  are  not  and  can  not  be  performed  by  women 
under  American  conditions. 

A  low-priced,  moderate-sized  toothbrush  manufactured  by  ma- 
chinery in  Austria  represents  an  actual  labor  cost  of  73  cents  per 
gross  in  comparison  with  an  actual  labor  cost  in  America  of  $2.08 
per  gross. 

Toothbrushes  are  being  used  by  Americans  in  increased  quantities, 
and  with  proper  protection  an  industry  employing  an  increased  num- 
ber of  American  laborers  at  American  wages  can  be  built  up.. 

We  respectfully  ask  that  the  present  rate  of  duty  upon  brushes  of 
40  per  cent  ad  valorem  be  increased  to  at  least  50  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

We  also  ask  that  the  duty  of  7£  cents  per  pound  upon  bristles 
be  removed,  and  that  bristles  be  entered  free  of  duty,  in  order  that 
we  may  thereby  be  placed  on  a  fairer  basis  in  comparison  with  Asiatic 
and  European  countries,  as  practically  no  bristles  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  hairbrushes,  and  no  bristles  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
toothbrushes,  are  produced  in  America. 

Very  truly,  yours,  FLORENCE  MFG.  Co., 

FRANK  N.  LOOK,  Treasurer. 


STATEMENT  OF  W.  D.  FOSS,  REPRESENTING  THE  WOOSTER  BRUSH 
WORKS,  WOOSTER,  OHIO,  RELATIVE  TO  BRISTLES. 

SATURDAY,  November  #<S,  1908. 

Mr.  Foss.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  I  exceedingly  regret 
that  the  hour  is  so  late.  I  will  therefore  take  up  as  little  of  your 
time  as  possible,  and  I  will  not  attempt  to  read  my  brief.  Colonel 
Bonner,  who  preceded  me,  has  gone  into  the  matter  of  brushes.  I 
want  to  speak  just  for  a  few  moments  on  the  matter  of  bristles, 
which  interest  paint  and  varnish  brush  manufacturers  more  than 
the  manufacturers  of  toilet  brushes. 

It  will  be  necessary  for  me  to  give  you  a  few  figures  from  my 
brief. 

The  total  number  of  pounds  of  bristles  imported  for  the  year  end- 
ing June  30,  1907,  was  3,433,941  pounds,  amounting  in  dollars  to 
$3,256,552.  Average  per  pound,  94.8  cents.  There  was  a  7£  per 
cent  duty,  equaling  7.9  per  cent. 

From  China  alone  there  were  imported  at  least  1.159,487  pounds, 
amounting  to  $657,551.  Average  per  pound,  56.7  cents,  equivalent  to 
13£  per  cent. 

From  all  other  countries  there  were  imported  a  little  over  2,000,000 
pounds,  amounting  to  $2,500,000 — an  average  of  $1.16^,  or  6.4  per 
cent  ad  valorem  duty. 

Large  quantities  of  Chinese  bristles  have  also  been  imported  into 
the  United  States  from  England  and  Germany. 

From  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  over  one-third  of  all  bristles 
imported  (or  1,159,487  pounds,  33.7  per  cent)  are  Chinese,  the  aver- 
age price  of  which  is  56.7  cents  per  pound.  There  is  7£  cents  per 


BRISTLES.  6455 

pound  specific  duty  on  the  same,  which  is  equal  to  13£  per  cent.  But 
over  one-third  (or  about  36  per  cent)  of  all  Chinese  bristles  imported 
being  2^-inch  (the  size  most  used),  with  an  average  value  in  China  of 
16  cents  per  pound,  the  present  duty  is  equivalent  to  47  per  cent. 

That  is  as  much,  gentlemen,  as  I  intend  to  say  regarding  bristles, 
in  order  to  lead  up  to  two  brushes  which  I  have  in  my  hand.  I  will 
file  this  brief,  which  will  give  the  other  data  in  reference  to  the 
matter. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Yes;  file  your  brief  and  it  will  be  read  carefully, 
Mr.  Foss. 

Mr.  Foss.  Up  to  the  present  time  the  paint  and  varnish  brush  manu- 
facturers have  been  affected  but  little  by  the  duty  on  brushes.  But 
we  see  a  menacing  cloud  on  the  horizon,  when  the  Japanese  can  pro- 
duce a  little  brush  like  that  [exhibiting  brush]  for  $1.79  per  gross, 
put  on  a  profit  of  45  cents,  pay  a  duty  of  40  per  cent  and  10  per  cent 
for  transportation  and  insurance,  and  land  the  brush  to  the  jobber  in 
New  York  City  for  $3.36  a  gross.  I  have  the  figures  here  giving  the 
Japanese  cost  and  also  the  American  cost.  I  took  that  brush  home 
and  made  a  couple  of  dozen  of  them  in  our  own  factory.  Without  going 
into  the  details  of  the  several  items  entering  into  the  brush,  the  same 
brush  costs  us  $3.84  per  gross.  The  Japanese  manufacturer  can  lay  it 
down  in  New  York  10  per  cent  less  than  we  can  make  it,  and  have  a 
profit  of  25  per  cent. 

You  will  see,  on  comparison,  that  they  are  making  a  very  fair 
imitation.  They  are  great  imitators.  It  is  only  a  question  of  a  very 
short  time  until  they  will  be  in  the  paint  and  varnish  brush  business 
just  as  strongly  as  they  are  to-day,  as  Mr.  Bonner  has  explained  to 
you,  in  the  toilet-brush  business. 

For  that  reason  the  paint-brush  manufacturers,  in  view  of  the 
enormous  percentage  of  duty  now  imposed  upon  us  on  short  stock  or 
short  lengths  of  bristles,  respectfully  request  that  you  increase  the 
duty  at  least  10  per  cent  on  brushes,  making  it  50  per  cent,  and  that 
we  oe  relieved  or  the  specific  duty  of  7£  cents  per  pound  on  bristles. 


BRIEF  SUBMITTED  BY  W.  D.  FOSS,  OF  WOOSTER,  OHIO,  ON  THE 
SUBJECT  OF  BRISTLES  AND  THE  DUTIES  THEREON. 

WOOSTER,  OHIO,  November  88, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Permit  me  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
firm  which  I  am  here  to-day  to  represent  is  a  copartnership,  and  we 
are  not  a  party  to  any  agreement,  expressed  or  implied,  with  any 
competitor,  either  in  regard  to  the  regulation  of  production  of 
brushes  or  fixing  the  prices  at  which  same  should  be  sold.  Every 
brush  manufacturer  in  the  United  States,  so  far  as  I  am  able  to 
learn,  stands  upon  his  own  individuality. 

In  regard  to  the  specific  duty  of  7£  cents  per  pound  on  bristles  as 
the  law  now  stands,  under  Schedule  N,  paragraph  411,  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  same  should  be  removed  and  bristles  placed  upon  the 
free  list,  for  the  following  reasons: 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505.  00-2— Vol  0 44 


6456 


SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 


Total  foreign  bristles  imported  into  the  United  States  during  the 
year  ended  June  30,  1907,  were  as  follows : 


Quantity. 

Value. 

Average 
per 
pound. 

7J  cents 
pound 
equals  — 

Total  Imported 

Pounds. 
3,433,941 

$3,256,552 

$0  948+ 

Per  cent. 
$0  079+ 

From  China  alone,  at  least  °  _          __  _____    _ 

1,159,487 

657,551 

.567+ 

.132+ 

From  all  other  countries  .      . 

2,274,454 

2,599,001 

1.161+ 

.064+ 

0  Large  quantities  of  Chinese  bristles  are  also  shipped  into  the  United  States  from 
Germany  and  England. 

From  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  over  one-third  of  all  bristles 
imported  (or  1,159,487  pounds,  33^  per  cent)  are  Chinese,  the  aver- 
age price  of  which  is  56^  cents  per  pound;  7£  cents  per  pound 
specific  duty  on  same  is  13£  per  cent.  But  over  one-third,  or  about 
36  per  cent  of  all  Chinese  bristles  imported,  being  2£  inch,  the  size 
most  used,  with  an  average  value  in  China  of  16  cents  per  pound,  the 
present  duty  is  equivalent  to  47  per  cent. 

The  average  cost  during  the  past  five  years  for  2^-inch  Chinese 
bristle  to  brush  manufacturers  in  the  United  States  has  been  from 
27  cents  per  pound  to  manufacturers  located  in  cities  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  to  29  cents  to  manufacturers  in  western  cities. 

Our  average  cost  per  pound  on  2i-inch  Tientsin  Chinese  bristles  in  the 

past  .five  years  has  been $0.28i 

Cupping  or  straightening .02 

Combing  and  dressing .10$ 

Fourteen  per  cent  loss  on  twine,  wrappers,  straightening,  and  combing .04 

Our  net  cost  on  2J  inch  when  ready  for  the  brush .45 

Assuming  the  same  length  (2^  inch)  to  be  worth  in  China  or 
Japan  16  cents  (our  expert  male  workmen  average  $2.56  per  day, 
Japanese  male  workmen  average  $0.50  per  day),  their  labor  on  the 
bristles  for  straightening  and  combing  is  four-fifths  less  than  ours, 
or  0.024  cent,  allowing  same  loss  of  14  per  cent,  0,022  cent;  Japanese 
net  cost  when  ready  for  the  brush,  0.206  cent. 

The  advantage  to  foreign  brush  manufacturers  in  countries  where 
there  is  no  duty  on  bristles  is  obvious,  even  though  no  consideration 
is  given  to  labor  costs,  which  in  our  industry  is  a  big  item. 

The  following  is  the  average  wage  we  paid  our  employees  during 
the  past  four  weeks :  50  males  average  $12.92  per  week,  or  $2.15  per 
day,  of  which  number  35  are  men,  average  $15.39  per  week,  or  $2.56 
per  day;  of  which  number  15  are  boys,  average  $7.14  per  week,  or 
$1.19  per  day.  Thirty  females  average  $4.97  per  week,  or  $0.83  per 
day. 

We  work  nine  and  one-half  hours  five  days  per  week  and  eight 
and  one-half  hours  Saturday;  total,  fifty-six  hours  per  week.  We 
have  no  means  of  knowing  the  number  of  hours  required  of  employees 
in  foreign  brush  factories,  but  presume  they  operate  their  factories 
at  least  as  many  hours  per  week  as.  we  do,  and  have  learned  through 
our  United  States  consul  in  Japan  that  in  the  brush  industry — 

Per  day. 

Males    receive $0.50 

Females    receive .15 

Children    receive .05 


BRISTLES W.   D.   FOSS. 


6457 


In  ten  years  the  importation  of  foreign  brushes  has  increased  from 
$745,267  to  $1,648,310,  or  over  121  per  cent.  The  increase  from  Japan 
alone  has  been  over  4,000  per  cent  in  twenty  years.  From  that 
country  the  importations  of  brushes  in  1887  were  about  $1,000,  and  in 
1907  more  than  $400,000.  The  increase  has  been  largely  in  toilet 
brushes,  and  thus  far  the  paint  and  varnish  brush  manufacturers  of 
the  United  States  have  been  affected  but  little.  However,  we  see  a 
menacing  cloud  on  the  horizon;  the  handwriting  on  the  wall  indi- 
cates that  our  competition  from  foreign  markets  will  very  soon 
become  even  more  fierce  on  paint  and  varnish  brushes  than  it  is  at 
present  on  toilet  brushes.  As  an  illustration,  permit  me  to  call  your 
attention  to  the  following  tabulated  example! ,  samples  of  the  brushes 
herewith  submitted/both  of  which  are  mads  from  2^-inch  Chinese 
bristles — our  brush  stamped  "A,"  Japanese  brush  stamped  "  J:" 


Our  1-inch 
"A"  var- 
nish. 

Japanese  1- 
inch  "  J  " 
varnish. 

Length  bristle  used                                       inches.. 

• 

21 

Our  cost  for  this  bristle  prepared  ready  for  the  brush,  per  pound               

$0  45 

•$0.21 

Weight  bristles  per  brush  ounces-- 

5/32 

»5/32 

Cost  of  handles  per  gross  

$1.15 

$0.57 

Cost  of  ferrules  per  gross                                         -                                   

.67 

.34 

Cost  of  bristles  per  gross                                          .      .  .....  .. 

.64 

.33 

Cost  of  labor  per  gross  c              

.78 

.14 

Cost  of  nails  per  gross           .  .                

.04 

.04 

Cost  of  boxes  and  packing  per  gross       ..  

.21 

.21 

Add  10  per  cent  for  freight    cement    and  factory  expenses 

.35 

.16 

Total  cost  per  gross         .    ...  .                   ..    ..    .....      .......... 

3.84 

1.79 

Add  25  per  cent  profit,  gross  *.  ........  .  ....  ..  .  

.96 

.45 

Our  selling  price  ....  .......  

4.80 

Sell  in  Japan  at 

2.24 

50  per  cent  for  duty,  transportation,  and  insurance  

1.12 

3.36 

0  Japanese  cost. 

*  Weight  per  brush. 

•Our  female  help  (the  kind  employed  in  making  these  brushes)  averages  83  cents  per 
day,  same  kind  of.  labor  is  paid  15  cents  per  day  in  Japan,  or  82  per  cent  less  than  ours, 
making  their  labor  on  a  gross  of  these  brushes  cost  14  cents,  as  against  78  cents  which 
we  pay. 

*  Selling  expense,  office  expense,  and  losses  must  come  out  of  thta. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  they  are  able  to  produce  these  brushes  and  add 
the  same  percentage  (25  per  cent)  to  their  factory  cost  and  lay  them 
down  in  the  warehouses  of  the  United  States  jobber,  with  40  per  cent 
for  duty  and  10  per  cent  for  transportation  and  insurance  added,  at 
a  net  price  of  $3.36  per  gross,  or  42|  per  cent  less  than  we  can  sell  the 
same  article,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  10  per  cent  less  than  our  factory 
cost;  so  that  even  though  the  ad  valorem  duty  imposed  were  7§  per 
cent  it  would  no  more  than  cover  the  difference  in  labor  between  the 
two  countries.  However,  we  are  not  asking  for  any  such  increase, 
but  conscientiously  feel  that  the  duty  should  be  at  least  50  percent  on 
brushes,  and  that  the  specific  duty  of  7£  cents  per  pound  on  bristles 
should  be  removed. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

WOOSTER  BRUSH  WORKS, 
Per  WALTER  D.  Foss,  Wooster,  Ohio. 


6458  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

BRIEF  OF  FIELDER  C.  SLINGLTJFF,  FOR  WILLIAM  WILKENS  CO., 
BALTIMORE,  RELATING  TO  BRUSHES  AND  BRISTLES. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  28,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  William  Wilkens  Company  is  a  corporation 
doing  business  in  the  city  of  Baltimore. 

It  has  branches  in  New  York  and  Chicago,  and  has  been  in  the 
same  business — that  of  hair-bristle  and  brush- fiber  manufacturers — 
for  the  last  sixty-four  years.  It  employs  on  an  average  about  500 
hands,  and  a  large  and  important  branch  of  its  business  is  and  has 
been  during  the  entire  time  of  its  business  life  the  cleansing,  treating, 
and  manufacturing  of  bristles  for  brushes. 

It  buys  these  bristles  in  the  packing  centers  in  the  West,  in  the 
crude  state,  and  then  prepares  them  for  the  brush  makers,  and  it  is 
now  the  principal  consumer  of  these  bristles  left  in  the  country,  nearly 
all  of  the  other  manufacturers  in  this  line  having  been  forced  to 
cease  business  because  of  the  competition  with  bristles  from  the 
markets  of  China. 

Some  years  ago  Armour  &  Co.  and  Swift  &  Co.  made  an  effort  to 
dress  their  product  of  crude  bristles  and  fight  the  Chinese  competi- 
tion, but  after  suffering  serious  loss  they  had  to  give  up.  The  Wil- 
liam Wilkens  Company,  assisted  by  their  skillful  workmen  and 
with  the  most  improved  machinery,  much  of  it  of  their  own  inven- 
tion, have  so  far  been  able  to  meet  this  Chinese  competition.  How 
long  they  may.  be  able  to  do  so  depends  entirely  upon  the  question 
now  before  the  committee  as  to  the  reduction  or  entire  elimination  of 
the  now  existing  duty  of  7-|  cents  a  pound. 

Bristles  grow  on  the  backs  of  hogs  around  the  spinal  column, 
and  when  the  hog  is  killed  and  thrown  into  the  boiling  tub  of  water, 
and  taken  therefrom  ready  for  the  next  process,  these  bristles  are 
pulled  off  by  several  hundred  of  the  employees  of  the  William 
Wilkens  Company,  at  the  different  packing  places,  and  in  this  crude 
shape  shipped  to  their  factory  in  Baltimore  for  treatment.  In  this 
way  the  packer  has  a  market  for  one  of  the  many  parts  of  the  hog 
which  would  otherwise  be  wasted. 

The  Chinese  Empire  is  a  very  large  grower  of  hogs,  and  with  its 
cheap  labor  can  prepare  and  ship  bristles  far  cheaper  than  can  be 
done  in  this  country.  The  average  wage  in  China  per  day  is  a  few 
cents  or  a  handful  or  two  of  rice;  while  the  William  Wilkens  Com- 
pany pays  its  skilled  labor  in  this  line  from  $2  to  $2.50  per  day; 
and  it  has  in  its  employ  at  its  factory  a  large  number  of  men  who 
have  Jbeen  brought  up  in  this  business  and  know  nothing  else.  The 
company  has  been  preparing  about  20,000  pounds  of  these  bristles 
per  month;  but  this  amount  is  gradually  decreasing  because  of  this 
Chinese 'cheap  labor;  and,  unless  the  business  is  fostered  and  pro- 
tected by  a  proper  and  living  tariff  rate,  this  industry  will  certainly 
disappear  in  a  few  years  from  the  country.  The  protection  given  to 
it  at  the  present  time  is  7£  cents  per  pound,  but  this  barely  gives  a 
profit  to  the  manufacturer,  and  should  be  increased  and  not  dimin- 
ished. The  bristles  are  bought  in  this  country  in  a  crude  state,  just 
as  they  come  from  the  back  of  the  hog.  When  imported  from  China 


BRUSHES    AND    BRISTLES — WILLIAM    WILKENS    CO.  6459 

they  are  in  a  condition  prepared  for  the  brush,  as  will  be  seen  from 
the  samples  shown  to  your  committee.  All  the  loose  skin  is  cleaned 
therefrom,  and  they  are  assorted  in  lengths,  and  the  butts  and  flags  of 
each  hair  separated  and  tied  together,  and  are  practically  ready  for 
the  brush,  and  present  a  marked  contrast  to  the  crude  American 
bristles,  a  sample  of  which  also  has  been  shown  to  your  committee. 
The  bristles  thus  shipped  from  China  have  been  subject  to  the  tariff 
of  7£  cents  per  pound,  and  although  many  attempts  have  been  made 
to  have  the  same  passed  as  crude  or  raw  material  through  the  custom- 
houses, the  Government,  through  its  appraisers  and  courts,  has  per- 
sistently held  up  to  the  present  time  that  the  China  product  as 
shipped  was  manufactured  and  not  crude  material  and  was  subject 
to  the  duty.  An  effort  is  now  made  to  have,  this  duty  of  7^  cents  re- 
moved and  the  China  bristles  entered  free  of  duty,  irrespective  of  the 
fact  whether  they  are  in  a  crude  shape  or  are  prepared  or  manu: 
factured. 

The  William  Wilkens  Company  does  not  claim  that  the  bristles 
from  China  should  pay  duty  if  they  are  imported  in  a  crude  condi- 
tion, although,  even  in  this  case,  the  American  manufacturer  finds  it 
almost  impossible  to  successfully  compete  with  the  Chinese  cheap  labor, 
but  they  do  most  earnestly  protest  against  the  removal  of  the  7-|  cents 
duty  on  the  manufactured  or  semimanufactured  material,  as  shown 
by  the  sample  presented  to  the  committee,  and  which  is  the  condition 
in  which  these  goods  come  from  China.  It  costs  the  American  manu- 
facturer 15  cents  per  pound  to  convert  the  crude  bristle  from  its 
crude  condition  to  the  condition  of  the  China  bristle,  as  imported, 
which  is  double  the  amount  of  the  duty  of  7^  cents  now  imposed;  so 
that,  at  the  start,  the  China  bristle,  exclusively  because  of  the  cheap- 
ness of  the  Chinese  labor  and  methods  of  living  in  that  country,  has 
the  advantage  of  7|  cents  per  pound  as  against  the  American  bristle. 
Take  off  this  7£  cents  and  the  hopelessness  of  the  American  manu- 
facturer is  apparent.  With  this  state  of  the  case  in  view,  Congress 
has  heretofore  failed  to  let  the  China  product  in  free  of  duty, "except 
in  the  crude  condition,  although  strenuous  efforts  in  the  past  on  the 
part  of  the  brush  makers  has  been  made  to  this  end. 

The  act  of  July  24, 1897,  which  fixed  the  duty  at  7|  cents  per  pound, 
says,  in  paragraph  411,  that  this  duty  is  to  be  imposed  on  all  "  bristles, 
sorted,  bunched,  or  prepared,"  while  paragraph  509  of  the  same  act 
excludes  from  the  payment  of  said  duty  "  bristles,  crude,  not  sorted, 
bunched,  or  prepared." 

The  proper  construction  of  these  two  paragraphs  has  been  under 
consideration  by  the  United  States  appraisers,  as  well  as  by  the 
United  States  court,  with  the  result  that  the  duty  has  been  affirmed  as 
to  the  China  importations  put  up  in  the  shape  of  the  samples  shown 
to  the  committee. 

The  committee  is  referred  to  the  opinion  of  General  Appraiser 
Sharretts  in  case  of  Lewisohn  &  Co.  (T.  D.  15969,  G.  A.  2993).  Also 
in  case  of  Peter  Woll  &  Sons  (T.  D.  20213,  G.  A.  4297).  Also  in 
case  of  J.  C.  Pushee  &  Sons  (T.  D.  24797,  G.  A.  5483),  which  case 
was  affirmed  in  Pushee  v.  United  States  (155  Fed.  Rep.,  265),  and 
which  is  now  the  law. 

If  the  present  status  of  this  law  is  changed  and  the  duty  of  7£ 
cents  is  removed,  the  prompt  and  inevitable  result  will  be  to  close 
every  bristle  factory  in  this  country  now  engaged  in  the  business, 


6460  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

and.  as  we  have  already  stated,  this  branch  of  manufactured  industry 
will  disappear. 

Unless,  then,  there  is  a  great  corresponding  benefit  to  be  derived  by 
the  people  or  some  large  part  of  the  people,  Congress  should  hesitate 
before  taking  such  action,  and  the  question  naturally  arises,  What 
influence  and  interests  are  back  of  the  movement  to  have  the  tariff 
removed  ?  It  is  apparent  that  the  brush  maker  is  the  party  in  in- 
terest. The  wages  of  his  employees  can  not  be  increased  by  taking  off 
so  small  a  duty  as  7£  cents  per  pound,  and  hence  they  will  derive  no 
benefit  from  the  same.  While  these  employees  will  not  be  benefited, 
the  employees  of  the  bristle  factories  will  lose  their  places  entirely. 
The  consumer  of  the  brush  can  not  be  benefited,  because  it  takes  only 
from  one-half  to  two  ounces  of  bristle  to  make  the  brush,  and  hence 
the  actual  cost  of  each  brush  would  be  so  infinitesimal  that  no  differ- 
.ence  in  price  could  be  made  to  the  consumer.  The  issue,  then,  is 
simply  one  between  Chinese  and  American  labor,  with  a  very  small 
resultant  benefit  to  the  importer  of  the  China  bristle  or  to  the  manu- 
facturer of  the  brush  therefrom. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

FIELDER  C.  SLJNGLUFF, 
For  WILLIAM  WILKENS  COMPANY. 


HANLON  &  GOODMAN  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  ASKS  A  SIXTY 
PEE  CENT  DUTY  ON  BRUSHES,  AND  FREE  BRISTLES. 

NEW  YORK,  November  30,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN:  Referring  to  Schedule  N,  paragraphs  410  and  411, 
relating  to  the  duty  on  bristles  and  brushes,  we  desire  to  call  attention 
to  the  following  facts  regarding  the  brush  industry  of  the  United 
States: 

First.  There  are  between  4,000  and  5,000  men  and  women  em- 
ployed making  brushes  in  the  United  States  and  between  500  and 
1,000  making  handles,  ferrules,  nails,  tacks,  and  other  materials  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  brushes.  Of  this  number,  at  least  60  per  cent 
are  engaged  in  making  small  and  inexpensive  brushes  on  which  the 
labor  and  American  material  figures  80  per  cent  or  more  of  the 
cost. 

Second.  In  our  factory  the  average  wage  of  males  is  $2.58  per  day ; 
females,  $1.23  per  day.  No  child  labor. 

Japanese  brush  factory  pays  males  50  cents  per  day,  females  15 
cents  per  day,  children  5  cents  per  day. 

REPORT   ON   BRUSH   MAKING   IN   GERMANY. 

Brushes  are  made  principally  in  the  territory  surrounding  Chem- 
nitz. About  50  per  cent  of  the  brushes  are  made  in  factories  and  an 
equal  quantity  made  by  the  pqorer  classes  in  farmhouses  and  small 
homes  in  and  around  the  city. 

The  plan  generally  followed  is  known  as  the  factor  system.  Men 
calling  themselves  factors  supply  the  home  brush  makers  with  a  stock, 
such  as  bone,  wooden  parts,  and  bristles.  After  the  brushes  have 


BRUSHES    AND    BRISTLES HANLON    &    GOODMAN    OO.        6461 

been  made  from  the  raw  material  they  are  returned  to  the  factor, 
who  pays  the  maker  for  the  labor. 

Brush  makers  in  Germany  (Nuremberg,  Brandenburg,  Schonheide,. 
and  Todtman)  earn  7  to  10  marks  ($1.68  to  $2.40)  each  per  week.    In 
some  instances  the  earnings  are  as  low  as  4  to  5  marks  (96  cents  to 
$1.20)  or  5.76  marks  ($1.38),  but  such  instances  are  rare. 

Families  compelling  the  children  to  assist  them  in  the  manufacture 
of  brushes  earn  *  from  22  to  27  marks  ($4.28  to  $6.48)  per  week. 
Workers  skilled  in  the  manufacture  of  high-grade  brushes  earn  as 
much  as  30  marks  ($7.20)  per  week.  (Extract  from  the  Imperial 
German  Labor  Bulletin,  February,  1906,  p.  122.) 

Third.  The  bristles  used  in  these  brushes  are  entirely  foreign,  as 
American  bristles  are  not  adapted  for  this  class  of  work. 

Under  the  present  tariff  (par.  411)  the  American  brush  manufac- 
turer is  obliged  to  pay  7£  cents  specific  duty  per  pound.  This 
amounts,  on  the  2^-inch  Chinese  bristles,  to  nearly  47  per  cent ;  on  21- 
inch,  about  34  per  cent ;  on  3-inch,  nearly  27  per  cent. 

Fourth.  The  total  importation  of  bristles  from  July  1,  1906,  to 
July  1,  1907,  was  3,433,941  pounds,  of  which  1,159,487  pounds  were 
Chinese  bristles,  or  about  one-third  of  the  entire  importation. 

Statistics  show  that  from  July  1,  1896,  to  July  12  1897,  only  108,335 
pounds  of  Chinese  bristles  were  imported,  showing  an  increase  of 
over  1,000,000  pounds  in  ten  years. 

Fifth.  One-third  of  the  Chinese  bristles  imported  are  2|  inches  in 
length,  having  an  average  value  in  China  of  16  cents  per  pound,  on 
which  we  are  obliged  to  pay  a  duty  equal  to  about  47  per  cent. 

Sixth.  The  manufactured  brushes  from  which  this  size  alone  are 
made  give  employment  to  a  large  number  of  people,  and  the  other 
Lengths  up  to  4  inches  a  great  many  more. 

Seventh.  In  1890  Japan  exported  less  than  $1,000  and  in  1907  over 
$400,000  worth  of  brushes  to  the  United  States,  an  increase  of  over 
4,000  per  cent  in  seventeen  years,  and  they  are  just  commencing  to 
export  paint  and  varnish  brushes. 

Eighth.  The  total  importation  of  brushes,  on  which  the  duty  is 
now  40  per  cent  ad  valorem,  was:  July  1,  1897,  to  July  1,  1898^ 
$745,267;  and  July  1,  1907,  to  July  1,  1908,  $1,648,310— more  than 
doubled  in  ten  years,  owing  to  free  bristles  and  cheap  labor  enjoyed 
by  foreign  manufacturers. 

Ninth.  Seasons  why  American  bristles  require  no  protection: 
(1)  In  recent  years  the  quantity  of  domestic  bristles  has  gradually 
grown  less  and  less,  on  account  of  the  killing  of  the  hog  when  it  is 
very  young.  Before  this  it  is  fed  up  and  fattened  artificially,  so  as 
to  make  its  flesh  very  tender.  This  of  course  does  not  permit  its 
hair  to  grow  either  long  or  strong.  It  is  consequently  short  and 
weak,  measuring  in  the  most  cases  from  I£to3  inches  in  length.  Not- 
withstanding this,  it  has  a  merit  of  its  own,  presumably  brought  on 
by  climatic  conditions,  which  make  the  hair,  in  spite  of  its  thinness, 
quite  flexible  and  lively,  and  useful  for  valuable  purposes  on  account 
of  this  particular  distinction.  In  addition  to  this  comes  the  impor- 
tant point,  its  lightness  and  weight. 

Any  bristle  coming  from  abroad  in  the  same  length  and  quite  as 
thin  would  be  utterly  useless  for  the  same  purpose.  Consequently 
American  bristles  no  longer  require  any  protection,  as  they  stand  on 
their  own  merits  and  have  no  competitor,  and  will  command  the  same 
price  without  a  tariff  as  they  do  with  one. 


6462  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

0 

(2)  The  quantity  of  the  American  bristle,"  on  account  of  the  early 
killing  process,  has  so  diminished  that  the  value  of  its  whole  product 
does  not  nearly  amount  to  the  duty  paid  on  the  imported  bristle,  and 
can  not  therefore  be  placed  as  a  protection  to  a  home-grown  product. 
In  reality  it  is  to  be  classed  only  as  a  waste  in  the  hog-killing  indus- 
try, if  you  consider  that  the  value  of  the  bristles  pn  each  killed  hog  is 
only  from  1  to  2  cents  per  head.  Neither  is  it  to  be  classed  as  an  in- 
dustry, for  the  number  of  hands  employed  in  its  preparation,  dress- 
ing, etc.,  do  not  equal  the  number  of  hands  employed  in  one  brush 
factory  of  moderate  size. 

The  reveriue  from  bristles  is  of  the  most  insignificant  nature  com- 
pared to  other  revenue-producing  articles.  Nevertheless  the  1\  cents 
per  pound  specific  duty  is  a  great  handicap  in  the  brush  industry 
of  our  country,  and  if  it  is  to  expand,  bristles  should  be  free  and  man- 
ufactured brushes  be  protected  by  a  60  per  cent  ad  valorem  duty  to 
help  place  the  American  manufacturers  on  a  footing  with  foreign 
ones  exporting  brushes  into  the  United  States. 

In  closing  we  beg  to  state  we  are  a  corporation,  incorporated  under 
the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  have  no  agreement  with  any 
competitor  regarding  the  production  of  brushes  or  the  prices  at  which 
they  shall  be  sold,  and  that  we  know  of  no  such  combination  of  man- 
ufacturers in  the  United  States. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

HANLON  &  GOODMAN  COMPANY, 
ERNEST  B.  WRIGHT,  President. 


MILES  BROS.  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  ASK  A  REDUCTION  IN  DUTY 
ON  BRISTLES  AND  AN  INCREASE  ON  BRUSHES. 

NEW  YORK,  November  30,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  of  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Relative  to  present  duty  on  bristles,  as  well  as  the  duty 
on  manufactured  brushes,  would  say:  The  present  duty  of  7^  cents 
per  pound  on  all  kinds  of  bristles  (whether  they  cost  us  from  26  cents 
to  $3  per  pound,  including  said  duty)  makes  our  industry  pay  tribute 
of  said  7£  cents  per  pound  on  its  raw  material,  which  can  not  be  pro- 
duced within  the  United  States;  in  fact,  can  only  be  obtained  from 
foreign  countries.  Therefore,  foreign  manufacturers  have  a  7-|  cents 
per  pound  start  and  advantage  over  United  States  brush  makers 
before  touching  the  raw  material. 

As  to  the  soft,  short  hair  taken  off  the  swine  killed  in  the  United 
States,  it  is  of  little  use  for  brush  making,  being  too  short,  and  goes 
mostly  into  curled  hair.  Also,  the  number  of  pounds  produced  per 
annum  is  very  small  in  comparison  with  the  foreign  bristles  that 
come  into  this  country  per  annum  for  our  needs,  and  which  can  not 
be  procured  elsewhere  than  from  China,  Russia,  and  other  cold 
climates.  These  China  and  Russia  quality  bristles  can  not  be  raised 
in  the  United  States,  even  if  you  offered  a  bonus  per  pound,  as  the 
climate  is  not  here. 

Why  should  3,433,941  pounds  of  bristles  imported  from  July,  1906, 
to  July,  1907,  be  saddled  with  a  duty  of  7£  cents  per  pound  for  the 


BRUSHES  AND  BRISTLES — HANLON   &  GOODMAN   CO.         6463 

sake  of  protecting,  say,  433,941  pounds  of  soft  United  States  swine 
hair  riot  fit  for  90  per  cent  of  the  usages  of  the  United  States  brush 
maker,  while  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  other  3,000,000  pounds  imported, 
saddled  with  7|  cents  per  pound  duty,  can  not  be  produced  at  all  in 
the  United  States  or  in  any  other  locality  in  the  world,  except  in 
the  localities  in  foreign  lands  where  the  bristles  come  from  at 
present  ? 

We  plead  for  a  revision  of  paragraph  411  of  old  law,  as  follows: 

Bristles  sorted,  bunched,  or  bundled,  in  customary  one  length  to  a 
bunch  or  bundle,  but  not  in  any  manner  ready  to  be  made  into  a 
brush,  free  of  duty. 

Bristles  of  every  kind,  in  small  bunches  or  bundles,  ready  to  be 
made  into  a  brush,  duty  50  cents  per  pound. 

Kassan  hair,  badger  hair,  ox  hair,  fitch  hair,  mixed  hair  of  all 
kinds,  in  small  bundles  ready  to  be  made  into  a  brush,  duty  of  $1.50 
per  pound. 

As  to  duty  on  imported  manufactured  brushes,  we  desire  it  in- 
creased from  40  per  '-erit  to  60  per  cent,  owing  to  vast  differenca 
'twixt  American  and  foreign  wages,  particularly  in  toilet  and  drawn 
work,  such  as  hair,  nail,  military,  .cloth,  shoe,  hat,  and  bath  brushes. 
These  comprise  the  bulk  of  foreign  brushes  imported  'twixt  July  1, 
1907,  and  July  1,  1908,  $1,648,310.  We  have  a  case  in  sight  where  a 
customer  sent  our  $6  per  dozen  hairbrush  to  Germany  and  had  similar 
brush  supplied  for  around  $5  per  dozen,  including  the  present  duty 
of  40  per  cent,  and  we  lost  further  orders  and  labor  for  our  factory. 

Another  instance,  this  year  we  made  a  solid  back  hairbrush  similar 
to  English  made  brushes  that  are  used  at  Waldorf-Astoria  Hotel, 
New  York  City,  but  did  not  get  the  business  (as  the  material  and 
labor  in  our  brush  cost  $26.58  per  dozen,  and  could  not  be  sold  for 
less  than  $32  per  dozen),  as  New  York  City  wholesale  drug  houses 
sold  the  English  brush  at  $27  per  dozen. 

Now,  as  to  price  of  labor,  we  learn  Japan  males  receive  50  cents 
per  day;  females,  15  cents  per  day;  children,  5  cents  per  day.  This 
nationality  is  shipping  to-day  into  the  United  States  thousands  of 
grosses  of  brushes  per  annum,  and  it  will  need  a  duty  of  at  least  80 
per  cent  to  start  the  American  manufacturer  competing  with  the 
Japanese. 

Same  way  with  wages  in  England,  France,  and  Germany  being 
much  less  than  United  States. 

This  firm  pays  as  high  wages  as  paid  in  the  United  States  for  mak- 
ing toilet  work;  take  hair  and  military  brushes,  skilled  borers  on 
steam  machine,  at  13  to  15  cents  per  1,000  holes,  can  not  earn  over  $18 
to  $20  per  week,  while  draw  hands  (putting  bristles  in  the  holes  of 
hairbrush  block),  at  35  to  40  cents  per  1,000  holes,  can  not  earn  over 
$8  to  $12  per  week ;  both  occupations  tedious  work  and  uninviting'f or 
future  learners,  and  owing  to  quantity  of  foreign  brushes  coming  in 
yearly  it  is  hard  work  to  give  steady  employment  to  all  our  hands 
continually  through  the  year;  therefore,  if  our  people  want  foreign 
brushes  let  them  pay  a  good,  round  figure  for  them,  say  a  duty  of  60 
per  cent  or  more ;  in  meantime  the  American  makers  will  be  forging 
ahead,  competing  and  chewing  one  another  up,  safeguarding  the 
American  public  from  being  overcharged  and  the  American  brush 
maker  getting  too  wealthy,  but  as  "  employment "  is  the  foundation 
of  all  happiness  and  contentment,  give  the  working  people  of  the 


6464  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

United  States  every  chance  for  steady  work.     Any  increased  price 
they  pay  for  a  United  States  made  article  of  any  kind  is  vastly  over- 
balanced by  having  employment  313  days  per  year  instead  of  250, 
or  less,  days  work  per  year. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

MILES  BROS.  &  Co., 
Manufacturers  of  brushes. 

RENNOTJS,  KLEINLE  &  CO.,  BALTIMORE,  MD.,  ASK  PROTECTION 
FROM  JAPANESE  COMPETITION  IN  BRUSH  TRADE. 

BALTIMORE,  November  30,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  Rennous,  Kleinle  &  Co.,  of  Baltimore,  are  manufac- 
turers of  brushes,  our  specialty  being  those  for  the  paint,  oil,  and 
varnish  trade,  but  we  also  manufacture  brushes  for  household  uses. 
Heretofore  we  have  been  but  slightly  affected  by  the*40  per  cent  ad 
valorem  duty;  but  there  exists  at  the  present  time  a  very  large  and 
strong  combination  of  brush  manufacturers  in  Germany  who  are 
now  represented  in  the  United  States,  and  are  quite  a  factor  in  the 
paint  and  varnish  brush  business. 

In  recent  years  Asiatic  competition  in  toilet  brushes  has  almost 
driven  certain  manufacturers  of  American  made  toilet  brushes,  espe- 
cially hair,  tooth,  and  nail  brushes,  out  of  business.  It  is  impossible 
to  inquire  of  a  retail  dealer  of  tooth  brushes  in  the  United  States 
where  you  will  not  find  in  his  stock  tooth  brushes  "  made  in  Japan." 
They  are  now  commencing  to  manufacture  the  cheaper  grades  of 
paint  and  varnish  brushes  in  imitation  of  American  goods  in  which 
the  shorter  lengths  of  Chinese  bristles  are  used.  Labor  is  the  great- 
est item  of  cost  in  the  manufacture  of  cheap  brushes,  and  where  the 
foreign  wage  amounts  to  about  one-fifth  of  what  we  pay  for  the  same 
kind  of  labor  in  the  United  States,  it  must  be  evident  that  40  per  cent 
is  not  a  sufficient  duty  on  brushes.  When  it  is  taken  into  considera- 
tion that,  «n  addition  to  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  labor,  they  have 
the  still  further  advantage  of  bristles  costing  them  at  least  33^  per 
cent  less  than  ours  cost  on  the  same  lengths  and  qualities,  it  is  evident 
that  we  are  placed  at  a  great  disadvantage. 

During  the  past  four  weeks  we  have  had  138  employees  in  our  fac- 
tory engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  brushes,  as  follows : 

Average  wage. 

59  men per  day__  $2. 43 

30  boys do 1.00 

49  females do .78 

Japanese  brush  manufacturers,  we  learn,  pay  the  following  average 
wage: 

Cents. 

Males _per  day__  50 

Females do 15 

Children do 5 

We  are  safe  in  stating  that  during  the  past  five  years  our  company 
has  used  ten  pounds  of  Asiatic  or  black  Chinese  bristles  to  one  pound 
of  EUIT  )pean,  or  Russian,  German,  and  French  bristles. 


BRUSHES   AND  BRISTLES — RENNOUS,   KLEINLE   &   CO.        6465 

Our  percentage  of  purchases  for  the  past  five  years  on  Chinese 
bristles  was  as  follows  on  the  following  sizes : 

Length inches..     2*        2}        3  3J  3* 

Purchases  in  pounds per  cent 30  17  21  17  15 

Average  cost  to  us  (during  past  5  years) __cents__  29J  39i  46  56f  76 

Less  7i  cents  per  pound  duty 7i        7$        7$  7$  7i 

Foreign  value cents—  21|  32  38*  49A  68$ 

7i  cents  per  pound  equals percent—  34£  23&  19i  15?  11 

The  above  are  the  sizes  which  are  used  in  the  cheaper  grades  of 
brushes. 

This  shows  that  the  present  duty  imposed  is  in  pur  judgment  ex- 
cessive. In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  small  quantities  of  American 
bristles  produced  is  inadequate,  as  well  as  entirely  unfit  for  use  in 
paint  and  varnish  brushes,  we  can  see  no  reason  why  the  present 
duty,  or  any  duty  whatsoever,  should  be  placed  upon  bristles. 

There  is  no  combination  or  association  of  brush  manufacturers 
in  the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  production  or 
regulating  prices.  Competition  is  very  keen,  profits  are  small,  and 
it  will  be  a  great  advantage  to  the  consumer  should  the  duty  be  taken 
off  on  bristles.  The  foreign  brush  manufacturer  has  the  advantage 
of  not  only  a  lower  wage  base,  but  also  of  his  bristles  free  of  duty. 

The  following  statement  shows  a  large  yearly  increase  of  Chinese 
bristles  exported  from  Tientsin: 


Year. 

Oases  of 
112  pounds 
each. 

Pounds. 

1900             .          -  „      —     „     . 

8,000 

896,000 

1901  —     T    - 

11,000 

1,232,000 

1902                                                   _               .        ...      

14,000 

1,657,600 

1903  

15,300 

1,713,600 

1904  

14,954 

1,674,848 

1905      .             .      . 

11,326 

1,268,512 

1906  »  

1907               _                      

1^,719 

2,096,528 

To  July  23,1908  _._».    . 

9,490 

1,062,880 

0  Impossible  to  procure  data. 

In  the  year  1907,  out  of  18,719  cases,  of  112  pounds  each,  a  total  of 
2,096,528  pounds,  the  United  States  took  13,891  cases,  or  1,555,792 
pounds,  over  74  per  cent  of  the  entire  quantity  exported  from  the 
port  of  Tientsin  alone. 

Direct  shipments  are  also  made  from  Newchwang,  Chungking, 
Hankow,  and  other  Chinese  ports,  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain 
the  figures  from  the  last-named  cities. 

A  normal  assortment,  as  exported  from  China,  consists  of  66  cases 
of  110  to  112  pounds  each,  or  a  total  of  about  7,260  pounds,  as 
follows : 

Length inches..     2£     2|     3      3i     3i     3|     4      4|     4i     4J     5  to  6 

Cases 23      7875432214 

Total,  66. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  we  have  about  35  per  cent  (2,530  pounds) 
2£  inch,  present  price  of  which  is  30  cents  per  pound,  but  the  average 
price  during  the  past  five  years  to  the  American  manufacturer  has 
been  about  29  cents  per  pound,  on  which  7£  cents  per  pound  specific 
is  equivalent  to  34f  per  cent  duty  on  price  laid  down  in  England  or 


6466  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

Japan ;  or,  deducting  7^  cents  per  pound  duty  and  allowing  2£  cents 
for  transportation  charges  and  insurance  and  2  cents  per  pound  profit 
to  the  importer,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  the  2^-inch  length  is  worth 
to-day  about  18  cents  per  pound  in  China  or  Japan.  It  is  therefore 
evident  that  the  same  bristle,  under  the  present  7£  cents  per  pound 
specific  duty,  is  now  costing  the  United  States  manufacturer  about 
60  per  cent  more  than  the  Japanese  brush  manufacture.  We  would 
suggest  that  Schedule  N,  paragraph  410,  .should  read :  "  Brushes, 
hair  pencils,  in  quills  or  otherwise,  50  per  cent  ad  valorem." 

Please  note  we  have  omitted  brooms  and  feather  dusters  of  all 
kinds,  for  the  reason  that,  in  our  opinion,  these  items  belong  to  an 
entirely  separate  and  distinct  industry,  and  should  not  be  classed 
along  with  brushes  and  hair  pencils. 

Paragraph  411,  "  Bristles,  sorted,  bunched,  or  prepared  on  free 
list." 

In  conclusion  we  wish  to  state  that  we  are  an  incorporated  com- 
pany, with  a  capital  stock  of  $175,000,  of  which  amount  $97,500 
is  invested  in  plant,  machinery,  tools,  and  fixtures. 

We  have  from  125  to  150  employees,  and  our  products  are  distrib- 
uted in  nearly  every  State  in  the  Union. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

WM.  P.  BIGELOW,  President. 
RENNOUS,  KLEINLE  &  Co., 

Baltimore,  Md., 
Manufacturers  of  Brushes. 

DIXON  &  RIPPEL,  NEWARK,  N.  J.,  APPEAL  FOR  FREE  BRISTLES 
AND  AN  INCREASE  OF  DUTY  ON  BRUSHES. 

NEWARK,  N.  J.,  November  30,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman,  House  of  Representatives, 

.  Washington,  D.  G. 

DEAR  SIR:  As  manufacturer's  of  brushes  and  users  of  bristles,  we 
believe  that  brush  manufacturers  generally  throughout  the  United 
States  require  an  increase  in  the  duty  on  manufactured  brushes ;  also 
that  bristles  should  be  placed  on  the  free  list. 

Schedule  N,  paragraph  410,  of  the  present  law  gives  the  duty  on 
brushes  as  40  per  centum  ad  valorem.  This  should  be  increased  to  at 
least  50  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

Our  reasons  for  recommending  these  changes  are,  briefly  stated,  as 
follows : 

The  importations  of  foreign  brushes  during  the  past  eleven  years 
have  increased  each  year  from  $745,267  (July  1, 1897,  to  July  1, 1898) 
to  $1,648,310  (July  1,  1907,  to  July  1,  1908). 

The  difference  in  wages  to  labor  is  so  greatly  in  favor  of  the  United 
States  that  a  comparison  seems  ridiculous.  For  instance,  employees 
in  Japanese  brush  factories  are  paid  an  average  of:  Males,  50  cents 
per  day;  females,  15  cents  per  day;  children,  5  cents  per  day. 

Our  cost  of  production  is  large  owing  to  the  fact  that,  in  addition 
to  paying  the  highest  wages,  we  use  (outside  of  bristles)  materials 
which  are  made  and  produced  in  the  United  States,  for  which  we 
pay  regular  market  prices. 


BRUSHES   AND   BRISTLES.  6467 

Schedule  N,  paragraph  411,  of  the  present  law  gives  the  duty  on 
bristles  sorted,  bunched,  or  prepared  as  1\  cents  per  pound.  This 
should  be  entirely  removed  and  bristles  allowed  to  come  in  free  of 
duty  in  order  to  allow  us  to  compete  with  foreign  nations,  especially 
Japan,  which  does  not  pay  any  duty  on  bristles. 

Trusting  for  favorable  action  in  the  matter,  we  remain, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

DIXON  &  EIFFEL,  Manufacturers  of  Brushes. 


LANSINGBURG,  N.  Y.,  BRUSH  MANUFACTURERS  SUGGEST  NEW 
CLASSIFICATIONS  FOR  BRUSHES  AND  BRISTLES. 

LANSINGBURG,  N.  Y.,  November  80, 1908. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  undersigned  manufacturers  of  brushes,  in  which 
of  materials  used  bristles  are  the  chief  component  part,  and  on  which 
the  duty  of  those  imported  is  1\  cents  per  pound,  would  respectfully 
state  that  the  hogs  in  our  country  being  young  and  fat  when  slaugh- 
tered, their  bristles  are  quite  soft  and  short,  and  therefore  of  but  little 
value  as  compared  with  the  stiff  and  long  bristles  that  are  imported, 
and  that  probably  not  over  1  per  cent  of  our  American  bristles  are 
over  3  inches  in  length. 

Crude  bristles  are  in  free  list,  No.  509,  but  scarcely  any  such  are 
imported,  as  it  is  found  best  at  about  time  of  gathering  to  then  sort 
the  different  colors  and  lengths  and  to  bunch  them  by  tying  with 
twine  or  bark  so  as  to  tightly  pack  in  casks. 

We  would,  therefore,  respectfully  request  that  in  the  proposed 
revised  tariff  bill  bristles  read  as  per  below : 

Schedule  N :  Bristles,  3  inches  and  under  in  length,  7i  cents  per  pound. 
Free  list:  Bristles,  upward  of  3  inches  in  length. 

E.  &  C.  Wood  Co.,  C.  Wood,  president;  Greenburg  & 
Morse;  Wm.  J.  O'Brien  Brush  Co.;  Empire  Brush 
Co. ;  F.  M.  Hoyt  &  Bro. ;  O.  Dennin's  Sons ;  Monarch 
Brush  Co.;  A.  L.  Sonn  Brush  Co.;  Hiack  Bros.; 
John  G.  O'Bryan. 


WALKER  &  GIBSON,  OF  ALBANY,  N.  Y.,  OPPOSE  ANY  INCREASE 
WHATEVER  IN  THE  DUTY  ON  BRISTLE  GOODS. 

ALBANY,  N.  Y.,  December  1, 1908. 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  notice  that  some  of  the  manufacturers  of  brushes 
in  our  State  are  trying  to  have  an  increase  made  in  the  tariff  on 
bristle  goods.  It  seems  to  us  that  this  is  quite  unnecessary,  as  the 
present  tariff  is  high  enough  to  protect  any  manufacturer  who  is 
worth  thinking  about.  We  purchase  a  large  amount  of  these  goods 
during  the  year,  and  we  believe  that  any  increase  in  the  tariff  would 
be  a  hardship  not  only  to  the  dealers  but  on  the  general  public  who 


6468  SCHEDULE   N — SUNDRIES. 

use  these  goods.  Every  person  who  buys  a  toothbrush  or  hair- 
brush would  immediately  feel  the  increase  if  the  tariff  should  be 
changed. 

We  hope  that  you  will  consider  this  matter  from  our  standpoint 
and  not  allow  the  advance  to  be  made. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

CHARLES   GIBSON,  President. 
WALKER  &  GIBSON, 

Wholesale  Druggists. 

JOSEPH  C.  BONNER,  TOLEDO,  OHIO,  RECOMMENDS  THAT  BRISTLES 
USED  IN  MAKING  BRUSHES  BE  PLACED  ON  FREE  LIST. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  1, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

SIRS  :  I  beg  to  submit  a  plan  for  reconsideration  under  tariff  Sched- 
ule N,  paragraph  411,  Bristles,  and  to  recommend  that  same  be 
changed  from  duty  rate  of  1\  cents  per  pound  to  the  free  list. 

Reference  for  statements  of  fact  is  had  to  brief  filed  by  the  peti- 
tioner on  schedule,  subject,  "  Sundried  N,  Brushes,"  410. 

In  the  brush  art,  bristles  are  the  essence  of  the  produced  brush 
article.  The  world's  supply  of  bristles  is  never  equal  to  the  market 
demands.  In  consequence,  fiber  substitutes  are  utilized,  adultera- 
tions by  every  possible  method  are  resorted  to  for  materials  demanded 
in  the  completed  brushes  for  needed  consumption. 

Again,  foreign  hog  bristles  to-day  in  variety  and  quality  much 
surpass  the  American  hog  variety.  This  feature  is  patent  to  any  in- 
formed farmer  boy.  The  domestic  pig  of  the  United  States  is  killed 
on  reaching  age  of  eight  to  eleven  months.  Its  hair,  if  any,  is  fine, 
curly,  and  short,  not  adapted  to  any  brush  use,  except  in  connection 
with  making  of  the  cheapest  brush  varieties. 

The  American  brush  producers  seek  all  the  important  countries 
of  the  world  for  bristle  supplies,  principally  Russia,  France,  India, 
and  China.  This  hair  is  largely  the  bristle  of  the  wild  hog,  and  is 
found  by  peasant  children,  gathering  same  in  the  wilds  of  the  forests, 
where  the  hog -in  his  wanderings  finds  a  log  or  a  rock  for  a  rubbing 
place  to  shed  and  rub  away  his  shedding  hair. 

Manufactured  bristle  is  scarcely  understood,  for  in  reality  all  bris- 
tle in  market  is  raw,  figuratively.  Hair  when  bought  is  tied  in 
bundles  straight;  such  is  dutiable  at  7£  cents  per  pound;  hence 
bristles  should  be  placed  on  free  list — 

First.  For  the  reason  that  35  cents  per  pound  in  labor  is  placed 
on  the  bleached  stiff  article  before  it  is  ready  for  the  intended  brush. 
This  process  in  more  detail  is  known  in  the  trade— washing,  tying, 
drying,  bleaching,  sorting,  or  dragging  (to  like  lengths),  picking  as 
to  colors,  sieving  or  turning,  cutting,  mixing,  shaking,  and  tying. 
This  procedure  is  rarely  if  ever  had  prior  to  importation  of  bristles. 

Second.  Foreign  bristles  dp  not  in  any  sense  compete  with  the 
American  variety  in  color,  stiffness,  length,  hence  as  to  quality. 

Third.  Since  the  foreign- variety  bristle  can  not  be  American  pro- 
duced it  is  a  basic  principle  of  the  tariff-making  body  to  give  to 
American  manufacturers  free  all  raw  materials  not  procurable  in 
this  country. 


BRUSHES    AND    BRISTLES.  6469 

Fourth.  Bristles  should  be  on  free  list  because  brush  manufac- 
turers must  now  and  do  employ  lowest  wage-labor  scale  known  in  this 
country  to  enable  them  to  endeavor  to  compete  with  like  kind  of 
foreign  cheapest  wage-scale  labor. 

Fifth.  American  bristles  will  continue  in  demand  at  advanced 
prices,  more  than  duty  compensation  of  7£  per  pound)  because  of 
scarcity  of  raw  hair. 

Kespectfully  submitted. 

JOS.   C.   BONNER, 

President  Ames-Bonner  Company, 
Brush  Manufacturers,  Toledo,  Ohio. 


COL.  ALBERT  CLARKE,  BOSTON,  MASS.,  SUBMITS  ADDITIONAL 
STATEMENT  BY  JOHN  L.  WHITING-J.  J.  ADAMS  CO.,  BOSTON, 
RELATIVE  TO  ENGLISH  BRUSH  MAKING. 

BOSTON,  December  %,  1908. 
Col.  ALBERT  CLARKE, 

Hotel  Hamilton,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  COLONEL  :  I  told  you  when  there  that  I  had  a  clipping  which 
referred  to  British  Brush  Association  or  combination.  Inclosed 
please  find  same.  Some  of  its  purposes  are  contrary  to  our  laws 
and  could  not  be  entertained  here,  but  you  will  see  that  there  is  a 
close  association  there  for  specific  purposes  that  are  not  in  the 
interest  of  free  competition.  There  is  nothing  of  the  kind  in  the 
United  States.  You  will  also  notice  that  in  Mr.  Kent's  letter  he 
congratulates  himself  on  the  quantity  of  their  brushes  that  they  are 
selling  in  the  United  States,  and  well  he  may,  for  they  sell  large 
quantities  of  toilet  brushes  here,  all  of  which  ought  to  be  made  by 
American  brush  manufacturers. 

I  find  also  a  clipping  in  reference  to  wages  of  English  brush 
makers,  which  are  much  lower  than  they  are  in  the  United  States, 
and  even  these  low  rates  of  wages  are  much  higher  than  those  paid 
in  France,  while  the  Austrian  wages  and  German  wages  are  much 
lower  than  the  French  and  English.  The  Japanese  wages  to  brush 
workers  are  very  much  lower  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world, 
and  as  you  know,  they  are  sending  to  the  United  States  now  some- 
thing over  25  per  cent  of  all  of ; the  imported  brushes. 

If  you  think  it  advisable  to  file  this  letter  and  clippings,  please 
do  so. 

Very  truly,  yours,  LEW  C.  HILL,  President, 

JOHN  L.  WHITING-J.  J.  ADAMS  Co. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

[From  Brooms.  Brushes,  and  Handles.  March.  1908.] 

Members  of  the  British  brush  trade  have  recently  made  a  move  in 
which  this  paper  thinks  American  brush  makers  would  do  well  to 
follow  their  example.  This  is  in  the  formation  of  the  British  Brush 


6470  SCHEDULE   N SUNDBIES. 

Manufacturers'  Association,  which  has  been  organized  within  the 
past  few  months.  Ernest  N.  Kent,  of  the  prominent  London  brush 
concern  of  G.  B.  Kent  &  Sons  (Limited),  is  president  of  the  new 
association,  A.  L.  Burrow  and  K.  W.  Chase  are  vice-presidents,  C. 
Hamilton  Watkins  is  honorary  treasurer,  and  T.  M.  Till,  secretary. 
Writing  of  the  association  under  date  January  31,  Mr.  Kent  says: 

Editor  BROOMS,  BRUSHES,  AND  HANDLES  : 

It  will  probably  interest  your  readers  to  learn  that  an  association  has  just 
been  formed  of  the  brush  manufacturers  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

I  inclose  you  the  rules  of  the  association,  which  explain  themselves.  These 
are  the  proposed  rules  as  put  before  the  meeting  by  a  provisional  committee 
appointed  to  draw  them  up,  and  they  were  carried  as  they  stand  with  one  slight 
alteration  (which  I  have  marked). 

Although  some  time  ago  there  was  a  society  of  master  brush  manufacturers 
in  this  country,  it  was  chiefly  composed  of  a  few  of  the  largest  makers,  and  its 
objects  were  principally  to  deal  with  disputes  with  workmen.  This  old  society 
ceased  to  exist,  for  the  reason,  I  suppose,  that  over  here  the  relations  between 
masters  and  men  in  our  trade  are  so  amicable,  and  no  meetings  have  been  held 
for  several  years. 

The  new  British  Brush  Manufacturers'  Association  has  sprung  into  being 
from  no  thought  whatever  of  coming  trouble  with  workmen,  for,  to  use  the 
words  of  the  King's  speech  (slightly  altered),  "  Our  relations  with  our  employees 
continue  to  be  friendly ;"  but  you  will  observe  from  the  "  objects  "  of  the  asso- 
ciation that  there  are  other  matters  which  might  be  discussed  between  masters 
for  the  benefit  of  all  concerned. 

If  you  have  any  such  association  of  the  trade  on  your  side  of  the  Atlantic,  I 
should  be  very  pleased  to  hear  of  it,  and  exchange  notes  at  any  time. 

Your  valuable  paper,  Brooms,  Brushes,  and  Handles,  conies  regularly  to 
hand  each  month,  and  is  read  with  interest  by  yours  truly.  It  is  amusing  to 
note  how  airily  and  breezily  your  manufacturers  talk  of  their  trade  and  their 
doings  to  your  interviewers  or  correspondents.  Here  when  we  are  booming 
we  say  "We  mustn't  complain"  (and  we  sometimes  say  it  when  we  are  not). 
That  is  about  as  much  as  one  brush  maker  hears  of  his  friendly  opponent's 
business. 

If  you  would  like  to  hear  a  word  about  the  business  of  my  company,  G.  B. 
Kent  &  Sons  (Limited),  I  will  tell  you  that  1907  has  been  kinder  to  us  than 
three  or  four  of  its  predecessors,  and,  in  spite  of  a  mild  protection  of  only 
40  per  cent  ad  valorem,  the  demand  for  our  excellent  productions  by  your  hos- 
pitable country  shows  a  record  during  those  twelve  months. 

In  this  respect,  whether  the  palm  goes  to  the  excellence  of  the  wares  or  to 
the  push,  grit,  and  business  acumen  of  our  very  good  friends,  Messrs.  McKesson 
&  Robbins,  of  New  York,  qur  sole  agents,  is  a  moot  point — but  we  are  both 
pleased. 

Wishing  your  publication  all  success,  I  am,  yours  faithfully, 

G.  B.  KENT  &  SONS  (LIMITED). 
ERNEST  N.  KENT, 
President  British  Brush  Manufacturers'  Association. 

The  rules  of  the  new  association  are  here  given,  with  the  idea  that 
they  may  be  of  interest  to  American  brush  manufacturers  and  may 
perhaps  incline  them  to  "  go  and  do  likewise."  They  are  as  below : 

Name :  The  name  of  the  association  is  "  The  British  Brush  Manufacturers' 
Association." 

Offices:  The  offices  for  the  business  of  the  association  shall  be  situated  in 
London. 

Objects :  The  objects  for  which  the  association  are  established  are : 

(a)  To  maintain  in  London  an  association  of  brush  manufacturers,  which 
will,  as  occasions  arise,  organize,  promote,  and  deal  with  all  matters  in  any 
way  affecting  the  interests  of  the  members  of  this  association  and  the  brush 
trade  in  general. 

(b)  To  make  and  define  rules  and  regulations,  to  obtain  uniformity  in  wages 
and  customs  in  the  brush  trade,  and  to  establish  just  and  equitable  principles 
therein. 


BKUSHES  AND  BRISTLES.  6471 

(c)  To  protect  and  safeguard  the  interests  of  the  members  of  the  association 
and  trade  generally  upon  such  matters  as  disputes  with  workmen,  selling  prices, 
government  and  other  contracts,   insurances,   legislation  and  arbitration,   the 
standardization  of  weights,  and  the  proper  description  and  marking  of  goods. 

(d)  To  establish  a  clearing  house  among  members  of  the  association  for  sur- 
plus raw  materials. 

(e)  To  collect  information  as  to  the  credit  and  standing  of  the  traders  for  the 
benefit  of  the  members  of  the  association  and  to  assist  them  in  the  collection  of 
accounts  owing  to  them. 


EXHIBIT  B. 

WAGES  OF  ENGLISH  BRUSH   MAKERS    (AUGUST,   1907). 

R.  E.  Graves,  chief  home  office  factory  inspector  at  Birmingham, 
England,  gave  evidence  before  the  parliamentary  committee  on 
home  work,  and  in  reference  to  the  brush-making  industry  at  Bir- 
mingham he  said  there  had  been  a  great  increase  in  the  use  of  ma- 
chinery in  this  trade,  and  home  work  was  decreasing.  The  only 
branch  of  the  trade  in  which  there  was  home  work  was  that  where 
pitch  pans  had  to  be  used.  The  wiring  was  not  done  by  hand.  He 
considered  this  was  a  sweated  trade,  especially  as  regards  the 
cheaper  classes  of  brushes.*  The  pay  was  at  the  rate  of.  5^  pence  to 
7  pence  per  1,000  holes,  and  it  took  a  worker  four  hours  to  do  1,000 
holes.  Most  of  the  home  workers  in  this  trade  were  men.  They 
had  to  buy  their  own  materials,  and  the  prices  of  these  had  gone  up 
40  or  50  per  cent.  In  the  French  polishing  a  man  could  earn  from 
10  to  12  shillings  per  week.&  The  prices  of  material  in  this  trade  had 
largely  increased.  He  had  been  told  of  a  case  where  a  man  and  his 
wife  earned  30  shillings  ($7.50)  a  week  between  them,  and  the  man 
said  that  twenty  years  ago  he  could  have  earned  that  amount  himself. 
The  decrease  in  the  wages  was  due,  to  some  degree,  to  keener  com- 
petition. 


BRUSHMAKERS'  INTERNATIONAL  UNION,  WEST  HOBOKEN,  N.  J., 
ASKS  RETENTION  OF  PRESENT  DUTIES  ON  BRUSHES. 

WEST  HOBOKEN,  N.  J.,  December  4,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  TARIFF  REVISION. 

DEAR  HONORABLE  SIRS  :  At  a  meeting  of  Local  No.  2,  Brushmakers' 
International  Union,  held  on  December  1,  1908,  I  was  instructed  to 
write  to  your  honorable  body  in  behalf  of  a  body  of  men  (between 
four  and  six  thousand)  who  are  employed  in  this  country  at  the  trade 
of  making  paint,  varnish,  artist,  and  what  is  know  as  "  draw-work  " 
brushes.  Our  trade  exists  from  the  fact  that  a  protective  tariff 
prevents  foreign  competition,  and  a  reduction  in  the  duties  as  they 
stand  upon  the  statutes  to-day  would  mean  a  speedy  demoralization 
of  our  trade.  As  it  is  there  is  coming  into  our  country  to-day  many 
styles  of  brushes  which  could  be  made  here,  but  owing  to  the  fact  of 

a  Wiring  bristles  into  brushes  in  the  United  States  costs  three  to  four  times 
prices  named  herein. 

6  French  polishing  workers  are  paid  in  the  United  States  $18  and  over  per 
week. 

75941— H.  Doe.  ir.Or..  (iO-'J - -Vol  6 45 


6472  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

the  cheap  labor  in  other  countries  we  can  not  compete  with  them.  So 
we  petition  your  honorable  body  to  continue  the  duty  upon  brushes 
as  it  stands  to-day,  and  if  we  are  permitted  we  would  suggest  that  the 
duty  on  raw  bristles  be  reduced,  because  of  the  fact  that  about  nine 
and  one-half  tenths  of  the  bristles  used  in  this  country  in  the  making 
of  brushes  are  imported  from  the  other  side,  as  the  American  bristles 
have  not  the  qualifications  that  are  required  in  the  making  of  a  brush 
to  be  used  in  paint,  varnish,  and  artist  work,  and  we  would  further 
suggest  that  if  our  petition  be  granted  in  regard  to  the  aforesaid  sug- 
gestion that  such  a  reduction  be  added  upon  the  duty  of  brushes,  for 
by  so  doing  the  cost  of  brushes  could  be  reduced  without  interfering 
with  the  cost  of  making  them  as  far  as  the  brush  maker  is  concerned. 
I  am,  respectfully, 

PETER  F.  BISCHOFF, 
Secretary  Local  No.  2,  Brush/makers'  International  Union. 


STATEMENT  OF  HENRY  ALEXANDER,  No.  371  BROADWAY,  NEW 
YORK  CITY,  PRESIDENT  UNIVERSAL  BRUSH  CO.,  OF  TROY,  N.  Y., 
WHO  ASKS  REMOVAL  OF  DUTY  FROM  BRISTLES. 

MONDAY,  December  7, 1908. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  committee, 
I  propose  to  restrict  my  argument  to  the  removal  of  the  duty  on 
bristles,  paragraph  411. 

I  appear  here,  as  a  manufacturer  of  toilet  brushes,  to  request  the 
removal  of  duties  on  bristles  as  specified  in  paragraph  411  of  Sched- 
ule N.  In  this  request  I  am  joined  by  every  manufacturer  of 
brushes,  of  whatever  kind,  in  this  country,  as  the  different  briefs  filed 
with  your  committee  ably  show. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  paragraph  reads,  "  Bristles,  sorted,  bunched, 
or  prepared  7£  cents  per  pound."  You  are  speaking  of  the  sorted 
article  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  That  is,  prepared  bristles  ready  to  enter  the  brush 
industries,  as  I  will  show  you  in  a  moment. 

Now,  gentlemen,  the  brush  industry  in  this  country  is  by  no  means 
a  negligible  quantity.  We  import  and  we  consume  over  three  and  a 
quarter  million  dollars  of  imported  bristles  annually,  and  the  output 
is  certainly  not  less  than  $8,000,000  per  year.  And  I  want  to  say  that 
there  is  a  distinction  between  brushes  and  such  articles  as  brooms, 
though  I  believe  they  are  classed  together  by  your  bureau  of  statistics. 
so  that  the  figures  are  perhaps  not  exactly  as  correct  as  I  would  like 
to  see  them.  But  the  brush  industry,  such  as  the  clothes  brush,  the 
paint  brush,  etc.,  amounts  to  about  $8,000,000  to  $10,000,000  a  year. 
This  industry  employs  thousands  of  American  work  men  and  women 
at  living  wages,  though  smaller  than  that  paid  in  many  other  in- 
dustries. It  is  scattered  all  over  the  country,  is  free  from  any  com- 
bination of  capital,  is  not  in  any  trust,  and  it  is  entitled  to  your  very 
earnest  consideration.  Brushes  are  an  absolute  household  necessity 
in  a  civilized  country  like  ours,  and  every  one  of  you  gentlemen  has 
a  toothbrush  for  himself  and  for  all  members  of  your  family ;  you  all 
have  several  hair  brushes  in  your  households,  also  a  clothes  brush,  a 
«hoe  brush,  etc. 


BRUSHES    AND    BRISTLES HENBY    ALEXANDER.  6473 

Now,  it  is  the  aim  of  the  American  manufacturer  to  make  these 
brushes  in  this  country,  and  the  first  obstacle  that  greets  him  is  the 
tariff  on  his  most  necessary  raw  material,  bristles. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  There  is  a  tariff  of  8.03  cents — 8  per  cent. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  I  think  I  can  enlighten  you  upon  that. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  And  there  are  $3,000,000  worth  imported  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Three  and  a  quarter  million  dollars'  worth,  and 
that  turns  out  about  $8,000,000  to  $10,000,000  worth  of  brushes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Three  million  dollars'  worth  of  bristles,  sorted  and 
prepared,  paying  a  duty  of  8  per  cent — that  is  a  low  duty  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  If  you  will  allow  me  to  go  on  with  my  argument, 
I  think  I  can  show  that  it  is  a  high  duty.  With  the  exception  of  an 
insignificant  quantity,  all  bristles  that  enter  into  the  brush  industry 
have  to  be  imported  from  abroad  and  do  not  come  at  all  in  competi- 
tion with  the  domestic  article.  We  have  none  at  all,  because  the 
hogs  are  usually  killed  at  the  age  of  6  to  8  months,  and  they  are 
killed  for  the  tenderness  of  their  meat  and  not  for  their  bristles. 

Paragraph  411  places  the  uniform  duty  of  7^  cents  per  pound  on 
bristles,  irrespective  of  their  cost  and  length. 

It  may  not  be  known  to  your  committee  that  bristles  such  as  enter 
into  brush  making  run  all  the  way  from  the  low  price  of  17  cents 
per  pound  to  $6  per  pound  and  over.  All  the  cheap  grades  of 
bristles  are  brought  in  here  from  Chinese  ports,  and  the  figures  of 
the  Bureau  of  Statistics  show  that  in  1907  out  of  a  total  of  3,433,941 
pounds  of  bristles  brought  into  this  country,  1,195,390  pounds  were 
brought  in  here  from  Asia,  or  slightly  over  one-third  of  the  quantity 
of  all  the  bristles  imported,  leaving  2,238,183  pounds  from  Europe. 
In  other  words,  for  every  2  pounds  of  bristles  that  Europe  exported 
into  this  country  China  exported  1  pound  to  us. 

When  we  turn,  however,  to  the  value  of  these  bristles,  a  very  much 
more  striking  picture  is  presented  to  us.  The  two  million  and  odd 
pounds  of  European  bristles  were  valued  at  $2,571,805,  averaging 
$1.10£  a  pound,  whereas  the  one  million  and  odd  from  China  were 
valued  at  $684,546;  or  an  average  of  about  57  cents  a  pound,  just 
about  one-half  the  value  of  the  European  bristles  per  pound. 

This,  however,  is  not  yet  a  fair  statement  of  the  cost  of  these 
Chinese  bristles,  inasmuch  as  bristles  are  sold  by  lengths,  and  the 
longer  bristles  are  comparatively  very  much  higher  than  the  shorter 
lengths. 

Now,  the  great  bulk  of  Chinese  bristles  consumed  by  the  brush 
makers  consists  of  the  short  lengths  of  2-inch,  2i-inch,  and  2|-inch, 
such  as  I  am  showing  here  by  samples  before  me.  These  short  lengths 
are  bought  here  duty  paid  at  an  average  of  25,  26,  and  27  cents  per 
pound;  or,  in  other  words,  they  are  bought  in  the  markets  of  Lon- 
don and  Hamburg,  to  which  ports  all  these  China  bristles  are  orig- 
inally consigned,  at  17,  18,  and  19  cents  per  pound.  Your  committee 
will  therefore  readily  see  that  the  actual  duty  on  these  short-length 
bristles,  which  form  40  per  cent  of  all  the  Chinses  bristles  used  by  the 
brush  makers  in  the  United  States,  is  no  less  than  45  per  cent  and  40 
per  cent  on  their  cost  in  Europe,  or  fully  an  average  of  42£  per  cent 
on  the  above  three  leading  lengths.  And  this  is  the  hardship  and 
handicap  of  which  the  manufacturers  ask  your  honorable  body  to 
relieve  us. 


6474  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

I  shall  now  apply  a  few  minutes  of  my  time  to  the  particular 
branch  of  the  brush  industry  which  I  represent,  and  which  is  almost 
an  exclusive  user  of  short  Chinese  bristles. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  say  that  all  of  the  bristles  used  in  the  brush 
manufactories  of  this  country  are  imported  from  abroad  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  All  the  bristles  that  are  used  in  the  toilet  brush, 
the  paint  brush,  the  shoe  brush,  and  the  clothes  brush  industry  are  im- 
ported bristles.  We  do  not  make  any  distinction  in  this  country  upon 
articles  using  bristles — we  call  everything  a  brush.  We  call  the  little 
brush  with  which  we  clean  the  lamp  chimney  a  "  brush,"  while  it  really 
is  not  a  brush.  That  may  have  a  soft  bristle  in  it  which  does  not  enter 
into  our  industry  at  all. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  finer  bristle  comes  from  North  Poland,  the 
north  of  Russia,  Finland,  does  it  not  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Yes ;  from  the  coldest  countries  in  the  world ;  the 
colder  the  country  the  stiffer  the  bristle.  The  Siberian  bristle  is  a  very 
good  one. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  And  a  very  good  quality  of  bristle  comes  from 
China? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Only  a  medium  quality  comes  from  China.  The 
best  comes  from  Siberia,  Manchuria,  and  Poland. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  best  comes  from  there,  but  a  fair  quality  comes 
from  China? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  And  the  very  cheapest  comes  from  China. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Still,  when  you  take  them  altogether  they  average 
a  dollar  a  pound. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  But  the  proportion  is  so  entirely  different.  You 
do  not  distinguish  between  lengths,  Mr.  Chairman.  That  is  the  sort 
of  bristle  [handing  a  sample  to  the  chairman]  of  which  40  per  cent 
of  all  the  Chinese  bristle  that  comes  in  here  is  constituted. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Is  not  the  business  of  sorting  bristles  carried  on  in 
this  country? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  There  is  some. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Twelve  years  ago  they  represented  that  it  was 
quite  a  large  industry,  although  I  do  not  know  anything  about  it. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Were  you  speaking  of  sorting  foreign  or  domestic 
bristles  in  this  country? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  do  not  know  which,  but  there  are  hardly  any 
foreign  bristles  imported  excepting  the  sorted,  are  there  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Excepting  they  are  dressed,  because  they  can  do 
it  cheaper  over  there  than  we  can  here. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Looking  back  to  see  what  the  importations  were 
prior  to  that,  I  notice  that  in  1894  and  1895  the  sorted  bristles  were 
10  cents  a  pound,  and  we  imported  in  1894,  592,000  pounds,  while  in 
1907  only  11,000  pounds.  The  sorting  of  imported  bristles  was  much 
larger  then  than  now.  The  whole  importation  was  included  in  1894, 
sorted  and  unsorted. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  We  are  bringing  over  no  unsorted  bristles,  because 
the  labor  would  be  too  expensive  to  put  the  butt  ends  together. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  sorted  bristles,  in  bunches,  7£  cents  a  pound, 
which  amounts  to  from  7  to  8  per  cent  in  the  last  twelve  years. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Yes ;  bristles  as  a  revenue  producer  are  not  much 
of  an  item. 


BRUSHES    AND    BRISTLES HENRY    ALEXANDER.  6475 

The  CHAIRMAN.  And  they  are  valued  at  $1  a  pound,  sometimes 
over  and  sometimes  less. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  That  is  really  misleading,  because  you  can  not 
average  them. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  There  is  no  particular  reason  in  misstating  the 
value  of  an  article  imported  where  the  duty  is  specific. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  That  is  why  I  am  glad  of  having  the  opportunity 
of  presenting  it  to  }7ou,  because,  as  I  stated,  an  average  is  not  proper. 
It  would  take  36  pounds  of  Chinese  bristle  at  16  cents  a  pound  to 
average  1  pound  of  Siberian  bristle  at  $6  a  pound.  That  is  not  an 
average. 

Our  factory  is  located  at  Troy,  N.  Y.  We  employ  about  250 
workmen,  and  our  output  is  from  12,000  to  15,000  brushes  per  day. 
We  make  hair  brushes  and  cloth  brushes  exclusively,  and  the  greatest 
quantity  of  these  are  brushes  that  are  bought  by  the  great  bulk  of 
the  American  people  at  the  retail  price  of  10  cents  a  piece. 

I  have  here  with  me  two  brushes,  a  hair  and  a  cloth  brush,  which 
can  probably  be  found  in  almost  every  5  and  10  cent  store  in  this 
country,  as  well  as  on  the  shelves  of  most  country  merchants,  and 
this  particular  hair  brush  was  bought  at  10  cents  in  a  store  here  on 
Seventh  street.  It  was  by  the  most  improved  machinery  and  all  the 
labor-saving  devices  only  that  we  could  originate  that  a  brush  could 
be  placed  in  the  merchant's  hand  at  7  cents  apiece,  to  enable  him  to 
sell  the  same  over  the  counter  in  single  pieces  at  10  cents. 

Now,  these  brushes  are  made  exclusively  of  Chinese  bristles  of  2 
inches  and  2£  inches  in  length,  although  we  are  occasionally  obliged 
to  buy  the  2|-inch  lengths  when  the  shorter  lengths  are  not  obtain- 
able. I  now  lay  before  your  committee  the  actual  cost  of  these 
brushes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  If  we  take  the  duty  off  of  bristles,  how  much 
reduction  will  you  stand  on  the  brushes,  which  is  now  40  per  cent? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  If  you  take  off  the  duty  on  the  bristles  in  this 
brush  [indicating]  it  will  make  a  difference  of  from  2£  to  3  cents  less 
a  dozen,  and  that  is  an  item. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  is  your  price  per  dozen? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  The  price  of  this  particular  brush  is  7  cents  apiece, 
and  the  retail  merchant  retails  them  at  10  cents.  That  will  show  you 
the  margin. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Well,  I  think  they  would  still  retail  at  10  cents  if 
you  took  off  the  3  cents  per  dozen  on  the  price. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Now,  I  wish  to  touch  on  the  question  of  labor. 

It  will  be  found  that  the  cost  of  the  bristles  contained  in  the  hair- 
brush amounts  to  16  cents  a  dozen,  and  the  cost  of  the  bristles  con- 
tained in  the  cloth  brush  amounts  to  18  cents  a  dozen.  For  these 
bristles  we  are  taxed  40  and  45  per  cent  at  the  port  of  entry  here, 
inasmuch  as  the  Hamburg  or  London  price  for  these  two  lengths  is 
17  and  18  cents  per  pound.  Now,  manufacturers  must  protect  their 
operating  expenses,  and  they  are  certainly  entitled  to  a  legitimate 
profit  on  their  investment  or  they  can  not  continue  to  exist.  The  next 
two  items  are,  of  course,  material  and  labor,  and  the  more  the  manu- 
facturer has  to  pay  for  the  cost  of  his  material  the  smaller  is  the 
balance  left  to  apply  to  the  cost  of  labor. 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  do  not  appear  here  purely  as  a  pleader  for  the 
laboring  man.  I  have  a  considerable  amount  of  investment  to  pro- 


6476  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

tect,  and  I  have  to  see  to  it  that  this  investment  yields  fair  and 
remunerative  returns,  but  I  do  not  hesitate  at  all  in  making  the 
positive  statement  that  whatever  additional  cost,  through  the  impo- 
sition of  an  import  tariff,  is  placed  upon  raw  material  comes  directly 
out  of  the  pockets  of  the  laborer. 

Your  manufacturer,  as  before  stated,  has  to  protect  himself.  He 
has  to  make  enough  out  of  his  product  to  cover  his  operating  expenses, 
and  these  are  rigid.  He  has  to  make  a  legitimate  profit  on  his  invest- 
ment or  he  does  not  stay  in  the  industrial  field.  He  has  to  pay  a 
certain  price — the  lowest  that  he  possibly  can — for  his  material,  so 
that  this  item  is  rigid.  Hence  the  only  elastic  item  left  to  him  is  the 
cost  of  the  labor,  and  the  larger  the  cost  of  his  raw  material  the 
smaller  is  the  margin  left  over  for  labor. 

We  must  always  remember  that  European,  and  of  late  Japanese, 
competition  is  fiercely  knocking  at  our  door.  Commodities  that  retail 
at  10,  25,  50  cents  and  $1  have  a  fixed  jobbing  price.  No  merchant 
will  pay  more  than  this  limit.  For  instance,  you  take  the  10-cent 
article  that  I  have  here  placed  before  you,  and  the  utmost  price  that 
can  be  obtained  from  the  retailer  is  1  cents  apiece.  For  out  of  the 
remaining  3-cent  profit  he  has  to  cover  his  rental  and  operating 
expenses,  his  living  expenses,  and  whatever  may  be  left  as  interest 
on  his  investment.  This  7  cents  apiece  is  equivalent  to  a  price  of  $10 
per  gross. 

Now,  you  deduct  $1  from  this  sum  as  profit  and  take  out  of  the 
remaining  $9  your  operating  expenses,  which  in  a  well-organized 
factory  are  never  less  than  20  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  the  goods,  and 
it  leaves  just  $7.20  per  gross,  or  60  cents  a  dozen,  for  the  actual  cost 
of  labor,  material,  packing  and  boxing  of  this  brush.  The  material 
is  represented  by  36  cents  per  dozen.  This  leaves  the  margin  appli- 
cable for  labor,  which  includes  the  shaping  of  the  raw  wood  into  the 
proper  handle,  the  inserting  of  the  bristle,  the  smoothing  and  sand 
wheeling  of  the  block,  the  painting  and  varnishing,  packing  and 
boxing,  at  24  cents  a  dozen,  or  2  cents  a  brush.  The  moment  that 
the  labor  on  this  brush  goes  beyond  the  figure  here  given  by  me  we 
will  be  unable  to  longer  make  the  brush  at  the  present  price,  and  the 
foreign  brush  will  have  the  American  field  to  itself. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Sixty  per  cent  of  the  cost  is  material? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Forty  per  cent  is  labor? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Of  that  material  what  profit  is  in  the  bristle? 
That  is  the  greatest  cost,  isn't  it? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  One-half.  There  are  18  cents'  worth  of  bristles 
in  there  [indicating]  per  dozen,  and  there  are  18  cents'  worth  of  other 
material  in  there  to  make  this  into  a  brush. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Then  30  per  cent  of  the  cost  is  bristle.  Is  that 
with  reference  to  this  particular  kind  of  brush,  or  will  that  run 
through  all  of  your  manufacture  of  brushes  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Oh,  no. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  suppose  in  the  high  class  of  brushes,  where  you 
get  your  higher  prices,  the  bristle  is  a  much  larger  percentage  of 
cost? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Very  much. 


BKUSHES    AND    BKISTLES HENRY    ALEXANDER.  6477 

The  CHAIRMAN.  In  the  higher  priced  goods,  what  is  the  percentage 
of  cost  in  the  bristles  to  the  whole  cost,  including  the  labor  and 
other  material ;  it  is  a  good  deal  higher,  isn't  it  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  A  good  deal  higher. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Seventy- five  per  cent? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  No ;  but  it  will  run  from  50  to  55  per  cent,  about. 

Mr.  LONGWORTH.  Are  some  of  these  brushes  made  by  prison  labor  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Very  little  in  this  country.  The  prison-labor 
brushes  are  largely  brought  in  here  from  abroad,  largely  from  Ger- 
many. 

Mr.  LONGWORTH.  Are  they  this  class  of  brush  or  inferior  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  A  very  inferior  brush;  they  are  usually  an  in- 
ferior brush.  The  total  of  imported  brushes  is  $1,600,000  of  the  finer 
brushes. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  You  say  the  cost  of  the  bristle  will  be  about  55  per 
cent  of  the  value  of  the  brush  and  material  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Fifty -five  per  cent  of  the  first  cost,  before  you  add 
the  operating  expense,  your  profit,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing. 

Mr.  EANDELL.  You  said  that  the  material  was  60  per  cent  and  the 
labor  40  per  cent,  and  that  the  bristles  in  the  ordinary  brush  was  50 
per  cent  of  the  material.  That  would  be  30  per  cent.  The  chairman 
asked  you  if  in  fine  brushes  there  would  be  a  greater  percentage  in  the 
bristles  and  you  said  yes,  and  you  said  it  would  be  about  55  per  cent. 
Does  that  55  per  cent  take  the  place  of  the  30  per  cent  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  EANDELL.  Is  that  55  per  cent  of  the  whole  cost,  or  of  the  ma- 
terial? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  bristles  in  the  cheaper  brushes  are  so  much 
cheaper  that  the  percentage  of  cost  is  smaller,  is  it  not;  and  in  the 
higher  price  brushes  it  is  higher?  You  said  that  bristles  from  China 
were  imported  at  about  20  cents  a  pound,  while  from  the  north  of 
Europe  and  from  Asia  they  run  from  a  dollar  up. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  In  the  bristles  in  here  [indicating],  they  would 
cost  us  24  cents,  and  they  would  not  be  a  cent  more  labor 

The  CHAIRMAN.  As  to  your  percentage,  the  55  per  cent  would  be 
55  per  cent  of  what,  the  total  cost  of  the  brush  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  percentage  of  labor  is  in  the  brush,  where 
the  bristles  cost  55  per  cent?  The  high-class  bristles  you  say  is  55 
per  cent;  is  that  the  bristles  entirely?  What  is  the  percentage  of 
labor  cost  there,  and  the  percentage  of  the  other  material? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  The  other  material  would  probably  cost  about 
10  per  cent  additional,  from  10  to  15  per  cent.  That  would  be  about 
30  per  cent  labor.  The  labor  in  this  brush  [indicating]  would  not 
cost  1  cent  more  with  $3  bristles  than  25-cent  bristles,  so  that  it  is  the 
better  bristle  that  changes  the  proportion  of  cost. 

Now,  here  is  my  point.  The  bristle  contained  in  a  dozen  of  these 
brushes  amounts  to  4  and  7  ounces,  respectively.  Were  the  duties  on 
the  bristles  removed,  there  would  be  freed  the  sum  of  2  and  3|  cents 
per  dozen.  This  particular  sum  so  saved  would  probably  serve  two 
purposes.  It  would  fortify  us  better  against  the  foreign  brush, 
which  is  coming  in  and  competing  with  us,  and  to  which  I  will 
later  devote  one  minute  of  my  time,  and  it  will  allow  a  somewhat 
more  liberal  remuneration  for  labor.  Two  cents  and  3  cents  a  dozen 


6478  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

may  sound  little,  but  when  a  man  will  produce  30  dozen  of  a  brush, 
if  we  could  add  1  cent  per  dozen  to  his  labor  on  that  30  dozen,  that 
would  mean  30  cents,  and  it  would  be  an  item.  That  is  my  reason 
for  asking  the  removal  of  the  duty  on  bristles,  in  order  to  secure  a 
better  class  of  American  workingmen,  and  pay  them  a  little  more. 
I  have  not  come  here  to  ask  an  increase  of  the  duty  on  brushes.  My 
whole  argument  is  based  upon  the  removal  of  the  duty  on  bristles. 
It  is  not  a  revenue  producer  to  the  Government.  Your  whole  revenue 
derived  last  year  did  not  amount  to  $260,000. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  If  this  duty  is  allowed  to  remain,  can  you  give  more 
to  labor  than  you  are  giving  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  That  is  my  argument. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Then  why  did  you  not  do  it  before? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  Before  when? 

Mr.  RANDELL.  You  say  that  if  this  tariff  will  remain  as  it  is  you 
can  give  more  than  you  have  given  to  labor.  You  have  had  the 
tariff;  why  did  you  not  give  it? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  I  think  you  misunderstood  me.  I  say  that  if  the 
tariff  on  bristles  is  removed,  it  may  sound  little  when  we  talk  of  2 
cents  a  dozen  and  3^  cents  a  dozen,  but  it  does  not  sound  little  to  the 
workingman,  for  it  may  mean  an  increase  of  25  cents  a  day  to  him, 
and  that  is  something;  especially  in  the  towns  where  the  brush  indus- 
try is  all  there  is  there. 

As  for  the  possibility  of  exporting  our  goods,  it  stands  to  reason 
that  we  have  no  possible  chance  of  competing  with  foreign  brush 
makers.  These  obtain  their  supply  of  low-priced  bristles  free  from 
an  imposition  of  a  40  to  45  per  cent  duty.  They  are  thereby  enabled 
to  undersell  us  wherever  we  have  made  the  attempt  to  market  our 
brush,  whether  in  Australia,  South  Africa,  South  America,  or  in 
England. 

How  close  this  competition  is  I  desire  to  illustrate  by  a  brush  given 
us  by  an  importer.  This  brush  [indicating]  he  brings  into  this 
country,  with  40  per  cent  duty  paid,  at  12  cents  each,  the  brush  being 
sold  in  Europe  at  8£  cents.  With  this  brush  [indicating]  we  can  not 
compete.  The  brush  contains  2  pounds  of  bristles  per  dozen,  and  on 
this  2  pounds  of  bristles  we  have  to  pay  15  cents  duty  before  we  can 
make  it  into  a  brush. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  This  is  a  pretty  fair  bristle  in  this  brush,  is  it  not 
[referring  to  a  brush  that  has  been  handed  him  by  the  witness]  ? 

Mr.  ALEXANDER.  You  do  not  make  any  difference  between  the  poor 
and  the  good  bristles.  They  are  all  alike.  That  is  not  anything  that 
we  can  avoid  or  help. 

Remove  this  duty  on  bristles  and  I  for  one  will  feel  better  fortified 
to  compete  against  any  foreign  maker  who  competes  with  us  on  the 
low-priced  brushes  with  which  we  now  dominate  the  domestic  market, 
as  long  as  the  present  duty  on  brushes  is  maintained. 

I  have  confined  my  remarks  purposely  to  the  goods  in  which  I  am 
personally  interested  and  with  which  I  am  most  familiar.  These 
come  nearest  to  the  great  bulk  of  the  people  as  long  as  they  can  buy 
a  practical  and  serviceable  brush  for  the  low  price  of  10  cents. 


BRUSHES   AND  BRISTLES.  6479 

SUPPLEMENTAL  BRIEF  OF  THE  WILLIAM  WILKENS  COMPANY, 
OF  BALTIMORE,  MD.,  ASKING  FOR  THE  RETENTION  OF  THE 
DUTY  ON  BRISTLES. 

BALTIMORE,  MD.,  December  10,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WATS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  Since  filing  the  original  brief  in  this  case  a  number 
of  briefs  have  been  filed  in  the  interests  of  the  brush  manufacturers, 
and  the  bristle  subject  was  called  up  at  such  a  late  hour  on  the  day  set 
apart  for  it  that  there  was  no  opportunity  on  the  part  of  the  bristle 
manufacturer  to  state  his  views  before  the  committee. 

Briefs  on  behalf  of  the  brush  manufacturers  seem  to  be  based  upon 
the  theory,  as  stated  in  the  brief  of  Col.  Albert  Clark,  of  Boston,  that — 

This  duty  could  be  abolished  and  all  bristles  put  on  free  list  without  doing  injury 
to  any  industry  in  the  United  States  and  to  the  advantage  of  brush  manufacturers 
here. 

The  brief  of  the  Florence  Manufacturing  Company  says: 

We  also  ask  that  the  duty  of  7$  cents  per  pound  upon  bristles  be  removed,  and  that 
bristles  be  entered  free  of  duty,  in  order  that  we  may  thereby  be  placed  on  a  fairer  basis 
in  comparison  with  Asiatic  and  European  countries,  as  practically  no  bristles  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  hairbrushes,  and  no  bristles  used  in  the  manufacture  of  toothbrushes, 
are  produced  in  America. 

•    The  brief  of  A.  L.  Sonn  Brush  Company  says : 

Bristles  are  not  a  product  of  the  United  States,  and  therefore  would  not  affect  the 
producer  in  this  country,  but  would  be  a  great  help  to  the  manufacturers  in  the  United 
States  *  *  *. 

The  brief  of  the  Grand  Rapids  Brush  Company  says : 

The  duty  of  7£  cents  per  pound  on  bristles,  we  believe,  can  be  largely  reduced,  or 
entirely  taken  off,  because  at  the  present  time  the  production  of  bristles  in  the  United 
States  is  very  small,  and  it  is  not  an  industry  that  will  grow,  but  is  bound  to  become 
obsolete,  whether  protected  or  not,  because  of  the  conditions  that  exist  relative  to  the 
slaughtering  of  hogs,  etc.,  while  they  are  still  young. 

The  brief  of  A.  &  E.  Burton  Company  says: 

The  duty  is  now  1\  cents  per  pound,  aa  there  are  practically  no  bristles  raised  in  this 
country  at  this  time.  As  hogs  naturally  lose  their  bristles  when  domesticated,  we 
think  all  bristles,  sorted,  bunched,  or  prepared,  should  come  in  free. 

Statements  of  this  kind  are  somewhat  astonishing  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  several  of  the  parties  who  make  them  are  large  customers 
of  the  William  Wilkens  Company,  and  buy  a  large  quantity  of  bristles 
every  year  from  them,  and  that  they  must  have  known  when  they 
made  these  statements  that  there  are  bristle  factories  in  Philadelphia, 
Cincinnati,  Providence,  Chicago,  and  in  Baltimore,  in  addition  to 
the  present  petitioner,  who  alone  manufactures  from  250,000  to 
300,000  pounds  of  bristles  per  annum;  and  while  it  is  true  that  these 
industries  have  not  made  fortunes  and  are  gradually  closing  up,  it  is 
simply  because  of  the  want  of  proper  protection  against  imported 
manufactured  bristles  from  the  East. 

Under  the  Wilson  bill,  the  tariff  was  15  cents  per  pound.  This  was 
reduced,  under  the  Dingley  bill,  to  1\  cents  a  pound.  And,  as  we 
have  shown,  this  reduction  has  been  a  severe  blow  to  this  manufac- 
turing industry.  And  now,  finally,  the  brush  manufacturers  ask 


6480  SCHEDULE  N SUNDRIES. 

that  this  duty  of  1\  cents  per  pound  should  be  taken  off  entirely, 
and  the  imported  bristles,  principally  from  China,  should  be  put  in 
direct  competition  with  the  bristles  manufactured  in  this  country. 

And  while  these  brush  manufacturers  are  demanding  that  the 
duty  shah1  be  taken  off  of  the  foreign  bristle,  and  the  American  laborer 
and  manufacturer  of  brushes  be  thereby  benefited  and  protected 
against  what  they  call  the  "  YeUow  Peril,"  they  are  at  the  same  time 
asking  that  duty  on  imported  brushes  be  increased  in  order  that 
their  industry  should  be  protected  against  this  same  "Yellow  Peril." 
It  would  seem  that  they  are  perfectly  willing  to  sacrifice  one  branch 
of  manufacturing  industry  on  the  same  grounds  and  for  the  same 
reasons  that  they  demand  protection  for  another  branch  of  a  manu- 
facturing industry.  The  want  of  equity  in  this  position  is  so  apparent 
that  it  needs  no  further  argument,  ana  the  bristle  manufacturers  are 
perfectly  willing  to  submit  their  case  on  the  appeal  made  by  these 
brush  manufacturers  for  the  protection  of  their  own  industry  against 
the  cheap  foreign  laborer. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  the  Wilkens  company  to  continue  to 
manufacture  these  bristles  at  the  present  time  were  it  not  for  the  fact 
that  they  have  invented  and  patented  machinery  in  their  own  shops, 
which  make  it  possible  to  compete  against  cheap  Chinese  labor.  In- 
credible as  it  may  seem,  they  have  invented  and  patented  and  have 
in  daily  use  macnines  that  sort  lengths  of  hair,  picking  short  hair 
from  long  hair,  and  which  avoids  one  of  the  most  laborious  and 
tedious  phases  of  the  business  when  done  by  manual  labor. 

If  the  committee  should  think,  however,  that  the  duty  should  be 
taken  off  of  these  manufactured  bristles,  it  is  then  respectfully  sub- 
mitted that  the  duty  should  be  retained  on  what  is  known  as  "short 
bristles" — that  is,  upon  all  bristles  under  4 \  inches  in  length.  Bristles 
longer  than  4$  inches  are  not  manufactured  to  any  extent  in  this 
country.  It  is  true,  as  stated  in  several  briefs  of  the  brush  makers, 
that  hogs  are  killed  young  in  this  country,  and  nearly  all  hogs  from 
which  bristles  are  taken  here  are  domesticated,  and  hence  inferior  in 
length  to  the  imported  bristle,  where  hogs  are  allowed  to  mature  and 
where  many  of  them  run  wild.  Bristles  longer  than  4^  inches  are 
used  in  quantities  by  brush  makers  for  paint  brushes  and  brushes 
which  require  this  longer  bristle.  And  the  industry  of  this  petitioner, 
as  well  as  all  bristle  manufacturers  in  this  country,  would  not  be 
materially  injured  by  taking  off  the  duty  on  bristles  over  this  4^ 
inches.  This  would  give  the  brush  makers  relief  to  a  certain  extent 
without  destroying  another  sister  industry,  and  destroying  it  upon  the 
same  ground  tor  which  they  themselves  ask  protection,  and  that  is 
that  the  American  laborer  should  be  protected  against  cheap  foreign 
labor. 

The  situation  as  represented  by  the  Wilkens  company  is  ideal  from 
a  manufacturing  standpoint.  They  were  the  first  manufacturers  of 
bristles  in  the  United  States  and  have  been  continuously  in  that 
business,  as  stated  in  the  original  brief,  for  the  last  sixty-four  years. 
During  that  time  a  village  has  grown  up  around  their  factory,  occu- 
pied to  a  great  extent  by  their  employees — men  who  were  raised  in 
the  business — whose  fathers  were  there  before  them  and  who  know 
nothing  else  but  the  manufacture  of  bristles,  own  and  live  in  this 
village,  no  strikes,  no  discord  between  employer  and  employee. 
And  while  it  is  easy  to  talk  about  the  destruction  of  business  if  the 


BRUSHES  AND  BBISTLES.  6481 

tariff  is  put  on  or  taken  off,  yet  there  is  no  exaggeration  in  the  state- 
ment that  this  establishment  can  not  continue  to  manufacture  bris- 
tles if  the  duty  of  7$  cents  per  pound  is  taken  off,  and  the  ideal  situa- 
tion will  be  destroyed. 

FIELDER  C.  SLINGLUFF, 
Representing  the  William  Wilkens  Co.,  of  Baltimore,  Md. 


CHAS.  WOOD,  OF  LANSINGBURG,  N.  Y.,  COMPAEES  JAPANESE  AND 
AMERICAN  LABOR  COST  IN  BRUSH  INDUSTRY. 

LANSINGBURG,  N.  Y.,  December  19,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  0. 

GENTLEMEN  :  As  to  proposed  duty  on  toilet  brushes,  particulars  as 
to  which  are  set  forth  in  the  petition  to  you  from  the  manufacturers 
of  such  here,  the  fact  that  tne  present  duty  of  40  per  cent  is  now 
entirely  inadequate  is  conclusively  shown  by  the  prices  the  importers 
sell  them  for  in  this  country.  A  New  York  importer  sold  the  Japanese 
nail  brush  furnished  you  with  the  petition  to  John  Ferriss,  brush 
maker,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  for,  as  stated,  per  gross  $10.  We  don't  know 
cost  to  importer,  but  it  was  necessarily  less  than  $10.  Deduct  duty 
of  40  per  cent  importer  was  supposed  to  have  paid,  say,  $2.80,  leaving 
price,  exclusive  of  duty,  say,  $7.20.  If  to  this  was  added  the  80  per 
cent  duty  the  petition  requested,  it  would  be  $5.66,  making  cost 
to  importer,  say,  $12.86. 

Now  nobody  in  this  country  can  furnish  the  counterpart  of  such 
brushes  for  even  less,  as  stated  hi  petition,  than  $17.28  per  gross,  as 
its  method  of  construction  would  be  prohibitory  in  this  country, 
owing  to  our  labor  being  upward  of  four  times  as  much  as  in  Japan, 
our  consul  at  Tokio,  Japan,  stating  average  of  brush  makers'  wages 
in  Japan  are  for  males  50  cents  per  day,  while  ours  average  $2. 

Women  who  do  important  parts,  15  cents  per  day  in  Japan;  here 
upward  of  $1. 

Children,  5  cents  per  day  in  Japan;  in  New  York  and  some  other 
States  children  not  allowed  to  work  at  any  price. 

Also  the  duty  on  kinds  of  bristles  not  produced  in  our  country, 
viz,  those  above  3  inches  long,  should  be  exempt  from  the  7£  cents 
per  pound  duty, 

Yours,  respectfully,  CHAS.  WOOD. 

JOSEPH  HORNE  CO.,  PITTSBURG,  PA.,  THINKS  AN  INCREASE  OF 
DUTY  ON  BRUSHES  ENTIRELY  UNNECESSARY. 

PENN,  FIFTH  AND  CECIL,  WAY, 

Pittsburg,  Pa.,  December  89,  1908. 
Hon.  JOHN  DALZELL, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 
DEAR  SIR:  We  are  informed  that  an  effort  is  being  made  by  cer- 
tain American  makers  of  brushes  to  induce  the  Committee  on  Ways 
and  Means  to  advance  the  rate  of  duty  on  brushes  to  80  per  cent  from 
the  present  rate  of  40  per  cent. 


6482  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

It  is  our  opinion  that  such  action  is  entirely  unnecessary  and  calcu- 
lated to  work  injury  to  the  retail  brush  business,  and  also  to  reduce 
the  revenue  and  increase  the  cost  of  necessary  articles  to  the  consumer, 
apparently  to  the  benefit  of  only  a  few  domestic  manufacturers.  We 
believe  that  the  present  duty  of  40  per  cent  affords  domestic  manufac- 
turers all  the  protection,  if  not  more,  than  they  are  entitled  to,  and 
should  any  change  be  made,  it  seems  that  a  decrease  instead  of  an  in- 
crease in  the  present  rate  would  be  more  satisfactory. 

We  would  respectfully  ask  that  you  give  this  matter  proper  con- 
sideration before  any  such  increase  of  the  present  rate  of  duty  should 
be  made. 

Thanking  you  in  advance  for  anything  you  may  be  able  to  do,  we 
beg  to  remain, 

Yours,  very  truly,  JOSEPH  HORNE  Co., 

Dry  Goods. 


HON.  JULIUS  KAHN,  M.  C.,  SUBMITS  LETTER  OF  THE  OWL  DRUG 
COMPANY,  SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL.,  RELATIVE  TO  BRUSHES. 

611-13-15  MISSION  STREET, 
San  Francisco,  December  31,  1908. 
Hon.  JULIUS  KAHN,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  It  has  been  called  to  our  attention  that  a  considerable 
number  of  American  manufacturers  of  brushes  are  making  applica- 
tion to  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  of  the  House  at  Washington 
for  a  big  increase  in  the  tariff  on  brushes. 

For  many  years  the  duty  on  this  item  was  from  20  to  30  per 
cent,  and  at  the  time  the  Dingley  bill  was  passed  it  was  40  per  cent, 
and  has  remained,  at  that  figure  ever  since. 

We  believe  it  would  be  a  great  injustice  to  the  trade  to  have  this 
increased,  and  it  would  certainly  reduce  the  revenues  of  the  Govern- 
ment. 

The  manufacture  of  many  lines  of  brushes  has  been  attempted  in 
America  during  the  last  twenty-five  years,  but  has  always  been  a 
failure,  and  a  duty  of  40  per  cent  is  surely  enough  protection. 

We  trust  you  will  see  your  way  clear  to  use  your  efforts  to  have  the 
duty  remain  as  it  now  stands. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

THE  OWL  DRUG  Co.   (INCORPORATED). 
Per  K.  E.  MILLER,  Secretary. 


THE    W.    J.    GILMORE    DRUG    COMPANY,    OF    PITTSBURG,    PA., 
THINKS  DUTY  ON  BRUSHES  SHOULD  BE  REDUCED. 

426,  428,  and  430  SEVENTH  AVENUE, 

Pittsburg,  December  31,  1908. 
Hon.  JOHN  DALZELL,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  It  has  come  to  our  notice  that  a  few  domestic  brush 
manufacturers  have  asked  for  an  advance  from  40  to  80  per  cent  on 
imported  brushes. 


BRUSHES   AND  BRISTLES.  6483 

We  would  like  to  take  the  liberty  of  calling  to  your  attention  the 
fact  that  from  96  to  98  per  cent  or  the  brushes  used  in  this  country 
are  imported  brushes,  and  we  think  if  any  change  is  made  at  all 
in  the  duty  it  should  be  reduced  instead  of  increased. 

We,  as  large  users  of  brushes  of  all  kinds,  are  placed  in  a  position 
to  give  a  fair  opinion  on  this  matter  and  hope  it  will  meet  with 
your  careful  consideration. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

W.  J.  GILMOKE  DRUG  Co., 
Per  J.  B.  McCoRMicK, 

Manager  Sundries  Department. 


THE  GEORGE  A.  KELLY  COMPANY,  PITTSBURG,  PA.,  OBJECTS  TO 
ANY  INCREASE  OF  DITTY  ON  BRUSHES 

421,  423,  425,  AND  427  SEVENTH  AVENUE, 

Pittsburg^  Pa.,  December  31, 1908. 
Hon.  JOHN  DALZELL, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  G. 
DEAR  SIR:  Referring  to  applications  before  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee  on  the  part  of  certain  domestic  manufacturers  for  an  ad- 
vance in  the  rate  of  duty  on  brushes  from  the  present  rate  of  40  to  80 
per  cent,  it  is  our  honest  conviction  that  the  present  rate  affords 
ample  protection  to  the  domestic  manufacturers.  Any  increase  in 
(he  rate  would  result  in  increased  cost  to  the  consumer  and  would 
tend  to  reduce  the  revenue  on  this  class  of  products. 

Improved  machinery  and  methods  have  greatly  reduced  the  cost 
of  domestic  production  since  the  fixing  of  the  present  rate  in  the 
McKinley  bill,  and  the  change,  if  any,  should  be  a  decrease. 
Very  respectfully, 

GEORGE  A.  KELLY  COMPANY, 
GEORGE  A.  KELLY,  Sr.,  President, 

'Wholesale  Druggists. 


C.  W.  SNOW  &  CO..  OF  SYRACUSE,  N.  Y.,  THINK  THAT  THE  DUTY 
ON  BRUSHES  SHOULD  BE  REDUCED. 

214-216  WARREN  STREET, 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  January  4, 1909. 
S.  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Auburn,  N.  Y. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  are  advised  that  various  domestic  manufacturers 
of  tooth,  nail,  and  hair  brushes  have  asked  for  an  increase  on  the 
present  duty  of  40  per  cent  We  can  not  believe  that  this  is  neces- 
sary ;  in  fact,  we  should  think  that  a  reduction  to  25  per  cent  would 
be  more  proper,  and  we  trust  that  your  committee  will  get  all  the 
facts  in  the  case,  which  we  feel  sure  do  not  warrant  an  increase  in 
the  present  duty. 

Yours,  very  truly,  C.  W.  SNOW  &  Co. 


6484  SCHEDULE  N SUNDRIES. 

WALKER  &  GIBSON,  ALBANY,  N.  Y.,  THINK  THAT  THE  DUTY  ON 
BRUSHES  SHOULD  NOT  BE  INCREASED. 

ALBANY,  N.  Y.,  January  6, 1909. 
WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  are  very  much  opposed  to  an  advance  in  the 
tariff  on  brushes.  Any  change  of  this  kind  would  be  a  great  hard- 
ship to  the  people  who  use  these  goods,  as  the  price  would  be  ad- 
vanced, and  we  believe  there  would  be  a  general  complaint  from  the 
public  if  any  such  thing  should  occur.  Besides  this,  it  would  prob- 
ably result  in  a  decrease  in  the  duty  collected,  as  it  would  more  than 
likely  prohibit  importations  of  these  goods  to  a  large  extent.  We 
hope  that  you  will  not  allow  anything  of  the  kind  to  occur. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

CHARLES  GIBSON, 

President. 

WALKER  &   GIBSON, 
Wholesale  Druggists. 

W.  WICKHAM  SMITH,  FOR  IMPORTERS  OF  BRUSHES,  PROTESTS 
AGAINST  ANY  INCREASE  IN  DUTIES. 

32  BROADWAY, 

New  York  City,  February  8,  1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  undersigned,  importers  of  brushes,  provided  for 
in  the  present  tariff  act,  paragraph  410,  at  a  duty  of  40  per  cent  ad 
valorem,  respectfully  protest  against  any  increase  in  the  duty  of  this 
class  of  merchandise,  as  urged  by  domestic  manufacturers  thereof. 

Brushes  (which  term  includes  hair  brushes,  hand  brushes,  tooth, 
brushes,  nail  brushes,  hat  brushes,  clothes  brushes,  paint  and  varnish 
brushes,  etc.)  are  articles  of  prime  necessity,  all  in  general  use  and 
many  of  them  hi  practically  universal  use.  The  consumer  is  vitally 
interested  in  the  tax  on  this  class  of  merchandise,  and  although  it  has 
been  suggested  by  one  of  the  manufacturers  (Miles  Brothers  &  Co., 
of  New  York) ,  that "  if  our  people  want  foreign  brushes  let  them  pay 
a  good  round  figure  for  them,  say,  a  duty  of  60  per  cent  or  more.  In 
the  meantime  the  American  makers  will  be  forging  ahead,  competing 
and  chewing  one  another  up,  etc.,"  we  take  it  that  neither  this  com- 
mittee nor  Congress  will  be  disposed  to  take  this  view  of  the  situation. 

A  number  of  domestic  manufacturers  of  brushes  have  filed  briefs 
or  statements  with  the  committee  urging  an  increase  in  duty.  The 
importers  have  not  yet  been  heard  from,  for  they  had  naturally  sup- 
posed that  the  present  duty  of  40  per  cent  (which  was  considered 
adequate  by  the  terms  of  both  the  McKinley  and  Dingley  tariffs) 
was  so  high  that  it  could  not  be  expected  that  any  application  would 
be  made  to  have  it  increased.  No  wthat  they  find  that  applications 
have  been  made  to  increase  the  duty  to  50  or  60  per  cent  (some  manu- 
facturers have  said  that  it  ought  to  be  80  per  cent),  they  deem  it 
proper  to  call  the  attention  of  the  committee  to  some  points  which 
may  assist  it  in  its  deliberations. 


BET7SHES  AND  BRISTLES W.    WICKHAM   SMITH.  6486 

There  is  a  singular  resemblance  between  the  statements  of  these 
various  manufacturers,  not  only  in  what  they  say,  but  in  what  they 
omit  to  say.  They  nearly  all  enlarge  on  the  perils  that  threaten  their 
industry  by  competition  with  the  products  of  low-priced  labor  in  for- 
eign countries.  Nearly  every  one  of  them  gives  statistics,  year  by 
year  from  1890  to  1907,  on  the  importations  from  Japan.  Several  of 
them  even  use  the  same  figures  of  speech,  as,  for  example,  that  they 
see  "  a  menacing  cloud  on  the  horizon  "  and  that  they  want  to  be 
saved  from  the  "  yellow  peril." 

But  their  unanimity  in  silence  is  far  more  eloquent  and  significant 
than  their  unanimity  in  speech.  You  will  search  their  statements  in 
vain  for  any  information  as  to  the  amount  of  output  of  their  factories 
or  the  percentage  which  the  importations  bear  to  the  whole  volume  of 
brushes  sold  and  consumed  in  this  country.  Many  of  these  domestic 
manufacturers  are  incorporated  companies,  but  you  will  not  find  in 
their  statements  any  information  as  to  the  dividends  they  are  paying 
on  their  stock.  They  make  all  kinds  of  positive  assertions  as  to  the 
wages  paid  for  labor  in  the  brush-making  industry  in  foreign  coun- 
tries, but  the  only  authority  they  cite  for  any  of  their  statements  in 
this  respect  is  a  report  of  one  United  States  consul.  Their  briefs  are 
full  of  statements  of  fact  for  which  no  authority  whatever  is  cited, 
and  of  predictions  of  the  ruin  of  their  industry,  which,  as  it  will 
hereafter  be  shown,  is  nevertheless  a  very  thriving  and  prosperous  one. 

The  one  point  on  which  they  all  agree  is  that  importations  from 
Japan  have  increased,  and  that  they  must  have  increased  protection. 
The  fact  that  must  strike  the  committee  as  it  has  struck  us  is  that  if 
their  statements  of  fact  about  Japanese  goods  could  be  accepted  as 
correct  it  would  be  impossible  to  understand  why  the  Japanese  had 
not  already  secured  entire  control  of  the  American  market,  and  how 
it  is  possible  not  only  for  American  manufacturers  to  sell  any  brushes 
in  competition  with  Japanese  brushes,  but  how  it  happens  that  Eng- 
land, France,  and  Germany  are  able  to  send  any  brushes  here,  pay  40 
per  cent  duty  on  them,  and  still  compete  with  the  Japanese. 

Take,  for  example,  the  statement  of  Walter  D.  Foss,  representing 
the  Wooster  Brush  Works,  of  Wooster,  Ohio.  He  submits  two 
brushes,  one  Japanese  and  the  other  American.  He  gives  a  total  cost 
per  gross  of  $3.84  for  the  American  brush  and  $1.79  for  the  Japanese. 
These  figures  are  far  from  correct.  Without  undertaking  to  point  out 
their  inaccuracy  in  all  respects  we  may  call  attention  to  one.  He  states 
that  1|  pounds  of  bristles  is  necessary  to  make  a  gross  of  these  brushes, 
and  that  the  cost  of  these  bristles  in  the  United  States  is  64  cents  and 
in  Japan  33  cents,  while  the  fact  is  that  in  Japan  the  bristles  cost  ex- 
actly the  same  as  the  bristles  here,  except  that  they  do  not  have  to  pay 
the  7£  cents  a  pound  duty  which  is  charged  here  and  cost  somewhat 
less  for  freight.  The  entire  difference  would  be  less  than  10  cents  per 
pound  in  favor  of  the  bristles  in  Japan,  and  if  the  American  landed 
cost  is  64  cents,  as  stated  by  these  manufacturers,  it  would  make  the 
cost  in  Japan  54  cents  per  pound  instead  of  33  cents,  as  stated  by  Mr. 
Foss ;  a  difference  of  over  60  per  cent  between  his  statement  of  cost  of 
bristles  and  of  the  facts.  If  his  other  figures  are  as  inaccurate  as 
these,  comment  is  unnecessary. 

Another  manufacturer,  the  Grand  Rapids  Brush  Company,  states 
(without  pretending  to  give  any  authority)  the  average  wages  in 
different  countries  where  brushes  used  in  the  United  States  are  made. 


6486  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Labor  in  Japan,  according  to  the  incorrect  statement  of  these  man- 
ufacturers, is  one-third  of  what  it  is  in  Germany,  one-fourth  of  what 
it  is  in  France,  23  per  cent  of  what  it  is  in  England,  and  but  little 
less  than  one-seventh  of  what  it  is  in  the  United  States.  The  prob- 
lem is  not  only  how  does  the  business  in  the  United  States  continue 
to  exist,  but  how  are  the  European  countries  named  enabled  to  send 
their  goods  here,  pay  40  per  cent  duty,  and  sell  them  in  competition 
with  Japanese  goods?  There  may  be  some  explanation  for  this 
phenomenon,  but  if  there  be,  it  is  certain  that  no  one  of  these  manu- 
facturers has  given  it. 

Moreover,  if  it  be  true  that  the  Japanese  now  have  25  per  cent  of 
the  American  market  for  brushes,  and  will  soon,  as  these  foreboders 
of  disaster  insist,  have  it  all,  how  does  it  happen  'that  the  Brush 
Makers  International  Union  in  the  petition  they  sent  to  the  commit- 
tee say :  "  We  petition  your  honorable  body  to  continue  the  duty  on 
brushes  as  it  stands  to-day." 

Proceeding  now  to  examine  in  detail  the  various  contentions  of 
these  domestic  manufacturers,  we  submit  the  following: 

First.  They  state  that  the  importations  for  the  year  1907  were  up- 
ward of  $1,600,000.  They  do  not  state  the  value  of  the  importations 
from  different  countries,  but  we  have  obtained  these  figures,  and  they 
are  as  follows: 

France $721,989 

United   Kingdom 194,  250 

Germany 240,  422 

Japan 401,639 

If  Japan  has  such  enormous  advantages  as  they  state,  and  if  it  is 
a  "  menacing  cloud  on  the  horizon,"  how  is  it  that  the  importations 
from  that  country  are  less  than  60  per  cent  of  the  importations  from 
France,  and  less  than  the  importations  from  Great  Britain  and  Ger- 
many combined?  As  all  these  importations  have  to  pay  the  same 
rate  of  duty  at  the  custom-house,  if  labor  exceeds  50  or  60  per  cent  of 
the  cost  of  production,  as  these  manufacturers  claim,  and  the  cost  of 
labor  in  Japan  is  so  insignificant  as  that  compared  with  European 
countries,  how  is  it  that  these  European  countries  are  able  to  send 
to  us  over  $1,000,000  worth  as  compared  with  $401,000  sent  from 
Japan. 

Again,  take  their  own  figures  as  to  exports.  They  say  that  the 
exports  from  the  United  States  during  the  year  1907  were  upward 
of  $400,000  worth  of  brushes.  If  they  are  under  such  tremendous 
disadvantages  as  they  say  they  are  under,  so  that  their  industry  is 
threatened  with  extinction,  how  can  they  send  out  $400,000  worth  of 
brushes  a  year  (equal  to  the  total  amount  of  brushes  imported  an- 
nually from  Japan)  to  compete  with  the  brushes  of  France,  Ger- 
many, Great  Britain,  and  Japan  in  the  other  markets  of  the  world 
where  there  is  no  40  per  cent  duty  to  protect  them. 

From  the  Blue  Book  issued  by  the  Dominion  of  Canada  for  the 
year  ending  March  1,  1908,  part  2,  page  26  (see  Exhibit  5),  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  importation  of  brushes  into  Canada  for  that  year 
from  various  other  countries  was  as  follows : 

United   States $153,110 

France '• 107,503 

Great  Britain.-  51,599 

Japan - 32,231 

Germany 26,  930 


BRUSHES  AND   BRISTLES W.   WICKHAM   SMITH.  6487 

From  these  figures  it  will  be  seen  that  the  United  States  is  able 
to  manufacture  and  export  to  this  one  foreign  country  nearly  50  per 
cent  more  brushes  than  are  imported  there  from  any  other  country, 
and  five  times  as  many  brushes  as  Canada  imports  from  Japan.  We 
send  to  Canada  more  brushes  than  are  imported  there  from  France 
and  Japan  together.  How  is  it  that  the  "  yellow  peril,"  the  "  speck 
on  the  horizon  "  that  threatens  the  brush  industry  in  this  country, 
cuts  so  small  a  figure  in  Canada. 

All  foreign  brushes  that  come  into  Canada  pay  the  same  rate  of 
duty  except  those  from  Great  Britain  (which  enjoys  a  preferential 
rate  of  one-eighth  reduction  on  the  rate  of  duty  levied  upon  the 

fjods  from  other  places).  Yet,  with  this  preferential  rate,  Great 
ritain  is  only  able  to  send  to  Canada  one-third  as  many  brushes  as 
are  exported  into  that  country  by  the  United  States. 

Second.  The  domestic  manufacturers  make  a  great  point  of  the 
enormous  increase  of  brush  imports  from  Japan  in  seventeen  years, 
but  during  the  last  fifteen  years  the  exports  from  the  United  States 
to  Japan  have  increased  $3,000,000  to  $38,000,000.  They  have  been 
nearly  doubled  in  the  last  five  years.  We  can  not  expect  to  maintain 
this  great  export  trade  with  a  growing  country  and  not  have  them 
ship  their  goods  to  us.  We  can  not  make  any  discriminating  duty 
against  the  Japanese,  and  the  same  argument  that  applies  to  brushes 
may  be  applied  to  dozens  of  other  things.  The  fact  that  the  Jap- 
anese are  sending  us  more  of  their  product  in  a  few  lines  of  goods 
does  not  justify  the  imposition  of  heavier  taxes  upon  all  our  people 
for  the  benefit  of  a  few  manufacturers. 

Third.  Apprehended  destruction  of  American  brush  industry. 
The  manufacturers  allude  very  vaguely  to  some  concerns  which  have 
been  obliged  to  go  out  of  business.  No  facts  or  specifications  have 
been  furnished.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  no  line  of  business  in 
which  some  concerns  are  not  driven  out  by  the  energy  and  skill  of 
competitors,  both  foreign  and  domestic. 

The  general  business  of  the  American  manufacturers  has  been 
steadily  increasing.  By  their  progressiveness  and  large  capital  the 
leading  firms  have  made  it  difficult  for  the  small  maker  here  to 
exist  and  compete  with  them.  Several  makers  of  this  class  have  gone 
out  of  business  for  this  reason  and  not  by  reason  of  competition  with 
foreign  goods. 

The  manufacturers  have  furnished  no  figures  as  to  their  business 
or  capitalization,  and,  of  course,  importers  are  not  in  a  position  to 
learn  or  state  the  exact  figures.  But  it  may  be  proper  to  note  here 
that  Bradstreet's  Commercial  Agency,  which  it  is  well  known  gives 
very  conservative  statements  of  the  capital  of  the  houses  registered 
in  its  credit  book,  furnishes  the  following  credit  standing  of  some  of 
the  parties  who  have  filed  these  petitions  with  the  committee : 

Grand  Rapids  Brush  Company $150,000 

Ames-Bonner  Company 200,  000 

Florence  Manufacturing  Company 300,000 

John  L.  Whiting  Company 1,000,000 

Wooster  Brush  Company 150,000 

J.  J.  Adams  Company 200,000 

7r,<)41— II.  D«>c.  15(1.-). 


6488  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

In  the  absence  of  any  evidence  it  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  con- 
cerns with  such  ratings  as  these  are  in  any  danger  of  going  out  of 
business  because  it  is  unprofitable. 

Fourth.  Wages  and  cost  of  production.  The  applicants  for  in- 
creased duty  make  all  sorts  of  conflicting  and  inconsistent  statements 
as  to  wages,  not  only  in  this  country,  but  in  other  countries.  The  for- 
mer are  clearly  within  their  knowledge,  but  none  of  them  have  testi- 
fied to  them  under  oath  or  furnished  any  sworn  statement  concern- 
ing them.  The  latter  they  can  have  no  knowledge  of  but  hearsay, 
and  the  only  authority  they  furnish  is  the  report  of  one  American 
consul.  We  insist  that  their  statements  as  to  wages  are  incorrect  and 
misleading,  and  we  respectfully  submit  that  their  statements  on  this 
subject  should  be  disregarded  unless  they  furnish  some  proof  con- 
cerning them.  Moreover,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  if  the 
American  workman  secures  a  higher  wage  it  comes  largely  from  the 
fact  that  he  has  greater  skill  and  turns  out  proportionately  a  larger 
amount  of  goods. 

Fifth.  Comparison  of  brushes.  The  manufacturers  make  a  great 
point  about  a  brush  made  in  Japan  competing  with  one  made  by 
them.  We  are  credibly  informed  and  allege  the  fact  to  be  that  this  so- 
called  "Japanese  "  brush  is  simply  a  copy  of  an  American  brush 
ordered  to  be  made  by  one  of  these  petitioners  for  the  purposes  of  this 
case,  and  one  not  regularly  manufactured  or  for  sale  by  any  one. 

Sixth.  Export  and  home  consumption  prices  of  American-made 
brushes.  One  of  the  largest  and  most  important  manufacturing  con- 
cerns in  this  country  is  exporting  to  Canada  a  brush  which  is  also  sold 
in  this  country,  and  selling  it  for  a  much  lower  price  for  export  than 
it  charges  here.  We  refer  to  Exhibits  1,  2,  3,  and  4  forwarded  here- 
with. Exhibits  1  and  3  are  toothbrushes  sold  here  for  $23.25  per 
gross.  Exhibits  2  and  4  are  corresponding  articles  sold  to  Canada 
for  $16.50  per  gross.  If  they  can  export  their  goods  to  Canada  and 
find  a  profitable  market  for  them  in  competing  with  British  brushes 
which  have  a  preferential  tariff  rate,  how  can  they  say  that  they  are 
not  able  to  compete  in  the  markets  of  the  United  States  with  English 
brushes  which  have  to  pay  an  import  duty  of  40  per  cent. 

Seventh.  The  strength  of  the  demand  for  tariff'  increase.  There  is 
a  large  number  of  manufacturers  of  brushes  in  the  United  States. 
Only  a  few  of  these  are  demanding  an  increase  of  duty.  There  are 
others  who  will  be  heard  from  by  the  committee  resisting  any  in- 
crease in  the  duty.  Some  of  them  are  very  much  opposed  to  it. 
There  is  a  very  large  number  of  jobbers  and  dealers  in  brushes  in  the 
United  States  handling  both  domestic  and  foreign  brushes,  and  we 
have  yet  to  hear  of  any  of  these  who  are  advocating  an  increase  in 
the  tariff.  There  remain  the  consumers,  who  are  practically  the 
whole  American  people,  and  we  do  not  suppose  it  will  be  suggested 
that  any  of  them  want  an  increase  of  the  tariff  and  corresponding 
increase  of  their  burdens. 

Eighth.  Proposed  prohibitive  duties.  There  are  many  brushes 
now  made  in  the  United  States  which  can  not  be  imported  at  all 
under  the  existing  rate  of  duty.  If  any  such  increase  as  is  now  pro- 
posed should  be  made,  still  further  classes  of  brushes  would  be  ex- 
cluded from  importation.  The  powerful  manufacturers  now  engaged 


BRUSHES  AND   BRISTLES W.   WICKHAM   SMITH.  6489 

in  this  business  are  seeking  to  bar  out  the  foreign  articles,  so  as  to 
enable  them  to  make  prices  to  suit  themselves.  Congress  should  not 
aid  them  in  this  effort. 

We  submit  as  Exhibit  6  a  number  of  American  brushes  of  various 
kinds  and  uses,  sold  at  prices  which  place  them  within  the  reach  of 
the  masses,  and  which  are  used  in  enormous  quantities  in  the  United 
States,  and  we  assure  your  honorable  committee  that  these  goods  are 
manufactured  and  sold  so  cheaply  here  that  not  only  can  they  not  be 
imported  under  the  proposed  increased  duty  or  under  the  existing 
rate  of  duty  of  40  per  cent,  but  that  they  can  not  be  imported  and 
compete  with  the  American  article  if  they  were  exempt  from  duty 
altogether. 

We  have  no  hesitation  in  asserting  (with  entire  confidence  that 
our  statements  will  be  corroborated  by  merchants,  dealers,  and  par- 
ties interested,  except  the  few  domestic  manufacturers  who  are  seek- 
ing to  swell  their  own  profits)  that  40  per  cent  is  the  maximum  rate 
that  can  be  levied  upon  brushes  without  greatly  reducing  the  reve- 
nues to  be  collected  upon  them.  Any  increase  above  that  rate  will 
prohibit  the  importation  of  many  classes  of  brushes  now  imported 
and  will  greatly  decrease  the  importation  of  others  and  thus  reduce 
the  revenues. 

Ninth.  Celluloid  brushes.  We  are  advised  that  an  attempt  is  to 
be  made  to  except  celluloid  brushes  from  the  brush  paragraph  and 
subject  them  to  duty  under  the  paragraph,  for  instance,  now  No.  17 
for  celluloid.  Against  this  we  must  strongly  protest.  The  present 
duty  on  celluloid  articles  is  65  cents  a  pound  and  25  per  cent  ad 
valorem.  This  would  be  an  enormous  increase  in  the  rate  of  duty, 
and,  moreover,  would  give  rise  to  perpetual  controversy  as  to  whether 
or  not  celluloid  was  the  component  material  of  chief  value. 

For  very  many  years  tariff  acts  have  provided  for  brushes  of  all 
kinds  in  explicit  terms.  The  clearness,  simplicity,  and  comprehen- 
siveness of  this  enumeration  have  prevented  any  dispute  as  to  the 
classification  of  brushes,  and  has  made  it  perfectly  simple  for  both 
importers  and  customs  officers  to  apply  the  law.  Any  change  which 
would  provide  different  rates  of  duty  for  different  kinds  of  brushes 
would  tend  to  confusion,  disputes,  protests,  litigation,  and,  we  sub- 
mit, would  be  unwise  and  mischievous. 

Tenth.  As  the  manufacturers  are  not  only  asking  for  an  increase 
in  the  duty  on  brushes,  but  are  generally  asking  for  the  removal  of 
the  duty  on  bristles,  the  raw  material  used  for  making  brushes,  it 
may  be  instructive  to  consider  the  following  figures  taken  from  offi- 
cial sources: 

In  the  year  1894  the  importation  of  bristles  into  the  United  States 
was  $639,000,  and  in  1907,  $3,250,000,  equivalent  to  an  increase  of 
500  per  cent. 

The  importation  of  brushes  in  the  year  1894  was  $516,000,  and 
in  1907,  $1,586,000,  equivalent  to  an  increase  of  300  per  cent. 

As  all  bristles  are  used  'only  in  the  manufacture  of  brushes,  these 
figures  are  eloquent  as  to  the  increase  of  the  domestic  manufacturers 
as  against  that  of  the  importers  during  this  period  of  thirteen  years. 
The  exportations  of  brushes  in  1894  were  $179,000,  and  in"l907, 


6490  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

$415,000,  so  that  the  exportations  in  1907  were  two  and  one-half  times 
more  than  in  1894. 

These  figures  show  the  extent  to  which  the  domestic  business  has 
increased  as  against  the  importing  business,  and,  we  submit,  a  strong 
argument  for  a  reduction  rather  than  an  increase  in  the  rate  of  duty. 

Eleventh.  It  has  been  already  pointed  out  in  this  brief  that  the 
manufacturers  who  have  had  so  much  information  to  furnish  about 
the  price  of  foreign  labor  and  other  things  about  which  they  can 
apparently  have  no  accurate  knowledge  and  for  which  they  furnish 
no  authorities,  have  sedulously  concealed  from  the  committee  all 
facts  as  to  the  volume  of  their  business  and  of  the  percentage  of  the 
American  market  for  brushes  which  they  Control  as  against  the  per- 
centage of  importations.  We  are,  of  course,  in  no  position  to  ascer- 
tain the  precise  facts  which  they  conceal,  but  we  are  in  a  position  to 
form  some  estimate  of  the  total  value  of  the  brushes  manufactured 
in  the  United  States,  and  on  that  subject  we  beg  to  submit  the  fol- 
lowing : 

By  official  statistics  the  total  importation  of  bristles  in  the  year 
1907  into  the  United  States  was  $3,433,941.  All  bristles  are  used 
for  brushes  and  for  no  other  .purpose.  The  average  cost  of  bristles 
entering  into  the  average  amount  of  brushes  is  25  per  cent,  the  other 
75  per  cent  being  the  cost  for  labor,  60  per  cent,  and  15  per  cent  for 
other  materials,  such  as  handles,  wire,  and  boxes  for  packing  (see 
Grand  Rapids  Brush  Company's  statement.)  As  the  cost  of  bristles 
is  25  per  cent  of  the  price  of  the  brush,  the  value  of  the  brushes  made 
here  from  imported  bristles  would  be  $13,026,208.  This  would  be 
actual  net  cost,  to  which,  of  course,  must  be  added  the  manufacturer's 
profit. 

As  the  importation  of  brushes  for  the  year  1907  was  $1,586,556, 
this  would  make  the  total  value  of  brushes  sold  in  the  United  States 
in  excess  of  $15,000,000.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  domestic 
manufacturers  have  about  90  per  cent  and  the  importers  about  10 
per  cent  of  the  American  market,  and  yet  these  manufacturers  who 
now  have  about  90  per  cent  of  the  business  in  brushes  want  to  in- 
crease the  duty  to  a  point  which  will  be  largely  prohibitory  to  im- 
portation and  consequently  give  them  a  monopoly  of  the  American 
market,  with  resulting  opportunity  to  charge  as  high  prices  as 
they  please. 

Twelfth.  It  is  reiterated  over  and  over  again  by  the  American 
manufacturers  that  the  improved  machinery  used  in  this  country  for 
the  manufacture  of  brushes  is  also  used  in  other  countries  from  which" 
brushes  are  imported  here,  including  Japan.  This  statement  we  sub- 
mit is  without  foundation.  The  greatest  labor-saving  device  and  the 
machine  that  makes  the  cheapest  brushes  in  the  world  is  used  for 
brushes  known  as  "  cement-made  brushes."  The  importers  would  be 
in  position  to  know  if  this  machinery  was  in  use  in  any  other  country 
in  the  world,  and  they  state  that  they  never  knew  of  it  being  used  in 
any  other  country  than  this.  Another  labor-saving  machine  is  one 
that  forces  the  bristles  into  the  brushes  in  one  operation,  eliminating 
hand  labor.  There  are  few  brushes  imported  into  this  country  made 
in  this  way,  and  none  from  Japan. 


BRUSHES   AND   BRISTLES BRUSH   FIBERS.  6491 

In  conclusion  we  submit  that  on  the  facts  and  arguments  above  set' 
forth  there  is  no  ground  whatever  to  justify  an  increase  in  the  duty 
upon  these  articles.  On  the  other  hand,  we  submit  that  a  very  strong 
case  has  been  made  out  for  the  reduction  of  the  duty,  which  will 
increase  the  volume  of  importations,  add  to  the  revenue  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  place  articles  of  universal  necessity  within  the  reach  of 
the  people  at  a  cheaper  price,  and  we  therefore  respectfully  urge  that 
the  language  of  the  provision  for  brushes  be  retained  in  the  form  in 
which  it  is  used  in  the  present  and  has  been  used  in  prior  acts,  and 
that  the  rate  of  duty  be  fixed  at  30  per  cent,  which  was  the  rate  fixed 
in  the  tariff  act  of  March  3,  1883,  after  a  thorough  investigation  of 
the  subject  by  a  tariff  commission  created  by  a  Republican  Congress. 

Dated  January  20,  1908. 

W.  WICKHAM  SMITH, 
Counsel  for  Leading  Importers 

and  of  Dealers  in  Brushes. 


BRUSH  FIBERS. 

[Section  6.] 

COL.  ALBERT  CLARKE,  BOSTON,  FILES  LETTER  OF  A.  C.  WHITING, 
BURLINGTON,  VT.,  RELATIVE  TO  BRUSH  FIBERS. 

BURLINGTON,  VT.,  November  24, 1908. 
Col.  ALBERT  CLARKE, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  CLARKE  : 

******* 

The  competition  among  the  manufacturers  themselves  is  very 
severe,  but  above  that  there  are  a  great  many  foreign  brushes 
brought  in  and  duty  paid  owing  to  the  cheap  labor  of  Europe. 
The  Japanese,  particularly,  are  sending  in  a  great  many,  especially 
toilet  brushes,  on  which  the  labor  is  a  large  percentage  of  the  cost. 
But  this  importation  of  brushes  is  not  confined  to  this  class  of 
brushes  entirely,  as  a  large  number  of  very  cheap  brushes — hand, 
nail,  scrub,  etc. — are  thrown  in  on  this  market.  I  do  not  see  how  it 
is  done,  if  it  is  done  legitimately  and  proper  duties  paid ;  but  the  fact 
remains  that  the  brushes  come  in  here,  so  that  I  think  the  brush 
makers  are  really  entitled  to  a  larger  duty  rather  than  smaller. 
******* 

Now,  coming  down  to  the  question  of  brush  fibers,  in  which  my  in- 
terest centers.  Tampico,  or  istle  (or  ixtle,  as  it  is  sometimes  spelled 
by  the  Mexicans),  should  without  any  question  be  admitted  free  in 
its  crude  state,  as  none  is  produced  in  this  country.  But  when  it  is 
dyed,  combed,  or  dressed,  cut  up,  or  partially  manufactured  in  any 
manner,  it  should  pay  a  duty.  The  same  rule  should  apply  to  the 
many  bass  fibers  which  are  imported  into  this  country.  TVe  do  not 
think  the  dressers  of  brush  fiber  are  properly  protected  in  this  re- 


6192  BCHEDUUE  N SUNDRIES. 

spect,  as  considerable  dressed  tampico  and  basses  are  now  brought  into 
this  country  with  only  20  per  cent  duty.  When  I  had  a  consultation 
with  the  appraisers  in  New  York  last  week,  I  found  them  at  work 
on  a  lot  of  dressed  tampico,  which  they  were  passing  at  20  per  cent 
duty.  This  special  importation,  I  think,  came  from  Hamburg.  The 
German  and  Belgium  manufacturers  are  continuously  sending  quota- 
tions among  the  brush  trade  of  this  country  at  from  1  to  2  cents 
a  pound  below  the  prices  ruling  in  this  country.  And,  as  stated,  con- 
siderable dressed  tampico  and  bass,  bassine,  Palmyra  fiber,  etc.,  is 
sent  in  here  at  a  lower  figure  than  the  American  manufacturers,  with 
the  high  prices  we  are  paying  labor,  can  afford  to  dress  the  stock. 
*****  *  * 

Another  disadvantage  which  we  are  working  under  is  that  con- 
siderable istle  is  shipped  from  Mexico  on  a  through  bill  of  lading 
to  Europe,  and  stopped  off  in  New  York.  If  the  Mexican  can  not 
get  his  price  in  New  York,  he  ships  it  on  to  Europe  without  further 
cost  of  freight.  So  that  many  times  the  European  manufacturer  can 
buy  cheaper  for  lack  of  a  market  than  the  American  manufacturer 
can,  i.  e.,  the  further  seeking  of  another  European  market  would 
cost  additional  freight  to  handle. 

I  have  also  been  told  that  many  times  vessels  will  load  in  Mexico 
for  European  ports  at  a  lower  rate  of  freight  than  for  New  York, 
again  giving  the  European  manufacturer  the  advantage. 

When  in  England  two  years  ago,  I  found  an  English  dresser  of 
fiber,  to  whom  we  several  years  ago  sold  a  full  set  of  our  improved 
machinery,  had  been  obliged  to  stop  the  dressing  of  brush  fiber, 
owing  to  the  severe  competition  of  Belgium  and  German  manufac- 
turers, who  put  dressed  stock  into  the  English  brush  factories  cheaper 
than  the  English  manufacturers  could  do  it,  so  that  their  machinery 
in  this  branch  of  their  factory  stood  idle  and  covered  with  dust; 
they  were  doing  nothing.  This  same  competition  has  driven  us  out 
of  Canada,  where  we  formerly  had  a  very  good  trade.  Further,  I 
found  that  the  English  manufacturer  was  paying  his  help  only 
about  one-half  of  what  we  are  paying  ours. 

After  considerable  effort,  by  going  to  the  appraisers'  stores  in 
New  York,  I  found  that  tampico  was  admitted  under  section  6  (p. 
67  of  the  tariff  act  you  sent  me),  as  an  unenumerated  article,  at  a 
duty  of  20  per  cent.  It  struck  me  in  looking  over  the  tariff  that 
it  should  come  under  article  347  in  schedule  J,  "  all  manufactures 
of  flax,  hemp,  ramie,  or  other  vegetable  fibers,  45  per  cent  ad  valo- 
rem." This  rate  at  least  would  succeed  much  better  in  keeping  out 
the  cheap  manufactures  of  Germany  and  Belgium.  But  they  told 
me  at  the  appraisers'  stores  that  it  could  not  be  classed  under  this 
clause,  because  it  was  still  tampico;  it  was  not  a  manufacture  of 
tampico,  but  still  remained  tampico. 

Now,  the  trouble  is  that  the  dressed  tampico,  or  brush  fiber,  has 
never  been  specifically  mentioned  in  the  tariff,  I  believe.  I  think 
it  should  be,  and  I  think  that  a  duty  of  45  per  cent  would  be  none  too 
high  on  tampico,  bass,  bassine,  palmyra  fiber,  and  similar  vegetable 
fibers  or  mixtures  of  the  same  (when  they  have  passed  in  manufac- 
ture beyond  the  crude  state)  to  protect  the  American  manufacturer; 
and  it  would  work  no  injustice  to  any  American,  because  the  compe- 
tition among  American  manufacturers  in  this  country  is  so  strong 


BRUSH   FIBEES A.   C.   WHITING.  6493 

that  the  prices  are  kept  down  to  the  bottom  notch,  commensurate 
with  the  high  price  we  are  paying  labor  to-day. 

******* 

Yours,  truly, 

E.  B.  &.  A.  C.  WHITING, 
By  A.  C.  WHITING. 

P.  S. — The  foreign  manufacturers  generally  quote  8  to  10  cents  for 
dressed  tampico,  while  the  American  market  is  12  to  14  cents,  so  that 
with  the  duty  on  they  are  in  the  neighborhood  of  2  cents  below  us. 


SUPPLEMENTAL  STATEMENT  BY  E.  B.  &  A.  C.  WHITING,  BUR- 
LINGTON,  VT.,  RELATIVE  TO  FOREIGN  BRUSH  FIBER  STOCK. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  5,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN.  Inclosed  is  a  letter  from  E.  B.  &  A.  C.  Whiting 
concerning  brush  stock,  which  contains  information  in  addition  to  the 
statement  which  I  presented  at  the  hearing,  together  with  a  circular 
from  Belgium  indicating  the  competition  which  they  receive  from 
abroad.  Mr.  Whiting  is  entirely  trustworthy,  and  I  fully  indorse 
his  statements. 

Very  truly,  yours,  ALBERT  CLARKE. 


BURLINGTON,  VT.,  December  1, 1908. 
Col.  ALBERT  CLARKE,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  MR.  CLARKE:  I  am  glad  to  get  yours  of  November  30.  I 
appreciate  that  you  have  been  busy,  but  as  you  wrote  in  a  former 
letter  of  giving  me  pointers  for  a  brief,  and  I  did  not  hear  anything 
from  you,  I  was  afraid  you  might  have  been  taken  sick  and  that  the 
matter  would  go  by  default.  Am  glad  to  hear  that  you  were  in  the 
harness,  and  fully  realize  that  you  must  be  pretty  busy  there  during 
these  hearings.  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  anything  in  the  papers 
in  regard  to  the  action  of  the  committee  Saturday,  at  which  time  I 
inferred  matters  of  interest,  particularly  to  us,  would  be  taken  up, 
and  I  am  glad  to  get  your  letter  giving  the  information  it  does. 

I  am  glad  also  to  learn  that  there  is  a  prospect  of  the  brush  makers 
getting  relief  by  an  increase  of  10  per  cent — from  40  to  50  per  cent — 
duty.  They  need  it. 

Now,  in  regard  to  tampico,  etc.  The  wording  you  give,  "  Tampico, 
dressed,  assorted,  colored,  ready  for  the  brush  maker,"  would  hardly 
cover  the  ground  properly,  as  stock  could  be  sent  in  partially  manu- 
factured, not  ready  for  the  brush.  I  have  been  looking  over  some 
foreign  correspondence,  and  I  herewith  inclose  a  circular  from  H. 
Lecluyse,  of  Antwerp,  dated  the  31st  of  May,  1907,  which  will  give 
you  something  of  an  idea  of  what  we  have  to  zontend  with.  You  will 
note  that  he  does  not  quote  bassine  or  Palmyra  fiber,  or  Mexican 
fiber,  raw.  Probably  he  is  not  able  to  handle  them  in  the  crude 


6494  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

state,  to  meet  the  American  market.  But,  going  further  on  in  his 
circular,  you  will  see  that  he  has  Mexican  fiber  (that  is,  tampico  in  its 
different  grades)  and  unions  of  tampico,  bassine,  etc.,  and  the  differ- 
ent bases  all  quoted.  You  will  also  note  that  his  prices  are  per 
hundredweight  (112  pounds),  delivered  c.  i.  f.  American  seaport. 
They  are  offering  these  goods  lower  now  even  than  then,  but  they 
do  not  send  us  circulars,  as  they  have  got  on  to  the  fact  that  we  are 
competitors.  So  we  only  see  these  circulars  once  in  a  while  through 
some  of  our  brush-maker  friends.  Perhaps  this  circular  may  give 
the  committee  a  better  idea  that  dressed  tampico  is  a  manufactured 
article.  There  are  infinite  varieties  and  grades  of  it. 

As  shown  in  my  former  letter,  these  German  and  Belgium  manu- 
facturers, with  their  cheap  labor,  are  putting  these  dressed  stocks 
into  this  country  more  and  more.  Especially  during  the  last  year 
or  two,  when  we  have  paid  our  labor  more,  has  this  trade  grown,  to 
our  detriment.  All  of  these  mixtures  of  Mexican  fiber  and  unions  of 
tampico,  bassine,  etc.,  come  into  competition  with  us.  We  used  to  be 
able  to  get  down  somewhere  near  their  prices,  but  since  the  advance 
in  the  cost  of  labor  during  the  last  two  or  three  years  we  have  found 
ourselves  unable  to  compete  with  these  people.  The  brush  makers 
are  getting  more  and  more  into  the  way  of  importing. 

Now,  as  stated  in  my  previous  letter,  I  think  these  fibers  should  be 
enumerated,  and  I  would  suggest  the  following  as  covering  the  ground 
best :  Istle,  ixtle,  tampico  or  Mexican  fibers,  bass,  bassine,  palmyra,  and 
similar  vegetable  fibers,  when  they  have  been  dyed,  combed,  cut  up, 
mixed,  or  dressed  in  any  manner,  45  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Istle,  ixtle,  tampico  or  Mexican  fiber  are  different  names  for  prac- 
tically one  kind  of  fiber.  Bass,  bassine,  palmyra,  etc.,  are  different 
names  for  another  class  of  fiber,  both  used  largely  in  brush  manufac- 
turing. There  are  a  good  many  different  kinds  of  basses  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  brushes. 

I  should  want  this  clause  to  cover  pretty  strongly  the  vegetable 
fibers  which  are  prepared  in  any  way  beyond  the  crude  state,  because, 
as  stated  in  a  previous  letter,  of  the  danger  of  the  Mexicans  with  their 
cheap  labor  putting  this  stock  up  more  or  less  dressed. 

Now,  as  to  the  percentage  of  duty.  While  formerly  there  was  a 
good  margin  in  the  dressing  of  tampico,  of  late  years  the  competition 
in  this  country  has  been  so  strong  that  it  has  been  pretty  close  fig- 
uring, so  that  the  price  has  kept  down  to  a  very  narrow  margin. 
The  trade  is  limited.  Several  have  tried  it  (dressing  tampico)  and 
failed,  so  that  there  are  now  only  three  or  four  manufacturers  of 
vegetable  fiber  for  the  brush  trade  left  in  the  business,  and  the  only 
way  we  can  get  anything  out  of  it  is  to  do  a  big  volume  of  business. 
Now,  if  our  trade  is  cut  into  by  foreign  importations,  we  lose  so  much 
from  the  volume  of  business,  which  is  a  serious  loss  to  us ;  and  for  this 
reason,  for  the  good  of  our  help  as  well  as  ourselves,  we  would  like  to 
see  the  duty  as  Targe  as  we  can  have  it.  We  do  not  think  45  per  cent 
is  excessive,  but  it  we  can  not  get  over  35  per  cent  we  will  have  to 
take  that,  and  it  may  be  that  it  is  best  not  to  ask  for  over  35  per  cent. 
You  can  better  judge  of  the  situation  than  we  can,  and  I  leave  it  with 
you.  Simply  get  all  you  can,  for  we  need  it.  Between  the  prison 
labor  in  our  own  country  and  the  cheap  and  prison  labor  of  Germany 
and  Belgium  we  find  the  sledding  very  hard. 


BRUSH   FIBERS A.    0.   WHITING.  6495 

I  hope  you  will  do  the  best  you  can,  and  that  your  efforts  will  be 
crowned  with  success. 

Thanking  you  in  advance  for  your  interest  and  kindness,  I  remain, 
Very  truly,  yours, 

E.  B.  &  A.  C.  WHITING, 
By  A.  C.  WHITING. 


ANTWERP,  May  31, 1907. 
Messrs.  E.  B.  &  A.  C.  WHITING, 

Burlington. 

DEAR  SIRS:  I  have  the  favor  to  offer  you  to-day: 

Bristle  fiber,  ordinary  quality $4.50 

Scraps  (split  bamboo)  : 

Natural 4.  00 

Dyed    (brown  color) 4.50 

Mexican  fibers,  dressed : 

Jaumave,  combed  in  pigtails- 
White 9.00 

Black 10.00 

Gray 10.50 

Jaumave,  single  drafted — 

White 9.50 

Black 10.50 

Gray 11.00 

Jaumave,  double  drafted — 

White 10.00 

Black 11.00 

Gray 11.50 

Tampico,  combed  in  pigtails —    • 

White 8.25 

Black 9.25 

Gray 9.75 

Tampico,  single  drafted — 

White 8.75 

Black 9.75 

Gray 10.25 

Tampico,  double  drafted — 

White 9.25 

Black 10.  25 

Gray 10.75 

Palma,  combed  in  pigtails — 

White 8.50 

Black 9.50 

Gray - 10.50 

Patent  fiber  (glossfiber)  : 

Black__  -)  20.  00 

Gray / 

Unions,  tampico  and  bnssine: 

Tampico  white  and  10  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  combed  in  pigtails- . 

Tampico  white  and  20  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  combed  in  pigtails.. 


Tampico  white  and  30  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  combed  in  pigtails.. 
Tampico  white  and  40  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  combed  in  pigtails.. 
Tampico  white  and  50  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  combed  in  pigtails__. 
Tampico  white  and  10  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  single  drafted. 
Tampico  white  and  20  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  single  drafted. 
Tampico  white  and  30  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  single  drafted. 
Tampico  white  and  40  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  single  drafted. 
Tampico  white  and  50  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  single  drafted. 


Tampico  white  and  10  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  double  drafted 

Tampico  white  and  20  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  double  draft ed__ 

Tampico  white  and  30  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  double  drafted 


JL  OUU£*I.V**      TV  J-l*  tt-     CLl-lVl    «-»W     ^J\-l.       V^U.  L     L/CI.  K701 1.1  ^y      UUVJ.J  tVJj      \A\J  UV«V     *•*•»*  WU 

Tampico  white  and  40  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  double  drafted 

Tampico  white  and  50  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  double  drafted 


8.75 


9.25 


9.7; 


6496 


SCHEDULE  N SUNDRIES. 


Unions,  tampico  and  bassine — Continued. 

Tampico   white  and  10  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,   combed  in 
pigtails 

Tampico  white  and  20  per  cent  bassine,   dyed  black,   combed  in 

pigtails . 

Tampico   white  and  30  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,   combed  in 

pigtails 

Tampico  white  and  40  per  cent   bassine,   dyed   black,   combed  in 

pigtails 

Tampico  white  and  50  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,   combed  in 

pigtails 

Tampico  white  and  10  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  single  drafted 

Tampico  white  and  20  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  single  drafted-. 

Tampico  white  and  30  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  single  drafted 

Tampico  white  and  40  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  single  drafted 

Tampico  white  and  50  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  single  drafted 

Tampico  white  and  10  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  double  drafted- 
Tampico  white  and  20  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  double  drafted_ 
Tampico  white  and  30  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  double  drafted_ 
Tampico  wkite  and  40  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  double  drafted- 
Tampico  white  and  50  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  double  drafted. 

Tampico  gray  and  10  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  combed  in  pigtails 

Tampico  gray  and  20  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  combed  in  pigtails 

Tampico  gray  and  30  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  combed  in  pigtails__ 
Tampico  gray  and  40  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  combed  in  pigtails-- 

Tampico  gray  and  50  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  combed  in  pigtails 

Tampico  gray  and  10  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  single  drafted 

Tampico  gray  and  20  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  single  drafted 

Tampico  gray  and  30  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  single  drafted 

Tampico  gray  and  40  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  single  drafted 

Tampico  gray  and  50  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  single  drafted 

Tampico  gray  and  10  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  double  drafted 

Tampico  gray  and  20  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  double  drafted 

Tampico  gray  and  30  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  double  drafted 

Tampico  gray  and  40  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  double  drafted 

Tampico  gray  and  50  per  cent  bassine,  undyed,  double  drafted 

Tampico  gray  and  10  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  combed  in  pig- 
tails  

Tampico  gray  and  20  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  combed  in  pig- 
tails  

Tampico  gray  and  30  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  combed  in  pig- 
tails  

Tampico  gray  and  40  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  combed  in  pig- 
tails  

Tampico  gray  and  50  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  combed  in  pig- 
tails  • 

Tampico  gray  and  10  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  single  drafted 

Tampico  gray  and  20  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  single  drafted.. 

Tampico  gray  and  30  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  single  drafted 

Tampico  gray  and  40  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  single  drafted 

Tampico  gray  and  50  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  single  draftpd___ 
Tampico  gray  and  10  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  double  drafted-." 
Tampico  gray  and  20  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  double  drafted-- 

Tampico  gray  and  30  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  double  drafted 

Tampico  gray  and  40  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  double  drafted.. 
Tampico  gray  and  50  per  cent  bassine,  dyed  black,  double  drafted— 

Bahia   bass,    dressed 

African  bass,  dressed 

Bassine,  good  current  quality 

Three-fourths  Bahia  bass,  one-fourth  African  bass 

One-half  Bahia  bass,  one-half  African  bass 

Three-fourths  Bahia  bass,  one-fourth  bassine,  good  current 

One-half  Bahia  bass,  one-half  bassine,  good  current 

One-half  Bahia  bass,  one-fourth  African,  one-fourth  bassine,  good 
current  __ 


$9.00 


9.50 


10.00 


9.75 


10.25 


10.  75 


10.00 


10.50 


11.00 


16.  50 

8.50 

8.00 

14.50 

12.50 

14.40 

12.25 

12.40 


BRUSH   FIBERS A.    C.   WHITING.  6497 

Unions,  tampico  and  bassine — Continued. 

Three-fourths  African  bass,  one-fourth  bassine,  good  current $8.  3f» 

One-half  African  bass,  one-half  bassine,  good  current X.  2f> 

One-fourth  African  bass,  three-fourths  bassine,  good  current 8. 15 

Three-fourths  bassine,  good  current ;  one-fourth  scraps,  dyed 6.  40 

One-half  bassine,  good  current;  one-half  scraps,  dyed 6.40 

Prices  to  be  understood  per  hundredweight,  or  112  pounds,  c.  i.  f.,  American 
seaports. 

Payment,  cash;  1  per  cent  discount  against  documents. 

Awaiting  your  esteemed  orders,  I  remain,  dear  sirs, 
Yours,  truly, 

H.  LECLTTYSE. 


A.  C.  WHITING,  BURLINGTON,  VT.,  WRITES  ASKING  PROTECTION 
FOR  THE  FIBER-DRESSING  INDUSTRY. 

BURLINGTON,  VT.,  January  9,  1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  am  in  receipt,  from  my  old  friend  Col.  Albert  Clarke 
(who  years  ago  came  to  St.  Albans  to  work  on  the  Messenger  for  my 
father) ,  of  a  copy  of  the  tariff  hearings,  in  which  is  printed  a  portion 
of  my  letters  to  him.  These  letters  (together  with  others)  were  writ- 
ten to  Colonel  Clarke  on  the  subject  of  tampico  and  brush  fibers,  but 
neither  of  them  was  written  with  the  expectation  or  intention  of 
having  them  submitted  to  your  committee,  and  they  do  not  set  forth 
the  matter  as  clearly  as  it  should  be  set  forth.  So  I  should  like  to 
set  the  matter  before  you  once  more,  in  better  shape  than  expressed 
in  these  former  letters. 

Some  thirty-five  years  ago  my  father,  E.  B.  Whiting,  and  myself 
started  an  industry  new  to  this  country  at  least,  and  I  think  new  to 
the  world,  i.  e.,  the  dressing  of  brush  fiber  (tampico  particularly) 
for  the  brush  makers  by  machinery. 

Up  to  that  time  I  think  the  work  had  been  done  by  hand,  the  brush 
makers  generally  dressing  their  own  fiber,  although  it  was  put  up 
partially  dressed  by  several  manufacturers. 

Passing  over  the  years  of  doubt  and  loss,  we  finally  "  got  onto  our 
feet,"  and  the  trade  began  to  take  to  our  stocks  in  this  country  and 
abroad.  This  led  to  competition  here,  with  the  development  of  other 
machinery,  and  later  in  Europe.  Competition  in  this  country  grew 
to  be  so  strong  that  Europe  did  not  try  to  put  any  dressed  stock  into 
this  country  until  of  late  years.  The  general  advance  in  wages  which 
has  been  going  on  for  a  number  of  years  back  has  not  only  forced 
us  out  of  competition  with  Europe  outside  of  this  country,  but  they, 
having  already  ruined  our  trade  in  Canada  (which  was  quite  large) 
and  in  other  countries,  have  gradually  been  forcing  their  goods  into 
this  country. 

In  England  two  years  ago  I  found  that  a  manufacturer  who  had 
come  over  here  a  few  years  before  and  bought  a  full  set  of  our 
machinery  had  been  obliged  to  suspend  business  in  this  line,  as  the 
Belgians  and  Germans,  with  their  cheap  labor,  had  taken  the  English 
trade  all  away  from  them,  and  I  also  found  that  this  English  manu- 


6498  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

facturer  was  paying  his  help  about  50  per  cent  of  what  we  paid  our 
help  at  that  time.  We  are  paying  still  higher  now. 

For  reasons  above  stated,  dressed  stock  was  not  brought  into  this 
country  to  speak  of  until  of  late  years,  and  I  think  I  am  right  in 
saying  that  dressed  Tampico  or  brush  fiber  has  never  been  specifically 
mentioned  in  any  tariff,  for  the  reason  that  there  has  been  no  call 
for  it.  Crude  Tampico  or  Istle,  or  Ixtle  (the  Mexican  name),  has 
always  been  free,  as  it  should  be,  as  it  is  not  produced  in  this  country. 
Under  the  last  tariff  I  know  that  it  had  been  assessed  at  20  per  cent 
duty,  but  it  was  not  until  I  went  to  the  appraisers'  office  in  New 
York  last  November  that  I  was  able  to  find  out  how  this  duty  was 
assessed.  I  then  found  that  it  was  assessed  under  a  "  catch-all  "  para- 
graph, section  6. 

That  there  shall  be  levied,  collected  and  paid  on  importations  of  all  raw  or 
unmanufactured  articles,  not  enumerated  or  provided  for  in  this  act,  a  duty 
of  10  per  cent  ad  valorem,  and  on  all  articles  manufactured  in  whole  or  in 
part,  not  provided  for  in  this  act,  a  duty  of  20  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

I  asked  why  it  should  not  come  in  under  Schedule  J,  article  347, 
which  is  as  follows : 

All  manufactures  of  flax,  hemp,  ramie  or  other  vegetable  fiber,  or  of  which 
these  substances  or  either  of  them  is  the  component  material  of  chief  value, 
not  provided  for  in  this  act,  45  per  cent  ad  valorem — 

and  was  told  that  it  could  not  come  under  this  clause  because,  by  a 
ruling  of  the  custom-house,  it  had  not  changed  its  identity,  had  not 
been  manufactured  into  .something  else,  but  was  still  Tampico. 

This  struck  me  as  rather  queer,  and  does  still.  I  do  not  think  there 
is  anybody  but  what  would  allow  that  our  stock  is  a  manufactured 
stock.  I,  with  forty  or  fifty  others,  have  been  at  work  for  a  good 
many  years,  and  we  supposed  we  had  been  manufacturing  dressed 
brush  fiber.  We  inclose  herewith  a  copy  of  our  price  list,  which 
serves  merely  as  a  fundamental  basis  to  figure  from,  showing,  as  you 
will  note,  a  good  many  different  mixtures  and  styles.  These  are  all 
subject  to  variations  in  many  ways,  so  that  the  kinds  of  stock  we 
get  up  run  up  into  the  thousands.  I  might  say  this  list  is  subject 
to  varying  discounts  of  from  10  to  40  per  cent. 

The  above  is  merely  to  show  that  there  is  .no  precedent  for  the 
amount  of  duty  which  should  be  fixed  on  dressed  Tampico  and  brush 
fiber,  because  it  never  has  been  looked  after,  there  being  no  occasion 
for  it  until  the  competition  of  late  years,  with  the  improved  machin- 
ery of  Europe  and  their  extremely  low  labor  there,  they  have  begun 
entering  our  market  here.  When  the  question  came  up  the  customs 
officials  simply  put  it  under  the  "  catch-all  "  phrase  above. 

Now,  as  to  the  amount  of  duty.  Twenty  per  cent  does  not  cover  it 
Dressed  stock  is  coming  in  here  more  and  more  with  each  year.  We 
have  tried  to  find  out  just  what  the  importation  of  dressed  fiber  is, 
but  while  we  have  the  imports  of  Istle  or  Tampico  fiber,  the  Hon. 
O.  P.  Austin,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  writes  us :  "  Returns 
received  from  collector  of  customs  does  not  distinguish  between 
dressed  and  undressed  Tampico  fiber."  But  we  know  that  it  is  com- 
ing into  this  country  in  increasing  quantities  from  what  we  know  of 
the  trade,  and  having  seen  it  in  the  custom-house  in  New  York  (they 
were  passing  a  lot  the  day  we  called  there  in  November) ,  and  we  want 
a  proper  duty  imposed  before  our  trade  is  ruined. 

A  large  part  or  the  Tampico  used  now  in  this  country  is  the  white, 
our  prices  on  which  are  12  to  13  cents.  The  Europeans  are  putting 


BRUSH   FIBERS A.    C.    WHITING.  6499 

this  stock  in  now  at  from  8  to  9  cents  which,  with  the  20  per  cent 
added,  leaves  their  price  1  to  2  cents  below  the  market  here.  Whether 
they  can  go  lower  is  a  question.  The  trade  in  this  country  is  limited, 
and  the  competition  is  very  strong,  so  strong  in  fact  that  several  par- 
ties, who  were  formerly  in  the  business,  have  given  it  up,  as  there 
was  no  money  in  it.  In  fact,  it  is  only  by  volume  of  business  that 
we  can  get  anything  out  of  it.  The  normal  cost  of  crude  Tampico  is, 
say,  5  to  6  cents.  In  dressing  there  is  a  waste  of  from  25  to  50  per  cent, 
leaving,  say,  5  to  6  cents  for  the  cost  of  labor  in  this  country. 

Considerable  stock  is  brought  to  this  country  on  through  bills 
of  lading,  transferred  in  New  York,  and  if  not  sold  there,  goes  on 
to  Europe  without  any  extra  freight  charge,  so  that  the  cost  in 
Europe  is  about  the  same.  Sometimes,  owing  to  its  being  a  market 
of  last  resort,  they  can  buy  cheaper  than  we  can  in  New  York, 
where,  if  the  owner  does  not  get  his  price,  he  ships  it  on  to  Europe. 
Now  if  stock  costs  them  5  cents,  and  they  add  25  per  cent  waste  and 
sell  for  8  cents,  it  would  leave  them  for  labor  $1.75  as  against  $5.75 
for  the  American  manufacturer.  With  45  per  cent  duty  on  only 
8  cents,  it  would  bring  their  selling  price  up  to  $12.40,  about  the 
price  here;  and,  as  stated,  there  is  a  question  whether  they  can  not 
even  produce  the  stock  at  less  than  8  cents.  So  that  we  feel  that 
a  duty  of  45  per  cent  is  necessary  to  protect  the  industry  in  this 
country,  and  for  which  we  most  earnestly  pray. 

As  stated  in  our  letter  of  December  1,  1908,  to  Colonel  Clarke, 
I  would  suggest  the  following  as  best  covering  the  ground :  "  Istle, 
ixtle,  Tampico  or  Mexican  fiber,  bass,  bassine,  Palmyra,  and  similar 
vegetable  fibers,  when  they  have  been  dyed,  combed,  cut  up,  mixed,  or 
dressed  in  any  manner,  45  per  cent  ad  valorem."  The  dressing  of  the 
different  kinds  of  basses  referred  to,  has  never  been  developed  in  this 
country,  because  of  the  cheap  labor  of  Europe,  although  the  mixing  of 
bassine  with  Tampico,  is  done  a  great  deal  here;  at  the  same  time 
we  are  not  able  to  compete  with  the  Europeans  in  price  on  this  stock. 

I,  personally,  am  much  more  interested  in  the  duty  on  Tampico 
than  on  basses  or  union  fibers,  but  I  realize  that  it  would  be  an  easy 
matter  for  foreigners  to  put  in  just  enough  bassine  into  a  mixture, 
to  have  it  come  under  the  head  of  union  fiber  or  bass  mixture,  and  so 
avoid  duty.  And,  further,  if  the  importation  of  basses  was  covered 
by  a  proper  duty,  there  would  be  a  chance  for  fiber  dressers  in  this 
country  to  develop  that  trade  to  advantage.  At  the  same  time  I 
would  not  want  the  question  of  duty  on  bassine  to  interfere  with  the 
question  of  duty  on  Tampico,  which  is  our  main  work. 

The  clause  imposing  a  duty  on  dressed  Tampico,  and  other  brush 
fibers,  should  be  very  carefully  worded  to  prevent  the  stock  which 
has  been  partially,  if  not  wholly,  prepared,  coming  in  free.  On  the 
other  hand,  these  fibers,  Tampico  and  istle,  bass,  bassine,  etc.,  should 
be,  in  the  crude  state,  without  any  question,  in  the  free  list,  for  none 
of  these  fibers  is  grown  in  this  country. 

Trusting  that  the  industry  of  fiber  dressing  in  this  country  may 
be  maintained  by  the  fixing  of  a  proper  duty,  which  has  never  before 
been  done,  I  remain 

Very  truly,  yours,  A.  C.  WHITING,  of 

E.  B.  &  A.  C.  WHITING, 
Dealers  in  and  Dressers  of  Tampico  and  Other  Brush  Fibers. 


6500  SCHEDULE  N SUNDRIES. 

BUTTON  FORMS. 

[Paragraph  413.] 

AMERICAN  BRAID  MANUFACTURERS  ASK  FOR  HIGHER  DUTY  FOR 
BUTTON  FORMS  OF  MOHAIR  AND  OTHER  MATERIALS. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  December  1, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WATS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Button  forms :  Lastings,  mohair,  cloth,  silk,  or  other 
manufactures  of  cloth,  woven  or  made  in  patterns  of  such  size,  shape, 
or  form,  or  cut  in  such  manner  as  to  be  fit  for  buttons  exclusively, 
ten  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

"We  recommend  that  this  paragraph  be  stricken  out.  It  permits 
the  importation  of  the  various  manufactured  articles  therein  enumer- 
ated at  a  very  much  lower  rate  than  provided  for  in  other  schedules 
of  this  act  for  the  same  articles. 

At  the  duty  of  10  per  cent  ad  valorem  assessed  in  this  paragraph 
it  is  impossible  for  the  domestic  manufacturer  to  compete  with  the 
foreign  manufacturer  of  these  articles,  and  not  only  deprives  him  of 
any  protection  whatsoever,  but  prohibitively  discriminates  against 
him  by  the  duty  which  is  imposed  on  the  various  yarns  of  which 
these  articles  are  made. 

Respectfully  submitted  by  the  braid  manufacturers  of  the  United 
States. 

HENRY  W.  SCHLOSS, 
President  American  Braid  Manufacturers'*  Association. 


BUTTONS. 

[Paragraph  414.] 

THE  AMERICAN  BUTTON  CO.,  NEWARK,  N.  J.,  WISHES  SPECIAL 
CLASSIFICATION  FOR  UNIFORM  METAL  BUTTONS. 

70  MORRIS  AVENUE, 
Newark,  N.  J.,  November  #4>  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  manufacture  metal  buttons.  These  goods  are 
classed  under  Schedule  N,  article  414. 

The  duty  on  these,  while  not  as  high  as  we  would  like,  is  half  fair 
and  the  competition  can  be  met  to  a  certain  extent. 

We  pray  your  honorable  body,  however,  that  metal  buttons  used 
for  uniforms  be  specially  classed  by  themselves.  The  specific  duty 
on  these  goods  does  not  protect  us,  and  would  pray  that  an  ad  valorem 
duty  be  imposed  of  45  per  cent.  This  would  be  equivalent  to  present 
tariff  on  articles  made  from  brass,  not  otherwise  specified,  Schedule 
C,  article  193. 

We  hope  for  this  change,  as  government  goods  should  be  made  in 
this  country,  if  possible,  and  several  contracts  for  buttons,  etc.,  have 


BUTTONS.  6501 

recently  been  awarded  to  foreign  people,  something  we  do  not  think 
would  be  allowed  by  any  other  government  of  the  world. 
This  45  per  cent  protection  would  help  us,  and  we  pray  for  relief. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

AMERICAN  BUTTON  Co., 
CHARLES  K.   WRIGHT,  President. 


THE  BOCHESTEB  (N.  Y.)  BUTTON  COMPANY  ASKS  FOB  COMPOUND 
DUTIES  ON  VEGETABLE  IVOBY  BUTTONS. 

ROCHESTER,  N.  Y.,  November  25, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  address  you  as  manufacturers  of  vegetable  ivory 
buttons.  The  present  tariff  shown  in  Schedule  N,  page  44,  para- 
graph 414.  We  also  beg  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  vege- 
table ivory,  our  raw  material,  comes  in  free,  as  it  is  not  grown  in  this 
country.  This  is  shown  in  paragraph  584,  page  53. 

We  beg  to  refer  you  to  paper  presented  before  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee  January  21, 1897,  and  printed  on  page  1811  of  those  hear- 
ings. This  paper  was  correct  at  that  time,  and  on  which  you  granted 
to  our  industry  the  present  rate  of  duty.  The  rate  now  in  force  has 
benefited  our  industry  in  so  far  that  the  number  of  employees  has 
been  increased  (comparing  government  census  of  1900  against  1905) 
150  per  cent.  The  amount  of  capital  invested  has  increased  over  100 
per  cent  and  the  amount  of  wages  paid  over  48  per  cent.  The  in- 
closed paper  presented  shows  that  at  that  time  we  were  paying  for 
labor  450  per  cent  more  than  Germany,  Austria,  or  Italy  for  identic- 
ally the  same  class  of  labor.  To-day  American  labor  has  been  in- 
creased as  above  48  per  cent,  and  the  foreign  labor — used  then  for 
comparison — but  slightly. 

We  request  your  honorable  committee  in  the  readjustment  of  the 
tariff,  if  consistent,  to  give  us  what  we  asked  for  in  1897 — 1  cent  per 
line  of  one-fortieth  of  an  inch  per  gross,  and  in  addition  thereto  25 
per  cent  ad  valorem  as  a  maximum  duty  and  leave  the  present  rate 
as  it  is  as  a  minimum  duty. 

We  have  several  hundred  employees  depending  upon  this  industry 
for  their  living,  of  all  political  parties,  even  socialistic,  and  they  all 
of  them  appeal  to  us  to  do  all  that  we  can  to  prevent  cheap  buttons 
being  imported  into  this  country. 

Whether  we  have  three-quarters  of  1  cent  per  line  per  gross  and 
an  ad  valorem  duty,  the  amount  of  the  duty  on  buttons  on  a  suit  of 
clothes  is  so  infinitesimally  small  that  it  hardly  affects  the  con- 
sumer, but  it  is  of  very  great  importance  to  the  manufacturers  and 
their  employees.  We  can  not  pay  present  wages  if  the  tariff  on  our 
industry  is  reduced.  Italy  has  practically  ruined  the  button  indus- 
try in  Canada,  where  they  have  no  specific  duty.  We  need  for  fair 
protection  a  specific  as  well  as  an  ad  valorem  duty.  An  ad  valorem 
duty  does  not  protect  anyone,  on  account  of  fictitious  values,  unless 
in  connection  with  a  specific  duty. 


6502  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

We  appeal  to  you  for  fair  and  legitimate  protection  for  our  labor 
(80  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  the  goods  is  in  labor)  against  foreign 
labor  and  a  legitimate  and  legal  rate  of  profit  on  money  invested. 
As  far  as  our  own  particular  business  is  concerned,  we  are  perfectly 
willing  to  have  anyone  investigate  and  substantiate  the  statement 
that  there  have  been  no  excessive  profits  made.     There  is  no  trust, 
combination,  or  agreement  in  the  button  industry. 
We  ask  your  consideration  of  our  request,  and  beg  to  remain, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

ROCHESTER  BUTTON  Co., 
H.  K.  ELSTON,  Treasurer. 


THE  WATERBURY  (CONN.)  BUTTON  CO.  WISHES  PRESENT  DUTIES 
ON  CLOTH-COVERED  BUTTONS  RETAINED. 

WATERBURY,  CONN.,  November  25,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN  :  One  of  our  products  of  manufacture  is  cloth-covered 
buttons.  The  raw  material  from  which  these  buttons  are  made  is, 
first,  tagger's  iron,  which  to-day  is  almost  entirely  manufactured  in 
this  country.  This  iron  is  used  as  a  base  over  which  the  cloth  is 
drawn.  The  cloth  covers  are  largely  imported  and  are  dutiable 
under  section  N,  article  413. 

We  pray  your  honorable  committee  to  continue  this  paragraph  as 
it  is.  The  cloth-covered-button  industry  is  quite  varied  and  largely 
a  matter  of  fashion. 

We  have  no  reliable  statistics  to  offer  as  to  whether  the  present 
duty  is  sufficient  to  protect  American  labor  as  against  the  foreign 
labor.  We  would,  however,  pray  your  honorable  committee  that 
cloth-covered  buttons  be  continued  at  present  rate  of  duty,  viz, 
section  N,  article  414. 

The  product  we  are  very  much  interested  in  is  buttons  manufac- 
tured from  vegetable  ivory.  The  raw  material  (ivory  nut)  is  im- 
ported from  South  America  and  is  on  the  free  list,  and  we  pray  your 
honorable  body  may  remain  there.  It  is  our  desire  that  the  present 
tariff  stand  as  classed,  viz,  Schedule  N,  article  414.  Vegetable-ivory 
buttons  are  used  for  a  great  variety  of  garments,  and  the  business  as 
a  whole  is  of  no  mean  proportions.  The  manufacturers'  census  of 
1905,  Bulletin  85,  shows  that  there  was  produced  in  the  year  1904 
vegetable-ivory  buttons  to  the  amount  or  2,470,409  gross,  valued  at 
$1,305,766.  This  is  only  about  a  20  per  cent  increase  over  the  census  of 
1900,  and  would  go  to  show  that  the  duty  as  now  imposed  protected 
the  domestic  manufacturers  by  a  very  narrow  margin. 

We  therefore  pray  your  honorable  committee  let  paragraph  414 
of  Schedule  N  stand  as  it  is  and  thus  protect  one  of  the  small  but 
useful  industries. 

We  also  manufacture  metal  buttons.  These  goods  are  classed  under 
Schedule  N,  paragraph  414.  It  is  our  desire  that  your  committee 
let  this  paragraph  remain  as  it  is.  The  business  has  made  a  steady 
growth  since  the  passage  of  this  act,  as  is  shown  by  the  comparison  of 
census  between  1890  and  1905. 


BUTTONS.  6503 


Census  of 
1890. 

Manufac- 
turers' 
census  of 
1905. 

Number  of  establishments  

106 

275 

Number  of  employees       ..                           

4,036 

10,567 

SI,  673,  876 

$3,  6M>,  1% 

The  metal  buttons  mentioned  in  article  414  are  particularly  the 
fancy  buttons,  made  from  metal,  used  on  ladies'  suits  and  ladies' 
cloaks.  These  are  at  times  imported  in  large  quantities.  These  are 
protected  by  the  specific  duty. 

We  pray  your  honorable  body  that  metal  buttons  used  for  uniforms, 
such  as  the  United  States  Army,  railroads,  steamships,  and  all  other 
uniforms,  be  specially  classed  by  themselves.  We  find  that  the  spe- 
cific duty  on  these  does  not  protect  us,  and  would  pray  that  an 
ad  valorem  duty  be  imposed  of  45  per  cent.  This  would  be  equivalent 
to  the  present  tariff  on  articles  made  from  brass  not  otherwise  spe- 
cified, Schedule  C,  article  193 : 

"Articles  or  wares  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  composed 
wholly  or  in  part  of  iron,  steel,  nickel,  pewter,  zinc,  gold,  silver,  plati- 
num, aluminum,  or  other  metal,  and  nvhether  wholly  or  partly  manu- 
factured, 45  per  cent  ad  valorem." 

We  advise  this  change  from  the  fact  that  uniform  buttons  are 
plated  with  a  certain  amount  of  precious  metal.  The  value  of  this 
plating  is  generally  specified  in  contract,  and  is  a  matter  easily  found 
out  by  the  appraiser. 

We  make  this  prayer  owing  to  the  fact  that  English  competition 
has  been  able  to  take  several  contracts  for  furnishing  the  United 
States  Government  army  buttons  during  the  past  few  months.  Were 
they  obliged  to  pay  an  ad  valorem  duty  of  45  per  cent  we  should  be 
able  to  hold  that  business  in  this  country. 

Therefore  we  would  recommend  that  there  be  added  to  Schedule 
N,  article  414,  a  paragraph,  as  follows: 

"  Metal  buttons  for  uniforms  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act, 
45  per  cent  ad  valorem." 

Respectfully  submitted. 

WATERBURY  BUTTON  COMPANY, 
J.  K.  SMITH,  President. 


THE  STEEIE  &  JOHNSON  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY,  WATER- 
BURY,  CONN.,  WISHES  A  DUTY  OF  FIFTY  PER  CENT  PLACED 
ON  METAL  UNIFORM  BUTTONS. 

WATERBURY,  CONN.,  November  25, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  Washington,  D.  C. 
DEAR  SIR:   We  are  manufacturers  of  metal  buttons  for  uniforms 
particularly,  and  of  late  have  suffered  seriously  from  foreign  com- 
petition, both  in  connection  with  the  general  trade  and  the  United 
States  Government  as  well. 

7.~941-H.DOC.  1505.  60-2— Vol  6 47 


6504  SCHEDULE  N SUNDRIES. 

Keferring  to  Bulletin  85,  Census  of  Manufacturers,  1905,  Table  11, 
buttons,  shows  the  value  of  imports  of  metal  buttons,  not  specially 
provided  for,  as  follows:  1900,  $58,189;  1905,  $233,664,  an  increase 
in  five  years  of  nearly  300  per  cent. 

We  would  earnestly  request  your  honorable  body  to  fix  on  uniform 
buttons,  manufactured  from  metal,  an  ad  valorem  duty  of  not  less 
than  50  per  cent. 

Respectfully, 

STEELE  &  JOHNSON  MANUFACTURING  Co., 
B.  L.  COE,  Treasurer. 


B.  BLUMENTHAL  &  CO.,  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY,  THINK  AN  INCREASE 
IN  DUTY  ON  BUTTONS  IS  NOT  NEEDED. 

514  AND  516  BROADWAY, 
New  York,  November  25,  1908. 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 
DEAR  SIB: 

******* 

The  importation  of  buttons,  which  amounted  to  about  $4,000,000 
per  annum  prior  to  1890,  and  would  undoubtedly  be  over  $10,000,000 
per  annum  at  the  present  time  if  the  rate  of  duty  had  not  been  ad- 
vanced, only  amounted  to  $581,887.84  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June 
30,  1908. 

As  it  is  possible  that  some  of  the  manufacturers  may  ask  for  an 
increased  rate  of  duty,  above  figures  are  sufficient  to  demonstrate  that 
no  increased  rate  of  duty  is  necessary. 

Should  you  at  any  time  desire  any  further  information  on  para- 
graph 414  we  will  be  pleased  to  furnish  same. 
Respectfully,  yours, 

B.  BLUMENTHAL  &  Co. 


THE  UNITED  OCEAN  PEARL  MANUFACTURERS'  ASSOCIATION  OF 
AMERICA  ASKS  MAINTENANCE  OF  THE  PRESENT  PROTECTIVE 
DUTY  ON  PEARL  BUTTONS. 

ARLINGTON,  N.  J.,  November  %5, 1908. 
WILLIAM  K.  PAYNE, 

Clerk  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  The  United  Ocean  Pearl  Manufacturers'  Association  of 
America  begs  leave  to  submit  to  your  committee  the  inclosed  brief, 
and  kindly  invite  your  earnest  consideration  of  the  same,  relating  to 
the  tariff  on  pearl  buttons. 

The  association  representing  the  various  trades  that  use  mother-of- 
pearl  as  raw  material,  beg  respectfully  to  submit  to  your  committee 
the  following: 

That  there  does  not  exist  in  the  pearl  industry  any  combination  of 
trades  of  any  sort:  neither  do  any  agreements  or  understandings 


PEARL  BUTTONS A.    V.    HAMBURG   ET   AL.  6505 

exist  as  to  maintaining  prices:  but  there  is  absolutely  free  competi- 
tion amongst  the  manufacturers,  and  everyone  sells  his  goods  as  best 
he  can  and  may. 

While  it  would  have  been  easy  for  us  to  submit  you  all  sorts  of 
statistics,  we  thought  that  we  might  prove  this  fact  by  a  much  simpler 
and  more  convincing  proof. 

We  beg  herewith  to  annex  to  this  a  list  of  all  the  companies  and  in- 
dividual manufacturers  interested  in  the  pearl  industry  with  their 
names  and  addresses,  and  we  give  you,  with  each  manufacturer's 
name,  his  capital  rating  both  according  to  Bradstre^ts  and  Dun's. 

Your  committee  will  see  therefrom  that  the  highest  rating  of  any, 
and  in  a  very  few  instances  only,  and  as  a.  maximum,  is  $200,000,  and 
that  in  the  majority  of  cases  the  capital  of  the  people  interested  in 
these  industries  is  only  very  modest,  and  in  a  very  great  many  in- 
stances the  manufacturers  have  no  capital  rating  at  all. 

This  proves  that  although  this  industry  has  been  protected  for  the 
last  eighteen  years,  and  although  it  is  to  be  assumed  that  a  great  num- 
ber of  the  manufacturers  are  men  of  average  intellect,  yet  there  has 
not  been  a  single  instance  of  any  fortune  having  been  amassed  in 
this  trade. 

We  make  this  statement  to  show  that  our  industry  is  most  cer- 
tainly not  overprotected,  and  that  individual  competition  makes  it 
impossible  for  anyone  in  this  industry  to  amass  any  fortune  at  the 
cost  of  the  general  public. 

While  the  official  statistics  of  the  custom-house  show  that  the  im- 
portation of  pearl  buttons  in  the  year  1905  was  $172,101,  and  in  the 
year  1906,  $133,567,  and  in  the  year  1907,  $164,154,  you  will  see 
equally  from  the  official  government  publications  that  there  is  prac- 
tically no  export  existing  from  this  country,  the  exception  being 
formed  by  a  small  exportation  of  a  few  thousand  dollars  from  this 
•  country  to  Canada,  which  is  possible  only  through  local  reasons  and 
contiguity  of  the  territory. 

Conditions,  such  as  we  are  told  exist  in  some  industries  where  the 
surplus  production  is  exported  and  sold  abroad  at  cheaper  prices,  do 
not,  and  can  not  exist  in  our  industry,  as  we  can  not  compete  with 
Europe  or  other  countries  on  account  of  labor. 

Furthermore,  the  system  in  Australia  of  apprentice  labor  is  in 
force — that  is,  boys  of  15,  16,  or  17  years  of  age  are  apprenticed  to  an 
employer  for  three  years,  during  which  time  they  can  not  leave  his 
service  under  any  condition,  and  during  this  time  of  apprenticeship 
their  wages  increase  gradually  from  about  1.50  florins  for  the  first 
year  to  3  florins  in  the  third  year. 

These  apprentices,  who,  if  they  are  of  average  intellect,  can,  after 
six  months,  perform  in  certain  branches  of  the  industry  (such  as 
cutting,  drilling  holes,  and  polishing)  the  work  of  a  grown-up  man, 
are  therefore  paid  at  the  rate  of  about  $1  per  week,  and  even  under 
the  present  tariff  for  the  smaller  lines  of  buttons,  which  require  a 
great  deal  of  labor,  our  industry  is  not  overprotected. 

This  cheaper  labor  gives  European  countries  also  another  great 
advantage — that  is,  the  choice  of  the  raw  material  which  they  use. 
The  raw  material  pays  no  duty  in  the  United  States  or  in  any 
European  country,  but  the  cheapness  of  labor  in  Europe  is  such  that 


6506  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

the  European  manufacturer  is  able  to  use  the  poorest  grubby  shells 
(of  which  we  submit  sample),  and  which  the  American  manufacturer 
can  not  use,  because  the  high-priced  labor  would  lose  too  much  time 
in  handling  such  raw  material. 

The  fact  is,  the  raw  material  comes  to  America,  is  sorted 
out,  and  the  poorest  grubbies  are  reexported  to  Europe,  where  they 
find  buyers,  while  they  could  not  be  used  in  America. 

The  fact  that  the  importation  of  buttons  from  Europe  continues 
is  clear  proof  that  even  at  the  present  reading  of  the  tariff  we  are 
not  overprotected  against  European  competition. 

Of  late  years  another  most  formidable  danger  has  arisen  for  our 
industry  in  the  shape  of  Japanese  competition.  We  beg  to  submit  a 
paragraph  taken  from  the  report  of  the  United  States  consul-general 
of  June  of  this  year,  from  which  your  committee  will  be  able  to 
see  not  only  the  increase  of  this  industry  in  Japan,  but  also  the  tre- 
mendous ratio  of  increase  in  exportation  of  buttons  to  European 
countries. 

The  consul-general  mentions  that  these  goods  are  reexported  from 
these  countries,  and  evidently  part  of  them  find  their  way  to  this 
country. 

For  these  reasons,  our  association,  representing  the  various  interests 
of  pearl  workers  in  the  United  States,  request  your  honorable  com- 
mittee that  the  present  tariff  on  pearl  buttons  be  maintained. 

AN    AMERICAN   INDUSTRY. 

Consul-General  Jussen,  under  date  of  December  30,  1887,  reports 
as  follows: 

"  The  manufacture  of  pearl  buttons  is  not  an  industry  of  the 
United  States  and  probably  never  will  be.    Reason  is  obvious.    Pearl 
buttons  can  not  be  manufactured  by  machinery,  owing  to  the  brittle- 
nature  of  the  shell.    This  hand  labor  is  performed  at  the  rate  of  $2 
to  $2.80  per  week." 

The  above  report  was  previous  to  the  passage  of  the  McKinley  bill. 
Immediately  following  the  operation  of  the  McKinley  tariff  bill  the 
making  of  ocean  pearl  buttons  became  an  important  industry  in  the 
United  States.  We  are  pleased  to  hand  you  herewith  the  importa- 
tions of  pearl  buttons  previous  to  this  bill,  and  also  the  years  follow- 
ing from  1891  to  1897,  inclusive,  showing  that  this  has  been  a  success- 
ful industry  under  the  present  tariff: 

1884 _  $1,406,000 

1886 1,  681,  747 

1887 1,  612,  000 

1888 1,  558,  000 

1889 1,  352,  000 

1891 100,00] 

1895 375,886 

1896 332,210 

1897 259,278 

1900 36,262 

1905 372,101 

1906 133,567 

1907 164,154 


PEARL   BUTTONS A.    V.    HAMBURG   ET   AL.  6507 

THE    JAPANESE    INDUSTRY. 

Consul-General  Henry  B.  Miller  forwards  from  Yokohama  the 
following  information  from  newspapers  published  in  Japan  of  in- 
dustrial development  in  that  Empire : 

The  manufacture  of  shell  buttons  was  introduced  into  Japan  by  a  German 
about  twenty  years  ago,  and  factories  have  since  been  started  in  Osaka,  Ilyogo, 
Wakayama,  and  other  places.  Raw  material  is  imported  from  India  and  the 
South  Sea  Islands.  The  principal  destination  of  the  buttons  is  Germany  and 
France,  whence  they  are  reexported  to  other  countries.  It  is  stated  that  lately 
orders  have  been  received  by  manufacturers  direct  from  Europe.  At  present 
Osaka  Is  the  center  of  the  shell-button  industry,  there  being  in  the  city  over 
60  factories,  while  there  are  12  or  13  in  Hyogo  and  Wakayama,  3  or  4  in  Mie, 
and  2-  each  in  Ishikawa  and  Oita.  There  is  1  factory  in  Okayama  which  is 
devoted  to  the  manufacture  of  buttons  from  mother-of-pearl.  The  value  of 
buttons  exported  last  year  amounted  to  $272,600,  against  $169,900  in  1906  and 
$74,900  in  1905. 

AMERICAN    MANUFACTURERS. 

Following  is  a  list  of  American  manufacturers  of  pearl  buttons, 
and  their  rating : 

Manufacturers.  Rating. 

American  Pearl  Manufacturing  Company,  Philadelphia,  Pa- $50,  000-$75,  000 

American  Pearl  Button  Company,  New  York. 
Astoria  Pearl  Button  Company,  Astoria,  Long  Island. 
Albrecht,  J.,  Winfleld,  Long  Island. 

Blakeman,  C.,  Newark,  N.  J 35,000-  50,000 

Bohrn  Pearl  Button  Company,  New  York 5,000-  10,000 

Ballek,  F.,  Secaucus,  N.  J.,  less  than 500 

Bradac,  W.,  Carlstadt,  N.  J. 
Budin,  C.,  Little  Ferry,  N.  J. 
Bloom  &  Co.,  Providence,  R.  I. 
Cameron  Company,  W.  L.,  New  York. 

Cleveland  Pearl  Button  Works,  Cleveland,  Ohio 50,  000-  75,  000 

Cimler,  J.,  Secaucus,  N.  J. 
Cimler,  C.,  Union  Hill,  N.  J. 

Cech,  F.,  New  York _ 10,000-  20,000 

Dvorak,  J.,  Little  Ferry,  N.  J 2,000-    3,000 

Dvorsky,  J.,  Astoria,  Long  Island 5,000-  10,000 

Davis  &  Sons,  T.,  Newark,  N.  J 35,000-  50,000 

Delnney,  W..  Newark,  N.  J 3,000-     5,000 

Dolezal,  J.,  New  York. 

Edwards,  J.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  less  than 500 

Empire  City  Pearl  Works.  Long  Island  City.  Long  Island 125.000-200.000 

Essex  Pearl  Button  Company,  Arlington,  N.  J 20,000-  30,000 

Ea  stern  Pearl  Button  Company,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Federal  Pearl  Button  Company,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Fischer,  P.,  Union  Hill,  N.  J. 

Gemini    Brothers   Company,    Philadelphia,    Pa 20  000-  35  000 

Gager,  L.,   Union   Hill,   N.  J. 

Gaffney,  J.  H.,  Providence,  R.  L,  less  than 500 

Garbrel  Brothers  Company,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Hirshfeld,  H.,   New  Milford,   N.   J 3,000-     5,000 

Hirsch  &  Co.,  L.  H.,  New  York 125,  000-200^  000 

Hamburg  Button  Company,  Newark,  N.  J 35,  000-  50  000 

Havsa  &  Co.,  New  York. 

Haydenville   Button  Company,   Haydenville,   Mass 10,000-20,000 

Hrbek,  F.,  Union  Hill,  N.  J 1,000-     2,000 

Hodson  &  Co.,  J.  M.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Hrouda  &  Co.,  J.,  New  York 5,000-  10,000 

Huebner  &  Sons,  E.,  Newark,  N.  J 35,000-  50,000 


6508  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Manufacturers.  Rating. 

Hak,  A.,  Wellington,  Conn. 

Hendle,  J.,  Union  Hill,  N.  J. 

Heger,  C.,  Carlstadt,  N.  J $500-  $1,  000 

Halleigh  Company,   It.,   Philadelphia,   Pa 5,  000-  10,  000 

Hrbeks,  R.,  Little  Ferry,  N.  J. 

Habart,  A.,  New  York. 

International  Button  Company,  Rochester,  N.  Y 50,000-  75,000 

Janitschek,   F.,  New  York. 

Kozich,  P.,  Astoria,  Long  Island. 

Karasek,  J.,  West  Hoboken,  N.  J. 

Krall  &  Co.,   Wm.,  Astoria.  Long  Island 10,000-  20.000 

Koudelka,   L.,   New   York. 

Keer  &  Winters,  Newark,  N.  J 20,000-  30,000 

Kozich,  J.,  Union  Hill,  N.  J. 

Krallert  &  Zeifellaw,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Krss,  D.,   New   York. 

Kasper,  J.,  West  New  York,  N.  J. 

I.awler,  S.  L.  &  J.  H..  Brooklyn,  X.  Y. 

Lederer  &  Co.,  S.  B.,  Attlehoro,  Mass 20,  000-  35.  000 

Linforth,  J.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Yj '. 10,000-  20,000 

Myslick,  I.,  Providence,  R.  I. 

Mousley,  A.  J.,  Philadelphia,  Pa 3,000-     5,000 

Mylnar,  C.,  New  York. 

Masinda,  Wm.,  Newark,  N.  J. 

Mach,  E.,  Little  Ferry. 

McCarthy,  William,  West  Willington,  Conn. 

Novelty  Pearl  Works,'  Secaucus,  N.  J 3,000-     5,000 

New  England  Pearl  Company,  New  York 2,000-    3.000 

New  Jersey  Button  Company,  Claremont,  N.  II 30,000-  50,000 

Ortman,  Providence,  R.  I 500-    1,000 

Prochaska  &  Co.,  J.,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Prince,  A.,  Irvington,  N.  J. 

Philadelphia  Pearl  Novelty  Company,  Philadelphia.  Pa 35,000-  50,000 

Peerless  Pearl  Company,  Philadelphia,  Pa 10,000-  20,000 

Popp,  J.,  Chicago,  111.,  less  than 500 

Progress  Button  Company,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Providence  Pearl  Button  Company,  Providence,  R.  I. 
Pauer,  J.,  Higganum,  Conn. 

Roherl,  A.,  West  Hoboken,  N.  J 2,000-    3,000 

Roschman  &  Bros.,  R.,  Ontario,  Canada 35,  000-  50,  000 

Reheis  Brothers,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Raichelt,  H.,  White  Plains,  N.  Y. 
Smith,  P.,  Vineland,  N.  J. 
Schwacher,  C.,  Higganum,  Conn. 
Schwander,  B.,  Winfield,  Long  Island. 
Sulley,  R.,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Sedlacek,  A.,  Newark,  N.  J. 

S.  &  S.  Novelty  Company,  Providence,  R.  I 5,000-  10,000 

Schwetz,  R.,  Long  Island  City,  Long  Island. 
Schedwy,  It..  Little  Ferry,  N.  J. 
Schoen,  G.,  Carlstadt,  N.  J. 
Schoer,  S.,  New  York. 

Tonks  Brothers  Company,  Newark,  N.  J 35,  000-  50,  000 

Voclavicek,  T.,  New  Durham,  N.  J. 

Vigilant  Button  Company,  Taunton,  Mass 3,000-     5,000 

Wallbot,  H.,  New  York 20,000-  35,000 

Williams  &  Co.,  M.  F.,  Providence,  R.  I 20,000-  35,000 

Weingenroth,  E.  W.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y 10,000-  20,000 

Webster,  H.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wranek,  F.,  Astoria,  Long  Island 1,000-    2,000 

Ziina,  J.,  Union  Hill,  N.  J.,  less  than 500 

Zampach,  C.,  Union  Hill,  N.  J. 

Very  respectfully, 

Committee:  A.  V.  Hamburg,  Chairman,  President  Ham- 
burg Button  Co.,  Newark,  N.  J. ;    Thomas  Tonks, 


PEARL   BUTTONS A.    V.    HAMBUEQ   ET    AL.  6509 

President  Tonks  Bros.  Co.,  Newark,  N.  J.;  Joseph 
Bohm,  Treasurer  Bohm  Pearl  Button  Co.,  New  York 
City,  Wm.  Krall,  of  Wm.  Krall  &  Co.,  Long  Island 
City,  New  York;  J.  K.  O'Connor,  Secretary  Essex 
Pearl  Button  Co.,  Arlington,  N.  J. 


STATEMENT  OF  A.  V.  HAMBURG.  REPRESENTING  THE  HAMBTJRG 
BUTTON  COMPANY,  NEWARK,  N.  J.,  WHO  ASKS  THAT  PRESENT 
DUTY  ON  PEARL  BUTTONS  BE  RETAINED. 

SATURDAY,  November  28,  1908. 

Mr.  HAMBURG.  Mr.  Chairman,  if  you  will  pardon  me,  I  will  speak 
very  rapidly,  supplementing  the  brief  I  am  going  to  leave  here,  in 
view  of  «the  remarks  of  the  previous  speaker. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  right ;  go  ahead. 

Mr.  HAMBURG.  Gentlemen,  I  am  here  in  the  interest  of  pearl  but- 
tons. The  speaker  who  preceded  me  stated  that  he  entered  a  protest 
because-  he  understood  that  there  was  an  advance  to  be  asked  for  of 
one-half  a  cent  a  line,  more  or  lass.  Of  course,  we  are  not  responsible 
for  what  he  understood.  There  is  no  such  demand  to  be  made.  I  am 
selected  to  represent  the  association,  and  I  shall  be  pleased  to  state  a 
few  facts  as  briefly  as  I  can. 

First,  we  ask  that  the  present  tariff  on  pearl  buttons  be  retained. 
Next,  we  have  in  our  brief  for  you  a  full  list  of  the  manufacturers 
engaged  in  that  line  of  business  in  the  United  States,  with  their  com- 
mercial ratings,  to  show  you  that  there  have  been  no  fortunes  made 
in  that  line  of  business.  We  have  also  a  scale  of  wages  prepared 
for  you,  comparing  European  countries  and  this  country,  to  show 
you  our  exact  position. 

Next,  there  is  no  "  trust,"  no  agreement,  no  contract,  no  combina- 
tion among  the  manufacturers  whereby  price,  stock,  quantity,  qual- 
ity, or  anything  else  is  agreed  upon.  Each  manufacturer  is  allowed 
to  make,  turn  out,  and  sell  his  wares  as  best  he  can.  Prior  to  the 
act  of  1890  the  pearl-button  industry  was  of  no  account  in  the  United 
States.  The  United  States  consul-general  at  Vienna  at  that  time 
wrote  as  follows : 

The  pearl-button  industry  will  never  be  of  any  importance  in  the  United 
States. 

He  stated  his  reasons,  which  were  that  shell  being  brittle,  ma- 
chinery could  not  make  it.  The  price  of  labor  in  that  country  is 
from  $2  to  $2.80  a  week,  and  we  are  paying  from  $12  to  $17  a  week. 

The  minute  the  McKinley  bill  went  through  we  turned  the  imports, 
which  ran  from  $1,300,000  close  to  $2,000,000,  to  $100,000,  $200,000, 
and  $300,000;  and  we  turned  that  stuff  out  most  successfully  in  this 
country.  After  the  passage  of  the  act  of  1894,  when  the  Wilson  bill 
reduced  our  tariff,  the  imports  went  up  again  to  $300,000  and 
$400,000;  and  as  a  result  of  the  change  in  the  Dingley  bill  of  1897 
we  decreased  those  imports  again.  I  am  giving  you  these  sums  in 
round  figures  because  I  am  in  a  hurry.  That  was  the  result  of  this 


6510  SCHEDULE   N — SUNDRIES. 

additional  protection.  To-day  the  tarill'  is  1£  cents  specific  and  15 
per  cent  ad  valorem. 

The  competition  that  we  have  in  Europe  is  based  upon  these  facts : 
The  wages  in  France,  in  Austria,  and  in  England  are  about  one- 
half  what  they  are  here;  in  Austria  they  are  less  than  that.  In  ad- 
dition to  that,  a  new  competition  has  sprung  up  that  some  of  you 
gentlemen  may  not  have  heard  about;  that  is,  that  the  Japanese 
have  entered  the  field,  and  there  is  stuff  made  by  them  [producing 
samples].  If  you  touch  our  tariff  to  the  tune  ^t  half  a  cent  a  line 
(and  when  I  say  "  a  line,"  I  speak  of  the  American  measure,  which 
means  forty  lines  to  the  inch)  you  will  injure  us — there  are  Japanese 
goods,  there  are  French  goods,  and  there  are  American  goods.  Had  I 
time,  I  would  show  you  some  of  the  handsomest  goods  the  world  has 
seen  that  we  have  made  here,  and  this  is  an  industry  that  has  only 
been  made  possible  since  the  McKinley  bill  allowed  us  to  do  it.  We 
are  satisfied  as  it  is ;  but  while  the  business  has  been  carried  .on  very 
successfully,  profits  are  very  close.  The  condition  is  such  that  any 
questions  you  gentlemen  might  ask  at  any  time  we  would  be  pleased 
to  answer,  and  to  show  that  you  or  your  predecessors  have  made 
possible  this  business  that  is  now  producing  thousands  and  thou- 
sands of  dollars  in  the  way  of  wages. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Your  time  has  expired.     . 

Mr.  HAMBURG.  Congressman  Clark,  when  you  were  in  our  city  in 
January  you  were  the  honored  guest  of  our  board  of  trade  and  we 
had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  you.  If  you  had  been  able  to  spend 
two  days  there 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Tell  that  to  Mr.  Clark  privately.  Your  time  is  up. 

Mr.  HAMBURG.  It  is?    Very  well.    I  thank  you,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.    Let  me  see  those  Japanese  buttons. 

Mr.  HAMBURG.  Yes;  I  will  bring  those  over,  Mr.  Boutell.  [Ex- 
hibiting buttons  to  Mr.  Boutell.] 


STATEMENT  OF  MARSHALL  J.  CORBETT,  REPRESENTING  ROTH- 
SCHILD BROTHERS,  466  BORADWAY,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  N.  Y., 
RELATIVE  TO  PEARL  BUTTONS. 

SATURDAY,  November  28,  1908. 

Mr.  CORBETT.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  Mr. 
Rothschild  was  called  to  New  York.  He  asked  me  to  state  to  the 
gentlemen  of  this  committee  that,  having  considerable  interests  in 
the  manufacture  of  pearl  buttons  in  this  country  and  having  heard 
that  a  delegation  from  Newark  or  some  other  city  was  coming  here 
to  ask  for  an  increase  in  the  duties  on  those  goods,  he  desires  to  enter 
a  protest  against  that.  He  considers  the  present  duty  quite  suffi- 
cient, and  he  thinks  that  it  is  better  for  it  to  remain  as  it  is,  both  for 
the  interests  of  the  laboring  men  and  for  the  interests  of  the  busi- 
ness. If  desirable,  he  would  like  to  file  a  brief  in  regard  to  this  mat- 
ter, and  also  in  regard  to  your  hearings. 


PEARL   BUTTONS.  6511 

STATEMENT  OF  D.  A.  WILLIS,  REPRESENTING  THE  VIENNA 
PEARL  BUTTON  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY,  514  BROADWAY, 
NEW  YORK  CITY,  N.  Y. 

SATURDAY,  November  28,  1908. 

Mr.  WILLIS.  Muscatine,  Iowa,  is  our  manufacturing  point.  Mr. 
Chairman  and  gentlemen,  I  address  you  in  the  interest  of  the  pearl 
button  manufacturers  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  who  make  pearl 
buttons  from  shells  found  in  our  western  rivers. 

Previous  to  1890  there  were  no  staple  pearl  buttons  made  in  Amer- 
ica, as  the  low  rate  of  duty,  which  was  25  per  cent  ad  valorem,  did 
not  allow  us  to  compete  with  imported  buttons. 

The  McKinley  tariff  placed  a  specific  duty  on  pearl  buttons,  and 
this  specific  duty  allowed  us  to  start  the  pearl-button  business  in 
America. 

The  Dingley  tariff  reduced  the  specific  rate  about  35  per  cent  and 
also  reduced  the  ad  valorem  rate. 

Under  the  Dingley  tariff  the  pearl-button  industry  has  grown  so 
that  it  now  employs  thousands  of  people  and  utilizes  a  product  that 
was  hardly  known  to  exist  previous  to  1890. 

The  annual  consumption  of  fresh-water  shells  by  the  button  fac- 
tories now  amounts  to  between  30,000  and  40,000  tons. 

This  gives  employment  to  the  shell  diggers  who  gather  the  shells 
from  the  river  beds,  the  transportation  companies  who  haul  the  shells 
to  the  factories,  and  the  thousands  of  employees  in  the  button  fac- 
tories who  make  the  buttons,  and  all  of  whom  make  good  wages. 

On  account  of  improved  machinery,  better  methods  in  manufactur- 
ing, and  keen  competition,  the  price  of  these  buttons  has  been  gradu- 
ally reduced  so  that  at  present  they  are  selling  at  about  one-half  of 
former  prices,  and  the  profit  to  the  manufacturer  is  exceedingly  small. 

It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  present  specific  rate  of  duty  be 
maintained,  as  even  a  slight  reduction  in  the  specific  rate  would  en- 
courage competition  from  Europe,  and  especially  from  Japan. 

This  Japanese  competition  would  prove  a  very  serious  matter.  It 
did  not  exist  at  the  time  the  Dingley  bill  was  framed. 

If  there  was  no  specific  duty  to-day,  the  Japanese  would  make  all 
the  staple  pearl  buttons  used  in  America. 

Pearl-button  manufacturing  is  one  of  the  main  and  growing  in- 
dustries of  a  number  of  cities  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  elsewhere, 
whose  population  largely  depend  on  the  wages  received  from  the 
button  factories  for  their  support. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  on  behalf  of  the  manufacturers  of 
fresh-water  pearl  buttons  I  ask  for  the  maintenance  of  the  present 
schedule  of  pearl-button  duty. 


6512  SCHEDULE   N  —  SUNDRIES. 

BITUMINOUS    COAL. 

[Paragraph  415.] 

ORMAN  B.  HUMPHREY,  BANGOR,  ME.,  QUESTIONS  THE  WISDOM 
OF  A  DUTY  ON  BITUMINOUS  COAL. 


EXCHANGE  STREET, 
Bangor,  Me.,  November  13,  1908. 
Hon.  JOHN  DALZELL,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  view  of  the  present  agitation  of  the  proposed  tariff 
revision,  it  seems  appropriate  at  this  time  to  question  the  wisdom  of 
the  present  duty  on  Nova  Scotia  bituminous  coal.  This  question  is 
one  of  vital  importance  to  the  State  of  Maine  especially,  owing  to  its 
proximity  to  the  provinces.  With  the  duty  removed,  or  even  mate- 
rially reduced,  Nova  Scotia  coal  would  be  the  direct  means  of  build- 
ing up  great  manufacturing  industries  in  this  State  and  throughout 
New  England. 

This  matter  is  of  such  importance  to  the  manufacturing  interests 
in  my  section  of  the  country  that  I  am  prompted  to  earnestly  advocate 
a  very  material  reduction  in,  if  not  the  absolute  removal  of,  the  duty 
on  Nova  Scotia  coal. 

I  sincerely  hope  this  question  may  be  most  carefully  considered  by 
those  who  are  in  a  position  to  act  for  the  general  welfare  and  indus- 
trial prosperity  of  the  country. 

Yours,  respectfully,  ORMAN  B.  HUMPHREY. 


JOHN  E.  WARREN,  OF  CUMBERLAND  MILLS,  ME.,  THINKS  THAT 
THE  COUNTRY  SHOULD  HAVE  FREE  COAL. 

CUMBERLAND  MILLS,  ME.,  November  20,  1908. 
Hon.  JOHN  DALZELL,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  In  common  with  many  other  Republicans  of  New  Eng- 
land, I  believe  in  the  general  principle  of  protection.  I  think  that 
we  are  entitled  to  free  coal  and  that  the  general  policy  of  our  country 
should  be  for  free  coal  on  the  principle  that  it  is  raw  material. 

We  certainly  are  using  up  our  own  supplies  of  coal  rapidly  enough, 
and  our  coal  regions  presumably  do  not  need  any  protection  against 
the  Nova  Scotia  coals  that  would  come  to  us. 

I  trust  that  you  will  see  your  way  clear  to  use  your  influence  for 
this  purpose. 

Yours,  truly,  JOHN  E.  WARREN. 

MEMORIAL  OF  COAL  OPERATORS  OF  THE  PITTSBURGH,  PA.,  DIS- 
TRICT RELATIVE  TO  RECIPROCAL  FREE  COAL  BETWEEN 
CANADA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

FULTON  BUILDING, 
Pittsburg,  Pa.,  November  S3,  1908. 
Hon.  JOHN  DALZELL,  M.  C.,  Washington,  D.  G. 

DEAR  SIR:  On  January  24,  1907,  the  coal  operators  of  western 
Pennsylvania,  representing  a  production  of  35,000,000  tons,  wrote  you 


BITUMINOUS   COAL PITTSBUBQ   COAL  CO.   ET  AL.  6518 

urging  reciprocal  free  coal  between  Canada  and  the  United  States, 
and  seeking  to  enlist  your  aid  in  the  cause.  On  January  29,  1907, 
you  answered  the  letter  substantially,  stating  that  it  was  inopportune 
at  that  time  to  take  up  the  subject,  but  when  opportunity  offered  in 
revision  of  the  tariff,  you  would  be  pleased  to  give  the  matter  proper 
attention.  I  inclose  copy  of  the  letter  the  coal  operators  sent  you  in 
1907,  with  the  names  of  the  several  companies  signing  the  letter 

The  reasons  are  even  more  substantial  and  strong  to-day  in  favor 
of  reciprocal  free  coal  with  Canada,  so  far  as  the  Pittsburg  district 
is  concerned,  than  at  the  time  we  submitted  the  matter  to  you,  in  1907. 
The  markets  and  outlet  for  Pittsburg  coal  have  become  very  cir- 
cumscribed on  account  of  other  fields  opening  up  and  their  low  freight 
rates.  Canada  is  the  only  large  market  in  close  proximity  to  our 
field  that  we  have  at  all  to-day,  and  we  feel  that  it  is  a  vital  matter 
to  secure  reciprocal  free  coal  with  Canada.  In  looking  into  this 
matter  we  are  informed  that  Canada  is  in  a  mood  at  the  present  time 
to  consider  the  subject  favorably.  The  coal-mining  industry  of  west- 
ern Pennsylvania  feels  that  there  is  every  reason  why  this  should 
be  secured,  and  is  unable  to  see  where  there  are  any  valid  and  substan- 
tial reasons  against  it ;  certainly  the  coal-mining  industry  of  western 
Pennsylvania  is  entitled  to  as  much  consideration  one  way  as  the  iron 
and  steel  industry  is  another.  We  feel  that  it  is  quite  important 
for  us  that  you  lend  your  aid  and  abilities  in  securing  congressional 
enactment  on  this  subject.  Meanwhile,  I  would  thank  you  to  give 
expression  to  your  ideas  on  the  subject  and  what  methods  we  should 
adopt  to  push  the  matter,  if  that  would  be  necessary.  Several  opera- 
tors thought  that  it  ought  to  be  taken  up  with  you  first  and  get  your 
suggestions  in  regard  to  how  we  should  proceed  in  securing  reciprocal 
free  coal  with  Canada,  which  is,  decidedly,  a  live  question  with  us 
in  this  district  to-day. 

Very  truly,  yours,  D.  W.  KUHN. 


PITTSBTJBG,  PA.,  January  24,  1907. 
Hon.  JOHN  DALZELL,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  The  coal  operators,  subscribers  to  this  letter,  of  the  Pittsbnrg  dis- 
trict, representing  35,000,000  tons  of  production  of  bituminous  coal,  are  deeply 
interested  in  and  strongly  favor  reciprocal  trade  relations  between  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  with  special  reference  to  reciprocal  free  coal  between  the 
two  countries.  The  passage  of  an  act  by  Congress  securing  such  relations  with 
Canada  would  enable  the  coal  operators  of  western  Pennsylvania  and  shippers 
of  Pittsburg  district  to  ship  into  Canada  free  of  duty  a  large  coal  tonnage, 
which  trade  would  greatly  increase  and  expand  with  such  an  impetus.  We  be- 
lieve that  reciprocal  free  coal  with  Canada  would  be  of  vast  benefit  to  the  coal 
operators  and  shippers  in  western  Pennsylvania ;  and  the  prosperity  of  this 
industry  would  benefit,  directly  and  indirectly,  more  people  than  the  promotion 
of  any  other  industry  in  the  western  part  of  the  State.  Western  Pennsylvania 
has  always  been  foremost  in  seeking  to  protect  and  benefit  its  industries — no 
one  has  voiced  these  sentiments  more  strongly  than  yourself — and  we  submit 
that  reciprocal  free  coal  commends  itself  as  urgently  necessary  as  any  tariff 
movement  heretofore  favored  by  its  representatives  in  Congress. 

Other  coal  territories  in  other  States  have  recently  been  opened  up,  which,  on 
account  of  advantages  in  proximity  to  markets  and  freight  rates,  make  it  diffi- 
cult for  operators  in  the  western  Pennsylvania  fields  to  compete  therewith; 
whereas  the  comparatively  short  distance  between  our  coal  fields  and  Canada 
makes  Canadian  territory  a  natural  and  logical  market  for  our  product. 

The  extensive  development  in  all  lines  of  industry  now  in  progress  in  Canada 
are  governed  as  to  their  location  largely  by  cost  of  fuel  and  advantages  in  secur- 
ing same;  the  upbuilding  and  general  development  of  that  part  of  Canada  con- 


6514  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

tiguous  to  our  coal  fields  will  develop  a  large  volume  of  trade  between  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Canada  in  many  lines  of  commerce  other  than  the  coal  trade.  As  a 
comparatively  small  amount  of  coal  is  shipped  from  Nova  Scotia  into  New 
England,  on  account  of  the  better  markets  Nova  Scotia  is  now  finding  for  its 
"  bunker  "  trade,  and  for  the  reason  that  reciprocal  free  coal  with  Canada  would 
be  of  such  vast  benefit  to  western  Pennsylvania,  we  believe  that  the  time  has 
arrived  when  we  should  secure  by  congressional  enactment  the  privilege  of 
shipping  coal  into  Canada  free  of  duty. 

We  would  respectfully  assure  you  that  the  coal  interests  of  western  Penn- 
sylvania feel  deeply  on  the  subject,  and  believing  that  it  is  for  the  best  interests 
of  this  part  of  the  State  we  urgently  request  that  you  lend  your  aid  and  abilities 
in  securing  reciprocal  free  coal  between  the  United  States  and  Canada,  for 
which  the  undersigned  would  thank  you. 
Yours  truly, 

Pittsburgh  Coal  Company,  W.  R.  Woodford,  vice-president :  Pitts- 
burgh and  Westmoreland  Coal  Company,  H.  A.  Kuhn,  president; 
Elaine  Coal  Company,  Pittsburgh-Buffalo  Company,  David  G. 
Jones,  secretary ;  Youghiogheny  and  Ohio  Coal  Company,  J.  G. 
Patteruson,  vice-president ;  Great  Lakes  Coal  Company,  Emmett 
Queen,  president;  Pittsburgh  Plate  Glass  Company,  W.  L. 
Clause,  president;  Carnegie  Coal  Company,  J.  T.  M.  Stoneroad, 
secretary  and  treasurer;  Verner  Coal  Company,  H.  J.  Verner, 
president;  J.  H.  Sanford  Coal  Company,  United  Coal  Company, 
W.  S.  Kuhn,  president;  Fayette  Coal  Company,  A.  M.  Bell; 
Richards  Coal  Mining  Company,  H.  S.  Richards,  secretary;  The 
People's  Coal  Company,  G.  W.  Thomas,  general  manager;  Braz- 
nell  Coal  Company,  A.  S.  Brazuell,  president;  Dunkirk  Coal 
Company,  A.  S.  Braznell,  manager;  Meadowlands  Coal  Company, 
W.  L.  Dixon,  general  manager. 


STATEMENT  OF  JOHN  E.  WARREN,  REPRESENTING  S.  D.  WARREN, 
&  CO.,  BOSTON,  MASS.,  AND  CUMBERLAND  MILLS,  ME.,  ASKING 
FOR  REDUCTION  OF  DUTY  ON  BITUMINOUS  COAL. 

SATURDAY,  November  88,  1908. 

Mr.  WARREN.  I  represent  the  firm  of  S.  D.  Warren  &  Co.,  Boston, 
Mass.,  manufacturers  of  pulp  and  of  paper,  asking  for  a  reduction  or 
repeal  of  the  duty  on  bituminous  coal,  and  I  will  submit  their  state- 
ment. 

I  will  briefly  state  that  there  were  imported  into  the  United  States 
in  the  year  1907  about  2,100,000  tons  of  bituminous  coal,  of  which 
about  1,400,000  tons,  or  two-thirds,  came  from  British  North  America, 
and  something  over  600,000  tons  came  from  Nova  Scotia.  The  Nova 
Scotia  coal  is  the  article  in  which  we  are  particularly  interested, 
although,  of  course,  I  suppose  that  the  duty  on  coal  would  refer  to  all 
bituminous  coal;  that  is,  a  reduction  would  include  all  bituminous 
coal  imported  into  this  country.  This  2,100,000  tons  imported  is  but 
about  six-tenths  of  1  per  cent  of  the  bituminous  coal  that  was  pro- 
duced and  used  in  this  country  in  the  year  1907.  The  duty  on  this 
coal  is  67  cents  a  gross  ton.  The  duty,  however,  on  the  slack  or  culm 
is  but  15  cents  per  gross  ton,  and  is  not  prohibitory. 

As  a  citizen  of  the  State  of  Maine,  and  a  protectionist,  I  believe 
there  is  no  reason  other  than  revenue  why  there  should  be  a  duty 
upon  bituminous  coal.  The  coal  producers  of  this  country  certainly 
do  not  need  protection,  and  if  they  did  this  would  not  suffice.  This 
is  the  nearest  coal  to  us  and  ought  to  be  used  along  the  entire  New 
England  coast.  It  would  not  penetrate  very  far  into  the  country. 
We  in  New  England  need  it.  The  manufacturing  industries  of  New 
England  need  it  in  competition  with  the  cheap  coal  of  Pennsylvania 


BITUMINOUS   COAL JOHN   E.    WABKEN.  6515 

and  of  Virginia.  Cheap  coal  is  ofttimes  cheaper  than  water  power ; 
and  we  need  to  import  this  coal,  which  would  be  used  all  along  the 
New  England  coast.  It  would  probably  not  be  used  over  the  country 
more  largely  than  that. 

That  is,  I  think,  all  I  have  to  say ;  and  I  should  like  to  submit  my 
statement. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Did  you  say  you  were  in  the  wood-pulp  business? 

Mr.  WARREN.  Yes. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  you  want  this  coal  as  an  aid  to  making  wood 
pulp? 

Mr.  WARREN.  Well,  yes — chemical  pulp. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  you  are  not  willing  to  take  any  of  the  tariff  off  of 
wood  pulp,  as  was  thoroughly  demonstrated  here? 

Mr.  WARREN.  I  have  not  said  that  yet. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Everybody  else  that  was  given  a  hearing  about  it  said 
it,  except  one  fellow ;  and  the  others  all  pitched  into  him. 

Mr.  WARREN.  As  a  paper  manufacturer,  I  will  state  that  we  would 
not  oppose  a  revision  of  the  tariff  on  paper. 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  are  willing  to  cut  it  down? 

Mr.  WARREN.  We  are  willing  to  have  it  cut  down;  and  if  it  is 
accompanied  with  a  reduction  of  the  duty  on  the  material  that  goes 
into  paper,  like  coal  and  chemicals  and  clay,  I  do  not  know  but  that 
we  would  agree  to  the  repeal  of  the  tariff  on  paper. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  am  glad  to  hear  it. 

Mr.  WARREN.  I  am  speaking  only  for  the  institution  that  I  rep- 
resent. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  am  delighted  to  make  your  acquaintance. 

Mr.  WARREN.  I  am  not  speaking  for  the  news  men  at  all. 

(Mr.  Warren's  brief  is  as  follows:) 

NOVEMBER  25,  1908. 
The  Hon.  SERENO  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We,  the  firm  of  S.  D.  Warren  &  Co.,  of  Boston,  Mass., 
are  paper  and  pulp  manufacturers,  operating  mills  at  Cumberland 
Mills,  Me.,  Yarmouth,  Me.,  and  Gardiner,  Me. 

Our  total  consumption  of  coal  is  between  100,000  and  120,000  tons 
per  annum,  of  which  at  present  some  50,000  tons  come  from  Nova 
Scotia.  This  is  the  natural  source  of  coal  for  New  England,  and  in 
the  early  days  of  manufacturing  it  was  almost  the  only  source.  The 
amount  of  coal  sold  by  Nova  Scotia  to  go  to  the  United  States  was, 
in  1907,  616,312  tons,  of  which  545,652  tons  were  shipped  to  Boston. 
The  duty  on  bituminous  coal  is  67  cents  per  gross  ton  and  on  slack 
or  culm  15  cents  per  gross  ton.  Data  as  to  what  amount  of  this 
was  slack  and  what  was  run  of  mine  is  not  available,  but  it  is  safe 
to  say  that  it  paid  an  average  duty  of  40  cents  per  ton,  or  $246,525, 
which  is  a  very  considerable  burden  for  the  industries  of  New  Eng- 
land to  bear,  handicapped  as  it  is  by  its  distance  from  the  resources  of 
the  country. 

The  total  coal  imported  for  the  year  1907  was  2,116,122  tons,  of 
which  1,398,194  tons  came  from  British  North  America.  Foreign 
coal  is  supplied  to  New  England,  the  Gulf  ports,  the  Pacific  ports, 
and  along  the  western  Canadian  border,  at  points  where  it  is  in  a  way 


6516  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

the  natural  supply,  and  where  distance  and  consequent  high  freights 
make  the  competition  of  American  coal  practically  impossible,  or 
at  least  difficult.  For  that  reason  we  believe  that  the  interests  of 
the  manufacturing  communities  in  those  districts  are  best  served  by 
the  removal  of  the  duty  on  coal,  which  removal  would  lift  a  very  ap- 
preciable burden  from  the  manufacturer,  with  a  comparatively  small 
reduction  in  the  revenue  and,  we  believe,  without  any  commensurate 
injury  to  the  coal  producers  of  the  United  States. 

Total  bituminous  coal  produced  in  the  United  States  for  the  year 

1907 net  tons__  383,  698,  543 


Equivalent   to gross  tons__  342,587,985 

Total  bituminous  coal  imported do 2, 116, 122 


Total  bituminous  coal  used do 344,  704, 107 

Total  coal  imported  is  six-tenths  of  1  per  cent  of  the  total  bitu- 
minous coal  used. 

Yours,  very  truly,  S.  D.  WARREN  &  Co. 

P.  S. — The  statistics  used  are  based,  first,  upon  the  Treasury  re- 
ports ;  second,  upon  a  book  entitled  "  The  Coal  Trade,"  by  Frederick 
E.  Saward,  editor  of  the  Coal  Trade  Journal. 


TESTIMONY  OF  E.  H.  M'CULLOUGH,  OF  PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  ADVO- 
CATING A  PROTECTIVE  DUTY  ON  COAL. 

THURSDAY,  December  10,  1908. 

(The  witness  was  sworn  by  the  chairman.) 

Mr.  McCuLLouGH.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  like  to  say  I  am  not  here 
alone  representing  the  Westmoreland  Coal  Company,  but  I  have 
with  me  delegates  representing  practically  the  entire  output  of 
bituminous  coal  of  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia,  representing 
approximately  200,000,000  tons  of  coal.  Some  of  these  gentlemen,  I 
think,  would  like,  with  your  kind  permission,  to  say  a  few  words 
when  I  finish  the  very  few  words  I  am  going  to  say. 

We  were  very  much  alarmed  last  week  when  we  saw  some  sug- 

festion  in  the  newspapers  that  coal  was  to  be  placed  upon  the 
ree  list.  We  are  very  peculiarly  situated  in  this  country.  We 
have  on  the  northeast  Nova  Scotia,  Cape  Breton,  with  inexhaustible 
supplies  of  coal,  and  on  the  northwest  Vancouver  Island,  which  oc- 
cupies the  same  position  to  the  northwest  that  Nova  Scotia  does  on 
the  northeast.  I  had  the  honor  of  appearing  before  this  committee 
in  1897  and  testifying  to  what  protection  we  required,  and  was  able 
to  state  at  that  time  that  a  year  or  so  before  we  had  a  very  long 
strike  at  our  mines  and  we  were  under  contract  with  some  New 
England  gas  companies  to  supply  them  with  coal,  strike  or  no 
strike,  and  the  result  was  they  sent  to  Nova  Scotia  and  got  coal,  and 
the  experts  had  sat  upon  the  question  and  decided  that  the  economic 
value  of  Nova  Scotia  coal  was  70  cents  lower  than  that  of  the  best 
American  gas  coals.  At  the  present  time  Nova  Scotia  coal  can  be 
laid  down  in  Boston  at  about  $3.50  a  ton.  Of  course  you  understand 
that  the  Nova  Scotia  mines — that  is,  I  should  say  the  mines  of  Cape 
Breton — are  close  to  the  seaboard,  the  average  freight  being  75  cents 


BITUMINOUS   COAL — E.   H.    M'CULLOUGH.  6517 

a  ton,  as  against  $1.75  a  ton  from  Pittsburg  to  Philadelphia.  The 
water  haul  is  about  the  same  from  Nova  Scotia  as  from  Newport 
News,  in  Virginia. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  happen  to  remember  the  year  in  which  the 
duty  was  suspended  on  coal? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  It  was  the  llth  of  January,  1903. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  llth  of  January,  1903,  for  one  year? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  .Yes.  The  result  was  that  the  imports  of  Nova 
Scotia  coal  were  more  than  doubled  in  that  period  of  twelve  months. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  How  much  in  tons  did  that  amount  to?  What  was 
the  actual  increase  of  importation? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  "We  will  say  that  the  imports  rose  from  700,000 
tors  to  about  3,500,000  tons. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Are  you  not  entirely  mistaken  about  that? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  No ;  I  see  I  have  the  wrong  place  in  my  book. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  They  rose  to  about  3,500,000  tons,  which  was 
about  double  the  amount  that  came  in  in  the  previous  twelve  months. 
As  I  was  saying,  the  present  price  of  Nova  Scotia  coal  in  Boston, 
according  to  the  most  recent  information  I  could  procure,  is  about 
$3.50, 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Of  course  these  are  fiscal  years,  ending  the  30th 
of  June? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  For  the  year  ending  June  30, 1899,  it  was  1,040,000 
tons.  The  next  year  it  was  1,278,000  'tons.  In  1901  it  was  1,374.000. 
In  1902  it  was  1,347,000  tons.  In  1903— that  is,  up  to  the  30th  of 
June,  six  months  of  the  period — it  was  1,118.000,  a  falling  off;  and  for 
the  year  1904,  up  to  the  30th  of  June,  it  was' 416,000  tons.  So  the  sta- 
tistics actually  show  that  there  was  less  coal  imported  under  the  free 
clause  for  the  year  than  there  was  in  the  previous  year;  and  then 
when  we  get  down  again  to  the  years  1906  and  1907  there  is  over  a 
million  tons  imported  again. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  My  authority  in  this  matter  is  The  Coal  Trade, 
which  is  very  carefully  compiled. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  There  seems  to  have  been  an  increase  in  the  anthra- 
cite coal  for  1903,  which  is  remarkable. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  remember  how  that  was.    There  was  a  very 
liberal  interpretation  as  to  what  was  anthracite  coal. 
*Mr.  COCKRAN.  Yes;  I  remember. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  We  had  that  case  before  us. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Below  the  figures  you  are  reading  I  think  you  will 
find  the  duty  remitted  and  the  importations  there  for  1904. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Yes;  that  is  correct.  With  the  duty  remitted 
there  was  982,000  tons. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  What  are  those  figures? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  The  figures  according  to  Say  ward's  Coal 
Trade? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  am  glad  you  called  my  attention  to  that.  This 
is  correct.  There,  is  the  total  below.  For  the  year  ending  June  30, 
under  the  act  of  January  15,  1903,  there  was  imported  coal  where 
the  duties  were  remitted  amounting  to  098.000  tons,  and  in  1904  up 
to  the  30th  of  June,  with  duties  remitted  under  the  act  of  June  15, 
1903,  there  were  imported  982,000  tons. 


6518  SCHEDULE   N— SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Let  us  get  his  figures. 

Mr.  McCuLLQUGK.  The  figures  given  by  the  Coal  Trade  Journal, 
which  is  subject  to  the  scrutiny  of  all  coal  men  and  is  always  pro- 
nounced to  be  correct,  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1902,  amounts, 
for  bituminous  coal  imported,  to  1,941,120  tons.  That  was  the  im- 
portation. For  the  year  ending  June  30,  1903,  duimg  which  time 
the  duty  was  not  in  force,  it  was  3,610,225  tons. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Where  did  you  get  those  figures? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  get  these  figures  from  the  Coal  Trade  Jour- 
nal, published  annually  by  The  Coal  Trade,  which  is  the  leading  coal 
paper  in  the  United  States  relating  to  such  matters.  For  the  year 
ending  June  30,  1902,  the  importation  of  bituminous  coal  into  this 
country  from  all  sources  was  1,941,120  tons.  Early  in  January  the 
duty  was  remitted  and  the  importation  for  the  following  twelve 
months,  ending  June  30,  1903,  was  3,610,225  tons. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Those  figures  are  entirely  different  from  what  we 
have  here. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  You  have  to  put  together  three  different  figures  in 
what  we  have  before  us. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  It  does  not  tally,  even  putting  them  together. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  For  1903  it  is  1,118,468  and  417,476  and  1,698,382. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  were  your  figures,  Mr.  McCullough? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Six  million  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  two 
hundred  and  twenty-five  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1903,  and 
1,941,120  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1902. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Have  you  the  amount  for  the  next  year — 1904? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir;  the  duty  was  replaced*. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Is  that  dollars  or  tons? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Tons. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  You  have  half  of  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 
1904.  Take  any  part  of  it. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  The  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1904,  it  was 
1,946,322  tons,  which  is  practically  the  same  as  the  year  before  the 
duty  was  remitted. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Yes.  The  fore  part  of  the  year  1903  is  where  the 
great  change  took  place? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  Yes;  between  January  and  July. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  It  almost  doubled  up. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  when  the  great  demand  came,  and  there 
was  a  great  scarcity  of  coal.  • 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  This  item  where  the  duty  was  remitted,  the  coal 
amounted  in  1903  to  1,698,382  tons.  Was  not  that  coal  imported 
mostly  into  Boston  and  the  eastern  ports  at  a  time  when  there  was  a 
coal  famine  and  the  tariff  was  taken  off  entirely  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir;  but  your  figures  do  not  tally  with  mine. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  These  are  figures  where  the  duty  was  remitted,  the 
coal  having  been  brought  in  under  the  name  of  anthracite,  when  it 
ought  to  have  been  classed  as  bituminous  coal.  The  duty  was  remitted. 

Mr.  McCtnLLOUGH.  Under  this  act  of  1903  the  duty  on  all  coal  was 
remitted.  There  was  no  tariff  of  any  kind  or  description. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  My  figures  are  not  far  from  yours.  I  make  it  3,799,- 
000. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  What  do  you  make  it.  Mr.  McCullough? 

Mr.  McCuLLouaH.  I  make  it  3,625,000. 


BITUMINOUS   COAL E.    H.    M^CULLOUGH.  6519 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  That  is  near  enough. 

The  CHAIRMAN.    Proceed. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  We  were  talking  about  the  present  situation, 
and  the  very  low  rail  transportation  from  Cape  Breton  and  the  cor- 
responding boat  transportation  from  Newport  News.  At  the  present 
time  this  Dominion  coal  can  be  laid  down  in  Boston  "  alongside 
wharf,"  as  it  is  called,  at  $3.50  a  ton.  If  you  take  67  cents  off  of  that, 
it  would  make  the  price  $2.83.  The  price  of  the  best  American  coal 
at  the  present  time,  which  is  comparing  brands,  would  be  $3.75  a  ton. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  That  is  domestic  coal  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  The  best  domestic  coal  against  the  best  Nova 
Scotia  coal. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  It  would  be  how  much  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  It  would  be  $3.75.  Now.  the  economic  value  of 
our  coal  being  placed  at  70  cents  higher,  if  the  duty  was  off  that 
would  put  the  Dominion  coal  at  about  18  cents  below  the  economic 
value  of  the  best  domestic  coals  and  will  open  the  market  wide  to  this 
coal  coming  in.  Taking  that  duty  off  doubled  their  shipments  in  six 
months,  and  we  claim  that  owing  to  this  geographical  disadvantage 
which  we  have,  where  we  have  to  haul  the  coal  anywhere  from  350 
to  400  miles,  we  need  this  protection. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  When  that  coal  came  here  in  such  large  quantities 
with  the  duty  off,  it  was  just  after  a  coal  famine  and  the  price  of  coal 
had  gone  up  in  the  United  States  a  dollar  or  two  a  ton,  had  it  not? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  It  had  gone  up  considerably,  but  those  people 
put  their  price  up  in  a  corresponding  way.  They  simply  put  the  price 
where  the  New  England  people  would  take  it.  They  did  not  benefit 
particularly  by  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Yes ;  but  there  was  a  dearth  of  coal  in  the  country  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  That  was  occasioned  by  the  anthracite  strike. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Yes;  and  the  price  was  abnormally  high  here,  and 
there  was  a  great  temptation  to  ship  coal  in. 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  Yes;  it  was  very  high;  but  at  the  same  time 
they  could  not  ship  it  in  until  they  took  the  duty  off. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  part  of  that  increased  shipment  under  the 
act  of  January  15, 1903,  came  from  Canada  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Nearly  all  of  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  None  from  Great  Britain  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Some  coal  was  brought  in  from  Wales.  They 
called  it  Welsh  anthracite. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  was  before  we  passed  the  act  of  January  15, 
1903. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No,  sir ;  it  was  afterwards. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  It  was  afterwards. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  There  was  no  duty  on  anthracite  coal  at  all. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  made  all  coal  free.  But  that  did  not  make  any 
difference;  whether  it  was  anthracite  or  bituminous  coal,  under  the  act 
of  January  15,  1903,  it  all  came  in  free,  did  it  not? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes :  it  all  came  in  free. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  was  previous  to  that  and  during  the  coal  strike 
that  the  department  made  what  was  called  a  very  liberal  interpreta- 
tion, and  they  brought  in  coal  that  had  been  known  as  bituminous  coal 
as  anthracite  coal.  That  came  from  Wales  ? 

ir,:  (41— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 i8 


6520  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  In  considerable  quantities.  I  have  the  figures  here. 
But  after  we  passed  the  act  of  January  15, 1903,  there  was  no  question 
about  those  coals  from  Great  Britain,  that  they  should  come  in  free 
from  Wales.  Are  you  able  to  say  what  proportion  of  the  coals  im- 
ported under  the  act  of  January  15  free  of  duty  for  the  year  came 
from  Canada  and  what  from  Wales  or  other  countries? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  I  would  say  that  nine-tenths  of  the  coal  came 
from  Canada. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Nine-tenths  of  it  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  At  least  nine-tenths. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Another  question,  What  is  the  quality  of  the  Cana- 
dian coal  as  compared  with  our  coal  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  I  just  stated  that  they  put  what  you  might  term 
the  economic  value  of  the  Dominion  coal — that  is,  Nova  Scotia  coal — 
at  70  cents  a  ton  less  than  that  of  the  best  of  our  coal. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Seventy  cents  a  ton  less? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  The  Dominion  coal  is  sulphurous,  and  is  not  of 
good  quality.  It  shows  a  large  amount  of  ash.  But  there  is  a  cer- 
tain point  where  you  can  bring  coal  together,  and  you  can  almost  sell 
mud  as  coal  if  you  sell  it  cheap  enough. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  economic  value  of  that  coal  is  less? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes ;  it  is  so  stated  by  the  experts. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  You  state  that  the  value  of  domestic  coal  at  Boston 
is  $3.75  a  ton? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  the  present  price. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  That  is  what  you  sell  it  at? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  What  does  it  cost  you  to  produce  it?  What  does 
it  cost  you,  I  mean,  laid  down  in  Boston  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  suppose  it  costs  us  about  $3.60. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  So  that  your  profit  is  15  cents  a  ton  on  that? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  Yes;  I  think  any  bituminous  operator  who 
makes  15  cents  a  ton  on  his  output  thinks  he  is  doing  extremely  well. 

Mr.  DAL^ELL.  Under  existing  conditions  what  coal  supplies  the 
New  England  market? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  The  New  England  market  took  last  year  600.- 
000  tons  of  Nova  Scotia  coal  even  at  the  disadvantage  in  quality. 
The  rest  of  the  coal,  some  of  it  is  shipped  from  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania coals,  and  a  great  deal  is  shipped  from  Newport  News,  from 
Lamberts  Point,  and  some  from  Baltimore,  and  some  from  New 
York.  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  supply  the  New  England  market. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  How  many  tons  do  they  send  to  New  England  as 
compared  to  Canada? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  have  not  that  figure,  so  that  I  would  be  guess- 
ing if  I  undertook  to  tell  you. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Have  you  any  idea  what  the  output  and  consump- 
tion of  domestic  coal  is  in  the  country  altogether? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  In  the  country? 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Yes. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir;  I  can  tell  you  that  for  the  year  1907. 
The  total  output  of  coal  for  the  whole  of  the  year  1907  was 
383,000,000  tons  of  bituminous  and  77,000,000  tons  of  anthracite, 
making  a  total  of  477,000,000  tons  of  coal  produced  in  the  country. 


BITUMINOUS  COAL* — E.   H.   At'cULLOUGH.  6521 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  And  except  for  the  New  England  market  the  do- 
mestic coal  constitutes  the  entire  supply  of  the  country,  does  it  not  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  Yes.  There  is  some  Australian  coal  brought 
into  San  Francisco  and  some  Vancouver  Island  coal  sent  to  Puget 
Sound  for  Tacoma  and  Seattle  and  places  of  that  kind. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  The  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia  coal  mines, 
of  course,  have  a  more  convenient  access  to  New  England  than  the 
Birmingham  coal  mines? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Birmingham  does  nothing  with  New  England, 
so  far  as  I  know. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Yes ;  and  the  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia  coal 
mines  have  as  much  advantage  over  the  Alabama  output  as  Canada 
has  over  you,  so  far  as  the  New  England  market  is  concerned?  . 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  They  have  their  own  markets — legitimate  mar- 
kets— and  we  have  ours. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  "  Legitimate  "  is  an  adjective,  and  it  is  sometimes 
elastic.  The  point  I  want  to  get  is  this :  You  here  have  a  market  in 
this  country  for  470,000,000  tons  of  coal. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  All  kinds  of  coal. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  And  now  I  understand  you  want  this  duty  main- 
tained so  as  to  get  those  600,000  tons  additional.  That  is,  you  want 
to  impose  a  tariff  tax  all  over  this  country  so  as  to  get  the  right  to 
dispose  of  and  control  this  market  of  600.000  tons  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  did  not  say  600.000  tons.  I  said  that  was  the 
amount  of  Nova  Scotia  coal  that  goes  into  Boston  alone. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  There  is  no  other  product  that  goes  in  there,  is 
there? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No,  sir;   on  account  of  the  tariff. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  I  understand  that. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  But  I  suppose  if  the  tariff  was  removed,  instead 
of  being  600,000  tons  it  would  be  16,000.000  tons,  or  something  of  that 
kind. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Why  do  you  think  that,  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
with  the  coal  tax  off  and  an  extraordinary  demand  for  coal  in  this 
country  the  most  that  ever  came  in  was  3.000,000  tons? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  It  takes  time.  Trade  is  a  thing  that  cuts  a 
very  deep  channel,  and  it  takes  time  for  business  to  readjust  itself. 
Those  people,  I  suppose,  had  not  the  productive  capacity.  They 
boomed  up  their  capacity  to  double  what  is  was  inside  of  six  months, 
as  you  can  see  from  the  figures.  It  is  like  a  plant  of  slow  growth.  It 
would  ultimately  drive  us  out. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  That  amount  would  be  4  per  cent  of  the  entire  pro- 
duction if  they  sent  here  16,000,000  tons.  Assume  that  your  worst 
apprehensions  are  realized,  it  would  amount  to  4  per  cent  of  the  total 
consumption. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  The  internal  consumption  is  not  affected  by  the 
tariff  one  way  or  another. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  I  understand  that,  but  I  merely  wanted  to  get  what 
your  proposal  to  this  committee  is.  With  the  present  tariff,  600,000 
tons  come  in.  With  the  tariff  remitted,  3,000,000  tons  came  in. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Three  million  six  hundred  thousand  tons. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  You  apprehend  that  if  the  tariff  is  remitted 
16,000.000  would  come  in.  Now,  granting  that  your  apprehensions 
should  form  the  basis  of  our  tariff  legislation,  the  amount  that  you 


6622  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

want  to  keep  up  by  this  tariff  is  just  a  little  less  than  4  per  cent,  about 
3|  per  cent,  of  the  total  consumption  of  the  country  ? 

Mr.  MoCuLLOUGH.  Yes;  something  like  that. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  That  is  the  point  I  had  in  mind. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  What  company  did  you  say  you  represented  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  The  Westmoreland  Coal  Company. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  I  put  in  the  record  a  letter  sent  me  by  a  large  num- 
ber of  large  coal  companies  of  western  Pennsylvania,  which  calls  for 
reciprocal  free  coal  with  Canada.  Is  that  your  attitude  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  the  point  I  was  just  about  to  touch  upon 
and  I  was  very  glad  that  this  discussion  was  had,  because  it  leads  up 
most  thoroughly  to  what  I  had  to  say.  We  will  assume  that  you  do 
put  our  coal  on  the  free  list.  We  feel  that  we  are  entitled  to  a  quid 
pro  quo. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  That  is  the  point  I  had  in  mind. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  We  supply  the  Province  of  Ottawa  almost  en- 
tirely with  their  coal,  and  they  have  a  duty  equivalent  to  60  cents.  It 
is  53"  cents  on  2,000  pounds,  which  is  equal  to  60  cents  per  gross  ton, 
and  our  duty  is  67  cents. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Anthracite  coal? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No ;  neither  country  charges  any  duty  on  an- 
thracite coal.  We  claim  if  our  New  England  market  is  to  be  de- 
stroyed by  the  abolition  or  reduction  of  the  tariff,  that  we  should 
never  for  one  moment  lend  ourselves  to  anything  of  that  kind  unless 
Canada  meets  us  half  way  and  says:  "  Gentlemen,  you  take  your  duty 
off  and  we  will  take  ours  off."  Then  we  will  be  able  to  take  care  of 
ourselves.  But  to  have  our  New  England  market  destroyed  and  get 
nothing  for  it  I  do  not  think  would  be  at  all  in  line  with  the  policy  of 
this  country. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  That  would  give  the  Canadian  market  to  western 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  West  Virginia.  How  would  that  affect  the 
market  for  western  coal,  away  out  in  Wyoming,  that  has  to  compete 
with  British  Columbia  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  It  would  have  just  about  the  same  effect.  The 
only  concerns  that  I  think  would  be  affected  are  the  miners  of  coal  in 
the  State  of  Washington.  Vancouver  Island  coal  is  very  excellent 
in  quality,  and,  as  you  doubtless  remember,  Vancouver  Island  comes 
down  considerably  south  of  the  southern  line  of  that  country.  In 
fact,  it  almost  fills  in  the  head  of  Puget  Sound.  They  can  put  their 
coal  in  at  Tacoma  and  Seattle  and  other  points  along  the  line  of 
Puget  Sound,  and  I  think  it  would  injure  the  western  operators  and 
also  would  probablv  benefit  the  Australian  operators  to  some  extent 
who  send  coal  to  San  Francisco  for  bunkering  purposes.  In  San 
Francisco  they  run  their  stationary  engines  and  everything  else  on 
black  oil,  but  there  is  an  immense  amount  of  bunkering  coal  in  San 
Francisco. 

Mr.  HILL.  Would  it  not  help  the  Newcastle  mines  and  give  them 
a  market  up  there  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Do  you  mean  Newcastle,  England? 

Mr.  HILL.  No;  in  Wyoming. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  am  not  able  to  express  an  opinion  on  that  of 
any  value.  I  tried  to  get  somebody  to  come  here  out  of  that  region 
and  give  the  committee  the  benefit  of  their  experience,  but  nobody 
seemexi  able  to  come. 


BITUMINOUS   COAL E.    H.    Al'cULLOUGH.  6523 

Mr.  HiLA,.  I  want  to  say  that  when  we  passed  the  act  <if  January 
15,  1903,  the  people  in  the  State  of  Wyoming  were  very  apprehensive 
about  the  effect  of  that,  and  1  was  afterwards  informed  that  for  some 
reason  or  other  the  freight  rates  went  up,  but  the  Dominion  coal  did 
not  come  into  Wyoming  or  interfere  with  their  business  during  the 
year. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  fear  that  times  have  changed. 

Mr.  HILL.  It  is  simply  a  coincidence. 

Mr.  FORDXEY.  Did  I  understand  you  to  say  that  there  are  large 
quantities  of  coal  going  into  San  Francisco? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No;  because  the  bunkering  demand  is  limited. 
There  is  no  use  for  coal  there.  They  run  their  locomotive  and  sta- 
tionary engines  with  oil,  which  is  very  cheap,  but  there  is  some  little 
coal  goes  to  San  Francisco  from  Washington.  That  is  a  State  where 
they  produce  about  3,000,000  tons  of  coal  per  annum.  A  great  deal 
goes  there  from  Vancouver  Island  and  some  little  from  Australia. 
In  fact,  for  some  purposes  they  ship  Georges  Creek  coal  around  from 
Baltimore  to  San  Francisco  for  smithing  purposes. 

Mr.  FORDXEY.  If  this  change  were  made  the  Vancouver  coal,  owing 
to  the  cheaper  freight  rate  from  Vancouver  to  San  Francisco,  would 
go  in  there  and  the  Washington  coal  could  not  get  into  San  Francisco  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  believe  it  would  be  barred.  There  was '  a 
gentleman  here  at  the  hearings  of  1893  who  declared  that  if  the  tariff 
was  removed  it  would  destroy  the  American  coal  trade  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Does  the  cost  of  the  labor  enter  into  this  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  The  Japanese  contract  labor  is  what  we  have  to 
contend  against,  both  in  the  Vancouver  mines  and  in  the  Crows  Nest 
Pass  mines. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  That  is  Japanese  contract  labor? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  At  low  wages? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes;  very  low.     I  do  not  know  what  they  are. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  If  we  had  free  trade  with  Canada,  and  Canada 
followed  us  on  the  coal  proposition,  the  chances  are  that  it  would  give 
us  as  much  of  a  market  as  we  would  lose  elsewhere,  would  it  not? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  my  judgment,  that  we  would  just  about 
make  up  what  we  would  lose. 

Mr.  CRUMPAOKER.  We  would  undoubtedly  lose  a  great  deal  to  the 
east  of  Cape  Cod,  but  I  believe  we  could  make  it  up  in  the  Province 
of  Ottawa  and  at  other  points.  The  price  of  coal  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  would  be  a  little  lower  to  the  consumer  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  It  would  be  impossible  for  us  to  make  any  lower 
prices  on  the  present  rate  of  wages. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  But  you  feel  that  with  free  trade  you  would 
lose  the  New  England  market  largely  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  To  some  extent. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Because  the  price  would  be  lower? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  The  Nova  Scotia  price  could  be  put  at  such  a 
figure  that  the  economic  value  of  their  coal  would  stand  the  New 
England  consumer  about  18  cents  a  ton  less  than  our  price  at  the 
present  time,  and  it  would  be  a  temptation  to  them,  of  course,  to  buy 
that  coal. 


6524  SCHEDULE   N — SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKJER.  We  sell  Canada  now  something  over  $6,000,000 
worth  a  year  of  coal,  with  a  tariff  of  60  cents  a  ton? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  And  that  market  could  be  extended  if  we  had 
reciprocal  free  trade? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  It  seems  to  me  if  Congress  takes  the  duty  off 
of  American  coal  they  certainly  should  not  do  it  unless  Canada  takes 
it  off  of  her  coal.  In  fact,  I  think  a  bill  should  be  drafted  making 
provision  for  such  a  reciprocal  arrangement. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  You  are  referring  to  the  Pennsylvania  coal  op- 
erators and  not  to  the  western  operators  when  you  say  we  would 
gain  as  much  as  we  would  lose? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  West  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana, 
and  Illinois;  all  regions  shipping  coal  into  Canada. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  What  the  effect  would  be  on  the  western  operators 
you  are  not  prepared  to  say? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No,  sir.  However,  my  opinion  is  that  the  little 
trade  that  the  State  of  Washington  has  in  San  Francisco  would  be 
destroyed.  They  hold  their  position  with  great  difficulty  now. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Do  you  speak  with  authority  for  anybody  in  the 
Chesapeake  and  Ohio  field  and  the  New  River  coal  field  ? 

"Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  had  some  conversation  with  Mr.  Bullitt  the 
other  day. 

Mr.  GAINES.  That  would  be  the  Norfolk  and  Western? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  GAINES.  The  situation  is  similar  to  that  in  the  New  River  field  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  did  Mr.  Bullitt  say? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  He  said  that  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  he  would 
not  come  down  here.  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  GAINES.  Does  that  mean  that  Mr.  Bullitt  did  or  did  not  have 
any  opinion  on  the  matter? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  He  had  precisely  the  same  opinion  that  I  had. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Then  you  understood  from  Mr.  Bullitt  that  he  was  in 
favor  of  reciprocal  free  coal  as  to  the  Norfolk  and  Western  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  did  not  ask  him  the  question.  I  only  asked 
him  what  effect  the  duty  would  have  on  the  New  England  market. 

Mr.  GAINES.  I  ask  you  these  questions  because  I  come  from  West 
Virginia  myself,  and  I  have  not  heard  from  those  people  definitely, 
and  I  wanted  to  know  what  their  knowledge  of  the  coal  field  leads 
them  to. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  We  have  a  gentleman  here  from  West  Virginia. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Where  is  your  mine? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Westmoreland  County,  Pa. 

Mr.  GAINES.  How  far  is  that  from  Pittsburg? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Twenty  miles  east  of  Pittsburg. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  is  your  rate  to  the  Lakes? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  think  the  rate  is  85  cents.  We  ship  prac- 
tically nothing  to  the  Lakes,  and  when  we  do  ship  there  we  sell  f .  o.  b. 
mines ;  but  I  think  the  rate  is  85  cents.  There  are  several  gentlemen 
here  who  can  answer  that  question. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Your  Lake  rate  is  85  cents? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  do  not  say  that  positively.  I  am  not  sure 
about  thac. 


BITUMINOUS   COAL, — E.    H.    M'CULLOUGH.  6525 

Mr.  GAINES.  How  do  you  propose,  if  we  have  reciprocal  free  coal 
with  Canada,  to  get  your  coal  to  Canada ;  by  an  all-rail  haul  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  There  are  half  a  dozen  ways  of  getting  it  there. 
You  can  take  it  across  the  river  at  the  International  Bridge — that  is, 
across  the  Niagara  River,  across  the  suspension  bridge — or  you  can 
ship  it  across  in  cars  from  Conneaut.  There  are  half  a  dozen  ways. 

Mr.  GAINES.  By  water  or  by  ferrying  the  cars  across  the  river? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  By  boat,  by  ferry,  or  by  bridges.  There  are 
three  ways  of  getting  it  into  Canada. 

Mr.  GAINES.  "What  would  be  your  rate? 

A  BYSTANDER.  Eighty-eight  cents  is  the  Lake  rate. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  thought  it  was  85  cents. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  would  that  make  your  rate  to  the  Canadian  ter- 
ritory that  you  want  to  make  such  an  arrangement  with? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  would  depend  on  the  way  it  is  sent.  For 
instance,  if  you  sent  coal  from  our  mines  to  Toronto,  I  think  the 
freight  rate  is  $1.71  by  rail.  That  I  am  not  sure  of. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  is  your  New  England  rail  rate?  Do  you  have 
any  all-rail  rate  to  New  England? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes;  we  send  coal  up  to  within  perhaps  20  miles 
of  the  seaboard.  Otherwise  we  ship,  for  instance,  to  Boston  or  Port- 
land or  Lynn  or  any  of  those  places.  It  is  sent  to  Greenwich.  That 
is  the  shipping  point  of  Philadelphia.  Then  it  is  transshipped  into 
boats. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  is  your  rate  to  Philadelphia? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  One  dollar  and  fifty  cents. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  is  your  barge  rate  or  vessel  rate  from  there? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  a  varying  quantity,  depending  upon 
the  season  of  the  year  and  the  demand  for  barges.  I  suppose  it 
would  run  from  perhaps  50  cents  as  an  extreme  minimum  up  to  $1, 
which  is  a  fair  maximum. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Did  you  give  me  the  all-rail  rate  from  New  England 
to  your  mines? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No;  I  do  not  know  what  it  is. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Have  you  an  analysis  of  the  Nova  Scotia  coal? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  have  not  got  it  with  me. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Unless  somebody  else  should  put  such  an  analysis 
into  the  record  to-day,  will  you  furnish  one  to  the  committee? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir;  I  will.  I  can  furnish  you  with  a 
number  of  them,  and  also  with  an  analysis  of  our  coals,  and  nearly 
every  other  American  coal. 

Mr.  GAINES.  We  would  like  to  have  the  comparison.  I  would  like 
also  to  have  a  comparison  of  the  Nova  Scotia  coal  and  your  coal,  for 
instance,  in  British  thermal  units. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes;  I  can  give  you  that. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  section  of  Canada  is  it  that  you  expect  to 
ship  your  coal  to  under  such  arrangements,  preferably  in  large 
quantities?  I  do  not  mean  an  occasional  shipment,  but  where  do  you 
expect  to  ship  in  large  quantities? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  From  Montreal  on  the  extreme  east  to  any  dis- 
tance in  the  west  you  can  think  of,  Winnipeg  or  any  other  place 
that  comes  within  our  scope. 

Mr.  GAINES.  As  you  have  contemplated  this  proposition  of  recip- 
rocal free  coal,  what  has  been  your  view  of  the  matter,  that  you 


6526  SCHEDULE   N— SUNDRIES. 

would  ship  there  for  domestic  purposes  or  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poses? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  We  would  ship  for  domestic  and  manufactur- 
ing purposes,  both. 

Mr.  GAINES.  In  other  words,  that  the  Canadian  manufacturing 
would  be  largely  stimulated  in  that  section  of  Canada? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  That  is  what  the  Canadians  claim,  that  if  they 
got  more  coal  they  could  manufacture  more  goods  and  the  population 
would  expand  more  rapidly  and  the  country  would  be  benefited  by  it. 
But  if  you  go  down  to  Nova  Scotia  you  find  that  the  people  there 
are,  of  course,  intensely  high-tariff  people.  You  go  to  the  Province 
of  Ottawa,  where  they  have  to  get  their  coal  all  from  the  United 
States,  and  they  are  free  traders.  The  tariff  is,  as  old  General 
Hancock  said,  purely  a  local  issue. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Is  anthracite  coal  free  in  Canada  now  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  GAINES.  That  is  all  I  have  to  ask. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  I  have  a  letter  this  morning  signed  by  a  gentleman 
who  is  the  head  of  the  Pittsburg- Westmoreland  Company. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  The  Pittsburg- Westmoreland  ? 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Yes;  with  a  hyphen  between  the  two  names.  Is 
that  your  company? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No ;  I  have  no  connection  with  it. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  He  is  also  in  favor  of  reciprocal  free  coal. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  He  filed  a  brief  about  two  years  ago. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  That  is  what  I  put  in  the  record  the  other  day. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  noticed  it  was  in  the  record,  and  I  simply  cite 
that  as  being  the  opinion. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  I  notice  how  much  depends  on  the  point  of  view. 
This  party  says: 

The  demand  for  coal  in  Canada  comes  largely  from  a  territory  which  would 
be  naturally  supplied  by  western  Pennsylvania  and  eastern  Ohio,  and  the  up- 
building and  general  development  of  that  part  of  Canada  will  depend  some- 
what on  its  facilities  for  securing  our  coal. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  have  several  letters,  which  are  in  the  record, 
from  parties  in  New  England,  who  want  free  coal  on  the  ground  that 
we  want  to  exhaust  Canada  of  her  supply  and  save  our  own. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  a  very  ingenious  argument,  but  I  do  not 
think  there  is  anything  in  it. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  would  like  to  ask  you  a  few  questions  about  the 
production  of  your  coal.  How  do  you  estimate  your  coal,  by  the  long 
ton  or  the  short  ton,  in  Pennsylvania? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  West  of  the  Alleghenies  on  the  short  ton.  That 
is,  we  pay  our  wages  on  the  short  ton,  and  everything  of  that  kind ; 
but  in  the  East  it  is  all  on  the  long  ton. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Your  mines  are  located  west  of  the  Alleghenies? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  do  you  pay  your  miners  per  ton  for  mining 
coal? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Seventy-five  cents  a  ton  of  2,000  pounds. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Is  that  the  run  of  the  mine? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No;  that  is  three-quarter  inch  coal. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Three-quarter  inch  coal? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 


BITUMINOUS  COAL — E.   H.   M*CULLOUGH.  6527 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  makes  it  suitable  fur  every  sort  of  domestic 
purposes  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLouoH.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  are  the  other  charges  of  cost  that  you  charge 
against  that  ton  of  coal  besides  labor  to  bring  it  to  the  tipple  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Of  course,  in  all  coal  mines  the  amount  of 
money  paid  to  the  digger  has  a  very  limited  relation  to  the  cost  of 
the  coal. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  is  what  I  wanted  to  bring  out. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  You  have  got  to  pay  your  wages  and  pay  for 
the  material  used  in  the  mines  and  the  posts,  w7hich  are  getting  to  be 
a  very  burning  question  at  the  present  time,  and  the  cost  of  which 
runs  close  to  5  cents  a  ton  on  the  cost  of  production  now.  Then  you 
have  to  supply  air  to  the  men  and  run  your  pumps,  and  a  thousand 
and  one  things ;  in  addition  to  which,  of  course,  no  well-managed  con- 
cern undertakes  to  mine  their  coal  and  not  make  some  allowance  for 
exhaustion. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  For  what? 

Mr.  McCoLLOUGH.  For  the  exhaustion  of  the  coal.  Of  course,  if 
you  made  no  allowance  for  that,  when  you  got  through  you  would 
have  nothing  but  a  hole  in  the  ground  to  represent  your  capital. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  have  got  to  charge  a  royalty  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes;  precisely. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  do  you  estimate  the  cost  at  your  mine — the 
cost  outside  of  the  labor  cost  of  75  cents  to  the  miner  to  bring  that 
coal  to  the  tipple ;  I  mean  to  the  tipple  where  you  put  it  into  the  car 
for  shipment? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  could  answer  that  question  better  if  I  had  the 
cost  sheet  here,  which  I  have  not;  but  allowing  75  cents  for  2,000 
pounds,  and  royalty,  at  the  mines  it  costs  us  $1.29  a  gross  ton. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  is  f .  o.  b.  cars  for  shipment  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  on  the  car  after  paying  all  expenses  at 
the  mine,  and  not  charging  anything  for  what  you  might  call  general 
office  expenses.  That  is  to  come  off  what  you  can  make  above  the 
mining  cost. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  would  you  say  was  a  general  average  esti 
mate  of  the  office  expenses  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Office  expenses  and  rentals  and  things  of  that 
sort  would  run  a  cent  and  a  half  a  ton. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  would  make  it  a  dollar  thirty  to  a  dollar 
thirty-one  and  a  half  cents? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  One  dollar  and  thirty-one  cents. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  balance  of  the  cost  of  the  figures  you  gave 
to  lay  it  down  in  New  England  were  freight  charges? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  One  dollar  and  fifty  cents  to  the  railroad,  and 
an  estimate  of  75  cents  for  boat  freights. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Now,  do  you  know  anything  about  the  Nova 
Scotia  mines  or  the  Canadian  mines? 

Mr.  McCuLL-ouGH.  I  know  all  about  the  Nova  Scotia  mines,  because 
I  have  been  there. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  amount  paid  the  miner  in  Nova 
Scotia? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  When  I  was  there,  which  was  about  seven  years 
ago,  they  were  paying  exactly  the  same  rates  of  wages  that  were  being 


6528  SCHEDULE   N — SUNDRIES. 

paid  in  the  Pittsburg  district  at  that  time,  and  I  have  been  told  by,  I 
think,  reasonably  good  authority,  that  in  a  way  they  follow  the  Pitts- 
burg  rates.  They  are  arranged  every  two  years  by  the  convention  of 
the  United  Mine  Workers  and  the  operators. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  United  Mine  Workers  are  organized  in  Nova 
Scotia  as  well  as  in  Pennsylvania? 

Mr.  McCnLLOuoH.  They  have  an  organization  there ;  yes,  sir ;  and, 
as  I  say,  in  a  general  way  their  wages  are  the  wages  of  western  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Your  mines  in  Pennsylvania  are  mostly  shaft 
mines,  are  they  not?  You  do  not  drift? 

Mr.  McCuLuyuGH.  We  have  a  variety  of  mines.  We  have  several 
shafts.  We  have  several  stopes,  as  they  are  called,  where  you  go 
down  onto  the  vein  of  coal,  and  one  or  two  mines  where  you  go  di- 
rectly into  the  hill. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Which  do  you  consider  the  most  expensive  mine  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  The  shaft  mine. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  a  great  many  of  your  mines  are  shaft  mines  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  estimate  of  cost  you  gave  here  was  on  the 
shaft  mine  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  No ;  the  general  cost. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  general  cost  ? 

Mr.  McCuLi/ruGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  class  of  mining  is  it  in  Nova  Scotia  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  They  are  stopes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  All  stopes? 

.Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Nearly  all. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  would  make  it  a  little  less  expensive? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Are  they  surface  drained  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No,  sir;  I  do  not  think  there  are  any  mines 
now  above  water  level. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  As  to  pumping  out  the  mines,  are  they  any  more 
favorably  situated  than  the  Pennsylvania  mines? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  I  do  not  know  how  they  are  this  year.  We 
have  been  absolutely  drowned  out.  I  have  heard  of  cases  where 
they  are  paying  as  high  as  $1.50  a  thousand  gallons  of  water  to  run 
the  pumps.  How  Nova  Scotia  is  fixed  I  do  not  know  this  year. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  is  an  abnormal  situation? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  But,  generally  speaking,  how  is  it  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  The  conditions  are  no  better  than  ours  are. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  additional  cost  of  mining  there  along 
the  same  line  you  gave  me  at  jrour  mines? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  You  know  the  Nova  Scotia  coal  deposits  are 
owned  by  the  Dominion  government,  and  I  believe  the  royalty  they 
pay  is  about  50  cents  a  ton.  It  would  be  that  additional  cost  per 
cofttract.  Instead  of  paying  $1.50  a  ton  freight,  they  pay  75  cents. 

.Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  wanted  to  eliminate  the  freight  rate  and  get  to 
that  afterwards. 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  wanted  the  cost  at  the  mine.  I  wanted  your 
judgment  as  to  what  the  other  cost  at  the  mines  was;  outside  or  the 


BITUMINOUS   COAL — E.   H.    M 'CULLOUGH.  6529 

75  cents  for  labor  for  milling,  what  do  you  estimate  the  other  costs 
at  the  Nova  Scotia  mines? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  The  only  other  cost,  provided  I  am  correct 
about  the  rate  of  wages,  would  be  caused  by  the  fact  that  they  pay 
more  royalty  than  we  credit. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  their  cost  at  the  mine  would  be  about  $1.40, 
as  compared  to  $1.30  in  Pennsylvania  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  should  think  so. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  So  that  at  the  mine  the  Pennsylvania  coal  opera- 
tor has  the  advantage,  at  the  mouth  of  the  mine  ? 

Mr.  McCuuLOUGH.  A  small  advantage;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Now,  you  say  the  difference  in  the  freight  rate 
is  that  it  costs  you  about  $2.25  a  ton  to  reach  the  New  England 
market,  and  it  costs  them  25  cents  a  ton  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No;  it  costs  them  25  cents  plus  75  cents.  It 
costs  them  a  dollar,  coupling  the  rail  and  boat  freights  together. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Seventy-five  cents  is  the  rail  freight  for  that? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  the  boat  freight. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  boat  freight? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  The  average  rail  freight  when  I  was  up  there 
was  25  cents  a  ton  to  the  seaboard. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Yes;  and  75  cents  for  the  boat  freight? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Making  altogether  a  dollar  a  ton? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then  as  to  the  freight,  they  have  an  advantage 
of  $1.25  a  ton  freight  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  right. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  condition  exists  purely  for  the  New 
England  market,  does  it  not?  I  mean  that  their  relative  advantage 
only  relates  to  the  points  where  they  can  get  in  with  this  cheap  water 
rate. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes;  I  do  not  think  they  could  penetrate  in- 
land to  any  great  extent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  the  tariff  is  not  a  tariff  to  protect  labor,  or 
the  cost  of  production,  but  it  is  practically  a  differential  to  protect 
railroad  and  water  freights? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  would  say  it  was  something  to  protect  labor 
very  largely.  Of  course  we  can  not  be  driven  out  of  any  market  with- 
out a  struggle. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Yes,  I  understand;  but  the  real  difference  is  not 
the  cost  of  labor  or  the  cost  of  production,  but  the  real  difference  is 
the  difference  of  freight  rates? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  you  think  if  we  put  a  duty  on  here  with 
something  like  a  high  enough  duty  to  make  Canada  agree  to  a  maxi- 
mum and  minimum  of  free  trade,  and  by  that  means  could  secure 
absolute  free  trade  between  this  country  and  Canada,  taking  the 
United  States  as  a  whole,  it  would  be  beneficial? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  my  opinion. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  is  all. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Supposing  that  the  committee  should  adopt  the 
suggestion  of  the  miners  of  western  Pennsylvania  and  put  coal  on  the 


6530  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

free  list,  what  in  your  opinion  ought  to  be  done  with  coke,  which  now 
bears  a  duty  of  20  per  cent  ad  valorem? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Well,  I  do  not  know.  I  am  not  in  the  coke 
business,  Mr.  Chairman,  so  that  I  can  not  answer  the  question.  I  do 
not  know  the  conditions  governing  the  coke  market  at  all.  Of  course 
I  know  they  do  manufacture  coke  in  Nova  Scotia. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  We  do  not  export  coke  to  Nova  Scotia,  do  we? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No;  they  make  their  own  coke. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  import  hardly  any  coke. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes;  very  little. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Very  small  quantities. 

Mr.  McCuLLOuGii.  Yes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  was  not  speaking  of  the  reciprocal  part  of  it  so 
much  as  I  was  the  duty  on  coke. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  can  not  answer  that.  I  have  no  personal 
knowledge  about  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  As  I  understand,  you  made  the  cost  of  the  Nova 
Scotia  coal  at  Boston  about  $2.40  a  ton. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Two  dollars  and  forty  cents  to  $2.50,  duty  off? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  notice  the  Government  reports  put  it  all  over  $3. 
The  custom-house  reports  put  it  all  over  $3. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Is  not  that  including  the  duty  ? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  No ;  before  the  duty  is  paid. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  The  present  quotation  for  the  best  grades  of 
coal  in  Boston  is  $3.50.  That  would  bring  down  the  value  of  the  coal, 
alongside  dock,  duty  unpaid,  to  $2.83. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  For  every  year  since  1898  the  price  has  been  over 
$3,  running  from  $3  up  to  $3.37.  During  the  Wilson  bill  it  ran  down 
lower  than  that,  as  low  as  $2.43,  but  since  that  time,  for  the  last 
twelve  years,  the  importing  price  has  been  over  $3,  according  to  the 
government  reports,  ready  for  the  payment  of  the  duty. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  How  long  have  we  been  importing  coal  from  Aus- 
tralia to  the  Pacific  coast? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  That  question  I  can  not  answer,  although  it 
was  being  done,  I  know,  in  1893,  because,  as  I  say,  that  gentleman 
came  from  San  Francisco  to  describe  the  difficulties  of  contending 
with  Australian  coal. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Then  I  suppose  you  do  not  know  anything  about 
the  Australian  freight  rates  or  the  cost  of  labor  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  do  not. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Do  I  understand  you  to  favor  the  retention  of  the 
present  duty,  or  a  reciprocal  free-coal  arrangement  with  Canada? 
Which  of  the  two  propositions  do  you  favor  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Personally  I  am  what  they  call  a  "  standpatter." 
I  would  not  care  to  see  the  duty  disturbed  in  any  way ;  but  if  it  is, 
I  am  emphatically  of  the  opinion  that  it  should  not  be  done  unless 
Canada  meets  us  halfway. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Of  the  two  propositions  you  would  prefer  the  reten- 
tion of  the  present  rate  of  duty  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  With  my  present  lights ;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  In  answer  to  a  question  propounded  to  you  by  Mr. 
Underwood,  I  understood  you  to  say  that  it  would  be  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  country  as  a  whole  that  we  should  have  a  free-coal 
reciprocal  arrangement  with  Canada? 


BITUMINOUS   COAL, E.   H.    M'CULLOUGH.  6531 

Mr.  McCuLLouGH.  I  could  not  answer  for  the  coal  operators  of 
Washington  State. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Or  of  the  Central  West  or  the  Rocky  Mountain  dis- 
tricts? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  do  not  think  it  would  hurt  them  at  all. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  You  do  not  think  it  would  hurt  them  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Or  those  in  the  Wyoming  or  Colorado  coal  fields  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  They  would  not  be  affected  one  way  or  another. 
It  is  too  far  away.  There  are  very  good  coal  mines  in  British  Colum- 
bia, at  Crows  Nest  Pass,  but  I  think  it  is  pretty  nearly  all  used  on 
their  own  railroads,  and  for  their  own  purposes. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  But  you  think  it  would  be  injurious  to  the  coal  oper- 
ators of  Washington  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  think  so ;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  NEEDHAM.  Where  do  the  coals  from  the  fields  of  the  State  of 
Washington  go? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  A  good  deal  of  it  goes  to  San  Francisco  and  a 
good  deal  of  it  is  taken  for  local  consumption.  There  is  much  Aus- 
tralian coal  used  there. 

Mr.  NEEDHAM.  It  is  all  consumed  in  that  section  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  think  so.  They  do  not  export  much  of  it,  be- 
cause the  Vancouver  Island  coal  can  be  mined  cheaper  and  it  is  better 
coal. 

Mr.  NEEDHAM.  How  does  the  quality  of  the  Washington  coal  com- 
pare with  the  Australian  coal? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  The  Australian  coal  is  the  best  in  the  world  for 
making  gas.  It  has  less  ash.  It  has  driven  us  out  of  South  Africa 
altogether. 

Mr.  HILL.  As  a  matter  of  fact  they  do  not  compete? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Scarcely  any. 

Mr.  HILL.  Does  not  the  Australian  coal  sell  in  San  Francisco  for 
more  than  double  the  price  of  the  Washington  coal  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  do  not  know  what  the  prices  are  there. 

Mr.  HILL.  What  did  you  say  was  the  price  of  the  Nova  Scotian 
coal  delivered  in  Boston? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Three  dollars  and  fifty  cents  alongside. 

Mr.  HILL.  I  find  that  in  1903,  when  we  began  to  import,  the  prices 
were  $3.30  for  Nova  Scotian  coal,  and  that  the  export  rose  from 
5,000,000  tons  to  nearly  9,000,000  tons  in  1904.  The  prices  had  gone 
down  from  $2.78  to  $2.50,  delivered  in  Boston.  During  the  coal 
famine  we  exported  more  than  we  imported. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  It  was  high-grade  steam  coal. 

Mr.  HILL.  Are  not  the  Nova  Scotian  mines  owned  largely  in 
Boston? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  There  is  considerable  Boston  capital  in  the  Do- 
minion Coal  Company,  but  I  think  the  majority  of  it  is  owned  in  the 
Dominion. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Where  is  the  market  for  Wyoming  coal  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  It  is  largely  local.  Some  or  it  goes  across  the 
border. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Into  Canada? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes;  into  some  of  the  southern  Provinces  of 
the  Dominion.  I  do  not  remember  the  names. 


6532  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

• 

Mr.  DALZELL.  It  does  not  go  out  as  far  as  the  Pacific  coast? 

Mr.  McCuLLoucH.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  In  your  opinion,  would  the  price  to  the  New  Eng- 
land consumer  be  reduced  by  this  reciprocal  trade  arrangement  that 
you  suggest  between  the  United  States  and  Canada? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  It  would  be  slightly  reduced. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  It  could  not  be  reduced  until  the  Nova  Scotians  had 
driven  you  out  of  the  New  England  market,  could  it  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  It  would  be  automatic,  so  to  speak.  They 
would  reach  in  and  reduce  prices  by  67  cents  per  ton,  which  would 
drive  us  out  in  spite  of  ourselves. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  With  a  profit  to  you  of  only  15  cents  per  ton,  you 
could  not  be  driven  out  of  that  market  until  they  got  a  supply,  be- 
cause they  could  not  furnish  the  coal  until  they  increased  their  supply. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Trade  cuts  channels,  and  it  takes  some  time  to 
divert  trade.  It  would  take  two  or  three  years  before  that  would 
happen.  They  would  have  to  increase  their  capacity  considerably. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Finally,  when  we  removed  the  duty  from  the  coal, 
the  New  Englander  would  buy  that  much  cheaper,  and  thus  give  up 
the  New  England  market  for  the  market  in  Canada. 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  No ;  I  would  not  say  that.  We  would  not  give 
up  without  considerable  of  a  struggle.  In  Pennsylvania  and  West 
Virginia  there  are  200,000,000  tons  of  coal  produced  per  annum,  and 
we  are  paying  enormously  high  wages.  Wages  would  be  the  first 
thing  to  suffer,  because  we  would  have  to  insist  on  lower  prices.  We 
would  say  to  the  laboring  people  that  they  would  have  to  work  for 
less  money. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Labor  would  be  the  first  to  receive  the  reduction  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  You  must  not  figure  that  capital  must  have 
nothing,  because  capital  is  getting  very  little  now.  It  is  down  to 
almost  nothing. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  If  you  retained  the  New  England  market,  with  the 
duty  on  coal  as  it  is  to-day,  you  could  pay  labor  the  same  price  that 
you  are  paying  now? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes.  There  is  no  intimation  of  reducing  wages. 
We  are  satisfied  with  a  small  profit,  and  the  miner  is  satisfied  with  his 
big  pay.  We  have  not  had  a  hitch  in  our  region  for  more  than  a 
year. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  percentage  of  the  products  of  your  mine 
is  going  to  New  England,  and  what  percentage  is  retained  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  I  could  not  answer  that  without  access  to  the 
figures.  I  would  not  like  to  hazard  a  guess.  It  is  a  small  end  of  the 
business. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  mean  that  portion  going  to  the  New  Eng- 
land market? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.    Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  have  a  market  in  Pennsylvania;  and  Penn- 
sylvania would  not  be  affected  by  the  Canadian  coal? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.    They  would  be  along  the  seaboard. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  But  in  the  interior  they  would  not  be  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Therefore  if  this  were  put  on  it  would  only  affect 
a  small  portion  of  your  business  by  the  change? 


BITUMINOUS  COAL — E.   H.   M^CULLOUGH.  6533 

Mr.  McCuLLouGH.  In  the  coal  business  it  does  not  take  much  per- 
centage to  effect  a  change.  The  only  way  to  make  money  is  to  dis- 
tribute the  fixed  charges  if  you  increase  the  cost  of  the  material. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  percentage  of  the  new  market  with  which 
you  would  have  to  compete  would  bring  up  your  present  standard? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  correct. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  would  happen  if  we  would  put  coal  on  the 
free  list?  You  would  not  undertake  to  withdraw? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  We  would  be  driven  out. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  do  not  expect  to  be  driven  out? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  think  we  would  be  driven  out  in  the  course  of 
time. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  would  not  be  if  the  government  statistics  are 
right  in  reference  to  the  price  of  coal. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  would  rather  take  my  own  experience  than  to 
take  any  government  report. 

Mr.  GAINES.  You  were  asked  in  reference  to  the  importation  of 
Nova  Scotia  coal  during  the  time  we  had  coal  on  the  free  list,  and 
you  answered  that  it  took  time  for  trade  to  readjust  itself.  Don't 
you  think  it  would  be  much  more  accurate  to  say  that  in  the  space  of 
a  year  new  mines  could  not  be  developed  ?  Instead  of  trade  follow- 
ing the  tariff  the  fact  was  that  Nova  Scotia  presumably  was  selling 
her  output,  as  she  had  no  surplus  and  could  not  get  one  in  one  yearns 
time. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  dp  not  think  that  that  is  quite  it.  I  think 
that  her  productive  capacity  was  great,  and  it  is  still  far  ahead  of  her 
market.  The  big  business  was  in  the  season  of  1903.  It  only  takes  a 
short  time  to  develop  it  from  a  slope,  but  it  will  take  a  year  or  two 
years  with  the  shift.  You  can  not  bring  it  up  to  its  full  productive 
capacity  on  account  of  the  narrow  work.  The  entrance  prevents  its 
being  done,  even  if  you  had  three  years.  The  progress  is  slow  and 
you  can  not  produce  the  coal  until  you  get  the  narrow  work  com- 
pleted. 

Mr.  GAINES.  I  understand  that;  and  that  is  the  reason  I  asked 
the  question.  Then  you  assign  as  a  reason  for  not  having  greater 
importations  in  1903  and  1904  the  fact  that  it  takes  a  longer  time 
than  the  time  when  coal  was  on  the  free  list  to  develop  the  mines? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  The  market  was  there  and  they  sold  more  than 
if  there  had  been  competition. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  In  reference  to  these  high  prices  prevailing  in  1903, 
were  they  early  in  the  spring  or  late  in  the  winter  of  1903. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Things  began  to  be  normal  about  the  middle  of 
1903 — I  mean  relatively  normal.  The  anthracite  people  put  up 
prices  about  $1  per  ton.  The  bituminous  industry  can  not  do  that. 
In  the  bituminous  mines  it  is  every  man  for  himself.  That  regulates 
the  prices  in  the  bituminous  mine. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Matters  became  normal  about  March  or  April  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  I  think  it  was  about  the  middle  of  the  summer. 

Mr.  HILL.  I  think  you  said  that  the  labor  cost  is  substantially  the 
same  as  it  is  in  Pennsylvania,  being  controlled  by  the  United  Mine 
Workers  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr,  HILL.  Is  not  the  question  of  labor  a  greater  part  of  the  cost? 


6534  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No. 

Mr.  HILL.  Is  not  coal  exported  to  Canada  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  We  do  not  sell  any  ourselves. 

Mr.  HILL.  Do  you  know  what  the  price  is  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  do  not. 

Mr.  HILL.  You  simply  know  the  import  price  at  Boston  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  Do  you  think  the  amount  as  stated  in  the  customs  report 
is  fair? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  But  you  must  remember  that  in  sending  it  into 
Canada  they  have  two  duties. 

Mr.  HILL.  I  know,  but  the  United  States  statistics  give  the  value  of 
it  when  exported  to  Canada. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  But  it  does  not  give  the  value  of  the  slack  coal 
nor  the  value  of  the  nut. 

Mr.  HILL.  Bituminous  coal  is  the  item  given  at  the  point  of  ex- 
port; and  the  average  cost  for  the  last  year  was  8,000,000  tons  at 

(tO   Kfi 
ep^.OU. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  In  that  do  they  count  the  shale  and  slack  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  They  count  everything. 

Mr.  HELL.  It  gives  here  the  collections  on  bituminous  coal.  Prob- 
ably the  export  would  be  very  little. 

"  Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  It  is  not  large ;  it  is  14  cents  a  ton,  and  the  duty 
is  53£  cents. 

Mr.  GAINES.  There  is  a  duty  on  the  culm  and  slack? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  All  that  goes  into  Canada  is  the  same.  They 
count  all  that  will  go  through  a  three-fourths  screen. 

Mr.  HILL,  The  amount  collected  was  $22,000,  at  $2.56,  as  against 
an  import  price  from  Canada  of  $3.14.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  is  there 
any  coal  mined  in  Canada  between  Nova  Scotia  and  the  Kocky  Moun- 
tains? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  Some  coal  is  mined  in  the  provinces  of  New 
Brunswick  at  Pictou.  Outside  of  that  there  is  none,  so  far  as  I  know, 
mined  between  Nova  Scotia  and  the  Crows  Pass. 

Mr.  HILL.  You  supply  cheaper  to  the  East  than  you  do  to  the 
West? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  The  East  is  your  market  by  location.  The  eastern  part 
of  the  country  is  within  the  zone  of  Nova  Scotia  by  reason  of  location. 
It  is  protective  by  reason  of  the  differential  and  the  freight  rates.  If 
you  are  entitled  to  the  whole  Central  West,  why  are  not  the  people  of 
New  England  entitled  to  the  advantage  of  Nova  Scotian  prices  by 
reason  of  their  location? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  a  hard  question  to  answer. 

Mr.  HILL.  It  is. 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  The  object  is  to  protect  an  American  industry. 
We  are  400  miles  from  the  seaboard,  and  we  feel  that  we  are  entitled 
to  that  protection,  because  we  can  not  move  our  mines  up.  If  we 
were  at  the  seaboard,  we  could  command  the  world. 

Mr.  GAINES.  It  makes  a  difference  whether  you  are  buying  the  raw 
material  or  the  finished  product. 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  In  New  England  they  are  strong  on  free  raw 
material,  but  high  protectionists  on  the  finished  goods. 


BITUMINOUS  COAL — E.   H.   M^CULLOUGH.  6535 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  As  I  understand  you,  the  cost  in  laying  the  product 
down  in  New  England  is  $3.60  and  in  Canada  it  is  $3.50. 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  Three  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents, 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  I  thought  that  was  the  selling  price. 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  Yes. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  As  I  understand  you,  your  product  is  superior  to  the 
Canadian  product. 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  It  is  for  making  gas ;  it  is  wjrth  TO  cents  more. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Then,  if  it  is  superior  to  the  Canadian  product,  what 
is  your  purpose  in  asking  this  advantage  for  the  New  England 
market  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  If  they  charge  $3.50  and  we  charge  $3.75  and 
there  is  an  economical  difference  of  70  cents,  that  leaves  25  cents 
above  our  price,  or  rather  to  their  advantage. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  What  do  you  call  the  economical  value? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  If  you  take  off  67  cents,  that  would  leave  us  on 
the  wrong  side  of  the  account. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  You  can  put  your  article  in  Canada  at  $3.60  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  The  Canadian  article  comes  in  at  $3.50,  duty  paid. 
There  you  are  at  a  disadvantage  of  10  cents. 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  If  you  spell  it  "  c-o-a-1,"  we  are  at  a  disad- 
vantage of  10  cents,  but  when  you  come  to  the  question  of  quality 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  You  say  that  you  have  a  superiority  in  quality  to 
the  extent  of  70  cents? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Therefore  your  advantage  is  60  cents  a  ton  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  What  more  do  you  want?    Is  not  60  cents  enough? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  You  eliminate  the  idea  that  I  am  arguing 
against  a  reduction  of  60  cents  per  ton  in  their  prices.  What  you 
ought  to  figure  would  be  70  cents  and  not  60  cents. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  I  must  say  that  I  can  not  see  that.  As  the  matter 
stands  now  you  go  into  their  market  at  a  cost  of  $3.60  and  they  come 
into  competition  with  you  at  $3.50,  making  a  cost,  duty  paid,  or  $3.50. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  But  when  a  man  pays  $3.50  he  gets  something 
that  is  worth  70  cents  more  than  the  Canadian  coal. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  That  is  what  I  say.  You  are  practically  on  the 
same  terms  with  the  duty  off. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No ;  at  $3.38  we  would  be. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  You  take  70  cents  off  and  your  price  is  $2.90.  What 
is  your  idea  about  that  70  cents? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  That  is  economical  value. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  I  do  not  know  what  you  mean  unless  you  mean 
that  for  commercial  purposes  the  intrinsic  value  of  your  coal  is  70 
cents  more  than  theirs. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Then,  if  you  add  70  cents  to  theirs  or  take  70  cents 
off  yours,  you  are  on  equal  terms  with  them. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No;  not  if  you  take  67  cents  off  their  prices. 
The  cost  is  $3.50,  duty  paid."  Duty  off,  it  would  be  $2.83. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  That  would  make  a  difference  of  7  cents. 

75041— H.  Dor.  inon.  (i()-2— Vol  6 49 


6536  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  McCmxouGH.  That  is  right,  taking  into  consideration  the 
economical  value. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  What  else  have  you  to  take? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  Nothing.  t 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  That  is  the  only  thing  worth  considering? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  According  to  your  own  figures  it  is  only  7  cents  a  ton 
difference. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  assuming  that  we  are  working  without 
a  profit. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Since  there  is  no  difference  in  the  labor  cost  between 
the  two  products,  then  the  basis  on  which  you  want  protection  is  to 
equalize  the  differential  and  the  rates  of  transportation. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  It  is  to  equalize  the  difference  in  railroad  freight. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Yes.  Then  you  are  not  trying  to  equalize  the  differ- 
ence in  the  cost  of  production,  so  far  as  the  labor  cost  is  concerned,  but 
you  are  trying  to  equalize  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  transportation? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Precisely. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Until  this  hearing  that  theory  has  never  been  ad- 
vanced as  a  reason  for  levying  taxation. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  It  has  always  been  my  idea  that  the  general 
idea  or  object  of  protection  is  to  protect. 

Mr.  COCKKAN.  So  far  as  the  labor  cost  is  concerned. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  do  not  think  that  that  is  what  a  tariff  means. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Your  idea  is  that  a  tariff  is  to  protect  you  so  that 
you  can  get  profits. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  To  get  profits  and  to  enable  us  to  pay  the  wages 
of  the  men. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  There  is  no  difference  in  the  wages. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  If  the  rates  would  be  cut  down,  the  wages  would 
have  to  be  cut  down. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  That  is  another  case  of  apprehension.  You  can  not 
ask  for  a  tariff  on  that  ground  except  for  the  puropse  of  quieting 
your  apprehensions.  Take  the  actual  facts.  Are  not  the  rates  of 
wages  substantially  even  now  ?  If  that  be  true,  it  is  not  for  the  pur- 
pose of  protecting  the  wages  that  you  are  asking  a  tariff,  but  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  your  profit. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Protecting  everything.  It  is  protecting  the 
business. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Protecting  the  profits  of  the  business. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  think  capital  is  entitled  to  some  profit. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  But  you  are  claiming  that  your  purpose  is  not 
merely  to  equalize  the  difference  in  the  rate  of  wages,  but  also  to 
insure  a  profit  to  capital. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Well,  it  is  so  that  everybody  will  reap  a  proper 
benefit,  the  railroads  and  everybody  else. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Then  you  ask  a  tariff  for  the  purpose  of  general 
regulation  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  my  conception  of  the  purposes  for  which 
a  tariff  is  put  on. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  You  think  its  scope  is  beneficent? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  To  get  at  the  logic  of  your  statement,  if  there 
were  no  coal  fields  in  the  western  part  of  the  United  States,  do  you 


BITUMINOUS  COAL — E.   H.   M  'CULLOUGH.  6537 

think  that  this  committee  ought  to  put  a  duty  on  coal  to  enable  you  to 
equalize  the  freight  price  so  as  to  enable  the  American  coal  to  go  into 
the  Pacific  coast  market  in  competition  with  the  Vancouver  coal? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  I  should  not. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  do  not  think  that  we  should  put  on  that  tax 
in  order  to  enable  you  to  ship  American  coal  to  the  West  so  as  to  come 
in  competition  with  the  Vancouver  coal  ? 

Mr,  McCuLLOUGH.  This  would  not  be  putting  a  tax  on  American 
coal,  because  this  coal  goes  into  the  bunkers  of  steamers  95  per  cent 
of  which  are  foreign  bottoms. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Assuming  that  there  was  no  coal  on  the  Pacific 
slope,  would  you  think  it  fair  to  put  on  a  duty  to  enable  the  American 
producer  to  reach  that  market  and  pay  his  freight? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  I  should  think  not. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Is  not  that  the  effect  of  your  argument?  Coal  is 
an  article  that  is  sold  in  zones.  You  have  a  zone  within  which  you 
sell,  and  when  you  pass  beyond  that  zone  you  come  in  competition 
with  somebody  else. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  When  you  get  beyond  your  own  zone  and  in  one 
where  there  is  no  coal  fields,  but  where  they  have  an  advantage  over 
you  of  a  lower  freight  rate,  do  you  think  that  it  would  be  equitable 
to  the  people  of  that  zone  to  exclude  them  from  a  market  where  they 
can  get  their  reasonable  and  proper  prices  on  coal? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  If  they  live  in  the  United  States,  yes;  they 
should  in  that  case  rest  with  the  other  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
But  these  people  are  not  citizens  of  the  United  States;  whereas,  we 
have  to  pay  the  bills. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Coal  is  an  indispensable  article,  and  it  is  a  great 
radiator  of  heat.  It  is  the  basis  of  all  manufacturing,  and  to  enforce 
an  extreme  high  price  on  coal  by  aji  artificial  law  on  a  people  that 
otherwise  would  get  it  at  a  reasonable  price,  would  that,  in  your 
opinion,  be  a  proper  action  for  the  Government  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Well,  I  think  that  is  logical.  We  are  American 
citizens,  and  the  other  people  are  not.  They  are,  under  the  laws  of 
the  Lord,  in  a  position  to  produce  coal  cheaper,  whereas  we  are  not. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  They  are  under  the  laws  of  the  Lord,  and  you  are 
under  the  laws  of  man. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  You  think  that  we  ought  to  correct  the  laws  of  the 
Lord  by  a  judicious  application  of  the  laws  of  man? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  In  this  case,  I  should  think  so. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  I  think  the  tariff  question  is  gradually  expanding. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Did  I  understand  you  to  say  that  the  rate  of  wages 
now  paid  by  your  company  in  Nova  Scotia  is  the  same  as  is  paid  in 
this  country? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  think  so. 

Mr.  Pou.  Did  I  understand  you  further  to  say  that  if  the  tariff 
on  the  foreign  coal  was  removed  you  would  be  compelled  to  reduce 
the  wages  of  your  men  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  That  is  my  judgment. 

Mr.  Pou.  By  reason  of  the  tariff  you  are  only  able  to  compete  at 
your  border  in  Nova  Scotia? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  true. 

Mr.  Pou.  You  ask  help  enough  to  pay  the  American  labor  as 
against  the  foreign  labor? 


6538  SCHEDULE  » SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  That  is  it. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  is  your  run-of-mine  price? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  could  not  answer  that  question,  because  prices 
vary  to  some  extent.  I  really  do  not  know  how  to  answer  it.  I  would 
suppose  that  the  price  of  the  run-of-mine,  under  conditions  similar  to 
that  of  Boston,  would  be  about  $1.25  a  ton,  as  against  $1.40  for  the 
screened  article. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  the  United  States  that  is 
outside  of  your  immediate  territory  between  Pennsylvania  and  New 
England.  You  say  that  you  can  deliver  coal  now  at  a  profit  of  15 
cents  a  ton  in  Boston.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  largest  percentage  of 
profit  is  made  by  the  railroads  that  haul  the  coal  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH:.  I  think  that  $1.50. a  ton  from  our  mines  to 
Philadelphia  is  not  a  high  charge. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Why  do  you  not  try  to  get  a  reduction  from  the  rail- 
roads on  their  charges  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  We  have  tried  that,  but  they  put  up  the  price 
5  cents  a  year  ago  instead  of  reducing  it. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  The  railroads  put  up  the  price  of  freight  so  as  to 
get  a  profit? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  think  so. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  And  you  want  us  to  put  up  the  tariff  in  order  to  give 
you  a  profit  over  and  above  that.  Is  not  that  the  fact  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  think  we  are  entitled  to  a  profit. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Then  what  assurance  have  you  that  the  railroad 
would  not  come  along  immediately  and  put  up  their  rate  again  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Then  we  would  have  to  raise  the  price. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Then,  according  to  that  showing,  what  chance  would 
the  man  have  who  wishes  to  warm  himself  by  a  fire  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  He  has  the  benefit  of  competition  with  bitu- 
minous coal  in  the  whole  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  The  general  consumer  of  the  United  States  is  far 
away  from  the  mines? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Can  you  give  us  the  amount  of  the  consumption  of 
bituminous  coal  in  New  England? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  can  not  answer  that  question. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  It  is  a  tremendous  quantity,  is  it  not?  It  enters 
into  the  manufacture  of  all  articles  in  New  England,  and  those  arti- 
cles are  sold  all  over  the  United  States  and  in  all  of  the  markets  of 
the  world. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH:.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  So  that  that  would  raise  the  prices  of  the  prod- 
ucts that  are  made  in  New  England  and  the  consumer  would  have  it 
to  pay. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  If  you  had  an  advance  of  67  cents  a  ton  duty  on 
coal,  you  would  make  a  larger  profit,  but  you  say  it  would  be  only  a 
slight  profit  That  is  a  small  percentage  of  your  business. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  But  this  67  cents  a  ton  makes  a  tariff  wall  around 
the  United  States,  and  if  the  coal  dealers  throughout  the  United 
States  desire  to  charge  that  67  cents  a  ton  in  any  section  of  the 


BITUMINOUS   COALr — E.    H.    M 'CULLOUGH.  6539 

United  States  they  could  charge  that  much  more  than  if  the  tariff  was 
not  there? 

Mr.  McCuLLGUGH.  No;  because  that  would  destroy  our  business. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Do  you  not  sell  coal  now  at  67  cents  a  ton  more  by 
reason  of  having  the  tariff? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  No,  sir ;  the  tariff  would  not  affect  us  except  in 
New  England  and  the  seaboard. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Then,  do  you  not  sell  to  the  consumer  at  67  cents  a 
ton  more  than  they  do  in  West  Virginia,  because  of  the  tariff? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Then,  what  is  the  limit  ?^ 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  Competition  is  the  limit. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Suppose  that  the  owners  of  mines  should  prefer  in 
their  own  zone  to  get  the  benefit  of  the  tariff  and  add  it  to  the  price  of 
the  coal,  what  protection  would  the  consumer  have  if  the  owners  chose 
to  charge  67  cents  more  than  they  otherwise  would  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  I  do  not  think  they  could. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  You  think  it  would  have  no  effect  at  all  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  The  anthracite  producers  could  put  up  the 
price,  but  the  bituminous  producers  could  not. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Could  not  they  do  so  until  they  got  to  the  top  of  the 
tariff  wall  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  If  that  tariff  was  off,  that  would  be  the  limit  in 
New  England.  They  would  have  to  put  down  the  price  in  order  to 
keep  their  business.  • 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Have  you  an  idea  of  how  much  coal  is  consumed  in 
this  country? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes;  it  was  470,000,000  tons  of  both  kinds  of 
coal  in  the  year  1907. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Then  it  would  amount  to  the  consumer  to  a  differ- 
ence, with  this  tariff,  of  between  $200,000,000  and  $300,000,000,  would 
it  not? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  You  must  take  off  67  cents  a  ton  for  the  whole 
of  your  output. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  would  depend  on  whether  the  price  was 
added  to  every  ton  of  coal  sold  in  the  United  States. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  believe,  as  a  business  man,  that  67  cents 
is  added  to  the  price  of  every  ton  of  coal  sold  in  the  United  States? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No.;  only  15  cents  a  ton  is  the  profit  in  the  busi- 
ness. There  is  practically  nothing  added. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  You  mean  to  say  that  coal  is  sold  in  this  country  at 
a  profit  of  15  cents  a  ton? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  Yes;  bituminous  coal. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Are  you  acquainted  with  the  coal  mines  in  Okla- 
homa? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No ;  I  do  not  know  anything  about  them. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  At  South  McAlester  coal  can  be  mined  and  sold  at 
$2;  and  that  same  coal  sells  from  $6  to  $7.50  a  ton  across  the  river 
in  Texas. 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  I  do  not  know  anything  about  that  country.  I 
suppose  that  if  you  take  that  to  the  big  smelters  it  would  cost  $5  per 
ton  more  to  get  it  in. 


6540 

Mr.  RANDELL.  In  a  situation  like  that,  has  the  consumer  any  protec- 
tion against  the  producer  of  the  coal  who  charges  the  world's  market 
price  for  the  coal  with  the  addition  of  freight  rates  and  tariff  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOUGH.  The  producer  has  the  protection  of  competition. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  If  you  take  any  particular  locality  in  the  country, 
whether  the  territory  be  great  or  small,  where  certain  parties  own  the 
coal,  has  the  consumer  any  chance,  unless  he  gets  it  from  outside 
sources,  with  the  prices  or  competition  added,  and  necessarily  the 
tariff,  if  it  comes  from  outside  of  the  country  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No  consumer  has  any  protection  where  a  mo- 
nopoly exists.  He  has  to  pay  what  they  ask. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  railroad  rates  are  so  adjusted 
as  to  nearly  take  up  the  profit  on  the  coal  in  this  country  when  it  is 
shipped  any  great  distance  ? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  am  afraid  that  I  would  have  to  say  "yes"  on 
that  question. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  railroads  so  manipulate  the 
rates  that  they  take  the  greater  part  of  the  profit  in  the  business? 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  am  not  in  the  railroad  business. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  He  is  not  obliged  to  tell  you  whether  your  propo- 
sition is  correct. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  I  am  asking  him  if  he  prefers  to  give  his  opinion. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  said  that  I  was  not  in  the  railroad  business. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  I  do  not  insist  on  his  answering  if  he  does  not  care 
to.  I  will  put  the  question  in  this  way:  As  a  matter  of  fact,  is  it 
not  true  that  the  freight  rates  are  so  adjusted  as  to  take  practically 
all  of  the  profit  from  the  coal  mining  where  the  coal  is  hauled  any 
distance  ? 

Mr.  McCuLLOTJGH.  Considering  the  length  of  the  haul  from  our 
mines  to  Philadelphia,  I  do  not  think  that  $1.50  a  ton  is  excessive.  I 
do  not  think  it  is  excessive  per  ton  per  mile,  but  I  may  say  that  I 
think  that  the  railroad  freight  is  the  big  end  of  the  price  question. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  I  thought  I  understood  you  to  say  that  the  profit  was 
in  the  transportation  of  it. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  said  that  there  was  more  profit  in  the  trans- 
portation than  there  was  in  production. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  I  understood  you  to  say  that  in  your  opinion  nearly 
all  of  the  profit  was  in  transportation.  In  other  words,  the  railroad 
makes  more  than  the  coal  company  and  gets  nearly  all  the  profit. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  No ;  we  get  our  profit  of  15  cents  per  ton.  What 
the  railroad  makes  in  profit  out  of  the  $1.50  I  do  not  know. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  I  thought  that  you  gave  it  as  your  opinion  a  moment 
ago  that  it  was  considerable. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  I  would  like  to  say  at  this  point  that  there  are 
present  representatives  from  the  largest  bituminous  coal  mining  in- 
terests in  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia ;  and  I  know  they  want  an 
opportunity  of  expressing  their  opinion  in  relation  to  these  matters 
providing  they  can  get  an  opportunity. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  do  not  want  to  get  opinions,  but  we  want  to 
get  the  facts. 

Mr.  MCCULLOUGH.  They  are  prepared  to  give  you  the  facts. 


BITUMINOUS   COAL.  6541 

D.  W.   KUHN,   OF  PITTSBURG,  PA.,   WRITES  IN  ADVOCACY   OF 
RECIPROCAL  FREE  COAL  WITH  CANADA. 

PITTSBURG,  PA.,  December  8,  1908. 
Hon.  JOHN  DALZELL,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  On  Thursday  of  this  week,  I  understand,  the  Ways 
and  Means  Committee  grants  a  hearing  on  the  subject  of  reciprocal 
free  coal  with  Canada.  Several  operators,  including  representatives 
of  the  Pittsburg  Coal  Company  and  Westmoreland  Coal  Company  will 
be  present,  but  I  will  be  unable  to  attend,  and  for  that  reason  I  wish 
to  make  a  brief  statement  in  support  of  reciprocal  free  coal. 

Canada  is  the  only  large  market  in  close  proximity  to  our  coal 
fields  that  we  have  to-day,  and  the  mean  distance  to  Lake  Erie 
ports  for  lake  shipment  to  Canada  is  not  over  150  miles.  The 
Province  of  Ontario,  the  premier  province  of  Canada,  is  in  close  prox- 
imity to  our  Lake  Erie  ports,  and  shipments  are  made  from  Cleveland, 
Ashtabula,  and  Erie  on  lake  shipments  and  from  Buffalo  and  some 
other  points  on  rail  shipments  into  Canada.  From  Winnipeg  to  Mon- 
treal is  a  territory  which  can  be  more  advantageously  supplied  with 
coal  from  this  region  than  from  any  other  fields;  Montreal  being  the 
extreme  eastern  port  of  shipment  for  our  coal  is  yet  in  point  of  distance 
nearer  than  from  the  coal  fields  of  Nova  Scotia  to  Montreal.  The 
distance  from  Nova  Scotia  coal  fields  to  Montreal  is  about  1,100 
miles.  Almost  7,000,000  tons  of  coal  were  exported  from  the  United 
States  into  Canada  last  year,  the  greater  part  of  it  being  from  western 
Pennsylvania  and  eastern  Ohio,  and  about  1,200,000  tons  of  coal 
were  imported  from  Canada  into  the  United  States,  the  greater  part 
going  from  Nova  Scotia  to  New  England.  The  demand  for  coal  in 
Canada  comes  largely  from  territory  which  would  be  naturally  sup- 
plied by  western  Pennsylvania  and  eastern  Ohio,  and  the  upbuilding 
and  general  development  of  that  part  of  Canada  will  depend  some- 
what on  its  facilities  for  securing  our  coal.  The  general  development 
of  that  territory,  however,  will  necessarily  develop  a  large  volume  of 
trade  between  that  part  of  Canada  and  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  in 
lines  of  commerce  other  than  the  coal  trade. 

The  development  and  maintenance  of  a  large  coal  trade  with  that 
part  of  Canada — to  which  free  coal  into  Canada  would  give  an 
impetus — is  bound  to  result  to  the  advantage  of  western  Penn- 
sylvania and  eastern  Ohio,  nor  can  it  hurt  other  coal  fields,  for  it 
will  have  more  the  effect  of  giving  each  coal  field  the  full  advantage 
of  its  respective  natural  and  logical  market. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

D.  W.  KUHN, 
Pittsburg-  Westmoreland  Coal  Co. 


THE  FAIRMONT  (W.  VA.)  COAL  COMPANY  OPPOSES  FREE  COAL 
UNLESS  COUPLED  WITH  CANADIAN  RECIPROCITY. 

FAIRMONT,  W.  VA.,  December  16,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  Last  week  the  undersigned  went  to  Washington  to 
attend  the  session  of  your  committee  while  considering  the  coal 


6542  SCHEDULE  N SUNDRIES. 

industry,  and  learned  that  you  were  willing  to  Lave  suggestions 
made  in  writing. 

Our  investigation  shows  that  the  bituminous  coal  imported  into 
the  United  States  during  the  year  1906  aggregated  1,819,768  tons 
from  the  following  ports:  Pacific,  753,936;  northern  and  lake, 
262,671 ;  Atlantic,  803,158. 

During  the  same  year  the  United  States  exported  to  British  North 
America  5,357,004  tons. 

In  1907  the  United  States  exported  to  British  North  America 
7,194,546  tons  of  bituminous  coal,  while  the  imported  coal  decreased 
to  1,689,869  tons.  In  other  words,  in  1907  we  sold  to  Canada 
nearly  five  times  as  much  bituminous  coal  as  we  bought  from  her. 

The  territory  which  lies  about  200  miles  east  from  Winnipeg  and 
about  100  miles  west  of  Montreal  is  practically  an  American  market 
for  bituminous  coal. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  and  Grand  Trunk  railroads  pay  yearly  in  the 
vicinity  of  $1,000,000  duty  on  American  coal. 

Canada  receives  more  than  five  times  as  much  duty  from  its  pur- 
chasers of  American  bituminous  as  that  received  by  the  United  States 
from  its  purchasers  of  Canadian  coal.  We  respectfully  submit  that 
this  should  not  be — we  should  either  have  reciprocal  free  coal 
or  the  same  duty  on  bituminous  coal  in  both  countries.  Free 
coal  without  reciprocity  will  greatly  injure  the  coal  industry; 
certainly  such  a  proposition  will  not,  I  think,  be  seriously  considered. 
Very  respectfully, 

A.  B.  FLEMING, 
Representing  Fairmont  Coal  Company. 


STATEMENT  OF  HON.  F.  W.  MONDEIL,  A  REPRESENTATIVE  IN 
CONGRESS  FROM  THE  STATE  OF  WYOMING,  WHO  WISHES 
DUTIES  RETAINED  ON  BITUMINOUS  COAL. 

SATURDAY,  December  19,  1908. 

(The  witness  was  duly  sworn  by  the  chairman.) 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  see  that  there  are  three  gentlemen  besides  your- 
self, Mr.  Mondell,  on  the  list  from  Wyoming,  and  one  from  Chicago, 
in  reference  to  the  coal  subject.  Does  each  gentleman  here  wish  to 
be  heard  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  The  two  gentlemen  here  who  are  operators  in  Wy- 
oming would  like  to  be  heard  briefly  in  regard  to  the  coal  tariff,  and 
it  was  my  desire  to  very  briefly  present  the  coal  situation  in  the 
Rocky  Mountain  country  to  the  committee  before  these  gentlemen 
were  heard,  if  I  may  have  that  opportunity.  I  will  endeavor  to  be 
very  brief,  gentlemen  of  the  committee. 

I  appear  before  the  committee  in  favor  of  the  coal  industry  of  the 
northern  Rocky  Mountain  region. 

I  do  not  desire  to  have  the  committee  understand  by  reason  of  the 
fact  that  I  am  only  presenting  this  coal  question  to  the  committee 
that  it  is  the  only  tariff  question  in  which  the  people  whom  I  repre- 
sent are  interested,  because  it  is  not,  by  any  means.  We  have  the 
same  interest  in  the  general  schedules  that  all  American  citizens 
have,  and,  in  addition  to  that,  we  have  some  special  interests. 


BITUMINOUS  COAL — V.   W.   MONDELL,   M.  0.  6543 

The  State  I  represent  has  about  one-eighth  of  all  the  sheep  in  the 
United  States.  Therefore  we  are  very  much  interested  in  the  wool 
tariffs.  We  are  also  very  much  interested  in  the  hides  schedule  and 
various  other  schedules. 

Your  committee  would  have  heard  from  the  operators  of  our  re- 
gion sooner  had  it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  the  impression  has  been 
general  throughout  our  territory  that  there  was  but  little  danger  of 
a  reduction  in  the  duty  on  bituminous  coal.  Even  now,  when  the 
necessity  of  presenting  to  the  committee  the  facts  with  regard  to 
our  coal  situation  is  apparent,  a  number  of  operators  from  the  North- 
west who  would  be  glad  to  present  the  matter  to  the  committee  are 
unable  to  be  here.  There  are  present  in  the  city,  however,  a  number 
of  our  operators,  whom  I  hope  your  committee  will  be  able  to  give 
an  opportunity  to  be  briefly  heard. 

My  purpose  in  appearing  before  your  committee  is  to  give  you  a 
brier  outline  of  the  coal  situation  in  the  northern  Rocky  Mountain 
region,  more  particularly  in  Wyoming.  What  I  have  to  say  will  be 
in  the  form  or  a  general  statement  of  conditions,  the  details  in  regard 
to  which  the  gentlemen  who  will  succeed  me,  and  who  are  operators 
in  the  field,  can  give  you. 

We  appear  here  for  the  purpose  of  calling  to  your  attention  the 
fact  that  any  reduction  of  the  duty  on  coal  will  work  a  very  great 
hardship  to  the  growing  coal  industry  of  Wyoming,  Montana,  and 
Utah,  without  bringing  any  corresponding  benefit  to  the  consumer. 

The  coal  fields  of  the  upper  or  northern  Rocky  Mountain  region 
cover  a  very  extensive  area.  In  Wyoming  approximately  30,000 
square  miles,  or  over  6,000,000  acres,  are  underlaid  with  coal.  The 
coal  area  of  Montana  is  still  larger,  while  Utah  has  a  considerable 
area  of  coal  and  there  are  extensive  areas  of  lignite  in  North  Dakota. 

Practically  all  the  coals  of  the  northern  Rocky  Mountain  region 
are  either  lignite  or  subbituminous,  and  they  run  all  the  way  from 
low-grade  and  inferior  lignites  in  the  Dakotas  to  a  high-grade  lignite, 
or  subbituminous,  in  some  parts  of  Montana,  Wyoming,  and  Utah. 
There  are,  it  is  true,  some  very  limited  fields  of  bituminous  coals  in 
these  States,  but  such  deposits  are  so  small  that  they  do  not  cut  much 
figure  in  the  general  coal  industry. 

I  will  hand  to  the  stenographer  a  number  of  typical  analyses  of 
Wyoming  fields  which  I  obtained  from  the  Geological  Survey. 

ANALYSES  OF   COAL. 

Coal  from  Monarch,  9  miles  northwest  of  Sheridan,  in  Sheridan  County. 

Per  cent. 

Moisture 22.  63 

Volatile   hydrocarbons 35.68 

Fixed    carbon 37. 19 

Ash 4.  50 

Sulphur .  59 

Coal  from  Rock  Springs,  Sweetwater  County. 

Per  cent. 

Moisture 10. 23 

Volatile    hydrocarbons 34. 11 

Fixed  carbon 51.10 

Ash 4.56 

Sulphur 1. 15 


6544  SCHEDULE  K — SUNDEIES. 

Coal  from  Frontier,  Uinta  County. 

Per  cent. 

Moisture 3.  86 

Volatile   hydrocarbons 39.49 

Fixed    carbon 51.  00 

Ash 3.65 

Sulphur 1. 07 

Coal  from  Cumberland,  Uinta  County. 

Per  cent. 

Moisture : 6.  78 

Volatile   hydrocarbons 39.  79 

Fixed    carbon 47. 43 

Ash 6.  00 

Sulphur .  43 

From  these  analyses  it  will  be  seen  that  these  coals  are  high  in 
moisture,  high  in  volatile  gases,  low  in  fixed  carbon,  and  generally 
low  in  ash. 

Coming  in  direct  competition  with  these  American  coals  are  the 
coals  from  British  Columbia  and  Alberta.  The  Crows  Nest  Pass 
coals  of  British  Columbia  are  coking  coals,  of  which  the  following  is 
a  typical  analysis: 

Per  cent. 
Moisture 0.  91 

Volatile  hydrocarbons 19. 1 

Fixed   carbon • 69.  93 

Ash 9.  83 

Sulphur , .  32 

These  coals  are  very  high  grade  and  the  field  contains  many  work- 
able seams. 

Mr.  GAINES.  What  coals  are  those? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Those  are  coals  from  British  Columbia  and  Alberta. 
That  is  the  Crows  Nest  coal  of  British  Columbia,  the  analysis  of 
which  I  just  read. 

Mr.  GAINES.  That  is  a  good  grade  of  coal,  evidently  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  That  is  a  high  grade  of  bituminous  coal,  that  makes 
coke  which  they  tell  me  is  as  good  as  any  made  in  the  world,  except 
that  made  in  West  Virginia. 

The  other  Canadian  field  with  which  we  come  in  competition  is 
the  Lethbridge,  in  Alberta,  which  I  understand  is  a  noncoking  coal, 
and  of  which  the  following  is  furnished  me  by  the  Geological  Survey 
as  a  typical  analysis : 

Per  cent. 

Moisture— 12.08 

Volatile  hydrocarbons 26.  87 

Fixed  carbon 54.  93 

Ash 6. 12 

These  Canadian  coals  lie  within  50  to  100  miles  of  the  American 
border,  and  coal  from  these  fields  comes  directly  south  into  American 
territory  over  a  branch  of  the  Great  Northern  Railroad  which  con- 
nects with  the  main  line  of  the  Great  Northern  at  Great  Falls,  Mont., 
and  into  Spokane,  Wash.,  and  northern  Idaho  over  several  lines  or 
road  that  cross  the  international  boundary.  These  coals,  therefore, 
reach  our  American  markets  in  eastern  Washington,  northern  Idaho, 
and  Montana  with  a  shorter  haul  and  a  lower  freight  rate  than  any 
American  coals,  except  some  inferior  coal  mined  in  northern  Mon- 
tana. 


BITUMINOUS   COAL — F.   W.   MONDELL,   M.   0.  6545 

That  American  coal  of  this  region  can  not  successfully  compete 
with  the  Canadian  product  without  an  adequate  duty  is  indicated 
by  the  fact  of  the  steady  increase  of  Canadian  importations  into  the 
territory  mentioned,  in  the  face  of  the  present  tariff  of  67  cents  a 
long  ton.  Importations  of  duty  paid  coal  into  the  collection  district 
of  Montana  and  Idaho  having  been  as  follows : 

Tons. 

1904__  159,488 

1905 174,511 

1906 258,466 

1907 272,532 

1908 ' 410, 120 

It  will  be  noted  from  these  figures  that  the  importation  has  almost 
doubled  in  the  past  year  and  has  been  steadily  growing  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  There  are  three  general  features  of  the  situation  to 
which  I  shall  refer  which  clearly  indicate  the  necessity  of  the  main- 
tenance of  a  coal  tariff. 

First.  The  fact  of  a  higher  wage  scale  and  a  higher  cost  of  pro- 
duction in  the  United  States  than  Canada.  I  will  hand  to  the  ste- 
nographer for  insertion  in  the  record  a  statement  prepared  for  me 
yesterday  by  the  Bureau  of  Labor  giving  the  comparative  wage 
scale  in  Montana  and  Canada.  The  scale  in  Wyoming  is  approxi- 
mately that  of  Montana.  A  comparison  of  these  schedules  shows 
that,  taking  into  consideration  the  fact  that  the  outside  scale  in  Can- 
ada is  based  on  a  ten-hour  day  while  the  same  scale  in  the  United 
States  is  based  on  an  eight-hour  day,  the  American  scale  is  from 
25  to  40  per  cent  above  the  Canadian  scale. 

For  instance,  taking  a  few  examples  of  outside  wages,  we  find  head 
blacksmiths  in  Wyoming  receive  $3.90  for  eight  hours,  in  Canada 
$3.75  for  ten  hours.  The  difference  in  the  wages  of  blacksmith 
helpers  is  still  greater. 

Outside  teamsters  receive  in  Montana  $3  for  an  eight-hour  day, 
in  Canada  $2.62-|  for  a  ten-hour  day.  This  is  26  cents  an  hour  in 
Canada  and  37£  cents  an  hour  in  Montana. 

A  box-car  shoveler  in  Wyoming  and  Montana  receives  $3  for  an 
eight-hour  day,  while  in  Canada  the  same  class  of  labor  receives 
$2.62$  for  a  ten-hour  day. 

When  we  come  to  inside  occupations  in  which  day  wages  are  paid, 
we  find  that  drivers  in  Wyoming  receive  $3.40  and  "in  Montana  $3.6Q 
for  an  eight -hour  day,  while  in  Canada  they  receive  $2.75  for  eight 
hours'  work.  Rope  riders  receive  $3.40  for  an  eight-hour  day  in 
Montana  and  $3.25  in  Wyoming,  as  against  $2.75  in  Canada.  This 
difference  in  wages  is  maintained  throughout  the  entire  wage  scale. 
The  difference  is  even  greater  when  we  come  to  examine  the  price 
paid  for  mining.  As  prices  differ  in  various  mines,  governed  by  the 
local  conditions,  and  the  manner  of  weighing  and  measuring  varies, 
it  is  rather  difficult  to  strike  an  average,  but  I  think  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
the  price  paid  for  mining  coal  in  Wyoming  and  Montana  is  at  least 
25  to  40  per  cent  above  that  paid  in  western  Canadian  mines.  In  some 
instances  the  difference  is  even  greater  where  the  Canadian  is  paid  by 
the  yard. 

Second.  When  we  come  to  the  matter  of  transportation,  we  find 
that  the  Canadian  mines  have  an  advantage  over  most  of  the  Ameri- 
can mines  in  distance,  and  consequently  in  freight  rates.  For  in- 


6546  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

stance,  the  freight  rate  from  Lethbridge,  Province  of  Alberta,  to 
Spokane,  Wash.,  is  $2.40  a  ton ;  from  Michael,  British  Columbia,  to 
Spokane  is  $2.15, -while  the  rate  from  either  the  Sheridan  or  Kock 
Springs  fields  in  Wyoming  is  $4.45  a  ton,  a  difference  of  over  $2  a 
ton  in  favor  of  the  Canadian  coal,  while  the  tariff  on  the  short  ton  is 
but  little  more  than  60  cents. 

In  the  markets  of  Butte  and  Anaconda  the  lignite  coals  from  the 
vicinity  of  Sheridan,  Wyo.,  have  an  advantage  of  about  75  cents  a 
ton  in  freight  rates  over  the  Crows  Nest  Pass  and  Lethbridge  high- 
grade  bituminous  and  subbituminous  coals,  but  the  only  Wyoming 
coals  that  can  compete  at  Butte  and  Anaconda  for  smelter  and  steam- 
ing purposes  with  the  Canadian  coals  are  the  coals  from  southwestern 
Wyoming  and  Rock  Springs,  which  pay  a  rate  of  $4  a  ton  into  both 
Butte  and  Anaconda,  25  cents  more  than  the  highest  Canadian  rate. 

The  rates  above  given  are  for  lump  and  run-of-mine  coal,  rates  in 
all  cases  being  somewhat  lower  for  slack  coal. 

The  Lethbridge  coals  reach  Great  Falls,  Mont.,  on  a  rate  of  $2.50 
a  ton,  while  the  Wyoming  coals  pay  a  rate  so  much  higher  that  it  is 
in  most  cases  prohibitive,  the  rate  from  the  Sheridan  region  being 
$2.50  a  ton  to  Helena,  with  a  local  from  that  point  to  Great  Falls, 
and  from  Kirby,  Wyo.,  $3  a  ton  to  Helena,  with  a  local  to  Great 
Falls. 

Rates  have-  recently  been  put  into  effect  over  the  new  line  of  the 
Great  Northern  into  Great  Falls  whereby  the  Sheridan  coals  must 
pay  $4.05  per  ton,  as  against  $2.50  for  Lethbridge  and  $3.40  for 
Crows  Nest  Pass  coals.  At  these  rates  Wyoming  coals  can  not  get 
into  the  Great  Falls  market. 

I  present  these  figures  as  a  fair  statement  of  the  rate  situation. 
They  show  clearly  the  considerable  advantage  Canadian  coal  has  over 
coal  mined  in  Wyoming.  It  is  true  that  there  are  some  coals  mined 
in  Montana  that  meet  the  Canadian  coals  on  a  more  satisfactory 
freight  basis,  but  the  greater  portion  of  the  Montana  coals  which  can 
successfully  compete  in  the  market  with  the  better  grade  of  the 
Canadian  coals  pay  a  freight  rate  but  a  little  lower  than  that  on 
Wyoming  coals. 

Third.  Another  important  feature  of  the  situation  is  the  fact  that 
the  Canadian  coals  are  in  the  main,  particularly  the  Crows  Nest  Pass 
coals,  better  for  steaming  and  smelting  purposes  than  much  of  the 
Wyoming  coal.  In  fact,  there  is  so  wide  a  difference  that  much  of  the 
Canadian  coal  would  command  a  price  of  at  least  $1  a  ton  above 
much  of  the  Wyoming  coal  in  open  competition.  For  domestic  use 
the  Wyoming  coal  is,  much  of  it,  quite  as  satisfactory  as  the  Canadian 
coal,  but  even  for  such  purposes  it  meets  with  the  sharp  competition 
from  the  Lethbridge  and  other  Canadian  coals. 

As  clearly  indicating  the  necessity  for  protection  in  this  field  as 
against  Canadian  coal,  I  desire  to  emphasize  the  fact  of  the  increased 
Canadian  imports  to  which  I  have  already  referred,  and  I  desire  to 
further  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  these  importations  clearly 
indicate  that  the  sharpest  foreign  competition  which  American  coals 
meet  is  met  by  the  coals  from  this  district. 

Although  I  am  not  entirely  certain  on  that  point,  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  with  the  exception  of  the  port  of  Boston  the  importation 
in  this  district  was  the  largest  in  any  collection  district  in  1908. 
When  we  take  into  consideration  the  fact  that  these  coals  are  coming 
into  a  sparsely  settled  region,  where  the  market  is  not  large,  you  will 


BITUMINOUS   COAL, P.    W.    MONDELL,,   M.    0.  6547 

readily  see  how  menacing  this  importation  is  to  American  industries. 
It  is  not  only  the  present  market  along  the  Canadian  border  that  we 
seek  to  retain,  but  the  vastly  increased  market  which  will  be  found 
in  that  region  with  the  development  of  its  resources  and  consequent 
increase  in  population.  We  have  in  Wyoming  enough  coal  to  supply 
the  present  population  of  the  United  States  something  like  one  thou- 
sand years,  but  we  must  find  our  markets  within  the  limits  of  a  rea- 
sonable freight  haul.  If  we  are  to  lose  the  markets  in  Montana, 
Idaho,  and  Washington,  and  the  market  which  we  ought  to  obtain 
in  North  Dakota,  it  means  that  in  increasing  production  we  must 
turn  to  the  southern  market  and  compete  with  the  coal  produced  in 
Iowa,  Illinois,  Ohio,  Kansas,  and  Colorado,  and  if  we  lose  these 
northern  markets  to  any  extent  I  fail  to  see  how  it  would  be  possible 
to  maintain  our  present  wage  scale. 

•  We  are  not  without  an  object  lesson  as  to  the  effect  of  a  lower  coal 
tariff,  for  when  the  coal  rate  was  reduced  from  $1  under  the  McKinley 
bill  to  42  cents  a  ton  under  the  Wilson  bill  we  lost  all  our  market  in 
Montana  and  Washington  and  on  the  Pacific  coast,  and,  curiously 
enough,  no  consumer  obtained  coal  any  cheaper  under  these  conditions. 

From  15  cents  to  25  cents  a  ton  is  a  fair  profit  on  a  large  coal  out- 
put. Coal  is  often  sold  so  close  that  it  is  impossible  to  reduce  the 
price  even  10  or  15  cents  and  leave  any  profit.  With  the  reduction 
to  42  cents  a  ton  under  the  Wilson  bill  the  Canadian  importers  did 
not  give  the  American  consumers  the  benefit  of  the  reduction  of  the 
tariff.  They  simply  reduced  the  price  10  or  15  cents  a  ton  and  drove 
our  mines  out  of  the  market.  Of  course  this  gave  the  large  consumers 
the  benefit  of  the  10  or  15  cents  reduction  on  each  ton,  but  the  ordi- 
nary consumer  of  coal  found  that  there  was  no  difference  in  the 
price,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  when  the  duty  was  again  raised  under 
the  Dingley  bill  to  67  cents  a  long  ton,  the  Canadian  operators  were 
getting  about  the  same  price  in  this  northern  market  that  our  oper- 
ators had  received  prior  to  their  losing  the  market. 

Having  crowded  the  American  operators  out  of  the  market,  the 
Canadian  operators  gradually  raised  their  price,  and  as  it  takes  a 
considerable  length  of  time  to  readjust  business  and  to  secure  busi- 
ness once  lost,  we  retrieved  none  of  this  lost  business  until  after  the 
passage  of  the  Dingley  bill.  Of  course  at  that  time  the  Montana 
and  Washington  market  was  a  much  more  limited  one  than  it  is  now, 
and  our  output  was  much  smaller.  I  shall  file  with  the  stenographer, 
to  be  printed  with  my  hearing,  a  statement  showing  the  coal  produc- 
tion in  the  States  west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  which  shows  that 
Wyoming  produced  in  1907,  6,252,990  tons — it  being  the  fourth  State 
in  point  of  production  west  of  the  Mississippi — Colorado,  Iowa,  and 
Kansas  having  a  larger  production. 

To  sum  up  the  matter,  I  would  respectfully  submit  that  I  believe 
we  are  justified  in  our  belief  that  any  reduction  in  the  coal  tariff 
would  be  exceedingly  disastrous  to  the  coal  industry  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region,  and  I  may  add  of  the  State  of  Washington  as  well. 

While  I  speak  particularly  for  Wyoming,  the  Montana  interests 
are,  it  would  seem  to  me,  equally  in  danger,  and  the  coal  industry  of 
adjacent  States  would  be  injured  by  the  readjustment  of  markets  if 
we  lose  the  northern  markets.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  situation  de- 
mands an  increase  rather  than  a  decrease  in  the  tariff.  I  would  sug- 
gest an  increase  to  75  cents  a  short  ton.  I  believe  that  increase  would 


6548  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

not  more  than  measure  the  difference  in  wages,  and  so  far  as  a  large 
portion  of  the  field  is  concerned,  it  would  nowhere  near  measure 
the  difference  in  freight  rates. 

We  have  a  growing  industry  which  should  be  protected.  No  Amer- 
ican will  pay  more  for  his  coal  by  reason  of  such  protection,  but  the 
market  will  be  preserved  for  American  producers  and  the  American 
wage  scale  can  be  maintained. 

We  should  not  lose  sight  that  it  is  of  only  recent  years  that  a 
market  has  been  found  and  made  for  lignite  coal.  Ten  years  ago 
practically  none  of  the  railroads  would  use  it,  and  its  domestic  con- 
sumption was  small.  By  constant,  laborious,  and  expensive  experi- 
ment, and  the  expenditure  of  a  large  amount  of  money,  we  have  been 
able  to  build  up  a  market  for  our  lignite  coal.  It  ought  to  be  pro- 
tected against  higher-grade  coals  mined  by  lower-paid  labor  in 
Canada. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  near  to  the  Canadian  border  are  your  mines 
in  Wyoming? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  The  State  of  Montana  is  about  400  miles  in  width, 
and  the  Wyoming  mines,  some  of  them,  are  within  50  miles  of  our 
northern  border. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  sell  any  coal  in  Canada  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  No;  there  is  no  point  in  Canada  west  of  Lake 
Superior  where  a  market  for  a  ton  of  American  coal  could  be  found. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  There  is  no  thickly  settled  country  there? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  There  are  only  three  lines  of  railroad  crossing  the 
international  boundary.  One  comes  down  to  Great  Falls  from 
Lethbridge.  It  would  be  impossible  to  ship  any  American  coal  over 
the  line,  because  we  would  ship  it  right  into  a  coal  region.  There 
are  two  lines  of  road  coming  down  over  the  international  boundary 
to  Spokane.  There  is  no  coal  mine  within  250  miles  of  Spokane,  and 
then  only  a  little  on  the  other  side  of  the  range.  Our  coals  are  about 
350  miles  from  Spokane.  We  have  a  freight  rate  of  $4  to  get  it  to 
Spokane.  Of  course  we  could  not  ship  from  there  north  into  a  coal 
region.  In  other  words,  there  is  no  room  for  reciprocity. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Does  Spokane  import  any  Canadian  coal  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  I  have  been  unable  to  find  out  just  how  much  of 
the  coal  which  paid  the  duty  in  the  collection  district  of  Great  Falls 
was  used  in  Spokane,  but,  as  I  have  stated,  upward  of  400,000  tons 
paid  the  duty  in  the  Great  Falls  district. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  had  free  coal  for  a  year  in  1893. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  At  that  time  there  was  but  one  line  of  road  crossing 
the  international  boundary,  that  being  the  line  into  Great  Falls,  of 
which  I  have  spoken.  The  railroad  management  very  kindly  raised 
the  rate  during  that  year  by  the  amount  of  the  tariff. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  They  found  it  was  to  their  interest  to  do  so,  no 
doubt,  or  they  would  not  have  done  so. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  I  assume  so ;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  How  near  is  the  nearest  Canadian  coal  field  to  your 
Wyoming  fields  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  The  Crows  Nest  Pass  and  the  Lethbridge  Pass  are 
from  50  to  150  miles  from  the  Canadian  border.  So  a  haul  of  50  to 
150  miles  will  bring  that  coal  to  the  international  boundary. 

Our  fields,  of  course,  are  all  south  of  the  Montana  boundary.  Some 
of  them — the  Kock  Springs  and  Diamondville  and  Kemmerer  fields — 


BITUMINOUS   COAL — F.    W.   MONDELL,,   M.   0.  6549 

are  250  miles  south  of  the  north  border  of  our  State,  but  those  that  lie 
nearest  to  the  common  markets  in  Washington  and  Idaho  and  Mon- 
tana are  all  the  way  from  250  to  600  miles  from  those  markets,  while 
the  Canadian  coals  are  from  100  to  350  miles  from  the  same  markets. 
In  other  words,  they  are  nearer  those  large  American  markets  than 
we  are. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  How  far  are  the  American  markets  from  Great 
Falls? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  I  don't  know  the  exact  distance  from  Great  Falls  to 
the  international  boundary.  It  is  205  miles  from  Great  Falls  to  Leth- 
bridge.  But  there  are  coals  nearer. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  How  far  are  the  nearest  Canadian  coal  mines  from 
Great  Falls?  What  is  the  distance? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Less  than  200  miles. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  How  far  are  your  mines  from  Great  Falls? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Well,  they  have  been  upward  of  400  miles.  They 
are,  I  should  say.  Mr.  Carney,  do  you  know  the  distance  from 
Sheridan  to  Great  Falls  by  the  new  route  ? 

Mr.  CARNEY.  About  400  miles. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  About  400  miles. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Colorado  coals  do  not  compete  with  Wyoming  coals 
in  that  territory,  do  they,  in  Washington,  Montana,  and  Idaho  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  They  do  not  compete  except  in  the  southern  part  of 
Wyoming,  in  Nebraska,  and  Kansas,  and  in  the  Dakotas.  They 
compete  sharply  in  all  those  States. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  You  have  stated  the  locations  of  the  various  coal 
fields  in  your  operation? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  I  have  simply  referred  to  this  as  I  have  referred  to 
my  notes.  I  have  not  filed  any  map  indicating  their  location. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  I  think  perhaps  it  would  be  well  if  you  would  file 
such  a  map,  showing  where  the  different  coal  fields  are. 

ME.  BOUTELL.  What  is  the  source  of  fuel  supply  in  western  Wash- 
ington and  northwestern  Oregon,  west  of  the  Cascades? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Washington,  west  of  the  Cascades,  is  supplied  from 
Roswell  and  other  mines  in  that  State.  We  only  reach  the  Wash- 
ington market  east  of  the  Cascades. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  I  understand,  and  the  home  supply  west  of  the  Cas- 
cades is  from  mines  west  of  the  Cascades. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  The  home  supply  west  of  the  Cascades  is  from  local 
mines. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Do  they  produce  enough  to  supply  that  home  de- 
mand? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  My  recollection  is  that  last  year  the  importation  at 
all  Puget  Sound  points  was  only  50,000,  as  against  400,000  of  impor- 
tations into  the  Great  Falls  district. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Do  you  know  the  distance  of  Washington  coals  from 
Seattle  and  Tacoma ;  are  they  near  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Well,  within — yes ;  some  of  the  mines  are  within  50 
miles. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Some  of  the  mines  are  within  15  or  20  miles. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Some  small  mines  are  within  15  or  20  miles,  I 
believe. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Some  of  the  large  mines. 


6550  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDEEES. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Roswell  is,  I  don't  know  how  far,  probably  200  or 
250  miles. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  There  are  some  within  15  or  20  miles. 

Mr.  EANDELL.  You  want  the  tariff  to  remain  at  67,  do  you? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  We  believe  the  tariff  ought  to  be,  in  order  to  meet 
difference  in  wages,  about  75  cents  a  long  ton,  which  would  mean 
about  70  cents  a  short  ton. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  It  seems  under  the  situation  up  there,  if  you  have 
no  tariff  the  railroads,  by  putting  up  the  price  of  transportation,  can 
supply  you  with  the  same  protection.  They  did  do  that  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  At  a  time  when  we  had  simply  rebated  the  coal 
tariff  for  one  year  and  when  there  was  only  one  line  of  railroad 
across  the  international  boundary. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  It  shows  the  power  of  the  transportation  companies 
and  the  cost  of  transportation  in  that  country. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  We  prefer  to  be  protected  by  law  rather  than  by 
the  railroad  company. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  If  your  hope  of  help  there  is  in  the  tariff,  could 
not  the  same  power  that  supplies  the  place  of  the  tariff  by  putting 
up  a  freight  rate  do  away  with  the  protection  that  the  tariff  affords 
by  putting  down  the  freight  rate? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  I  think  that  is  true,  to  this  extent:  That  if  an 
American  railway  was  to  reduce  its  rate  into  Great  Falls  to  Spokane 
to  a  point  much  below  the  rate  which  other  railroads  make  within 
American  territory  to  the  south,  I  think  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  would  take  cognizance  of  that  condition  and  afford  us 
relief.  I  think  we  are  fortunate  in  having  the  power  to  inquire  into 
and  regulate  those  rates  in  the  hands  of  the  commission.  Therefore 
I  think  we  should  have  the  benefit,  and  with  the  railroad  rate  bill  in 
effect,  I  do  not  believe  the  railroads  of  that  district  would  attempt 
to  deny  us  the  benefit  of  the  tariff  by  reducing  the  rate  to  Canadian 
coal;  they  certainly  would  not  want  to  reduce  it  below  what  wotfld 
be  the  fair  price  of  transportation. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  But  in  order  to  get  that  means  of  hoped-for  relief, 
the  people  in  New  England  and  on  the  Atlantic  coast  and  other  parts 
of  the  United  States,  all  through  the  United  States,  would  be  subject 
to  buying  coal  with  a  tariff  of  67  or  74  cents  on  the  ton,  and  that 
would  be  a  tremendous  expense  to  the  United  States,  and  it  would 
increase  the  expense  of  living  very  much  in  New  England,  and  the 
expense  of  manufacturing  plants,  and  that  sort  of  thing.  Have  you 
worked  out  what  the  difference  would  make  in  that  respect  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Judging  from  the  experience  that  the  people  of 
Montana  and  eastern  Washington  had  with  the  coal  tariff  at  42  cents 
a  ton,  I  would  say  that  in  the  long  run  the  price  paid  by  the  consumer 
would  be  quite  as  high  with  the  lower  tariff,  and  would  be  without 
any  tariff  at  all,  as  the  price  he  pays  now.  The  Canadian  miner 
having,  the  advantage  of  the  situation,  having  that  advantage,  could 
lower  to  a  point  that  would  drive  us  out,  and  still  have  a  profit.  The 
minute  we  were  driven  out  of  the  market,  then  the  rate  would  gradu- 
ally advance,  as  it  did  under  the  Wilson  bill,  to  a  point  as  high  as  it 
was  originally,  and  in  any  event  the  reduction  that  drove  us  from 
the  northern  market  was  only  a  reduction  of  about  15  cents  a  ton, 
because  we  were  supplying  that  market  on  a  very  close  margin  at 
any  rate,  and  a  reduction  of  15  cents  succeeded  in  driving  us  out 


BITUMINOUS   COAL F.    W.    MONDELL,,    M.   C.  6551 

Mr.  RANDELL.  But  what  you  say  applies  to  only  a  small  portion  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  effect  .would  be  on  the  whole  of  the  United 
States  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Well,  I  assume  that  this  committee,  in  discussing 
this  situation,  must  consider  the  whole  country.  Of  course  it  is  my 
duty  to  present  the  situation  as  it  relates  to  my  constituents,  which  I 
have  attempted  to  do ;  but,  sir,  from  what  I  know  of  the  general  coal 
situation,  and  I  have  studied  it  somewhat,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that 
the  present  duty  is  not  a  burden  in  any  part  of  the  country. 

Mr.  GAINES.  The  tariff  of  67  cents  a  long  ton  on  bituminous  coal  is 
not  very  high  protection  to  the  coal  of  the  East.  I  know  that  the 
average  profit  on  a  ton  of  coal  in  the  bituminous  mines  of  the  East 
does  not  amount,  one  year  after  another,  to  20  cents  a  ton.  In  other 
words,  that  the  producer  of  coal  sells  it  on  a  close  margin.  I  have 
understood  that  at  a  distance  from  the  mines  the  consumers  of  coal 
pay  a  pretty  stiff  price,  but  that  bears  no  relation  whatever  to  any 
enhanced  price  by  reason  of  the  tariff,  to  the  producer  of  coal.  What 
is  the  average  profit  per  ton  of  coal  to  a  coal  operator  in  your  section  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  I  can  not  say  as  to  that.  At  one  time  I  was  con- 
nected with  a  coal  mine  in  our  State.  That  was  a  good  many  years 
ago.  I  severed  my  connection  with  that  operation  in  1894,  or  a  little 
before  I  was  elected  to  Congress.  For  five  years  prior  to  that  time 
the  average  profit  on  an  output  of  about  1,500  tons  a  day  was,  I 
think,  about  11  cents. 

Mr.  GAINES.  A  ton  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Yes,  sir;  for  the  five  years.  There  are  times  when, 
with  a  suddenly  increased  demand,  without  the  opportunity  to  meet 
it  by  opening  new  mines,  the  price  will  be  temporarily  enhanced  to 
the  operator  and  he  will  get  a  very  good  margin  for  the  time;  but 
as  the  years  come  and  go,  I  should  say  that  25  cents  a  ton  was  much 
above  the  average  profit  in  our  country,  and  that  it  was  probably 
nearer  15  cents ;  and  I  know  in  some  cases  it  has  been  lower  than  that, 
so  far  as  my  knowledge  goes.  I  do  not  pretend  to  have  inside  infor- 
mation on  the  subject,  except  as  I  have  talked  with  the  managers  of 
mines  in  the  State. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Have  you  any  iron  mines  in  that  territory  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Yes,  sir;  we  have  some  iron  deposits  now  being 
worked  on  a  very  large  scale,  and  larger  deposits  that  may  be 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  class  ore  is  it  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  It  is  a  rather  good  Bessemer  ore,  carrying  some- 
where in  the  neighborhood  of  60  per  cent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  would  say  that  would  be  very  good  ore. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  It  possibly  does  not  run  that  much.  I  am  not  very 
familiar  with  the  business,  as  the  gentleman  is,  but  possibly  the  aver- 
age is  not  as  high  as  that. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Is  it  red  hematite  ore? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  It  is  a  red  ore. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  In  veins  or  pockets? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Well,  the  mines  at  Sunrise  seem  to  be  in  a  very 
large  pocket  or  series  of  pockets. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  said,  I  believe,  that  this  coal  you  have  in 
that  country  is  not  fit  for  coking  purposes,  but  is  purely  domestic 
coal? 

75941— H.  Doc.  l,r>0r>.  00-2— Vol  6 50 


6552  SCHEDULE  N SUNDEIES. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  We  have  very  little  coking  coal  in  Wyoming. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  One  of  the  main  reasons  that  you  can  not  com- 
pete with  the  Canadian  coal  is  that  the  Canadian  coal  is  a  very  much 
superior  coal,  as  I  understand  it. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  That  is  one  of  the  factors;  that  is  only  one  of  the 
factors.  The  gentleman  understands  that  of  two  coals  one  may  be 
superior  for  a  certain  purpose  and  the  other  command  as  high  a  price 
by  reason  of  its  superiority  for  another  purpose. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  understand  that. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  For  instance,  we  have  some  very  fine  domestic  coals 
in  our  State,  coal  that  is  low  in  ash,  that  ignites  readily  and  burns 
with  very  little  smoke. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  But  this  superiority  of  the  Canadian  coal  over 
your  coal  is  a  superiority  by  nature  and  not  due  to  artificial  condi- 
tions, and  it  is  a  superiority  that  never  can  be  overcome,  is  it  not  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  We  do  not  expect  to  be  able  to  overcome  the  supe- 
riority of  the  Canadian  bituminous  coals  over  our  coals  for  certain 
purposes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Therefore  the  tariff,  if  it  is  put  on  there  for  that 
purpose  of  protecting  it  against  that  superiority,  must  remain  there 
forever,  logically? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  I  used  the  argument  of  the  superiority  of  the  Cana- 
dian coals  for  certain  purposes,  not  as  one  of  the  controlling  argu- 
ments for  the  tariff,  but  one  of  the  things  to  be  considered  when,  in 
addition  to  that,  you  take  into  consideration  the  fact  that  they  are 
nearer  many  markets  than  our  mines  are,  and  the  still  more  impor- 
tant fact  that  we  are  paying  a  very  much  higher  wage  than  the  Cana- 
dian mines  are  paying. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  understand  that,  but  what  I  mean  is  this :  The 
development  of  this  country,  the  development  of  your  coaling  inter- 
ests and  railroads,  and  so  forth,  could  never  overcome  the  natural 
superiority  of  the  Canadian  coals  for  certain  purposes? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  There  will  be  some  Canadian  coals  sold  in  that 
northern  region  without  regard  to  the  tariff.  That  is  assuming  that 
the  tariff  in  any  event  would  be  a  reasonable  one.  There  will  still  be 
some  Canadian  coal  sold,  because  it  would  meet  a  certain  market ;  but 
if  the  Canadian  coal  came  in  without  any  tariff  at  all,  it  would  take 
all  of  the  market,  because  they  not  only  have  a  coal  that  is  superior 
to  ours  for  smelter  and  steaming  purposes,  but  they  also  have  coals 
that  are  quite  as  good  as  ours  for  domestic  purposes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  would  like  to  ask  you  this :  In  the  development 
of  your  mining  industries,  as  your  own  coal  -is  not  a  coking  coal,  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  development  of  iron  and  steel  industries 
in  your  State  to  have  the  Canadian  coal  ? 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Oh,  no.  Can  you  not  get  those  from  Colorado,  the 
coking  coals? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  It  would  be  impossible  to  ever  import  any  Canadian 
coal  or  coke  to  Wyoming,  to  the  iron  deposits,  because  of  the  very 
great  distance.  The  iron  deposits  of  our  State  are  all  in  the  central 
and  southern  portion  of  the  State,  and  they  lie  all  the  way  from  500 
to  800  miles  from  the  nearest  Canadian  coals.  On  the  other  hand, 
they  have  coking  coal  in  Colorado. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  is  about  the  same  distance  away,  is  it  not? 
I  know  that  there  is  a  great  deposit  of  very  good  ore  in  our  fields  in 
that  vicinity,  very  good  ore. 


BITUMINOUS   COAL — P.   W.   MONDELL,   M.  C.  6553 

Mr.  MONDELL.  There  is  some  coking  coal  not  far  away  in  Colorado, 
as  the  gentleman  perhaps  knows. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  How  much  coal  does  it  take  to  make  a  ton  of  coke  ? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Practically  speaking,  from  one  and  a  quarter  to 
one  and  a  fifth  tons. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  And  in  some  cases  up  to  2  tons.  When  I  was 
connected  with  the  business  I  know  it  used  to  take  2  tons  to  make 
a  ton  of  coke,  but  our  coal  was  not  very  high  in  fixed  carbon,  and 
therefore  it  took  more  to  make  a  ton  of  coke. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  recognize  that  you  have  freight  rates  against 
you;  that  makes  it  difficult  for  you  to  compete;  but  for  the  general 
development  of  your  iron  interests  and  railroad  interests,  would  it 
not  be  of  more  benefit  to  your  people  to  have  a  cheap  first-rate  coal 
than  it  would  to  exclude  it  ?  Taking  it  in  the  long  run,  would  it  not 
be  to  the  interest  of  the  whole  people  of  your  State? 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Oh,  no;  you  can  get  coke  in  Colorado.  Colorado 
and  Wyoming  join  each  other. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  No ;  we  can  get  Colorado  coke  at  a  distance  of  from 
250  to  350  miles.  And  our  iron  ore  is  now  being  smelted  at  Pueblo, 
in  Colorado,  with  Colorado  coke,  and  I  assume  that  the  future  devel- 
opment of  our  iron  industry  will  be  with  the  use  of  Colorado  and 
Utah  coke.  Utah  has  a  considerable  area  of  good  coking  coal. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  There  are  large  deposits  of  iron  ore  also  in  Mon- 
tana, and  not  very  remote  from  Great  Falls,  are  there  not? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  I  do  not  know  as  to  the  iron  deposits  of  Montana. 
I  am  not  informed  in  regard  to  them.  However,  the  importation  of 
bituminous  coal  would  not  of  itself  necessarily  affect  the  development 
of  those  deposits.  That,  of  course,  would  be  a  question  of  coke. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  is  true,  but  either  coke  or  coal  must  come  in, 
to  develop  those  Montana  deposits,  from  the  Canadian  border. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  The  Wyoming  coals  and  some  of  the  Montana  coals 
are  used  successfully  for  all  of  the  metal  smelting  that  is  done  in 
Montana. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  understood  that;  but  they  can  not  make  coke 
out  of  that. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  No ;  they  can  not. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  to  make  iron  or  steel  you  have  to  have  coke  ? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Under  present  conditions,  unless  we  shall  develop 
electric  processes,  which  we  are  likely  to  develop;  in  which  event 
there  are  millions  of  acres  of  low-grade  lignites  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  those  Wyoming  and  Montana  deposits  which  could  be 
used  to  great  advantage  in  generating  electricity ;  and  the  gentleman 
is  aware  that  in  an  experimental  way,  at  least,  steel  has  been  pro- 
duced— and  the  gentlemen  of  the  Geological  Survey  say  has  been 
produced,  they  believe,  on  a  commercial  basis,  a  basis  of  commercial 
economy — with  the  use  of  electricity.  I  desire  to  again  emphasize 
the  fact  that  my  argument  for  the  tariff  is  not  based  to  any  con- 
siderable extent  on  the  comparative  qualities  of  the  coals.  That  is 
simply  one  factor.  If  our  coal  were  as  good  as  the  Canadian  coal 
in  every  respect  as  a  steamer  and  for  smelting  purposes,  even  then 
we  could  not  compete  with  the  Canadian  mines,  owing  to  their 
proximity  to  the  market,  and  to  their  lower  wage  rate,  particularly 
to  the  latter.  So  we  need  protection  against  the  lower  wage  rate  and 
against  the  advantage  in  transportation  which  the  Canadian  coals 


6554  SCHEDULE  N SUNDRIES. 

have;  but  if  we  simply  took  into  consideration  the  condition  in  the 
wage  scale  alone,  that  in  itself  is  enough  to  warrant  the  present  duty 
on  coal. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  How  does  the  Colorado  coal  compare  with  the  Cana- 
dian coal? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Colorado  has  some  coal  as  good  as  the  best  in  the 
Crows  Nest  Pass  regions.  Colorado  has  all  grades  of  coal,  from  the 
very  low-grade  lignite  to  a  very  excellent  grade  of  semianthracite 
coal. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  You  can  get  your  supply  of  that  class  of  coal  from 
Colorado,  then? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Yes;  we  can. 

Mr.  BONYNGE.  Better  than  you  could  from  Canada? 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Well,  with  a  haul  of  less  than  half  the  distance,  so 
far  as  we  are  concerned  in  Wyoming. 


STATEMENT  OF  W.  J.  CARNEY,  OF  CHICAGO,  ILL.,  WHO  CLAIMS 
THAT  AMERICAN  COAL  PRODUCERS  ARE  ALREADY  SUFFERING 
FROM  CANADIAN  COMPETITION. 

SATURDAY,  December  19,  1908. 

(The  witness  was  duly  sworn  by  the  chairman.) 

Mr.  CARNEY.  I  do  not  think  I  can  add  to  what  Mr.  Mondell  has 
said,  except  that  we  are  now  suffering  from  this  Canadian  coal  com- 
ing into  our  territory.  Our  mines  are  only  running  four  or  five  days 
a  week. 

Mr.  GAINES.  Where  is  your  mine  ? 

Mr.  CARNEY.  At  Sheridan,  Wyo. — near  Sheridan,  Wyo.  During 
the  summer  we  only  ran  three  or  four  days.  Our  trade  has  fallen 
off  in  Washington,  where  we  shipped  last  year  large  quantities  of  our 
coal ;  it  has  fallen  off  25  per  cent. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Because  the  Canadian  coal  is  better? 

Mr.  CARNEY.  Because  this  Canadian  coal  is  coming  in  there — 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Because  it  is  a  better  coal;  is  that  the  reason? 

Mr.  CARNEY.  That  is  the  reason,  and  the  less  freight,  of  course,  in 
competition  with  us. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  much  coal  do  you  mine  in  Wyoming,  alto- 
gether ? 

Mr.  CARNEY.  Last  year  the  output,  I  believe,  was  six  or  seven 
million  tons. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  And  how  much  was  imported  into  Wyoming  from 
Canada  ? 

Mr.  CARNEY.  As  I  heard  Mr.  Mondell  say,  something  like  410,000 
tons  into  Montana  and  Waslringt;on. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Mr.  Chairman,  the  committee  has  been  wanting  some 
information  on  lumber  trusts.  Mr.  Carney  is  one  of  the  heaviest 
lumber  men  in  the  country. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Dp  not  try  to  open  up  the  lumber  question  again. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  He  is  one  of  the  largest  lumber  men  in  the  country, 
and  I  thought  that  probably  some  of  the  members  of  the  committee 
would  like  to  ask  him  some  questions  in  regard  to  the  lumber  trust. 


BITUMINOUS  COAL, W.    J.   CARNEY. 


6555 


The  CHAIRMAN.  I  do  not  think  we  want  to  go  into  that.  We  will 
excuse  the  witness  now,  and  then  if  Mr.  Fordney  wants  to  recall  him 
to  ask  him  anything  about  lumber,  he  can  do  so. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  I  have  not  asked  to  hear  him  in  regard  to  that. 

Mr.  MONDELL.  Mr.  Holbrook  and  Mr.  Gridley  have  informed  ms 
that  in  view  of  the  considerable  number  of  gentlemen  who  desire  to 
be  heard  by  the  committee,  they  do  not  care  to  take  the  time  of  the 
committee  to  add  anything  to  what  I  have  stated  in  regard  to  our 
coal  industry. 

(Mr.  Mondell  filed  the  following  papers:) 

Coal  production  in  States  and  Territories  west  of  the  Mississippi  River  in  1907, 

in  short  tons. 


State  or  Territory. 

Quantity. 

Value. 

Tons. 
2,670,438 

$4,473,693 

California.                       -       -•     -    -    

«24,089 

91,813 

Colorado  -  -       - 

10,790,236 

15,079,44* 

>7,588 

81,  1H 

Iowa                                             ._         .  -  

7,574,322 

12,  258,  01> 

Kansas                                 -    -    

7,322,449 

11,159,691 

Missouri                                                                                  -    

3,997,936 

6,540,701 

2,016,857 

8,907,08J 

(•) 

(«) 

New  Mexico         .  

2,628,959 

8,  832,121 

North  -Dakota                                                    -    -                          

347,760 

560,199 

Oklahoma  (Indian  Territory)                            -    

8,642,658 

7,433,914 

Oregon                                                                               

70,981 

166,304 

Texas_                         *                            

1,648,069 

2  778  811 

Utah                                                                                               •       *                   

1,947,607 

2,959,769 

Washington..       -  

8,680,532 

7,679,  801 

Wyoming                                                                                   -  . 

6,252,990 

9,732,668 

TotaL               •  _ 

54,623,  471 

88,685,169 

•  Includes  Alaska. 


»  Includes  Nebraska  and  Nevada. 


•  Included  in  Idaho. 


Relative  wages  in  coal  mines  in  western  Canada  and  in  Montana  in  1907. 

OUTSIDE  OCCUPATIONS. 


Occupation. 

Montana,  October, 
1907. 

Canada,  April, 
1907. 

Wages 
per  day. 

Hours 
per  day. 

Wages 
per  day. 

Hours 
per  day. 

Blacksmiths                                ,              

$3.75 
2.75 

4.00 
8.50 

8 
8 

8 
8 

$3.671 
2.62J 

10 

10 

Blacksmith*'  helpers                          

Machinists: 
First  class  \  

Second  class                                                            -  -    . 

Machinist 

8.15-3.675 
2.621 
2.621 
3.15 
2.621 
3.15 

10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 

Machinists'  helpers  _                  _  

Teamsters  _               ._       __ 

3.00 
3.00 
8.00 
3.50 
2.75 
8.75 

8 
8 
8 
8 
8 
8 

T*imh«r  fram^r 

Box-car  shoTelers 

Oar  repairers  _                                       „ 

Oar  repairers'  helpers  

Carpenter  _ 

8.671 
2.62J 
8.671 
2.621 
8.15 

10 
10 
12 
8 
13 

Carpenters'  helpers  ..._                       

TMrmmen 

f           8.16 

ris" 
8.00 

8 

8~ 

• 

Fan  flremev  

Oiler  aad  wiper  

Wiper  

2.621 
2.621 
2.621 

2.26 
1.50 

13 
U 
11 

10 

M 

Breaker  oiler  _ 

Washer  or  tippl?  oll^r       .   ....  .     _ 

O*r  oilcra: 
Men..  ... 

Boys  — 

6556 


SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 


Relative  wages  in  coal  mines  in  western  Canada,  etc. — Continued. 

OUTSIDE  OCCUPATIONS — Continued. 


Montana, 
1901 

October, 

r. 

Canada, 
190' 

April, 

r. 

Wages 
per  day. 

•  Hours 
per  day. 

Wages 
per  day. 

Hours 
per  day. 

$3.00 

a 

Tipple  dumpers: 
Men                                                   -  

$2.C2J 

10 

Boy*                                                  

1.50 

10 

Engineer: 

4.00 

g 

3.50 

8 

Power-house  engineers  

1  

3.67J 

12 

Tail  rope  engineers-           

8.67J 

10 

Breaker  engineers^    .    

8.36 
3.15 

8 
10 

Box-car-loader  engineers  

3.15 

10 

Tipple  engineers              .                

8.15 

10 

Locomotive  engineers               -    -  -  

3.15 

10 

Locomotive  engineers'  helpers  or  switchmen  

2.75 

10 

2.89 

8 

Outside  labor,  not  classified                 -  -  

2.75 

8 

All  other  outside  labor  

2.25 

10 

INSIDE  OCCUPATIONS. 


Drivers  _    -_             —  — 

(3.60 

8 

$2.75 

8 

Drivers  in  wet  places  

3.00 

8 

Rope  riders  ..    _  

3.40 

i 

2.75 

8 

Main  ropa.         ..                         -  -    - 

3.75 

8 

Main  and  tail  men.    

3.00 

8 

Parting  men  and  connection  men  

3.25 

8 

2.25 

8 

Couplers: 
Men  

2.621 

8 

Boys     -           -           -    - 

1.571 

8 

Bucker  boys  

2.35 

8 

Buckers  -. 

'2.621 

8 

3.50 

8 

Inside  engineer                          _         _       . 

3.25 

8 

•Locomotive  engineer  or  motorman  „  _ 

2.89 

8 

Locomotive  switchmen  or  motormen's  helpers 

2  621 

8 

THE  OWL  CREEK  COAL  COMPANY,  OF  WYOMING,  OPPOSES  RE- 
MOVAL OF  DUTY  FROM  BITUMINOUS  COAL. 

AMITYVILLE,  N.  Y.,  December  21, 1908 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  am  president  of  the  Owl  Creek  Coal  Company,  of 
Wyoming.  We  have  invested  $300,000  in  opening  a  large  coal  mine, 
which  we  have  opened  under  extraordinary  difficulties.  Our  market 
is  almost  exclusively  throughout  the  State  of  Montana.  All  the  coals 
of  Wyoming  and  Montana  are  -lignite. 

t    The  coals  of  Canada,  Province  of  Alberta,  lying  just  north  of  Mon- 
tana, are  bituminous. 

If  you  remove  the  duty,  the  coals  of  Canada  must  largely  drive  us 
out  of  the  Montana  market,  in  which  event  many  of  the  mines  in 
Wyoming  and  Montana  will  be  obliged  to  close  down,  thereby  depriv- 
ing thousands  of  coal  miners  of  work  or  driving  them  to  Canada  for 


BITUMINOUS   COAL.  6557 

employment.  It  will  have  the  effect  to  virtually  depopulate  a  number 
of  towns  and  retard  the  development  of  northwestern  Wyoming  and 
a  large  part  of  Montana  for  many  years  to  come. 

We,  with  other  coal  operators,  opened  our  mines  relying  upon  the 
tariff  protecting  us  against  Canadian  coal.  It  therefore  seems  very 
unfair  that  just  as  we  are  getting  into  active  operation,  and  after  we 
have  invested  $300,000  cash,  the  tariff  should  be  removed,  causing  us 
great  loss  and  damage. 

If  this  tariff  be  removed,  then  the  United  States  should  give  a  cor- 
responding bounty  to  encourage  the  production  of  American  coal, 
because  it  is  impossible  for  the  mines  of  Wyoming  and  Montana  to 
produce  and  sell  their  coal  any  cheaper  than  they  are  now  doing  and 
make  a  living  profit.  The  competition  between  the  mines  of  Wyo- 
ming and  Montana  is  fierce  enough  without  exposing  us  to  the  competi- 
tion to  the  first-class  bituminous  coking  coals  of  Alberta,  just  across 
the  border,  where  the  government  fosters  and  encourages  miniiig  of 
coal  in  every  possible  manner,  where  labor  is  cheaper,  and  conditions 
generally  more  favorable  for  economical  working  of  the  mines  than  in 
Montana  and  Wyoming. 

While  I  am  unacquainted  with  the  conditions  in  Washington,  yet  it 
appears  to  me  that  the  free  importation  of  Canadian  coal  will  be 
ruinous  to  the  local  mines  of  the  State  of  Washington,  as  well  as 
putting  a  great  damper  upon  the  infant  coal  industries  of  Alaska. 

If,  notwithstanding  the  weighty  reasons  against  any  removal  of  the 
duty  on  coal,  your  committee  should  decide  that  it  should  go,  then,  in 
common  justice  to  the  American  mines  and  American  miners,  the  date 
when  such  duty  should  be  removed  should  be  fixed  at  a  period  at  least 
five  years  hi  the  future  in  order  that  the  American  producers  and 
miners  can  have  time  within  which  to  prepare  themselves  for  the 
disastrous  effects  of  such  action. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  Rurus  J    IKELAKD. 



WESTERN  PENNSYLVANIA  COAL  PRODUCERS  FILE  BRIEF  RELA- 
TIVE TO  RECIPROCAL  FREE  COAL  WITH  CANADA. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  January  1, 1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WATS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  0. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  undersigned  coal  producers  of  that  section  of 
western  Pennsylvania  known  as  the  Tittsburg  district,  with  an 
annual  output  of  40,000,000  tons  of  bituminous  coal,  respectfully 
urge  that  everything  possible  be  done  to  establish  reciprocal  coal 
trade  with  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  submit  the  following  argu- 
ment: 

The  question  of  the  coal  supply  on  either  side  of  our  northern 
boundary  line  is  one  controlled  entirely  by  geographical  conditions. 
In  Canada  the  available  deposits  of  coal  are  found  in  Nova  Scotia 
and  New  Brunswick,  in  the  Kocky  Mountain  region  and  in  the  Island 
of  Vancouver.  In  the  United  States  there  is  practically  no  bitu- 
minous coal  found  east  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains,  and,  except- 
ing a  few  lignite  deposits,  there  is  none  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
The  large  territory  hi  Canada  from  a  point  100  miles  west  of  Mon- 
treal to  another  200  or  300  miles  west  of  Winnipeg  finds  in  the 


6558  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

central  coal  fields  of  the  United  States  its  most  natural  source  of 
supply ;  hence  the  quantity  of  Canadian  coal  that  can  come  into  the 
United  States  at  the  extreme  eastern  .and  western  sections  is  much 
more  than  offset  by  that  which  goes  to  supply  the  requirements  of 
the  great  interior  section  of  the  Dominion. 

During  the  year  ending  June  30,  1908,  the  bituminous  coal 
exported  from  the  United  States  to  Canada  aggregated  6,851,700 
tons,  while  the  imports  amounted  to  1,255,036  tons,  about  one-half 
of  which  was  from  Nova  Scotia  and  shipped  to  New  England  ports. 
Practically  all  of  the  coal  sent  to  Canada  was  from  the  western  renn- 
sylvania  and  Ohio  fields. 

The  demand  for  coal  in  Canada  is  rapidly  increasing,  as  a  result  of 
the  construction  of  new  systems  of  railroads,  notably  the  Grand 
Trunk  Pacific,  which  is  to  extend  from  ocean  to  ocean,  the  Canadian 
Northern,  extending  from  Lake  Superior  through  the  great  wheat 
fields  of  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  and  Alberta,  with  a  line  projected 
from  Winnipeg  to  Hudson  Bay,  and  the  Canadian  Pacific,  making 
extensions  in  the  so-called  Canadian  Northwest.  These  roads  have  on 
their  lines,  or  on  projected  lines  in  Alberta,  coal  of  an  inferior  quality 
to  that  produced  in  Pennsylvania,  but  which  they  will  use  unless  our 
coal  can  be  delivered  to  them  at  a  lower  price  than  at  present.  The 
only  way  that  the  price  can  be  reduced  is  by  a  reduction  of  the  tariff, 
and  we  nave  reason  to  believe  that  if  the  United  States  will  remove  the 
tariff  on  coal  coming  from  Canada,  the  Canadian  Parliament  will  take 
similar  action  on  that  going  from  the  United  States.  This  action  will 
materially  stimulate  the  consumption  of  American  coals,  especially 
in  the  Province  of  Ontario,  affording  a  decidedly  increased  market  to 
the  American  producers. 

A  large  portion  of  the  coal  now  being  exported  to  Canada  is  used  by 
the  railroads,  who  receive  it  during  the  season  of  navigation  on  the 
Great  Lakes,  which  covers  the  months  from  April  to  November;  and 
taking  it  as  they  do  in  these  months  provides  labor  for  many  thou- 
sands of  miners,  who  otherwise  would  be  only  partially  employed. 
This  coal  is  carried  to  the  Canadian  ports  on  the  Great  Lakes  from 
ports  on  Lake  Erie  for  the  most  part  m  American  bottoms,  and  gives 
employment  to  miners  who  dig  tne  coal,  railroad  men  who  assist  in  its 
transportation,  dock  employees  at  Lake  Erie  ports,  where  it  is  trans- 
ferred to  vessels,  and  to  large  numbers  of  men  employed  on  the  ves- 
sels. With  the  increased  tonnage  sought,  the  number  of  men  em- 
ployed will  increase  proportionately. 

In  our  opinion,  the  fear  expressed  by  some  interests  engaged  in 
mining  coal  in  West  Virginia  and  central  Pennsylvania  fields,  that  the 
abolition  of  the  tariff  would  permit  large  quantities  of  Nova  Scotia  coal 
to  come  into  New  England  ports,  and  thereby  displace  coal  from  the 
fields  named,  is  not  well  founded.  We  believe  that  the  development 
of  the  country  in  the  Province  of  Quebec  by  the  construction  of  the 
Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway  will  greatly  increase  the  quantity  of 
coal  used  from  Nova  Scotia,  thereby  absorbing  the  product  of  the 
Nova  Scotia  producers  to  an  extent  that  will  not  permit  them  to 
increase  their  shipments  materially  to  any  New  England  ports. 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  in  this  connection,  that  during  the  years  1902 
and  1903,  when  the  demand  for  bituminous  coal  was  extraordinary, 
because  of  the  anthracite  strike,  lasting  from  May  12  to  October  24, 


BITUMINOUS  COAL — PITTSBUBG  COAL  CO.   ET  AL.  6559 

1902,  the  imports  of  Nova  Scotia  coal  did  not  materially  increase, 
notwithstanding  that  Congress  remitted  the  duty  on  all  coal  for  the 
year  1903,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  figures  from  the  department  of 
mines  of  Nova  Scotia  under  the  heading  ' '  Nova  Scotia  exported  to  the 
United  States:" 

Tons. 

1901 590,086 

1902 751, 382 

1903 968,832 

1904 713,170 

1905 652,538 

1906 769,775 

1907 616,312 

The  average  for  the  seven  years  being  723,157  tons. 
The  fact  that  our  imports  in  the  year  when  the  tariff  was  suspended 
showed  an  increase  of  but  145,675  tons  over  the  average  imports  for 
the  seven  years  is  evidence  that  the  Nova  Scotia  coal  is  not  likely  to 
seriously  displace  that  produced  in  the  United  States. 

The  position  of  the  operators  signing  this  paper  is  that  if  the  Ca- 
nadian government  does  not  abolish  its  duty  on  coal  the  present  tariff 
be  not  disturbed. 

Pittsburgh  Coal  Company,  by  W.  R.  Woodford,  vice 
president ;  The  Monongahela  River  Consolidated  Coal 
&  Coke  Co.,  by  A.  Dempster,  chairman;  Pittsburg- 
Buffalo  Co.,  by  John  H.  Jones,  president;  Pittsburgh 
Westmoreland  Coal  Co.,  by  D.  W.  Kuhn,  chairman 
board;  The  Youghiogheny  &  Ohio  Coal  Co.,  by 
J.  G.  Patterson,  vice  president;  Carnegie  Coal  Co., 
by  J.  T.  M.  Stoneroad,  secretary-treasurer;  Crescent 
Coal  Co.,  by  Sam'l  A.  Taylor,  president;  Mifflin 
Coal  Co.,  by  J.  M.  Taylor,  treasurer;  Elaine  Coal 
Company,  by  H.  A.  Kuhn,  president;  Dunkirk  Gas 
Coal  Company,  by  H.  A.  Andrews,  treasurer;  The 
Fayette  Coal  Co.,  by  A.  M.  Bell,  assistant  treasurer; 
United  Coal  Co.,  by  W.  S.  Kuhn,  president;  Hender- 
son Coal  Co.,  by  W.  M.  Henderson,  president;  Dia- 
mond Coal  &  Coke  Co.,  by  A.  H.  Stolzenbach,  assist- 
ant treasurer;  Dilworth  Coal  Co.,  by  R.  M.  Mackenzie 
treasurer;  Peoples  Coal  Co.,  by  J.  W.  Friend;  Pan- 
Handle  Mining  Co.,  by  G.  E.  Blyth;  Pittsburg  & 
Erie  Coal  Co.,  by  W.  A.  Luce,  mine  manager;  Verner 
Coal  &  Coke  Co.,  by  Thomas  Beadling,  general 
manager;  New  York  &  Cleveland  Gas  Coal  Co., 
by  Geo.  Z.  Hosack,  president;  Rex  Carbon  Coal  Co., 
by  R.  T.  Donaldson,  general  manager;  Bulger  Block 
Coal  Co.,  by  J.  W.  Woomer,  general  manager;  John 
M.  Greek  &  Co.,  by  John  M.  Greek;  Mosgrove  Coal 
Co.,  J.  H.  Sanford  Coal  Co.,  by  J.  H.  Sanford,  presi- 
dent; Mansfield  Coal  &  Coke  Co.,  by  W.  H.  Shinn, 
secretary;  Charleroi  Coal  Co.,  by  Jesse  K.  Johnson, 
general  manager;  Creighton  Coal  Co.,  by  J.  K.  John- 
son, general  manager. 


6560  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

THE  SEATTLE   (WASH.)   CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE  REITERATES 
ITS  OBJECTION  TO  REMOVAL  OF  DUTY  FROM  COAL. 

SEATTLE,  WASH.,  January  4,  1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

SIR:  The  Seattle  Chamber  of  Commerce  has  repeatedly  and  em- 
phatically protested  against  the  removal  of  the  duty  on  coal,  and  its 
position  on  that  important  (juestion  is  unalterable. 

Mr.  F.  A.  Hill,  a  consulting  engineer  of  this  city,  on  December  30, 
1908,  addressed  to  you  a  letter  on  this  subject  which  I  have  carefully 
studied,  and  to  which  I  respectfully  direct  your  attention.  From  my 
personal  knowledge  of  the  subject,  I  feel  that  lam  justified  in  saying 
that  Mr.  Hill's  statements  as  contained  in  his  letter  are  absolutely 
correct. 

Sincerely  hoping  that  your  influence  will  be  in  favor  of  continuing 
protection  f.o  this  industry  which  is  of  such  vital  importance  in  the 
development  of  the  Northwest,  and  particularly  of  the  State  of 
Washington,  I  am, 

Very  respectfully,  yours, 

JOHN  H.  McGRAw, 
President  Seattle  Chamber  of  Commerce. 


F.  A.  HELL,  SEATTLE,  WASH.,  SUBMITS  BRIEF  IN  OPPOSITION  TO 
REMOVAL  OF  DUTY  FROM  BITUMINOUS  COAL. 

SEATTI^E,  WASH.,  January  H,  1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Cliairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

SIR  :  I  beg  leave  to  submit  statement  pi  facts  relating  to  the  coal- 
mining industry  of  the  State  of  Washington,  also  arguments  pre- 
sented herewith  by  the  mine  operators  of  that  State  showing  why,  in 
their  opinion,  the  duty  on  coal  should  not  be  removed.  I  hope  that 
your  honorable  committee  will  give  this  matter  due  consideration, 
because  it  has  a  vital  bearing  in  the  development  of  a  large  industry 
in  our  State. 

The  coal  mines  of  Washington  produced  in  the  year  1907,  3,680,532 
tons,  of  which  amount  the  Northwestern  Improvement  Company  pro- 
duced 1,782,964  tons,  practically  all  of  which  went  to  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railway;  this  leaves  for  the  commercial  mines  1,897,568  tons. 

The  total  cost  of  all  this  coal  mined  was  $7,678,801,  or  $2.04  per 
ton.  Eighty  per  cent  of  this  cost  is  labor,  or  a  pay  roll  of  $6,143,840. 
There  were  5,945  employees  in  the  Washington  mines  in  1907. 

The  employees  engaged  in  coal  mining  in  the  coast  district  of 
British  Columbia  and  the  proportion  of  each  class  are  as  follows: 


BITUMINOUS  COAL — F.   A.   HILL.  6561 


Number. 

Per  cent. 

Supervision  and  clerical  

117 

S.1 

Whites: 
Miners      .              .                    ..  .  

1,160 

30.8 

Miners'  helpers     

440 

11.7 

632 

16.8 

Mechanics  and  skilled  laborers         

314 

8.3 

Boys  .  

166 

4.4 

174 

4.6 

Chinese                      .        

743 

19.7 

Indians  and  Hindus  

23 

.6 

Total  

3,769 

100.0 

Of  the  numbers  scheduled  above,  20.3  per  cent  are  boys — Japanese, 
Chinese,  Indians,  and  Hindus — receiving  $1.35  to  $1.75  per  day  as 
against  $1.75  to  $2.75  per  day  for  the  same  class  of  labor  in  the  State 
of  Washington. 

In  the  matter  of  miners,  helpers,  and  laborers  the  same  class  of  men 
receive  10  to  15  per  cent  more  in  Washington  than  they  are  paid  in 
British  Columbia.  No  Asiatic  labor  is  employed  in  the  Washington 
mines. 

The  cost  of  producing  coal  from  the  Washington  mines  has  steadily 
increased  the  past  five  years,  advancing  wages,  greater  depths  in  min- 
ing, eight  instead  of  ten  hours  for  a  day's  work  have  all  had  their 
effect  on  increased  cost. 

In  the  matter  of  wages  the  average  earnings  of  mine  employees  in 
1903  was  $2.46  per  day  of  ten  hours,  in  1907,  $3.19  per  day  of  eight 
hours,  an  advance  in  wages  of  30  per  cent,  a  decrease  in  hours  of  20 
per  cent,  so  that  the  advance  cost  represents  at  least  40  per  cent  to 
the  mine  owners. 

The  miners  of  this  State  are  exceptionally  fine  men,  and  as  miners 
can  not  be  excelled.  They  are  justly  entitled  to  receive  the  best  wages 
paid  in  the  country. 

Unlike  all  the  other  coal  fields  of  the  United  States,  the  Washing- 
ton fields  are  badly  faulted  and  contorted,  and  there  is  no  comparison 
between  the  Washington  fields  and  those  of  British  Columbia  and 
Alberta,  Canada. 

The  physical  conditions  surrounding  our  coal  mines  make  them 
•very  difficult  and  costly  to  operate.  This  is  applicable  to  all  the 
commercial  mines. 

The  coal  from  the  Washington  mines  is  bituminous,  semibitumi- 
nous,  and  lignite;  very  much  lower  in  B.  t.  u.  than  the  high-grade 
bituminous  coals  of  British  Columbia  and  Alberta. 

The  mines  of  British  Columbia  can  produce  coal  at  a  cost  of  $1.40 
to  $1.80  per  ton,  those  of  Alberta  at  a  cost  of  $1.10  to  $1.30  per  ton. 

The  freight  rate  on  coal  from  Vancouver  Island  points  is  $0.75 
per  ton  to  Puget  Sound  points. 

The  freight  rate  from  the  Fernie  fields,  in  British  Columbia,  to 
Spokane  is  $2.25  per  ton,  and  from  the  Alberta  fields  to  Spokane  is 
$2.75  to  $3.15  per  ton. 

The  freight  rate  from  the  Roslyn  district,  Washington,  to  Spo- 
kane, Wash.,  is  $2.50  per  ton,  and  from  the  Western  Cascade  district 
to  Spokane,  $3  per  ton. 

The  commercial  coal  mines  of  the  State  of  Washington  produce 
less  than  20  per  cent  of  lump  or  house  coal.  The  coal,  being  very 


6562 


SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 


friable,  breaks  up  in  handling  and  will,  when  shipped  by  vessel, 
reach  dealers  in  San  Francisco  65  per  cent  lump  and  35  per  cent 
screenings,  and  on  board  cars  to.  any  Washington  dealers,  85  per  cent 
lump  and  15  per  cent  screenings. 

The  Vancouver  Island  coals  are  hard  and  reach  dealers  with  less 
than  10  per  cent  screenings. 

The  wholesale  prices  of  foreign  coal  in  San  Francisco  during  the 
years  of  1902-3  were  as  follows : 


1903. 

1902. 

Wellington,  screened  

$8  00 

88  00 

Wellington,  screenings  

4  60 

4.25-4  50 

Wellsend,  average  

6  50 

6  50 

Helton,  screened  .        .             

7  00 

7  00 

Hetton,  average  

6.50 

6.50 

Qretta,  screened  

7  00 

7  00 

Gretta,  average  

6.50 

6.25 

Cannel  

9  00 

9  00 

Welsh  anthracite,  average  

9.00 

8.50 

Welsh  anthracite,  egg  

13.00 

13.00 

Welsh  anthracite,  lump  

11.50 

11.50 

Cardiff  

9  00-9  50 

9  00 

Lelaw-Main  or  Richmond  

7.50 

7.60 

No  duty  1903.    Who  received  it? 

Which  shows  that  that  duty  being  off  in  1903  did  not  lessen  the 
selling  price  of  coal. 

All  coal  shipped  from  one  port  in  the  United  States  to  another 
must  be  sent  in  United  States  registered  vessels.  From  any  foreign 
port  to  United  States  ports  it  is  shipped  in  foreign  registered  vessels. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  people  of  San  Francisco  did  not  receive 
anybenefit  in  1903  by  reason  of  no  duty,  the  price  of  coal  remaining 
the  same  as  it  was  in  1902. 

The  mines  producing  the  largest  tonnage  in  the  Fernie  (British 
Columbia)  field,  876,731  tons  in  1907,  are  controlled  by  United  States 
railroad  owners. 

The  exports  and  imports  of  coal  between  the  United  States  and 
Canada  are  as  follows  (see  Mineral  Industry) : 


1902. 

1903. 

1904. 

1905. 

1906. 

Exports  

4,468,953 

6,  635,  863 

6,577,954 

6,  964,  630 

7,  533,  346' 

Imports            

1,  67g,  919 

1,  613,  426 

1,211,304 

1,  331,  292 

1,427,731 

Difference  

2,  790,  034 

4,922,437 

6,  366,  650 

5,633,338 

6,  105,  615 

The  exports  are  95  per  cent  by  way  of  the  Great  Lakes.  The  im- 
ports from  Canada  are  one-half  into  Washington  markets,  and  the 
other  one-half  into  New  England  points. 

House  or  lump  coal  sells  in  Seattle  by  the  ton  at  $5,  nut  coal  at 
$3.75,  and  screenings  for  steam  use  at  $2.25.  The  proportion  of  these 
coals  as  mined  and  shipped  are  40  per  cent  lump,  20  per  cent  nut. 
and  40  per  cent  screenings.  The  mine  owner  realizes  at  the  mines  for 
the  principal  coals  of  this  description  as  follows: 

40  per  cent  lump,  at  $3.75 $1.50 

20  per  cent  nut,  at  $2.25 .45 

40  per  cent  pea,  at  $1.25 .  50 


Total- 


2.45 


BITUMINOUS   COAL F.   A.    HILL,.  6563 

These  coals  cost  f .  o.  b.  mines  $2  to  $2.30  per  ton  to  produce. 

It  costs  two  to  two  and  one-half  times  to  put  commercial  coal  f .  o.  b. 
in  the  State  of  Washington  than  it  does  in  Pittsburg  or  the  middle 
west  district. 

To  produce,  open,  develop,  and  ship  500  tons  of  coal  per  day  from 
Washington  mines  requires  approximately  an  investment  of  $500,000. 

There  is  an  abundance  of  good  coking  coal  in  the  State  unde- 
veloped. 

ARGUMENT. 

The  above  are  facts.  The  State  of  Washington  mine  owners  and 
employees  submit  that  the  reasons  given  above  fully  entitle  them  to 
ample  protection  for  the  coal  industry  and  that  the  present  rate  of 
duty  on  coal  and  coke  should  remain. 

It  has  been  shown  that  fully  one-half  of  the  coal  coming  into  the 
United  States  comes  in  direct  competition  with  Washington,  Mon- 
tana, Oregon,  and  Wyoming  coal. 

For  the  commercial  coal  mines  of  the  State  of  Washington  to 
compete  with  the  British  Columbia  and  Alberta  coal,  if  the  duty  is 
removed,  means  that  all  the  small  mines  will  have  to  close  down,  that 
the  wages  paid  in  all  the  other  mines  will  be  cut  at  least  30  per  cent, 
and  with  this  cut  in  wages  nothing  like  the  capacity  of  the  mines,  as 
they  are  now  producing,  can  be  expected.  Where  there  is  now  a 
contented  and  well-paid  lot  of  employees,  there  would  be  poorly  paid 
employees,  distress  and  dissatisfaction,  as  the  mines  would  be  run 
fewer  days  in  the  year. 

The  best  mine  employees  would  leave  their  homes  for  the  neigh- 
boring provinces  or  cutting  into  other  lines  of  work,  and  the  country 
would  lose  desirable  citizens. 

The  State  of  Washington  coal  mines  would  then  be  left  in  such 
condition  that  if  an  active  demand  came  for  coal,  as  it  did  in  the 
winter  of  1906-7,  the  supply  could  not  be  met,  and  the  people  of 
Washington  would  pay  more  additional  money  for  their  fuel  in  one 
37ear  than  the  benefits  accruing  to  all  the  rest  of  the  country  would 
amount  to  in  five  years. 

During  the  winter  of  1906-7,  while  the  temporary  shortage  oc- 
curred, the  British  Columbia  mines  would  not  sell  any  coal  for  the 
market  in  this  State,  and  their  coast  mines  would  not  take  care  of 
coal  depots  in  Alaska  that  they  had  been  supplying  for  years. 

You  will  ask  why  they  refused  to  furnish  this  coal,  and  I  will 
answer  by  saying  that  their  agent  in  San  Francisco  had  raised  the 
price  of  coal  from  $12  to  $15  per  ton,  and  they  wanted  that  extra  $3 
and  they  did  not  have  the  nerve  to  tell  us  that  we  could  have  it  by 
paying  the  extra  $3 ;  they  simply  told  us  that  they  did  not  have  it  to 
spare.  . 

In  view  of  these  facts  it  does  not  look  as  though  the  removal  of  the 
duty  on  coal  would  have  the  effect  of  protecting  the  consumer  as 
regards  prices  or  supply.  It  appears  to  me  that  the  only  way  to  do 
this  would  be  to  keep  the  duty  on  coal  and  encourage  the  development 
of  the  mines  in  the  United  States.  In  that  way  our  country  would 
be  developed  and  enough  coal  would  be  mined  so  that  local  competi- 
tion would  keep  prices  do~wn  to  where  they  should  be. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  had  the  duty  been  off  of  coal  from 
1891  to  1897  all  of  the  mines  in  Washington  would  have  been  forced 


6564  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

to  close  down,  as  the  British  Columbia  mines  would  have  flooded 
the  market  with  their  product  at  a  price  that  the  Washington  operator 
could  not  meet,  as  they  were  even  then  selling  their  coal  at  so  small 
a  margin  of  profit  that  they  could  hardly  continue  to  operate.  At 
the  present  time  British  Columbia  coal  is  being  sold  to  the  consumer 
in  Seattle  at  $7  per  ton,  but  certain  retail  dealers  get  a  rebate  of  75 
cents  per  ton,  with  an  ironclad  agreement  that  they  will  not  sell  to 
the  consumer  for  less  than  $7.  In  view  of  these  facts,  who  would 
benefit  by  a  reduction  in  the  duty — not  the  consumer,  nor  the  retail 
dealer,  but  the  British  Columbia  mine  operator.  He  would  pocket 
the  67  cents  and  smile  at  making  money  so  easy,  and  then  he  could 
smile -again,  because,  on  account  of  Washington  mines  closing  down, 
large  numbers  of  miners  looking  for  work  would  go  to  British  Co- 
lumbia, and  that  would  enable  the  British  Columbia  operator  to 
reduce  wages. 

In  order  to  keep  the  coal  price  stable  on-  the  Pacific  coast,  Wash- 
ington mines  must  be  protected  so  that  the  coal  mines  can  be  kept 
open  and  working  regularly.  It  is  impossible  to  let  our  mines  lie 
idle  for  a  year  and  then  reopen  quickly  and  go  to  work.  Physical 
reasons  prevent  this,  and  to  keep  miners  that  can  do  work  in  the 
mines  of  this  State  the  mines  have  to  be  regularly  worked. 

Washington  coal  will  not  stock;  hence  accumulation  of  stocks  of 
coal  can  not  be  made  to  take  care  of  sudden  emergencies  or  demands 
for  coal. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  freight  rate  from  the  Alberta  coal  field 
is  $2.75 'to  $3.15  per  ton  to  Spokane,  Wash.;  from  the  Washing- 
ton field  it  is  $2.50  to  $3  per  ton.  The  cost  of  producing  coal  in  the 
Alberta  district  is  $1.10  to  $1.30  per  ton,  while  it  is  $2.04  in  the  Wash- 
ington field.  The  Alberta  mine  owners  have  largely  increased  their 
shipments  to  Spokane  the  past  year  and  are,  with  the  duty  on,  com- 
peting successfully  with  Washington  and  Wyoming  coals. 

The  free  duty  of  1903  had  no  effect  on  Washington  for  one  reason 
only :  Early  in  1903  a  strike  of  the  Wellington  Collieries  Company's 
employees  occurred,  which  lasted  a  number  of  months,  and  the  lost 
ground  was  not  recovered  until  late  in  1903.  The  Wellington  Col- 
lieries Company  mines  four-fifths  of  the  product  of  the  coast  mines 
of  British  Columbia.  Had  the  strike  not  occurred,  Puget  Sound 
points  would  have  been  flooded  with  the  Wellington  product. 

Remove  the  duty  on  coal  and  the  loss  to  the  State  of  Washington 
would  not  be  less  than  $2,500,000  annually  in  wages  alone.  British 
Columbia  mines  can  produce  coal  at  less  cost  than  the  mines  of 
Washington  and  Oregon.  During  normal  or  depressed  times  they 
would  have  a  surplus  and  flood  the  Washington  and  Oregon  markets 
and  close  up  our  commercial  mines.  As  soon  as  there  was  a  brisk 
demand,  they,  with  such  mines  in  this  State  as  could  be  kept  open, 
would  immediately  raise  the  price  of  the  product  to  a  high  point, 
being  in  position  to  do  so,  as  the  mines  of  this  State  would  not  be 
able  to  supply  the  market.  If  the  67-cent  duty  remains  on  coal,  the 
tonnage  of  this  State  will  be  increased  to  meet  the  demand  as  it  may 
grow.  New  mines  will  he  opened  and  are  now  being  opened.  Devel- 
opment of  new  coal  mines  has  been  proposed  the  last  sixty  days, 
which  will  be  abandoned  should  the  'duty  on  coal  be  removed. 

Removing  the  duty  on  coal  could  not  possibly  benefit  the  New  Eng- 
land States  to  offset  the  loss  to  this  State.  Should  the  New  England 


BITUMINOUS  COAL — F.  A.   HILL.  6565 

States  receive  six  times  as  much  foreign  coal  with  no  duty  and  they 
receive  the  benefit,  it  would  only  benefit  them  $2,193,521  annually, 
while  the  loss  in  wages  alone  to  this  State  would  be  $2,500,000  annu- 
ally, with  a  loss  to  the  operators  in  invested  capital  of  fully  $6,000,000. 

No  reciprocal  advantage  can  be  gained  with  Canada.  The  mineral 
industry  shows  from  three  to  five  times  as  much  export  of  American 
coal  into  Canada  as  the  imports  are  from  Canada.  What  advantage 
does  Pittsburg  or  the  Middle  West  expect  to  gain  by  reciprocal  ar- 
rangement? They  now  have  every  advantage  in  prohibitive  dis- 
tances and  freight  rates  into  that  part  of  Canada  along  the  Great 
Lakes  where  their  product  is  shipped.  The  Canadian  coal  fields  lie 
in  the  extreme  east  and  west  of  Canada. 

The  coal-mine  employees  of  this  State  realize  that  it  means  distress 
to  them,  a  breaking  up  of  home  ties  and  friends,  if  the  duty  on  coal  is 
removed  or  materially  changed. 

Below  is  a  summing  up  of  a  few  of  the  salient  facts  contained 
in  this  article. 

SUMMARY. 

It  has  been  shown  that  if  the  duty  is  removed  from  coal  the 
State  of  Washington  will  lose  in  salaries  paid  miners  $2,500,000 
annually,  with  a  loss  to  the  operators  in  invested  capital  of  possibly 
$6,000,000,  and  should  Canada  reciprocate  and  remove  the  duty  on 
coal  going  in  there  the  operators  of  the  Middle  West  and  the  eastern 
portion  of  the  United  States  will  be  benefited  to  the  extent  of 
$2,193,521  annually. 

It  is  shown  that  the  country  at  large  will  gain  nothing  by  the  re- 
moval of  the  duty,  because  the  mine  operators  of  the  Middle  West 
and  of  the  East  are  well  protected  on  account  of  freight  rates — 
that  is,  they  have  a  market  that  can  not  be  touched  by  anyone  else. 
This  shows  very  plainly  that  these  operators,  and  they  alone,  would 
be  benefited  by  a  reciprocal  removal  of  the  duty  on  coal;  and  this 
ought  to  make  plain  to  your  committee  the  reason  why  the  operators 
of  the  Middle  West  and  the  East  are  willing  that  the  duty  should  be 
removed. 

It  has  been  shown  in  these  arguments  that  the  consumer  of  coal 
in  the  State  of  Washington  will  not  be  benefited  by  the  removal  of 
the  duty  and  that  the  only  one  that  would  be  benefited  is  the  mine 
operator  of  British  Columbia. 

The  removal  of  the  duty  would  also  allow  the  British  Columbia 
operator  to  supply  all  "the  government  posts  on  Puget  Sound  and 
in  Alaska,  as  on  account  of  our  shipping  laws  transportation  is  so 
much  less  from  British  Columbia  ports  than  they  are  from  United 
States  ports. 

I  believe  your  committee  will  see  the  inconsistency  of  passing  laws 
that  debar  the  mine  operator  of  Washington  from  using  cheap 
Asiatic  labor  in  the  mines  and  at  the  same  time  remove  the  duty  on 
coal  that  is  mined  by  these  Asiatics  and  allowing  it  to  compete  with 
coal  that  is  mined  by  high-priced  white  labor. 

The  removal  of  the  duty  would  also  affect  our  shipping  on  Puget 
Sound,  as  it  would  place  the  British  Columbia  operators  in  a  posi- 
tion where  they  could  ship  their  coal  in  foreign  vessels  to  all  Pacific 
coast  ports. 


6566  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

It  has  also  been  shown  that  the  removal  of  the  duty  will  retard 
development  of  a  great  industry  in  the  State  of  Washington,  for 
the  reason  that  quite  a  farm  and  dairying  industry  is  dependent  upon 
these  mines  for  their  market. 

I  take  the  liberty  of  attaching  herewith  letters  from  different  mine 
operators  of  Washington  indorsing  all  that  has  been  said  in  this 
argument.  I  also  attach  a  petition  from  the  miners  who  work  in  the 
coal  mines  at  Renton,  Wash.  These  miners,  not  having  a  union, 
thought  best  to  sign  a  petition  to  your  committee.  I  am  expect- 
ing every  day  a  resolution  from  the  mine  workers  of  America, 
which  resolution  is  to  the  effect  that  they  as  mine  workers  are  bitterly 
opposed  to  the  removal  of  the  duty,  as  they  are  perfectly  well  aware 
that  if  it  is  removed  a  great  many  of  them  will  be  compelled  to 
give  up  their  homes  and  seek  employment  in  British  Columbia.  As 
soon  as  this  resolution  arrives  I  will  hand  it  to  you. 
Yours,  respectfully, 

F.  A.  HILL, 
Consulting  Engineer. 


SUPPLEMENTAL  STATEMENT   FILED  BY  F.   A.   HILL,   SEATTLE, 
WASH.,  RELATIVE  TO  BITUMINOUS  COAL. 

SEATTLE,  February  11, 1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Under  date  of  January  14,  1909,  on  behalf  of  the  com- 
mercial coal-mine  operators  of  the  State  of  Washington,  I  submitted 
to  your  honorable  committee  a  brief  on  coal  duty.  Additional  facts 
having  been  obtained  upon  this  matter,  and,  as  a  further  considera- 
tion, that  we  are  so  far  removed  from  the  city  of  Washington  that 
none  of  the  operators  were  able  to  appear  in  person  before  your  hon- 
orable committee,  they  now  ask  to  submit,  and  you  will  receive,  addi- 
tional facts  and  arguments  against  the  removal  of  duty  on  coal. 

The  attached  map,  showing  location  of  coal  industries  in  Canada 
and  that  portion  of  the  United  States  that  ships  coal  into  Canada, 
compiled  from  official  maps,  with  tabulation  of  distance  from  coal- 
producing  points  to  the  principal  coal-consuming  points,  is  for  your 
consideration  and  study. 

For  the  year  1907  there  was  imported  into  the  United  States 
2,103,711  tons  of  coal  (see  "  Production  of  Coal,  1907,"  calendar  year, 
not  United  States  fiscal  year).  British  Columbia  exported  to  the 
United  States  651,076  tons  (see  "  Reports  of  Minister  of  Mines  for 
British  Columbia,  1907 ") .  Nova  Scotia  exported  to  the  United 
States  in  1907  616,312  tons  (see  "Statistics  Department  of. Mines, 
Nova  Scotia,  1907").  This  leaves  836,323  tons  to  come  from  all 
other  foreign  points,  part  of  which  came  from  the  province  of 
Alberta,  Canada,  and  approximately  350,000  tons  into  San  Francisco 
from  Australia  and  other  points  than  British  Columbia. 

I  have  not  exact  statistical  information,  but  I  glean  that  three- 
fourths  of  the  coal  exported  from  Nova  Scotia  to  the  United  States 
consists  of  slack  coal,  or  that  portion  of  the  coal  which  will  go 


BITUMINOUS   COAL F.   A.    HILL.  6567 

through  a  three-fourth  inch  screen,  the  duty  on  which  is  now  15 
cents  per  ton. 

I  would  refer  you  to  "  The  Production  of  Coal  in  1907,"  by  Ed- 
ward W.  Parker,  United  States  Geological  Survey ;  for  prices  of  coal, 
page  61 ;  and  for  imports  and  exports  of  coal,  page  62.  A  study  of 
the  condition  therein  reported,  with  the  prices  of  coal,  shows  almost 
conclusively  that  the  States  of  Washington,  Montana,  and  Wyoming 
can  not  compete  with  the  cheaper-mined  coal  of  Alberta  and  British 
Columbia,  with  their  close  proximity  to  the  markets  of  those  States. 

The.  Wellington  coal  mines  in  British  Columbia  can  ship  by  water 
to  all  Puget  Sound  points  and  to  Portland,  Oreg.,  at  about  the  same 
rate  per  ton  as  the  Washington  mines  have  to  pay  in  freight  rates  to 
the  same  points. 

The  Crow's  Nest  field  in  British  Columbia  and  Alberta,  with  coal 
superior  to  any  in  Washington,  Montana,  and  Wyoming,  is  as  close 
or  closer  to  eastern  Washington  and  Montana  points  than  the  mines 
of  the  States  named. 

It  is  seen  by  the  map  and  table  of  distance  that  the  Wisconsin, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio  fields  are  very  much  closer  to  a  large  part 
of  the  Canadian  territory  than  are  Nova  Scotia  and  Alberta,  and  that 
distance  bars  coal  from  those  provinces  from  being  used  in  any  of  the 
country  in  Canada  from  Montreal  to  Winnipeg.  It  is  to  this  section 
of  Canada  that  the  great  bulk  of  the  coal  shipments  from  the  United 
States  go. 

Referring  to  "  Tariff  Hearings  "  and  brief  of  the  Western  Penn- 
sylvania Coal  Producers  of  January  13,  1909,  it  is  shown  that  a 
large  portion  of  the  coal  now  being  exported  to  Canada  is  used  by 
the  railroads.  It  is  also  shown  that  the  denser  populated  districts  of 
Canada  are  in  close  proximity  to  the  Pennsylvania  coal  producers. 
Why  should  the  people  of  the  United  States  benefit  Canadian  rail- 
roads or  Canadian  people  by  taking  off  the  duty  on  coal  which  pro- 
vides a  revenue  of  a  million  and  a  quarter  dollars  to  the  United  States 
and  protects  a  pay  roll  in  the  United  States  of  at  least  $12,000,000, 
which  would  if  the  duty  were  removed  lose  the  revenue  to  the  United 
States  Government  and  approximately  $4,000,000  to  the  mine  em- 
ployee, with  a  large  loss  to  the  mine  operator  in  plants  that  would 
necessarily  have  to  close  down  on  account  of  not  being  able  to  pro- 
duce coal  in  competition  with  the  cheaper-mined  coals  of  Alberta 
and  British  Columbia. 

On  November  20,  1908,  the  "  National  Grange "  filed  resolutions 
for  free  lumber,  coal,  and  iron  ore.  Quoting  from  their  resolutions 
March  2 :  "  We  believe  the  duty  upon  any  article  should  be  and  never 
exceed  the  difference  in  cost  of  labor  in  this  country  and  in  foreign 
countries  in  the  production  of  such  article."  Comment  is  hardly 
necessary  on  this.  We  have  shown  that  our  cost  exceeds  the  difference 
between  the  present  duty  and  the  cost  in  British  Columbia  and  Al- 
berta. What  these  costs  are  in  Nova  Scotia  I  do  not  know,  nor  in 
other  foreign  countries  outside  of  British  Columbia  and  Alberta. 

Replying  to  Mr.  Stowell:  The  Roslyn  coal  mines,  25  miles  west 
of  Ellensburg,  belong  to  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  who  do  not 
sell  coal  commercially.  There  are  a  few  small  country  banks  sell- 
ing coal,  and  have  been  for  some  tune,  in  Ellensburg,  at  $3.50  per  ton 
for  run- of -mine  or  steam  coal  and  for  $5.20  per  ton  for  a  screened 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  GO-2— Vol  6 51 


6568  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

lump  coal  of  very  superior  quality.    What  Mr.  Stowell  may  have  to 
pay  the  local  dealer  for  a  ton  put  into  his  coal  shed  I  do  not  know. 

The  Washington  commercial  coal  producers  will  agree  with  the 
last  paragraph  of  Mr.  Rufus  J.  Ireland's  communication  to  you. 
It  is  not  a  theory  with  us,  but  a  condition,  both  to  the  operators  and 
to  their  workmen,  and  if  for  the  general  good  of  the  United  States  in 
the  future  it  is  deemed  that  industries  should  not  be  protected,  give 
us  time  to  prepare  ourselves  for  this  result. 

It  is  seen  by  the  statistics  and  by  all  the  matter  in  "  Tariff  Hear- 
ings "  that  Washington,  Wyoming,  and  Montana  are  the .  States 
which  will  suffer  by  reason  of  a  reduction  in  the  coal  duty. 

Our  industries  are  comparatively  new;  and  if  there  is  any  merit 
in  protection  or  in  tariff  for  revenue,  instead  of  a  67  cent  duty  we 
should  have  $1  at  least. 

Competition  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard  keeps  any  foreign  coal  out 
that  has  to  be  reshipped  on  any  railroad  from  the  coast.  Nova 
Scotia  might  ship  in  more  tons  of  coal  to  those  industries  directly 
located  on  tide  water,  but  competition  amongst  the  coal-mine  owners 
of  the  United  States  is  keen  enough  to  prevent  any  coal  being 
shipped  from  coast  points  to  the  interior  in  the  New  England  States ; 
hence  the  benefit  of  a  reduction  of  duty  would  only  come  to  a  few 
concerns,  while  it  would  vitally  affect  every  coal-mine  employee  in 
Washington,  Montana,  and  Wyoming. 

We  simply  ask  you  to  do  that  which  is  the  greatest  good  to  the 
greatest  number  of  people  working  and  having  their  homes  in  the 
United  States. 

I  desire  to  correct  statement  of  my  former  brief,  clearly  a  mis- 
print, as  follows :  "  Of  the  numbers  scheduled  above,  20.3  per  cent 
are  boys,  etc;"  should  read:  "  29.3  per  cent."  This  is  a  matter  which 
vitally  affects  the  Washington  coal  operator.  We  are  not  seeking, 
nor  have  we  had  in  over  twenty  years,  any  Chinamen  or  Japanese, 
and  but  a  small  number  of  boys,  working  in  or  around  our  mines. 

The  coal-mine  owners  of  this  State  are,  almost  to  a  man,  Repub- 
licans, and  Republican  majorities  are  found  in  our  coal-mining 
towns.  We  stand  by  the  tariff  plank  of  1908  that:  "  In  tariff  legis- 
lation the  true  principle  of  protection  is  best  maintained  by  the 
imposition  of  such  duties  as  will  equal  the  difference  between  the 
cost  of  production  at  home  and  abroad." 

Yours,  very  truly,  F.  A.  HILL. 


CORK. 

[Paragraph  416.] 

THE   ARMSTRONG   CORK   COMPANY,   PITTSBURG,   PA.,   SUBMITS 
NEW  CLASSIFICATION  FOR  CORK  AND  CORK  BARKS. 

PITTSBURG,  PA.,  November  28, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

SIRS:  Paragraph  No.  416  of  Schedule  N  of  the  tariff  act  of  1897 
reads : 

Cork  bark,  cut  Into  squares  or  cubes,  eight  cents  per  pound ;  manufactured 
corks  over  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  measured  at  larger  end,  fifteen 


COKK ARMSTRONG    CORK   CO.  6569 

cents  per  pound ;  three-fourths  of  an  inch  and  less  in  diameter,  measured  at 
larger  end,  twenty-five  cents  per  pound ;  cork,  artificial,  or  cork  substitutes, 
manufactured  from  cork  waste  and  not  otherwise  provided  for,  eight  cents 
per  pound. 

And  paragraph  448  reads : 

Manufactures  of  amber,  asbestos,  bladders,  cork,  catgut  or  whip  gut  or  worm 
gut,  or  wax,  or  of  which  these  substances  or  either  of  them  is  the  component 
material  of  chief  value,  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  twenty-five  per 
centum  ad  valorem. 

If  we  may  so  far  presume,  we  would  suggest  that  paragraph  416 
be  revised  to  read  as  follows : 

Per  pound. 

Cork  bark,  cut  into  squares  or  quarters^ $0.08 

Manufactured  corks  and  cork  disks  over  three-fourths  of  an   inch  in 

diameter,  measured  at  larger  end .15 

Manufactured  corks  and  cork  disks  three-fourths  of  an  inch  and  less  in 

diameter,  measured  at  larger  end .  25 

Cork  bark  wholly  or  partially  manufactured  for  life  preservers  or  life 

buoys .01} 

Cork  bark  wholly  or  partially  manufactured  for  cork  insoles .  05 

Cork  floats,  3  inches  and  over  in  diameter,  for  nets  and  seines .  03 

Blocks,  sheets,  pipe  covering,  forms  or  boards  for  insulating  purposes, 

made  from  cork  waste  or  granulated  cork .  01 

Granulated  cork .  00} 

Artificial  cork,  suberit,  or  substitutes  for  natural  cork,  made  from  cork 

waste  or  granulated  cork  and  not  otherwise  provided  for .06 

Manufactures  of  artificial  cork,  suberit,  or  substitutes  for  natural  cork, 

made  from  cork  waste  or  granulated  cork  and  not  otherwise  provided 

for .  12 

Cork  paper  or  split  cork  thinner  than  100  to  the  inch 1.25 

The  present  tariff  on  manufactured  corks  is  not  higher  than  neces- 
sary to  protect  the  industry  in  the  United  States.  In  1897,  when  the 
present  act  became  law,  the  value  of  the  importations  of  cork  bark 
was  $1,323,408  and  of  manufactured  cork  bark  $463,740.23.  In  1907 
these  values  were  $2,358,873  and  $1,704,030,  respectively.  This  will 
bhow  that  under  the  present  tariff  the  importations  of  manufactured 
corks  have  increased  much  faster  than  those  of  the  unmanufactured 
cork  bark.  The  average  ad  valorem  duty  in  1907  was  22.93  per  cent. 
The  approximate  value  of  the  corks  annually  consumed  in  the  United 
States  is  $5,000,000,  the  importations  being  about  34  per  cent  of  this 
amount. 

The  first  clause  of  paragraph  No.  416,  Schedule  N,  reads:  "  Cork 
bark  cut  into  squares  or  cubes,  8  cents  per  pound."  We  suggest  the 
substitution  of  the  word  "  quarters  "  for  cubes.  Squares  or  quarters 
are  the  trade  terms  for  the  blanks  from  which  corks  are  cut  and  the 
word  "  cube  "  is  not  used. 

We  suggest  the  addition  of  the  words  "  cork  disks  "  to  the  second 
clause.  Since  the  enactment  of  this  act  cork  disks  have  become  a 
very  important  article  of  importation,  and  the  question  has  arisen 
whether  the  word  "  corks  "  covers  disks.  The  present  tariff  of  15 
cents  per  pound  has  not  been  sufficient  to  protect  the  manufacturers 
of  cork  disks  in  this  country,  and  at  least  three-fourths  of  the  demand 
is  supplied  from  abroad,  it  being  cheaper  to  manufacture  them  in 
Spain  and  pay  the  specific  duty  of  15  cents  per  pound,  or  the  ad 
valorem  duty  of  25  per  cent  for  articles  not  otherwise  provided  for. 

The  present  tariff  does  not  specifically  provide  for  the  duty  on 
cork  bark  wholly  or  partially  manufactured  for  life  preservers; 


6570  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

cork  insoles;  cork  paper;  for  cork  floats;  for  cork  sheets  and  forms 
for  insulating  purposes;  for  granulated  cork;  and  for  manufac- 
tures of  artificial  cork  or  cork  substitutes.  These  articles  have  been 
imported  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  under  an  ad  valorem  duty  of 
25  per  cent  for  articles  not  otherwise  provided  for.  The  result  of  this 
is  undervaluation,  and  also  attempts  to  import  certain  classes  of  cork 
products  as  cork  bark  unmanufactured.  The  conscientious  importer 
is  at  a  distinct  disadvantage  in  competing  with  the  less  scrupulous 
ones.  As  the  volume  of  these  importations  is  not  large,  it  is  very 
difficult  for  the  custom-house  officials  to  find  persons  to  intelligently 
appraise  this  merchandise.  In  our  judgment,  it  would  be  fairer  to 
all  importers  to  have  these  items  definitely  covered  by  a  specific 
duty,  and  we  think  the  figures  we  have  suggested  are  fair  and  not 
higher  than  they  should  be  to  protect  the  industry  in  the  United 
States.  We,  ourselves,  at  the  present  time  are  importing  cork  blanks 
for  making  cork  soles,  seine  corks,  and  cork  blocks  for  life  preservers, 
as  we  can  do  so  cheaper  than  we  can  make  them  in  the  United  States. 
We  do  not  see  any  good  reason  why  the  protection  on  this  line  should 
not  be  sufficient  to  give  the  American  workmen  at  least  a  portion  of 
this  work. 

We  suggest  that  paragraph  448  of  Schedule  N  remain  unchanged 
in  so  far  as  it  relates  to  manufactures  of  cork. 

From  4,000  to  5,000  people  are  employed  in  cork  making  in  the 
United  States.  Machinery  is  used  to  a  great  extent,  and  most  of  it 
is  of  American  invention,  but  owing  to  its  first  cost  and  to  the  many 
cracks  and  other  defects  in  cork  bark  which  have  to  be  avoided,  it 
must  be  worked  with  care  and  discrimination  to  get  economical 
results;  therefore,  machinery  entirely  automatic,  such  as  is  employed 
in  wood  working,  can  not  be  used  to  advantage  owing  to  excessive 
waste,  and  intelligent  operatives,  more  or  less  skilled,  are  required  in 
the  industry.  During  the  past  ten  years  American  machinery  has 
been  extensively  introduced  abroad  and  is  now  largely  employed  in 
Spain  and  Portugal.  On  another  page  we  set  forth  the  average 
wages  paid  cork  workers,  both  male  and  female,  in  the  United  States 
and  the  prices  paid  for  the  same  labor  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  the 
principal  cork  producing  and  manufacturing  countries,  from  which 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  American  workman  is  paid  on  the  average 
at  least  four  times  as  much  as  his  European  competitor.  Much  has 
been  said  about  the  ineffectiveness  of  this  cheaply  paid  foreign  labor, 
but  in  our  own  factory  in  Spain  we  find  that  we  can  and  do  get  as 
large  an  output  per  operative  as  we  do  in  our  factory  in  Pittsburg, 
and  the  piecework  prices  paid  do  not  exceed  one- fourth  of  those  paid 
for  the  same  work  in  Pittsburg.  The  United  States  manufacturer 
is  further  handicapped  by  the  fact  that  rents  and  other  expenses  are 
also  greater  and  he  must  provide  better  buildings  for  properly  hous- 
ing his  operatives  and  merchandise  than  are  necessary  in  the  milder 
climate  of  Spain  and  Portugal. 

In  our  judgment,  a  reduction  in  the  present  scale  of  duties  will 
cause  a  hardship  to  the  American  workman,  as  any  material  decrease 
in  the  protection  would  necessitate  an  adjustment  of  wages  to  suit  the 
new  conditions.  Corks,  with  the  exception  of  cork  disks,  are  not 
consumed  by  a  few  industries,  but  the  output  is  scattered  in  compar- 
atively small  quantities  all  over  the  country. 


CORK ARMSTRONG   CORK   CO. 


6571 


Since  1897  there  has  been  a  gradual  and  steady  decline  in  the  selling 
price  of  corks  of  all  kinds  in  the  United  States.  The  market  prices 
are  lower  now,  and  were  lower  during  the  busy  year  of  1907  than 
they  were  in  1897,  when  the  present  act  became  a  law. 

We  submit  the  following  tables  showing  the  working  of  the  present 
duties,  the  wages  paid  for  the  different  classes  of  labor  in  this  country 
and  abroad,  and  some  other  data  which  we  thought  would  prove  to 
be  of  interest  and  of  service  to  you  in  reaching  a  conclusion  on  this 
particular  part  of  Schedule  N : 


Size. 

Weight 
per  1,000. 

Cost  in 
Europe 
per  1,000. 

Dutvper 
1,000  at 
80.15  per 
pound. 

Ad  valo- 
rem. 

Total 
cost. 

Cost  to 
manufac- 
ture in 
United 
States. 

High  quality  wine  corks: 
No.  8,  14-inch  

Pounds. 

4.8 

83.50 

$0.72 

Per  cent. 
20.57 

$4.22 

$4.40 

No.  9  14-inch                   

5.7 

3.80 

.85* 

22.5 

4.654 

4.80 

Fine  quality  wine  corks  for  wines,  ex- 
port beers,  etc.: 
No.  8  14-inch  

4.8 

2.40 

.72 

30 

3.12 

3.24 

No.  9,  14-inch  

5.7 

2.80 

.854 

30.3 

3.654 

3.60 

Fine  beer  corks  for  steamed  beer: 
No.  8,  14-inch     

5 

L80 

.75 

41.7 

2.55 

2.56 

No.  9,  ll-inch  

6 

2.20 

.90 

40.9 

3.10 

2.90 

At  least  three-fourths  qf  the  bottle  corks  imported  are  in  the  two 
sizes  above  mentioned,  being  used  for  pint  and  quart  bottles.  A  few 
are  used  of  different  diameters  or  longer  or  shorter  lengths,  but  the 
duties  will  show  about  the  same  ad  valorem  equivalent.  The  labor 
and  expenses  of  making  1,000  corks  of  a  given  size  from  low  quality 
cork  bark  are  as  much  or  even  a  little  more  than  for  making  the  same 
quantity  of  high-grade  corks.  Therefore  the  equivalent  ad  valorem 
duty  is  higher  in  the  low  qualities  than  in  the  higher  grades. 


Size. 

Weight 
per  1,000. 

Cost  in 
Europe 
per  1,000. 

Dntv  per 
1.1)00  at 
SO.  25  per 
pound. 

Ad  valo- 
rem. 

Total 
cost. 

Cost  to 
manufac- 
ture in 
United 
States. 

Vial  corks,  XXXX  quality,  regular 
length  Nos  1  to  6  inclusive 

Pounds. 
0.95 

80.75 

80.  23j 

Per  cent. 
31  1 

50.98} 

80.90 

Vial  corks,  XXX  quality,  regular  length, 
Nos.  1  to  6  inclusive  

1.0 

.58 

.25 

46 

.83 

.77 

Weight 
per  1,000. 

Cost  in 
Europe 
per  1,000. 

Duty  per 
1,000  at 
$0.  15  per 
pound. 

Ad  valo- 
rem. 

Total 
cost. 

Cost  to 
manufac- 
ture in 
United 

States. 

Cork  disks,  1  J-inch  diameter  by  one-ninth 
of  an  inch  thick  

Pounds 
0.68 

$0.42 

$0.102 

Per  cent. 
24.3 

$0.522 

$0.58 

At  least  three-fourths  of  the  disks  used  in  this  country  are  im- 
ported, as  the  present  duty,  which  is  equivalent  to  about  24  per  cent 
ad  valorem,  is  not  sufficient  to  protect  the  industry  in  the  United 
States. 


6572 


SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 


Weight 
per  100 
dozen 
pairs. 

Cost  in 
Europe 
per  100 
dozen 
pairs. 

Duty,  at 
80.05  per 
pound. 

Ad  valo- 
rem. 

Total 
cost. 

Cost  to 
manufac- 
ture in 
United 
States. 

Cork  insoles,  men's  sizes  

Pounds. 
50 

89.00 

82.50 

Per  cent. 
2 

811.50 

814  00 

Weight 
per  1,000. 

Cost  in 
Europe 
per  1,000. 

Duty  per 
1,000,  at 
$0.03  per 
pound. 

Ad  valo- 
rem. 

Total 
cost. 

Cost  to 
manufac- 
ture in 
United 
States. 

Seine  corks  6-inch  

Pounds. 
200 

$18.00 

86.00 

Per  cent. 
33£ 

$24  00 

824  50 

LIFE  PRESERVER  BLOCKS. 


Cost  to 

Cost  in 
Europe 
per  set. 

Dutv,  at 
80.  H  per 
pound. 

Ad  valo- 
rem. 

Total 
cost. 

manufac- 
ture in 
United 

States. 

Per  cent. 

Weight  per  set,  6  pounds  

80.20 

$0.09 

45 

80.29 

80.30 

Formerly  almost  all  of  the  cork  bark  wholly  or  partially  manu- 
factured for  cork  insoles,  seine  corks,  and  cork  blocks  for  life  pre- 
servers was  manufactured  in  the  United  States.  Now  the  great  bulk 
is  imported.  To  protect  our  business  we  have  been  obliged  to  manu- 
facture these  articles  in  Spain,  it  being  cheaper  to  pay  the  ad  valorem 
dutv  of  25  per  cent  than  to  make  them  in  this  country. 

Life  preservers  are  made  from  the  cheapest  grade  of  cork  bark. 
The  labor  is  proportionately  high  to  the  cost  of  the  material  itself, 
and  shows  a  correspondingly  high  ad  valorem  equivalent.  Spain 
also  levies  an  export  duty  of  about  one-half  cent  per  pound  on  cork 
bark  unmanufactured. 


Dutv  at 

Cost  to 

Weight 

Cost  in 

25  per 

Dutv  at 

manufac- 

per 1  ,000 
sheets. 

Europe 
per  1,000. 

cent 
ad  va- 

81.25 per 
pound. 

cost. 

ture  in 
United 

lorem. 

States. 

Cork  paper,  AA  quality: 

Pound*. 

5  bv  10  inches        .  

0  75 

$5.70 

81  49i 

80  94 

$6  64 

$7  00 

4  by  6  inches  

.375 

2.85 

.7U 

.47 

3.32 

3  50 

A  quality: 

5  bv  10  inches  

.75 

3.45 

.86J 

.94 

4.39 

4.75 

4  bv  6  inches        

.375 

1  75 

.43J 

47 

2  22 

2  40 

B  quality: 

6  bv  10  inches  

.75 

1.50 

.37J 

94 

2  44 

2  80 

4  by  6  inches  

.375 

.83 

.201 

.47 

1.30 

1.60 

Cork  paper  is  a  comparatively  new  article  of  manufacture  and  is 
principally  used  for  cigarette  tips.  Approximately  50  per  cent  of 
the  cost  is  in  labor  and  factory  expenses  aside  from  material.  The 
bulk  of  this  paper  is  now  imported.  Owing  to  the  great  difference  in 
the  value  of  the  several  grades  there  is  great  inducement  to  evade  the 


CORK. 


6573 


present  ad  valorem  duty  of  25  per  cent  by  undervaluation.  Such 
irregularities  are  hard  to  detect  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  finding 
persons  with  expert  knowledge  to  intelligently  appraise  the 
importations. 

Weekly  wages  paid  cork  workers. 


United  States. 

Spain. 

Men: 
Cork-bark  sorters  : 

813.  00  to  815.  00 

83.  50  to  84.  60 

Slicers  .                 

12  00  to   13  00 

3  00  to   3  50 

Blockers  

14.  00  to    16.  00 

3.  00  to    3.  60 

Bovs  

5  00  to   12  00 

3  60  to   3  00 

Women: 
Machine  operatives  

5.  00  to     8.  00 

1.  20  to    1.  50 

Sorters  

6.  00  to     9.  00 

1.  20  to   1.  50 

Packers  

6  00  to     8  00 

Our  factories  operate  fifty-five  hours  per  week. 
The  above  data  as  to  wages  are  taken  from  our  own  pay  rolls  in 
Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  Seville,  Spain,  and  we  know  are  fairly  repre- 
sentative of  wage  conditions  in  the  United  States  and  Spain. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

ARMSTRONG  CORK  COMPANY, 
CHARLES  D.  ARMSTRONG,  President. 


JOSE  TORRES,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  OPPOSES  ANY  INCREASE  IN  THE 
DUTIES  ON  CORK  AND  CORK  PRODUCTS. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  November  %3,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  I  am  going  to  give  you  certain  figures  with  regard 
to  the  actual  duties  on  corks.  I  inclose  some  of  them  for  your 
perusal,  as  I  know  that  the  Armstrong  Cork  Company  will  try  to 
raise  them  in  some  cases,  because  they  claim  theirs  are  an  infant 
industry;  also  it  has  been  in  existence  for  half  a  century  and  can 
oversell  all  cork  manufacturers  of  Europe  all  over  the  world.  I  do 
not  give  you  any  other  sizes  of  tapers,  because  duties  being  pro- 
hibitive, very  few  have  been  imported,  and  only  at  intervals  when 
the  cork  trust  had  raised  the  prices  away  up. 

If  your  committee  examines  the  price  list  of  the  Diamond  Cork 
Company,  of  Brooklyn,  which  is  exactly  the  same  as  the  Armstrong 
Cork  Company,  of  Pitts*burg,  as  far  as  the  prices  and  sizes  of  corks 
are  concerned,  you  will  find  that  although  there  are  about  600  sizes 
and  qualities  of  taper  corks,  only  about  30  sizes  have  been  imported 
in  very  small  quantities  during  ten  years. 

In  regard  to  straight  corks,  which  pay  15  cents  per  pound  duty, 
the  machine-cut  corks  can  not  be  imported  to  compete  with  the 
American  product.  Large  quantities  of  hand-cut  corks  were  imported 
several  years  ago,  the  hand  labor  in  Europe  being  cheaper  than  in 
America,  but  these  hand-cut  corks  h#ve  been  substituted  by  crown 


SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 


corks,  which  are  all  made  in  this  country.  Whatever  hand-cut  corks 
are  imported,  they  are  left  in  bond  to  be  shipped  to  other  countries. 
The  cork  disks  which  are  imported  now  pay  25  per  cent  duty  on 
its  value,  although  the  Armstrong  Cork  Company  are  importing 
theirs  at  higher  prices  to  make  your  committee  believe  that  the  duty 
on  this  article  must  be  increased.  I  beg  your  committee  to  look  at 
the  invoices  of  cork  disks  of  the  Crown  Cork  and  Seal  Company,  of 
Baltimore,  L.  Mundet  &  Son,  of  Brooklyn,  and  others  to  find  out  the 
facts.  The  Crown  Cork  and  Seal  Company,  of  Baltimore,  have  im- 
ported all  their  disks  from  Europe  for  several  years  back.  Lately 
they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they  can  produce  the  same  article 
here  cheaper  than  they  can  get  it  in  Europe,  and  they  have  opened  a 
large  cork  factory  in  Baltimore.  Your  committee  will  find  out  that 
the  importations  of  cork  disks  have  diminished  by  one-half  or  more 
this  year,  and  this  only  on  account  of  the  Crown  Cork  and  Seat  Com- 
pany having  decided  to  manufacture  their  own  disks.  Therefore,  no 
fair  protection  can  be  given  to  the  Armstrong  Cork  Company  on  this 
article. 

Yours,  truly,  JOSE  TORRES. 


Cost  of  production  of  corks  by  the  Diamond  Cork  Company,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
in  the  past  ten  months  from  January  to  October  81,  1908. 


Month. 

Sales. 

Expenses. 

Percent- 
age. 

January             _       

$10,838.28 

$3,660.90 

33-78 

February          _    -  -  

8,233.96 

2,977.88 

36-16 

March  

9,911.23 

4,538.11 

45-78 

April                                                            

12,108.96 

2,953.88 

24-40 

May       _    -          -    

15,059.81 

4,359.97 

28-95 

June          --    

16,357.98 

4,761.99 

29-11 

July                                                                      

12,377.94 

5,267.45 

42-55 

August                      -  -     -       - 

13,638.70 

3,121.09 

22-89 

September    _    

16,318.68 

3,954.15 

24-22 

October  

16,334.91 

4,465.22 

27-33 

Total 

131,180.45 

40,060.64 

Average                                                                           -    - 

30-54 

Import  duties  on  taper  corks  from  Nos.  1  to  6  XXX,  extra  long,  used  for  patent 
medicines  and  by  retail  druggists. 


Price  in  Spain  for  1,000  corks. 

Weight  of 
1,000  corks. 

Duties  at 
25  cents  per 
pound  on 
1,000  corks. 

Percentage 
of  duties 
on  1.000 
corks. 

No   1  XXX,  extra  long,  1.  90  pesetas  -            

Ounces. 
8.25 

$0.12-$0.89 

35 

No.  2  XXX,  extra  long,  2  pesetas  -  

11.00 

.17-    .19 

47 

No   3  XXX   extra  long,  2.  58  pesetas                                  

15.20 

.23-    .75 

50 

No.  4  XXX   extra  long,  2.64  pesetas         -    

22.00 

.34-     .37 

71 

No   5  XXX   extra  long   2  88  pesetas                 -         -    -  -      —  _ 

25.00 

.39-    .03 

67 

No   6  XXX   extra  long  3  78  pesetas 

31.00 

.48-    .44 

65 

The  Spanish  peseta  is  depreciated  12  t>er  cent  to-day,  and  has  been  for  a  number  of  years 
more  than  that,  but  no  less. 


CORK — JOSE   TORRES. 


6575 


Import  duties  on  taper  corks  from  Nos.  1  to  6  XX,  extra  long,  used  for  patent 
medicines  and  ~by  retail  druggists. 


Price  in 

Spain  for  1,000  corks. 

Weight  of 
1,000  corks. 

Duties  at 
25  cents  per 
pound  on 
1,000  corks. 

Percentage 
of  duties 
on  1,000 
corks. 

No 

1  XX 

10  pesetas 

Ounces. 
8.40 

0.12-.25 

60 

No 

2  XX 

extra  long,  1 

15  pesetas 

11.20 

.16-.  38 

79 

No 

3  XX, 

extra  long,  1 

40  pesetas 

15.40 

.22-.  75 

90 

No 

4  XX, 

extra  long,  1 

40  pesetas                 --  - 

22.40 

.29-.V5 

118 

No 

5  XX, 

extra  long,  1 

50  pesetas.  _    .  

25.90 

.39-.20 

145 

No 

6  XX, 

extra  long,  1 

90  pesetas 

32.20 

.54-.40 

159 

The  Spanish  peseta  is  depreciated  12  per  cent  to-day,  and  has  been  for  a  number  of  yeare 
more  than  that,  but  no  less. 

Import  duties  on  taper  corks  from  Nos.  1  to  6X,  extra  long,  used  for  patent 
medicines,  inks,  mucilages,  etc. 


Price  in  Spain  for  1,000  corks. 

Weight  of 
1,000  corks. 

Duties  at 
25  cents  per 
pound  on 
1,000  corks. 

Percentage 
of  duties 
on  1,000 
corks. 

No. 
No. 
No. 
No. 
No. 
No. 

IX  extra  long, 
2X  extra  long, 
3X  extra  long, 
4X  extra  long, 
5X  extra  long, 
6X  extra  long, 

0.75  peseta.          

Ounces. 
9 
12 
12 
24 
28 
35 

0.14-0.06 
.18-  .75 
.26-  .53 
.37-  .50 
.43-  .75 
.54-  .69 

Per  cent. 
100 
139 
•   196 
208 
194 
202 

0.75  peseta  _      .         -    

1.25  pesetas 

1  50  pesetas 

This  quality  is  one  of  the  most  used  in  the  line  of  tapers. 

The  Spanish  peseta  is  depreciated  12  per  cent  to-day,  and  has  been  for  a  number  of 
years  more  than  that,  but  no  less. 


NEW  YORK,  November  %4>  1908. 
Hon.  COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  writer  forgot  to  mail  you  yesterday  the  cost  of 
production  of  taper  corks  in  Spain.  No  doubt  you  will  be  very 
much  surprised  when  you  will  see  that  the  taper  corks  cost  more  to 
produce  in  Spain  than  in  this  country;  nevertheless  this  is  a  fact 
which  you  can  easily  find  out  by  asking  the  consul-general  of  Barce- 
lona to  report  to  your  committee  in  regard  to  this  matter.  The  rea- 
son why  the  cost  of  production  of  tapers  is  higher  than  the  cost  of 
production  in  this  country  is  because  in  America  they  use  the  best 
power  machines  of  the  latest  inventions,  while  in  Spain  they  produce 
these  corks  with  hand-power  machines. 

Cost  of  production  of  taper  corks  in  Spain,  as  per  our  books  in  our 
factory  in  Palaf  rugell,  38  per  cent  of  the  invoice  prices. 

Trusting  that  this  will  illustrate  you  in  regard  to  the  unfair  duties 
taper  corks  are  paying  now,  I  remain, 

Yours,  truly,  JOSE  TORRES. 


6576  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDRIES. 

MANUFACTURERS  OF  CROWN  CORKS  CLAIM  THAT  DUTIES  ON 
CORK  DISKS  ARE  UNNECESSARILY  HIGH. 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  November  25,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  undersigned  are  manufacturers  of  crown  corks. 
We  beg  you  to  remind  your  committee  that  the  duties  on  cork  disks 
are  too  high  at  present  and  beg  you  to  reduce  them  from  15  cents 
per  pound  to  10  cents  per  pound.  Impo.  ved  cork  disks  pay  now  25  per 
cent  of  their  value,  and  by  looking  at  the  importations  of  the  Crown 
Cork  and  Seal  Company,  of  Baltimore,  L.  Mundet  &  Sons,  of  Brook- 
lyn, and  others,  you  will  find  this  to  be  a  fact,  although  the  Armstrong 
Cork  Company,  representing  the  cork  trust,  are  importing  these  cork 
disks  at  higher  prices  to  make  your  committee  believe  that  the  per- 
centage of  duty  is  not  high  enough. 

If  the  manufacturers  of  crown  corks  have  to  depend  on  the  cork 
trust  alone  for  our  supply  of  cork  disks,  we  know  that  before  long  we 
shall  be  put  out  of  existence.  The  Armstrong  Cork  Company,  with 
a  capital  of  $4,500.000,  and  the  Crown  Cork  and  Seal  Company,  of 
Baltimore,  with  a  capital  of  $5,000,000,  will  combine  to  close  up  our 
factories.  We  can  not  depend  to  get  our  supply  of  cork  disks  from 
the  independent  cork  factories,  because  these  are  of  no  importance 
and  are  unable  to  supply  one-third  of  the  demand. 

To  give  your  committee  a  more  correct  idea  of  how  the  cork 
industry  stands  now,  we  give  you  the  capital  stock  of  all  the  cork 
factories  in  the  United  States,  independent  of  the  cork  trust:  Diamond 
Cork  Company,  vof  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  capital  stock  $10,000;  Paddock 
Cork  Company,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  capital  stock  $60,000;  Empire 
City  Cork  Company,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  capital  stock  $25,000; 
National  Cork  Company,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  capital  stock  $20,000; 
Century  Cork  Company,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  capital  stock  $25,000; 
Trusslow  &  Fuller,  Jersey  City,  N.  J.,  capital  stock  $35,000 ;  Viatemple 
Brothers,  Newark,  N.  J.,  capital  stock  $5,000;  Chicago  Cork  Works, 
Chicago,  111.,  capital  stock  $25,000;  total,  $205,000,  against  the  capital 
of  $4,500,000  of  the  Armstrong  Cork  Company. 

The  patent  on  the  bottle-capping  machine  will  expire  April  23, 
1909.  After  that  date,  no  doubt,  crown-cork  factories  will  spring  up 
all  over  the  country,  but  if  your  committee  will  shut  up  the  European 
market  for  cork  disks  by  not  lowering  the  duty  on  same,  then  the 
monopoly  between  the  Armstrong  Cork  Company  and  the  Crown 
Cork  and  Seal  Company,  of  Baltimore,  will  be  an  accomplished  fact. 

Trusting  that  our  petition  will  have  the  careful  consideration  of 
your  committee,  we  remain, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

MANHATTAN  CORK  SPECIALTY  Co., 
MANUEL  PRUNEDA, 

Secretary  and  Treasurer. 
AMERICAN  CORK  SPECIALTY  Co., 
JOSEPH  H.  FITZPATRICK, 

Secretary  and  Treasurer. 


CORK FEANCTSCO  LLADO  FARRELL-.  6577 

FRANCISCO  LLADO  FARRELL,   OF  NEW  YORK  CITY,  ASKS  FOR 
REDUCTION  IN  RATES  OF  DUTY  ON  CORKS. 

SATURDAY,  November  %8, 1908. 

Mr.  FARRELL.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  Committee  on 
Ways  and  Means,  we,  the  undersigned  importers  of  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  corks,  beg  to  protest  most  strongly  against  the  present 
excessive  rate  of  duty  on  corks. 

We  would  briefly  call  the  attention  of  this  committee  to  the  fol- 
lowing facts:  In  the  first  place,  as  there  are  no  cork  trees  or  cork 
woods  grown  in  the  United  States,  it  can  not  be  argued  that  a  high 
protective  duty  is  needed  or  is  in  any  way  necessary  to  protect  this 
product.  Therefore,  the  only  ground  for  a  tariff  on  this  article  is 
for  revenue  to  this  Government  or  to  protect  home  industry  in  the 
manufactured  article;  but  in  this  case  there  is  no  necessity  for  an 
excessive  tariff  on  corks,  inasmuch  as  the  home  manufacturers  are 
so  highly  protected  by  the  excessive  tariff  that  they  now  control 
about  85  per  cent  of  the  cork  industry  in  this  country,  and  which 
has  practically  killed  competition  with  the  importers  of  corks. 

Of  course,  the  consumers  are  the  druggists,  wine  manufacturers, 
brewers,  bottlers,  and  all  users  of  corks,  and  must  pay  for  this  un- 
necessarily high  rate  of  duty.  A  lower  tariff  would  allow  of  fairer 
competition,  from  which  these  consumers  would  also  receive  the 
benefit. 

In  this  connection  we  would  say  that  as  the  direct  result  of  the 
present  excessive  rates  of  duty  on  imported  corks  the  cork  importers 
have  been  in  a  badly  demoralized  condition  for  years  past,  which 
condition  in  turn  has  worked  serious  damage  to  the  buyers  and  con- 
sumers of  corks,  who  must  use  them  for  the  bottling  of  their  various 
kinds  of  product*. 

It  is  a  fact  that  previous  to  the  McKinley  and  Dingley  tariff  there 
were  many  importers  of  corks  and  about  an  equal  number  of  manu- 
facturers of  corks  in  this  country.  However,  since  then  the  cork 
importers  have  been  almost  wiped  out,  due  to  the  prohibitive  duty  on 
this  article.  If  the  present  rate  of  duty  continues  during  the  next 
administration,  the  cork  combination  in  this  country  will  then  have 
absolute  control. 

The  present  excessive  tariff  on  corks  has  led  to  the  usual  unde- 
sirable result  of  giving  a  few  large  manufacturers  a  practical 
monopoly.  In  other  words,  as  is  well  understood  in  the  cork  trade, 
there  is  a  so-called  "  combination  "  or  "  trust,"  which  has  agreed  on 
prices  and  which  has  driven  out  its  rivals,  the  importers,  and  prac- 
tically controls  the  output  of  all  kinds  of  corks. 

As  long  as  the  present  prohibitive  rates  of  duty  on  corks  continue, 
just  so  long  the  cork  combination  can  hold  its  monopoly  against  fair 
competition. 

As  Spain  and  Portugal  absolutely  control  the  raw  material,  which 
is  the  corkwood,  the  proposition  is  now  being  considered  bv  the 
above-mentioned  Governments  to  retaliate  against  our  prohibitive 
tariff  by  placing  an  export  duty  on  their  corkwood. 

If  this  should  be  done,  it  would  seriously  affect  not  only  our  manu- 
facturers of  corks,  who  are  shielded  against  all  outside  competition 
by  the  present  high  tariff,  but  all  users  of  corks.  And  yet  there  is 


6578  SCHEDULE   N — SUNDRIES. 

no  good  reason  why  Spain  and  Portugal  should  not  treat  us  to  the 
same  kind  of  prohibitive  duties  as  we  have  raised  up  against  them, 
particularly  as  this  is  one  of  their  largest  industries. 

Owing  to  the  great  decrease  in  imports  on  corks  each  succeeding 
year  since  the  McKinley  tariff  went  into  effect,  there  has  been  a  heavy 
falling  off  in  revenue  under  the  present  tariff  to  this  Government. 

The  statistics,  compiled  by  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  in  Washington, 
are  wrong  respecting  the  importation  of  corks  for  the  reason  that 
cork  disks  and  corks,  both  measuring  three-fourths  of  an  inch  or 
over  in  diameter,  are  included  in  the  same  figures,  though  two  dif- 
ferent articles.  This  is  a  very  important  matter  for  the  reason  that 
the  statistics  show  an  increase  in  importation  on  corks  measuring 
three- fourths  of  an  inch  or  over,  which  includes  corks  and  cork 
disks.  Though  the  importation  of  cork  disks  has  increased,  the  im- 
portation of  corks  has  decreased  very  materially,  which  important 
matter  I  request  your  committee  to  investigate. 

Corkwood  is  allowed  to  come  in  free,  while  there  is  a  duty  of  15 
cents  a  pound  on  all  manufactured  corks  measuring  three-fourths 
of  an  inch  or  over  in  diameter  and  25  cents  a  pound  on  all  corks 
measuring  under  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  which  is  pro- 
hibitive, as  every  importer  of  corks  knows. 

This  country  exacts  the  highest  duty  on  corks  of  any  other  coun- 
try in  the  world. 

Without  going  into  the  full  details  we  believe,  and  therefore  we 
ask,  that  a  duty  of  8  cents  a  pound  on  corks  measuring  three- fourths 
of  an  inch  or  over  and  10  cents  a  pound  on  corks  under  would  afford 
ample  protection  to  the  cork  manufacturers  of  this  country. 

The  proposition  may  be  stated  briefly,  thus:  The  price  of  cork- 
wood, which  is  the  raw  material,  has  remained  practicallv  the  same 
for  the  past  fifteen  or  twenty  years  in  Spain  and  Portugal ;  but  the 
McKinley  tariff  raised  the  duty  on  the  manufactured  product  50  per 
cent.  The  protective  combination  has  taken  advantage  of  this  situa- 
tion ;  so  that  while  the  raw  material,  or  corkwood,  costs  the  same  as 
before,  the  trust  had  gradually  raised  the  prices  of  corks  to  the  con- 
sumers from  about  25  to  50  per  cent. 

Therefore,  in  conclusion,  both  in  the  interests  of  the  revenue  to  this 
country  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  consumers  of  corks,  we  ask  this 
committee  to  reduce  the  tariff  schedule,  as  above  suggested,  to  8  cents 
a  pound  on  corks  measuring  three-fourths  of  an  inch  or  over  in 
diameter  and  10  cents  a  pound  on  corks  measuring  under. 


STATEMENT  MADE  BY  JOSEPH  TORRES,   OF  NEW  YORK  CITY, 
RELATIVE  TO  CORK  AND  CORK  PRODUCTS. 

SATURDAY,  November  #5, 1908. 

Mr.  TORRES.  I  only  want  five  minutes,  Mr.  Chairman. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Proceed. 

Mr.  TORRES.  The  Armstrong  Cork  Company,  or  the  "  cork  trust,"  as 
we  call  them,  control  85  per  cent  of  the  corks  and  cork  products  manu- 
factured in  this  country.  They  establish  the  market  prices  on  these 
articles  and  do  as  they  like  because  they  are  protected  by  a  tariff 
ranging  from  100  to  200  per  cent  on  imported  tapers.  The  cost  of 


CORK JOSEPH   TORRES.  6579 

production  in  Spain  is  higher  than  it  is  in  this  country  on  account 
of  the  inferior  machinery  there  in  use.  The  wages  are  only  half  of  the 
wages  paid  in  this  country.  The  cost  of  production  in  this  country 
is  from  25  to  30  per  cent  of  the  value  of  the  goods  after  being  made 
ready  for  the  market.  To  prove  this,  I  present  tables  showing  the 
cost  of  production  during  the  past  ten  months  of  the  Diamond  Cork 
Company,  of  Brooklyn.  The  Armstrong  Cork  Company  can  produce 
their  goods  much  cheaper  than  the  Diamond  Cork  Company  on  ac- 
count of  their  better  facilities  and  larger  production.  I  give  you  also 
a  table  showing  the  prices  that  I  get  for  my  taper  corks  in  this  country. 
If  you  will  look  at  them,  you  will  find  that  I  make  15  per  cent  gross 
profit  as  an  average. 

If  I  am  able  to  import  tapers  and  make  15  per  cent  profit,  after 
paying  from  100  to  200  per  cent  duty  on  their  value  in  Spain,  and  the 
cost  of  production  in  Spain  is  higher  than  it  is  in  this  country,  how 
much  profit  will  the  Armstrong  Cork  Company  make  on  their  prod- 
uct? This  is  a  hard  nut  for  your  committee  to  crack.  These  taper 
corks  are  cut  in  Spain  by  hand-power  machines,  and  the  working  girl 
cuts  20,000  per  week  and  gets  $2  wages.  The  taper  corks  in  this 
country  are  cut  by  power  machines,  and  one  girl  feeds  these  machines 
at  the  rate  of  75  corks  per  minute,  producing  every  week  243,000 
corks,  or  223,000  more  than  the  Spanish  girl.  The  American  girl 

fets  from  $4  to  $5  per  week.  These  are  facts  which  it  will  be  easy 
ar  your  committee  to  verify.  But  let  us  suppose  that  the  Spanish 
workingman  could  have  the  same  machines  as  the  Armstrong  Cork 
Company.  My  experience  during  twenty-five  years  of  manufactur- 
ing on  both  sides  has  been  that  the  Spanish  workingmen  produce 
about  two-thirds  of  what  the  American  workingmen  produces  here. 
Now,  then,  if  we  make  things  to  suit  the  cork  trust,  and  we  admit 
that  taper  corks  can  be  produced  in  Spain  for  one-half  of  what  they 
can  be  produced  for  here,  we  shall  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  will 
cost  in  this  country  $30  to  produce  $100  worth  of  corks,  while  in 
Spain  it  will  cost  only  $15.  In  other  words,  to  equalize  the  cost  of 
production  the  cork  trust  needs  15  per  cent  duty  on  the  imported 
tapers.  Now  they  are  protected  by  from  100  to  200  per  cent.  Last 
April  the  cork  trust  raised  the  price  on  tapers  from  20  to  25  per 
cent.  This  your  committee  can  find  out  from  any  retail  druggist  in 
Washington.  Could  the  trust  do  that  if  the  tapers  could  be  im- 
ported from  Europe?  Why  does  the  cork  trust  allow  me  to  import 
tapers?  Because  I  import  only  about  $20,000  worth  a  year,  and  as 
the  cork  trust  sells  over  $1,000^000  worth  every  year,  in  order  to  cut 
me  down  altogether  they  would  have  to  reduce  the  market  price  15 
per  cent,  the  profit  I  make  on  my  goods,  and  this  would  be  a  loss  to 
the  trust  of  over  $150,000  every  year.  I  therefore  ask  your  commit- 
tee to  change  the  schedule  on  taper  corks  from  25  cents  per  pound, 
which  they  pay  now,  to  10  cents  per  pound,  and  on  the  straight  corks 
from  15  cents  per  pound,  which  they  pay  now,  to  8  cents  per  pound, 
because  if  the  trust  can  compete  now  with  the  Spanish  manufacturers 
in  Porto  Kico,  Cuba,  Mexico,  and  all  the  southern  republics,  they 
will  be  able  to  compete  with  better  advantage  in  this  country  pro- 
vided they  limit  their  profit  to  20  or  25  per  cent. 

I  will  ask  you  to  note  that  we  do  not  import  any  smaller  number 
than  No.  1,  because  there  is  no  sale  for  them. 


6580 


SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 


(The  tables  submitted  by  Mr.  Torres  are  as  follows:) 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  November  87, 1908. 

Duties  on  imported  tapers  at  25  cents  per  pound  from  Nos.  1  to  6  X,  XX,  and 
XXX,  extra  long,  these  three  qualities  being  the  most  used  among  retail 
druggists,  patent  medicine,  ink  and  mucilage  manufacturers,  etc. 


Price  in  Spain  for  1,000  corks. 

Weight  of 
1,000  corks. 

Duties  at 
2">  cents  per 
pound  on 
1,000  corks. 

Percentage 
of  duties 
on  1,000 
corks. 

No.  1  X,  extra  long,  0.75  peseta    .    -             

Ounces. 
9 

0  1406 

Per  cent. 
100 

No.  2  X,  extra  long,  0.75  peseta  .  

12 

.1875 

139 

No.  3  X,  extra  long,  0.75  peseta             _                   _                   

12 

.2653 

196 

No.  4  X,  extra  long,  1.00  peseta      

24 

.3750 

208 

No.  5  X,  extra  long   1.25  pesetas 

28 

4375 

194 

No.  6  X,  extra  long,  1.50  pesetas       -              _    -  -         -  

35 

5469 

202 

No   1  XX   extra  long,  1  10  pesetas 

8  40 

1225 

60 

No.  2  XX,  extra  long,  1.15  pesetas 

11  20 

1638 

79 

No.  3  XX,  extra  long,  1.40  pesetas      -  -    -    - 

15.40 

.2275 

90 

No   4  XX   extra  long,  1.40  pesetas 

22  40 

2975 

118 

No.  5  XX,  extra  long,  1.50  pesetas 

25  90 

3920 

145 

No.  6  XX,  extra  long,  1.90  pesetas  -    --  - 

32.20 

.5440 

159 

No.  1  XXX,  extra  long   1.90  pesetas 

8  25 

V'89 

35 

No.  2  XXX,  extra  long,  2.00  pesetas           -    - 

11 

.1719 

47 

No.  3  XXX,  extra  long,  2.58  pesetas  

15.20 

.2375 

50 

No.  4  XXX,  extra  long,  2.64  pesetas 

22 

,3437 

71 

No.  5  XXX,  extra  long,  2.88  pesetas         

25 

.3906 

67 

No.  6  XXX,  extra  long,  3.78  pesetas  -    - 

31 

.4844 

65 

The  Spanish  peseta  is  depreciated  12  per  cent  of  the  gold  value. 

The  average  duty  on  these  three  qualities  of  tapers,  as  it  appears, 
amounts  to  101  per  cent,  but  it  should  pay,  according  to  our  invoices. 
139  per  cent,  because  there  are  more  Nos.  3,  4,  and  5  used  in  propor- 
tion than  Nos.  1,  2,  and  6. 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  November  27, 1908. 

Cost  of  the  production  of  corks  ~by  the  Diamond  Cork  Company,  of  Brooklyn, 
for  the  first  ten  months  of  1!)08. 


Month. 

Sales. 

Expenses. 

Percent- 
age. 

January                    

$10.838.28 

$3,660.90 

33.78 

February    -  

8,233.96 

2,977.88 

36.16 

March                                                -      

9.911.23 

4,538.11 

45.78 

April                 .    .     -- 

12,108.96 

2,953.83 

24.40 

May                    -  -    

15,059.81 

4,359.97 

23.  9i 

June    -     -  

16,357.98 

4,761.99 

2!M1 

July                                 -  

12,377.94 

5,267.45 

42.55 

August                     -  -  -  --  • 

13,688.70 

3,121.09 

22.80 

16,318.68 

3,954.15 

21.22 

October                    -    

16,334.91 

4,465.22 

27.33 

Total                          

131,180.45 

40,060.84 

Average.  

30.54 

CORK. 


6581 


BROOKLYN,  K  Y.,  November  87,  1908. 

Cost,  in  pesetas,  per  1,000  tapers  from  Spain  (the  peseta  teing  depreciated  12 
per  cent  of.  the  gold  value). 


X. 

XX. 

XXX. 

No.  l... 

Pesetas. 
0.75 

Pesetas. 
1.10 

Pesetas. 
1.90 

No.  2    . 

.75 

1.15 

2.0) 

No.  3— 

.75 

1.40 

2.58 

No.  4 

1.00 

1.40 

2.64 

No.  5  ... 

1.25 

1.50 

2  83 

No.  6  

1.50 

1.90 

3.78 

Selling  price  in  the  United  States  per  1,000  tapers. 


X. 

XX. 

XXX. 

No.  1 

$0  3402 

$0  5103 

$0.6461 

No.  2  

.3402 

.5103 

.6461 

No.  3  ... 

.3836 

.6334 

.8078 

No.  4  

.5103 

.7238 

.9156 

No.  5 

.7658 

.8)02 

1.0773 

No.  6                           i 

.8939 

1.0640 

1.3468 

Average  profit  about  15  per  cent. 


The  average  duty  paid  on  these  tapers  is  101  per  cent,  but  they  pay  more  than  that, 
because  there  are  more  Nos.  3,  4,  and  5  used  in  proportion  than  Nos.  1,  2,  and  6.  The 
average  duty  as  per  our  importations  should  be  139  per  cent. 

The  average  cost  of  producing  taper  corks  in  our  factory  in  1'alafrugell,  Spain,  during 
the  last  ten  years,  has  been  between  35  and  40  per  cent  of  the  value  of  the  goods  after 
being  ready  for  the  market. 


STATEMENT  OF  FERDINAND  GTJTMANN,   OF  NEW  YORK   CITY, 
RELATIVE  TO  DUTIES  PLACED  ON  CORKS. 

SATURDAY,  November  28,  1908. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  much  time  do  you  want? 

Mr.  GUTMANN.  About  fifteen  minutes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  much? 

Mr.  GUTMANN.  Fifteen  minutes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Fifteen  minutes?  I  wish  you  would  get  along 
with  ten.  I  guess  you  had  better  try.  , 

Mr.  GUTMANN.  I  will  if  I  can. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  There  are  a  good  many  people  here  from  a  dis- 
tance. If  you  come  here  a  week  from  Monday  morning  we  will  hear 
you. 

Mr.  GUTMANN.  I  would  rather  discuss  it  now,  Mr.  Chairman. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  All  right;   ten  minutes,  then. 

Mr.  GUTMANN.  I  am  one  of  the  independent  cork  dealers  that  is 
left  since  the  enactment  of  the  recent  tariff  law.  The  reason  of  that 
is  very  apparent.  If  you  gentlemen  will  look  at  the  custom-house 
records  and  see  what  lias  transpired,  it  will  prove  to  you  that  a  cer- 
tain class  of  goods  has  been  absolutely  impossible  to  import,  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  the  raw  material  is  on  the  free  list.  Gentlemen,  the 
goods  that  are  made  in  this  country  are  made  on  the  best  machines 


6582  SCHEDULE   N — SUNDRIES. 

that  have  ever  been  invented  in  Europe  and  here,  but  still  there  is  a 
duty  enacted,  or  a  duty  asked,  all  the  way  from  60  to  200  per  cent. 
The  good  reason  for  that  is,  as  they  claim,  that  they  need  protection 
against  European  manufacturers.  This  is  done  entirely  by  hand 
work.  The  result  of  this  has  been  that  the  importation  of  the  me- 
dium and  poorer  classes  of  goods  has  absolutely  b£en  prohibited.  It 
has  changed  us  in  this  country  into  using  patent  stoppers  instead  of 
corks  altogether,  and  it  is  well  known  all  over  Europe,  in  France  and 
Germany,  that  this  country  is  receiving  for  its  money,  so  far  as  the 
trade  is  concerned,  poorer  value  than  any  other  country  that  is  buying 
corks,  and  the  result  of  it  is  that  we  are  to-day  compelled  to  use  a 
patent  stopper  like  this  which  I  have  in  my  hand  here,  because  we 
can  not  get  corks  at  the  proper  value.. 

Gentlemen,  I  am  asking  you  to  regard  here  one  schedule  which 
you  have  which  says :  "  Corks,  three-quarters  of  an  inch  and  over, 
15  cents  a  pound  duty."  If  you  gentlemen  will  take  the  trouble  to 
look  at  what  has  been  imported  in  recent  years  of  the  description  of 
corks  that  used  to  be  imported,  you  will  find  that  there  is  not  20  per 
cent  left  of  the  importation  of  old,  but  that  80  per  cent  is  very  thin 
shavings  like  that,  which  is  in  that  disk  which  is  in  that  patent  stop- 
per, because  we  can  not  buy  corks  as  we  did  of  old. 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  Where  do  these  corks  come  from? 

Mr.  GUTMANN.  The  disks  I  have  just  shown  you? 

Mr.  CALDERHEAD.  No;  the  corks. 

Mr.  GUTMANN.  The  corks  come  from  Spain,  and  the  duty  that  is 
being  paid  in  1908  amounts  to  $365,000  that  was  paid,  and  you  will 
find  that  80  per  cent  of  that  is  for  that  very  article;  and  it  is  fur- 
ther proven  that  the  very  concern  that  is  controlling  to-day  85  per 
cent  of  the  article  in  the  United  States  is  importing  that  article 
itself,  because  of  the  very  good  reason  that  we  have  conditions  in 
this  country  that  we  can  not  change,  namely,  in  regard  to  labor,  the 
question  that  has  controlled  this  country.  We  are  elegant  and  can 
not  be  surpassed  on  the  machinery  end,  but  we  can  not  show  that 
the  great  industry  that  Spain  has  had  for  centuries  has  been  sup- 
planted by  our  labor,  and  I  will  prove  it  by  the  result  of  every  serious 
attempt  we  have  made.  We  have  ourselves  opened  a  factory  in  this 
country  under  the  greatest  cost;  we  have  imported  the  finest  ma- 
chinery that  Europe  has;  we  have  engaged  the  greatest  number  of 
help  that  we  could  possibly  find  for  that  industry ;  and  after  a  trial 
of  a  whole  year  we  have  found  that  it  is  impossible — you  can  not  show 
people  here  that  it  will  pay  them  to  assort  goods  as  we  are  assorting 
in  Europe.  In  other  words,  our  young  girls  who  are  employed  prin- 
cipally for  that  work  are  entirely  too  intelligent,  too  proud,  and  are 
top  independent  to  settle  down  to  so  tedious  a  work,  and  the  result 
with  us  has  been  that  we  were  not  able  to  retain,  although  we  were 
willing  to  pay  the  best  wages  that  are  paid  for  cork  sorters  in  this 
country,  3  per  cent  of  our  entire  force,  whereas  in  Europe  our  rec- 
ord shows  that  we  did  not  lose  2  per  cent  during  the  entire  year. 
This  is  an  industry  over  there  that  has  been  going  on  for  centuries. 
It  is  an  industry  that  has  held  its  own.  The  monopoly  here  even 
has  had  to  buy  from  Europe  that  very  article.  And  still  it  is  pro- 
tected by  a  duty  of  15  cents  a  pound. 


COBK — FEBDINAND  GUTMANN  &  CO.  6583 

FERDINAND  GTTTMANN  &   CO.,  NEW  YORK   CITY,   FILE  BRIEF 
RELATIVE  TO  THE  CLASSIFICATION  OF  CORKS. 

NEW  YORK,  November  30, 1908. 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  House  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  the  interest  of  the  cork  industry  and  in  justice  to 
all.  I  respectfully  call  your  attention  to  the  following  conditions: 

The  tariff  on  manufactured  corks  is  divided  into  four  schedules. 

The  duty  on  corks  cut  into  squares  and  cubes  is  8  cents  per  pound, 
whereas  the  raw  material  is  free  of  duty.  There  is  so  heavy  a  penalty 
on  the  mere  cutting  up  of  the  bark  into  squares  that  no  manufacturer 
in  this  country  can  profitably  import  them,  as  shown  by  the  total 
imports  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1907,  which  amounted  to  $133 
in  value,  on  which  duty  to  the  amount  of  $17.36  was  collected. 
This  item,  therefore,  may  safely  be  eliminated  as  anyone  manufac- 
turing corks  in  this  country  could  not  possibly  pay  such  an  impost 
and  compete  with  the  free  raw  material.  The  difference  in  labor  for 
the  mere  cutting  up  of  raw  material  between  the  cost  of  labor  in 
Spain  and  the  United  States  would  not  be  more  than  half  of  the 
amount  which  the  present  tariff  assesses  as  duty. 

The  second  schedule  is  for  corks  three- fourths  inch  or  less  in 
diameter,  which  pay  25  cents  per  pound  duty.  In  the  year  ending 
June  30,  1907,  the  quantity  imported  was  91,591  pounds,  with  a  value 
of  $54,413,  on  which  duties  to  the  extent  of  $22,897  were  levied,  an 
average  of  42  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

This  heavy  tax  has  operated  to  prohibit  the  importation  of  the 
cheap  and  medium  grades  of  corks,  commonly  known  as  "  tapered 
corks,"  of  which  very  large  quantities  are  consumed  in  this  country 
and  which,  under  the  present  tariff  schedules,  can  not  be  imported  be- 
cause the  tariff  on  some  of  the  sizes  and  grades  required  runs  from  60 
to  200  per  cent  ad  valorem.  The  result  has  been  that  while  the  raw 
material  is  free  of  duty,  the  manufacturing  of  this  class  of  corks 
has  been  confined  to  a  large  extent  to  one  large  factory,  and  as  their 
product  is  turned  out  by  automatic  machinery,  as  compared  with  the 
hand  labor  in  Europe,  it  can  readily  be  seen  that  there  could  not 
possibly  be  any  such  difference  between  the  cost  of  labor  in  this 
country  and  Europe  as  is  represented  by  the  tariff  of  from  60  to  200 
per  cent  on  these  particular  goods.  The  consequence  has  been  that 
the  imports  in  this  schedule  have  been  confined  almost  exclusively  to 
the  comparatively  small  requirements  of  such  consumers  as  demand 
only  the  very  highest  grade  of  'goods,  which  the  American  manu- 
facturer, owing  to  the  entirely  automatic  nature  of  his  manufactur- 
ing, can  not  produce  as  against  the  hand  labor  of  Europe. 

The  third  item  in  the  schedule  is  on  corks  over  three-fourths  inch 
in  diameter,  on  which  a  duty  of  15  cents  per  pound  is  imposed.  This 
schedule  showed  imports  of  2,186,088  pounds,  valued  at  $1,489,448, 
upon  which  duties  amounting  to  $327.913  were  collected  for  the  year 
ending  June  30,  1907,  showing  an  average  of  22  per  cent  ad  valorem. 
The  high  average  price  per  pound  of  the  imports  in  this  schedule 
shows  clearly  that  these  imports  were  confined  largely  to  the  higher- 
priced  wine  and  whisky  corks,  as  well  as  to  cork  disks  or  washers, 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505.  GO-2— Vol  0 52 


6584  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

which  are  used  in  large  quantites  in  the  manufacture  of  patent  bottle 
stoppers  used  on  all  carbonated  as  well  as  still  liquids,  and  which 
have  in  recent  years  become  a  household  article  and  necessity. 

The  wine  and  whisky  corks  are  being  manufactured  to  a  great 
extent  in  this  country  by  machines,  and  again  the  same  proposition 
confronts  us  as  on  the  smaller  tapered  corks — that  a  large  volume  of 
business  and  large  revenues  are  lost  to  the  Government  because  the 
raw  material  is  entered  free.  The  goods  are  manufactured  by  ma- 
chinery, although  sold  as  hand-cut  corks,  and  the  product  being  mar- 
keted by  practically  one  concern,  the  tariff  affords  them  a  protection 
which  on  the  cheaper  and  medium  grades  varies  from  60  to  100  per 
cent,  which,  considering  the  mechanical  labor  used  in  this  country 
as  against  the  hand  labor  in  Europe,  is  clearly  exorbitant. 

The  disks  to  which  I  have  referred,  and  which  are  used  in  very 
large  quantities,  consumption  of  which  will  increase  rather  than 
diminish,  are  assessed  at  15  cents  per  pound.  It  is  clearly  shown  by 
the  imports  that  the  largest  manufacturer  in  this  country,  and  the 
one  who  controls  practically  the  entire  business  in  corks  in  the  United 
States,  is  compelled  to  import  these  disks  from  Europe  because  of  the 
fact  that  the  mechanical  labor  which  gives  him  the  advantage  on 
the  wine  and  whisky  corks  and  on  the  smaller  taper  corks  can  not 
possibly  give  him  the  advantage  despite  the  high  tariff  that  he  secures 
in  the  other  schedules.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  these  washers  are 
so  thin  that  they  must  be  specially  well  assorted  to  prevent  the 
leakage  of  the  liquid  through  the  pores  of  the  cork,  and  our  American 
labor  (girls  in  this  instance)  is  too  intelligent,  too  quick,  too  ambi- 
tious to  be  tied  down  to  so  tedious  and  so  nerve-racking  an  industry 
as  the  sorting  put  by  hand  of  the  required  quality  that  is  demanded 
in  this  product. 

A  very  pat  illustration  of  this  fact  is  one  that  I  can  cite  from 
my  own  experience,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  one  of  the  firms  which 
I  represent  in  Europe  of  these  very  cork  disks.  In  order  to  facili- 
tate our  business  here  we  induced  this  manufacturer  to  establish  a 
plant  for  us  in  this  country,  and  just  about  a  year  ago  they  decided 
to  make  this  attempt.  They  had  the  advantage  of  the  best  me- 
chanical engineers  who  had  installed  their  concededly  perfect  plant 
on  the  other  side;  they  had  the  advantage  of  the  head  of  the  firm, 
who  is  one  of  the  most  capable  manufacturers  in  Europe,  and  were 
very  confident  from  investigations  that  we  had  made  that  the  duty 
of  15  cents  per  pound  was  more  than  ample  to  cover  the  difference 
in  cost  of  labor  between  this  country  and  Europe.  They  gave  the 
experiment  a  full  year's  trial,  and  after  having,  at  a  great  cost, 
equipped  a  perfect  plant  in  one  of  the  largest  floor  spaces  used  for 
such  purpose  in  this  country,  at  the  Bush  Terminal  factories,  after 
having  equipped  it  with  the  perfected  machinery  imported  from  the 
other  side  and  the  most  approved  electric  motor  power  which  could 
be  secured  in  this  country,  they  were  compelled  after  one  year's  trial 
to  dismantle  this  plant  and  go  back  to  Europe  because  they  found 
that  the  American  labor  could  not  be  trained  to  do  the  very  peculiar 
work  which  is  required  on  this  particular  article. 

The  children  from  birth  over  there  are  trained  in  this  industry, 
and  from  the  time  they  toddle  around  they  become  accustomed  to 
handling  of  corks.  The  sorting  of  these  goods  is  so  trying  to  the 
untrained  eye,  and  the  labor  in  itself  is  so  tedious  that  our  experience 


CORK.  6585 

is,  of  the  labor  we  had  engaged  when  our  factory  was  first  started 
here  a  year  ago,  there  was  3  per  cent  left  when  the  factory  was  finally 
dismantled;  in  other  words,  there  had  been  such  continuous  changes 
that  at  the  end  of  one  year  only  3  per  cent  of  the  original  organiza- 
tion in  that  department  remained.  Our  experience  in  Europe,  on 
the  other  hand,  shows  that  labor  of  this  kind  shows  a  2  per  cent  loss 
at  the  end  of  the  year;  in  other  words,  at  the  end  of  the  same  year 
in  our  European  factory  we  had  the  same  equipment  of  girls  for  this 
labor,  with  the  exception  of  only  2  per  cent,  that  we  had  at  the 
beginning  of  the  year. 

Given  all  these  elements,  does  it  not  seem  futile  to  levy  a  tax  of  15 
cents  per  pound  on  a  material  which  can  not  be  produced  in  this 
country  and  the  import  of  which  could  surely  be  increased  if  the 
duty  were  lowered? 

I  therefore  am  firmly  of  the  opinion  that  the  entire  schedule  with 
reference  to  corks  could  be  reduced  profitably  to  the  Government, 
because  it  would  increase  imports  in  certain  lines,  whereas  the 
American  manufacturer  could  at  the  same  time  be  amply  protected 
by  levying  a  duty  of  10  cents  per  pound  on  corks  three-fourths  inch 
or  less  in  diameter,  and  of  9  cents  per  pound  on  corks  over  three- 
fourths  inch  in  diameter. 

The  only  other  item  in  this  schedule  is  "  other  manufactures  of 
cork,"  on  which  a  duty  of  25  per  cent  is  levied  in  this  schedule.  The 
items  are  somewhat  numerous,  but  there  is  one  particular  item 
which  to  my  knowledge  is  not  and  can  not  be  produced  in  this  coun- 
try, and  that  is  cork  paper  in  thin  sheets,  which  is  used  to  consider- 
able extent,  and  the  consumption  of  which  could  be  materially 
increased  if  a  reduction  in  duty  were  to  prevail,  and  as  there  is  no 
American  manufacturer  of  this  material  that  can  claim  that  he  is 
producing  it,  I  believe  it  would  be  to  the  advantage  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  increase  the  import  of  this  material,  which  I  believe  could 
be  done  largely  if  the  duty  were  reduced  to  15  per  cent. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

FERDINAND  GUTMANN  &  Co., 
FERDINAND  GUTMANN,  President. 


PHILADELPHIA   CORK  MANUFACTURERS  URGE  RETENTION   OF 
PRESENT  DUTIES  ON  MANUFACTURED  CORKS. 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  November  30,  1908. 
WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

SIRS:  As  cork  manufacturers,  of  Philadelphia,  we  earnestly  appeal 
to  you  for  the  retention  of  the  present  duties  on  manufactured  corks. 
Our  reason  for  this  is  that  the  present  tariff  on  manufactured  corks 
is  not  higher  than  necessary  to  protect  the  industry  in  the  United 
States.  We  give  as  evidence  of  this  the  statistics  showing  the  in- 
crease of  the  value  of  the  importations  of  manufactured  corks  since 
the  enactment  of  this  law,  together  with  the  value  of  importations 
of  unmanufactured  cork  bark.  The  first  year  after  the  present  act 
became  law  the  importations  of  unmanufactured  bark  amounted  to 
$1,323,408,  and  of  manufactured  corks  $463,740.23;  whereas  in  1907 


6586  SCHEDULE   N — SUNDBIES. 

the  value  of  the  importations  of  unmanufactured  cork  bark  was 
$2,358,813,  an  increase  less  than  80  per  cent,  and  in  the  same  year 
the  value  of  the  importations  of  manufactured  corks  was  $1,704,030, 
an  increase  of  almost  200  per  cent.  The  total  importations  we  esti- 
mate at  about  35  per  cent  of  the  consumption  in  the  United  States. 
Spain  levies  a  duty  of  half  a  cent  per  pound  on  unmanufactured 
cork  bark.  The  weekly  wages  paid  cork  workers  in  the  United  States 
averages  about  four  times  as  much  as  is  paid  for  the  same  labor  in 
Spain  and  Portugal.  Owing  to  this  difference  we  are  unable  to  com- 
pete with  foreign  manufacturers  anywhere  except  in  the  United 
States,  and  could  not  do  so  successfully  here  without  protection.  Our 
business  being  confined  entirely  to  the  United  States,  the  competition 
among  American  manufacturers  is  such  that  there  has  been  a  steady 
decline  in  the  selling  prices,  not  excepting  the  year  1907,  and  are 
lower  now  than  they  were  in  1897.  The  total  output  of  corks  is  dis- 
tributed in  small  quantities  throughout  the  United  States. 

We  estimate  that  about  5,000  people  are  employed  in  this  industry 
in  the  United  States,  and  a  change  in  the  duty  would  undoubtedly 
necessitate  an  adjustment  of  wages  to  suit  the  conditions,  as  the  re- 
turns now  to  the  manufacturer  on  the  capital  invested  are  not  by 
any  means  large;  and  in  order  that  the  present  scale  of  wages  paid 
American  cork  workers  be  maintained  and  a  fair  return  on  the  money 
invested  by  the  manufacturer  may  be  had,  we  urge  upon  you  the 
importance  of  the  retention  of  the  present  duties  on  all  kinds  of  man- 
ufactured corks. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

JUSTUS  BRAUER  &  SON,  (!NC.). 

J.  GEO.  BRUECKMANN  &  SON. 

ALFRED  L.  Burz. 

A.  F.  STOY  &  Co. 


CHARLES  DE  WITT  &  CO.,  BALTIMORE,  MD.,  WRITE  RELATIVE  TO 
CORKS,  CORK  BARK,  AND  CORKSCREWS. 

BALTIMORE,  December  2, 1908. 
Chairman  PAYNE, 

House  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  Washington,  D.  G. 

DEAR  SIR:  Cork  bark  for  manufacturing  purposes,  which  is  now 
admitted  free,  should  carry  a  duty,  as  all  tapered  corks  made  in 
Europe  are  practically  excluded,  owing  to  the  duty  of  23  cents  per 
pound,  hence  the  Government  loses  thereby;  and  straight  or  hand- 
cut  corks  now  carry  a  duty  of  25  cents  per  pound,  and  the  only  reason 
these  are  imported,  is  because  some  buyers  prefer  the  Spanish  hancl- 
cut  corks,  which  are  not  cut  in  America.  What  the  Government 
should  have  would  be  more  revenue  on  cork  bark,  or  else  admit 
tapered  corks  at  10  cents  per  pound  duty  instead  of  25  cents. 

We  understand  the  tariff  question,  we  think;  the  manufacturers 
here  want  high  tariffs,  the  importers  here  want  low  tariffs,  we  don't 
care  anything  about  the  tariff,  but  what  we  are  writing  are  the  facts, 
and  the  writer,  Charles  De  Witt,  is  willing  to  appear  before  the  com- 
mittee if  requested  to  do  so,  and  give  any  information  that  he  can. 

Apropos  of  steel  wire,  etc.  We  inclose  a  corkscrew.  This  corkscrew 
we  are  buying  from  the  manufacturer  whose  invoice  we  inclose,  and 


CORK CHARLES  DE  WITT  &  CO.  6587 

you  will  note  that  he  charges  us  8|  cents  per  gross.  We  can  buy  the 
same  corkscrew,  made  by  the  Rockwell  Clough  Company,  of  Alton, 
N.  H.,  at  5£  cents  per  gross  for  export  only ;  that  is  to  say  the  house 
of  Geo.  Borgfeldt  &  Co.,  New  York  (jobbers),  offered  these  cork- 
screws at  5£  cents  per  gross  for  export  only,  or  60  per  cent  less  than 
home  price  of  the  trust,  and  these  were  made  by  the  same  firm,  Rock- 
well Clough  Company,  of  Alton,  N.  H.  What  we  are  giving  you  are 
facts,  as  you  will  notice  by  inclosures. 

These  corkscrews  are  sold  in  this  country  by  the  combine  at  8|  cents 
per  gross  and  shipped  abroad  at  5£  cents. 
Please  return  inclosures. 
Truly,  yours, 

CHARLES  DE  WITT  &  Co., 
Manufacturer  and  Dealer  in  Machine  and  Hand  Cut  Corks. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

NEW  YORK,  August  2%,  WO!,.. 

Memorandum  of  agreement  made  with  Messrs.  Charles  De  Witt  & 
Co.,  of  Baltimore,  in  regard  to  their  order  for  10,000  gross  of  wire 
corkscrews : 

Messrs.  Charles  De  Witt  &  Co.  will  either  take  delivery  of  5,600 
gross  of  corkscrews,  subject  to  approval  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Semler,  to 
be  exported  to  Germany  and  imported  again  to  Baltimore,  at  a  price 
not  exceeding  5£  cents  per  gross,  plus  freight  both  ways,  and,  if  neces- 
sary, an  additional  5  per  cent  commission.  In  case  this  proposition 
is  not  accepted,  Messrs.  Charles  De  Witt  &  Co.  to  be  indemnified  to 
the  amount  $100 ;  the  order  to  be  off. 

GEO.  BORGFELDT  &  Co. 


EXHIBIT  B. 

NEW  YORK,  August. 3, 1904. 
Messrs.  CHARLES  DE  WITT  &  Co., 

Baltimore,  Md. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  have  your  favor  of  July  29  inquiring  about  the 
delivery  of  the  10,000  gross  of  corkscrews. 

We  have  communicated  with  the  manufacturer  by  letter  and  wire 
and  expect  to  be  able  to  advise  you  in  a  day  or  two. 
Yours,  truly, 

GEO.  BORGFELDT  &  Co. 


EXHIBIT  C. 

AUGUST  8,  1907. 

Sold  to  Charles  De  Witt  &  Co.,  address,  Baltimore,  Md.    Terms, 
ten  days'  sight  draft.    Shipped  via  Pennsylvania  Railroad. 

2,703  gross  B.  bronzed  cork  rings,  $0.08$ $229.  75 

Completes  order  January  16,  1907. 

C.  T.  WILLIAMSON  WIRE  NOVELTY  Co. 


6588  SCHEDULE   N STTNDBIES. 

EXHIBIT  D. 

BALTIMORE,  December  10,  1908. 
Mr.  REIN  HARD  SCHWABE, 

Gerresheim  bei  Dusseldorf,  Germany. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  thank  you  for  yours  of  November  28,  and,  as  you 
say,  the  import  duty  (which  is  entirely  too  excessive  on  these  little 
corkscrews)  would  prevent  anybody  in  this  country  from  buying  any 
abroad.  Your  price  is  all  right  of  5£  cents  per  gross,  but  if  you  will 
add  about  60  per  cent  duty  they  would  cost  8^  cents.  The  wire  or 
steel  trust  here  sell  these  corkscrews  in  this  country  to  the  consumer 
at  8^  cents  per  gross,  and  for  export  they  meet  your  price  of  5£  cents 
and  ship  goods  from  here  to  England;  that  is  to  say,  they  will  sell 
their  corkscrews  in  your  country  at  your  price,  and  in  this  country  60 
per  cent  higher. 

Our  tariff  committee  is  now  working  on  this  question,  but  we  don't 
anticipate  any  relief  on  the  tariff  matter ;  and,  looking  at  the  matter 
pecuniarily,  we  care  nothing  about  it.  As  we  are  both  jobbers  and 
importers,  the  tariff  question  doesn't  bother  us.  If  we  manufactured 
goods  here,  we  would  want  the  tariff  100  per  cent,  so  as  to  shut  out 
competition.  If  we  imported  goods  manufactured  outside  of  this 
country,  we  would  want  the  tariff  lowered,  so  we  could  fill  our  pockets 
with  money.  And  this  tariff  question,  Mr.  Schwabe,  appears  to  be  an 
individual,  peculiar  question.  The  view  that  we  are  giving  you  is 
unbiased;  the  masses  and  the  farmers  (and  everything  comes  out  of 
the  ground)  are  slaughtered  in  this  tariff  question.  Carnegie  would 
never  have  given  away  libraries  had  tariff  not  been  in  his  favor,  and 
the  writer  voted  for  Mr.  Taft. 

Thanking  you  very  much  for  the  trouble  you  have  taken,  we  remain, 
Truly  yours, 

CHARLES  DE  WITT  &  Co., 
CHAS.  DE  WITT. 


THE   CENTURY   CORK   COMPANY,   NEW  YORK   CITY,   ASKS   AN 
INCREASE  OF  DUTY  ON  CORK  DISKS  OR  WASHERS. 

NEW  YORK,  December  2, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  Respecting  the  proposed  revision  of  the  tariff,  we  re- 
spectfully suggest  that  in  the  interest  of  domestic  manufacturers  of 
corks  the  duty  on  cork  disks  or  washers  such  as  are  used  for  crown 
corks  and  similar  stoppers,  should  be  placed  at  not  less  than  25  cents 
per  pound,  instead  of  15  cents  per  pound,  as  under  the  present  tariff. 

The  making  of  such  stoppers  as  we  have  referred  to  is  practically 
a  monopoly  of  one  manufacturer  in  this  country,  whose  supply  of 
such  cork  disks  is  secured  from  a  factory  operated  entirely  for  the 
purpose  of  producing  these  cork  disks  for  the  manufacturing  of  the 
stoppers  referred  'to.  This  factory,  located  in  Spain,  employs,  we 
believe,  a  larger  number  of  people  in  producing  these  cork  disks  than 
are  employed  in  all  of  the  cork  factories  of  the  United  States  combined, 


CORK.  6589 

and  the  present  duty  is  not  sufficient  to  allow  the  domestic  manufac- 
turer to  compete  with  these  imported  cork  disks. 

Crown  corks  have  to  a  very  great  extent  displaced  the  old-style  cork 
stoppers  formerly  in  use,  and  under  present  conditions  the  domestic 
manufacturer  has  not  even  the  opportunity  to  supply  the  cork  disks 
which  are  a  part  of  the  crown  corks  referred  to. 

Cork  waste,  which  is  a  by-product  accumulated  in  the  manufac- 
turing of  cork  stoppers,  is  used  almost  entirely  in  the  manufacturing 
of  linoleum,  and  because  of  the  fact  that  it  is  admitted  free  of  duty 
the  domestic  manufacturer  can  not  secure  the  price  to  which  he 
should  be  justly  entitled  for  the  cork  waste  which  he  accumulates  in 
his  manufacturing. 

We  respectfully  point  out  to  you  the  fact  that,  on  an  average,  from 
66  per  cent  to  75  per  cent  of  the  total  amount  of  cork  bark  used  in 
manufacturing  in  .a  cork  factory  becomes  waste  material,  and  must 
be  disposed  of  by  the  manufacturer  of  corks  to  reasonably  good  ad- 
vantage if  he  .wishes  to  show  any  favorable  results  in  the  conduct  of 
his  business.  In  fact,  we  believe  that  all  manufacturers  of  corks 
depend  mainly  on  the  sum  which  they  realize  for  their  cork  waste  to 
show  any  profit  whatever  in  their  manufacturing.  We  respectfully 
suggest  that  cork  waste,  which  is  accumulated  in  the  manufacturing 
of  corks,  is  not  a  raw  material,  but  is  really  cork  wood  partly  manu- 
factured. This  cork  waste  is  ground  into  small  particles  in  preparing 
it  for  use  in  the  manufacturing  of  linoleum  and  similar  products, 
whereas  if  the  cork  bark  in  the  original  form  were  used  for  the  pur- 
pose it  would  be  necessary  to  cut  it  into  small  pieces  before  it  could 
be  subjected  to  the  grinding  process.  This  we  explain  to  confirm  our 
contention  that  cork  waste  is  a  partly  manufactured  article  of  cork, 
and  in  justice  to  domestic  manufacturers  of  corks  who  depend  on  the 
sale  of  their  waste  to  conduct  their  business  to  advantage,  we  respect- 
fully suggest  that  there  should  be  a  duty  of  not  less  than  $5  per  ton 
on  this  material. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

CENTURY  CORK  COMPANY, 
OSCAR  HEYMAN,  President. 

THE  NATIONAL  CORK  COMPANY,  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  ASKS  SPECIFIC 
DUTIES  ON  VARIOUS  CORK  SPECIALTIES. 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  December  8,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  We  beg  your  attention  to  our  views  on  the  question  of 
tariff  on  cork  manufactured  and  partly  manufactured. 

Under  the  present  rate  of  duty  the  importation  of  corks  has  in- 
creased from  $463,740  in  1897  to  $1,704,030  in  1907,  or  an  increase  of 
228  per  cent,  and  equaling  about  one-third  the  total  consumption  in 
this  country,  while  the  increase  in  cork  bark  or  raw  material  during 
the  same  period  was  about  $1,000,000,  or  approximately  78  per  cent 
increase. 

A  large  percentage  of  the  increased  importation  of  manufactured 
corks  is  made  up  of  cork  disks  or  caps  which  can  not  be  manufao- 


6590  SCHEDULE   N — SUNDRIES. 

tured  here  at  the  cost  of  imported  ones,  as  they  are  so  thin  and  light 
(weighing  about  11  gross  to  the  pound)  the  present  rate  of  duty 
is  not  sufficient  to  protect  the  home  manufacturer,  which  is  also 
the  case  with  many  other  manufactured  corks,  as  the  wage  scale  in 
Spain  is  about  one- fourth  of  the  wages  paid  the  cork  workers  in  this 
country,  and  the  competition  among  the  manufacturers  in  this  coun- 
try, of  whom  there  are  about  twenty,  is  very  keen. 

We  beg  to  offer  a  list  of  our  views  on  corks  and  respectfully  ad- 
vocate a  change  from  ad  valorem  to  specific  duty  on  specialties  such 
as  seine  corks,  cork  insoles,  cork  paper,  life-preserver  block,  etc. : 

Per  Ib. 

Corks  over  f-inch  diameter  large  end $0. 15 

Corks  less  than  J  inch .25 

Cork  bar  cut  into  cubes  or  squares .08 

Life-preserver  blocks .  01$ 

Cork  insoles .  05 

Seine  corks .03 

Pipe  covering  and  insulating  boards . .01 

Ground  cork .  OOJ 

Artificial  cork .06 

Manufactures  of  artificial  cork .12 

Cork  paper 1.  25 

Cap  corks  or  disks,  all  sizes .  25 

Trusting  you  will  give  this  your  earnest  consideration,  we  are, 
Very  truly,  yours, 

NATIONAL  CORK  COMPANY. 
D.  SUTHERLAND,  Jr. 


THE  PADDOCK  CORK  COMPANY,  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  SUGGESTS  A 
SCHEDULE  OF  RATES  FOR  MANUFACTURES  OF  CORK. 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  December  8, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  are  greatly  worried  over  the  proposed  revision  of 
the  tariff.  A  reduction  of  the  present  rate  of  duty  would  mean  the 
destruction  of  the  entire  cork  industry  of  this  country  and  the  throw- 
ing out  of  employment  of  many  now  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
corks. 

The  introduction  of  patented  stopper  devices  has  during  the  past 
ten  years  revolutionized  the  entire  cork  business.  Ten  years  ago  the 
average  value  per  gross  of  production  was  between  35  cents  and  40 
cents.  To-day  it  is  not  over  15  cents  to  20  cents.  This  reduction  of 
value  is  due  to  the  universal  adoption  by  the  trade  of  the  Crown, 
Phoenix,  and  other  patented  stoppers,  and  there  is  left  at  present  for 
the  American  manufacturer  to  produce  nothing  practically  but  the 
so-called  druggists'  or  tapered  corks,  cork  disks,  and  cork  specialties. 

During  this  period,  in  which  the  value  of  the  finished  product  has 
been  more  than  cut  in  half,  the  wages  to  the  operators  have  increased 
from  25  per  cent  to  35  per  cent,  male  operators  receiving  to-day  from 


CORK — PADDOCK  CORK   CO.  6591 

$12  to  $15  per  week,  as  against  $9  to  $12  per  week  ten  years  ago;  girl 
operators,  sorters,  from  $5  to  $8  per  week,  as  against  $4.50  to  $6  per 
week  in  1897 ;  tapering  machine  feeders,  from  $4.50  to  $5,  as  against 
$3  in  1897.  Thus  the  actual  cost  of  production  is  more  than  doubled. 

The  European  manufacturers  have  the  advantage  over  us  in  many 
ways,  owing  to  cheap  labor,  in  some  instances  one  day's  pay  of  our 
average  wage  being  equal  to  two  or  three  days'  pay  in  Europe.  They 
can  make  many  of  the  smaller-sized  tapered  corks  out  of  scrap,  ma- 
terial that  it  would  not  pay  us  to  manufacture.  Besides,  by  the  intro- 
duction of  cork-cutting  machinery,  they  are  enabled  to  secure  the 
same  daily  production  per  man  as  in  this  country. 

Ocean  freights  are  also  a  great  handicap.  The  foreign  manufac- 
turer only  has  to  pay  on  the  finished  product,  while  we  have  to  pay  on 
the  raw  material,  from  two-thirds  to  three-fourths  of  which  is  cork 
chips,  shavings,  and  scrap,  formerly  called  "  waste,"  which  has  a  value 
of  about  only  1  cent  a  pound. 

The  present  rate  of  duty  only  equalized,  approximately,  the  differ- 
ence in  labor  cost  as  it  was  at  the  time  the  Dingley  tariff  was  adopted. 
It  is  insufficient  to-day. 

We  ask,  therefore,  that  at  least  on  the  kind  of  cork  and  manufac- 
tures of  cork  on  which  the  present  duty  is  so  low  as  to  allow  yearly 
increasing  quantities  to  be  imported,  a  sufficient  advance  be  made  to 
overcome  this  anomaly.  We  suggest  that  a  specific  duty  be  adopted 
throughout  to  prevent  fraud  and  undervaluation. 

Per  pound. 
Cork  disks $0.  25 

We  suggest  that  these  disks  be  classified  separately  as  corks,  as 
they  have  taken  the  place  of  corks,  aud  are  being  used  as  such. 
They  can  not  at  present  be  manufactured  in  this  country  in  com- 
petition with  the  foreign  article.  If  they  could,  it  would  procure 
profitable  employment  for  thousands  of  American  workmen. 
Manufactured  corks,  over  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  measured 

at  larger  end > .  15 

Manufactured  corks,  three-quarters  of  an  inch  and  less  in  diameter, 

measured  at  larger  end .25 

Cork  bark,  cut  into  squares  or  quarters,  formerly  called  cubes .08 

Cork  paper  or  split  cork,  thinner  than  100  to  the  inch 1.  25 

Granulated  cork .  OOJ 

Cork  chips,  shavings,  or  scrap,  formerly  called  "waste" .  OOi 

Years  ago  this  was  really  waste.  To-day  it  is  gathered  by  spe- 
cially made  machinery,  kept  scrupulously  clean,  separated  from  all 
foreign  material  and  large  pieces,  entailing  much  labor  and  expense 
in  order  to  keep  it  properly  prepared  for  the  manufacture  of  lin- 
oleum, cork  insulation,  etc.,  etc. 

We  ask  that  the  above  schedule  of  rates  be  adopted.  They  are  but 
sufficient  to  equalize  the  difference  between  foreign  and  domestic 
labor.  We  also  ask  your  serious  consideration  for  a  duty  on  cork 
scrap  (waste).  Formerly  it  was  not  considered  of  great  value — to- 
day it  is  the  principal  source  of  income,  with  some  factories  its  value 
exceeds  their  net  income. 

Very  respectfully,  PADDOCK  CORK  Co. 

J.  T.  DINGEE,  President. 


6592  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

THE  CHICAGO  (ILL.)  CORK  WORKS  COMPANY  PROTESTS  AGAINST 
ANY  REDUCTION  IN  DUTY  ON  CORKS. 

CHICAGO,  December  #,  1908. 
WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Being  unable  to  appear  personally  at  the  hearing 
allowed  persons  interested  in  articles  shown  in  schedule  N  of  the 
tariff  act  of  1897,  we  desire  to  enter  our  protest  against  any  reduced 
rate  of  duty  on  corks  as  contained  in  paragraph  416. 

According  to  our  best  judgment,  the  existing  duties  are  not  higher 
than  necessary  to  protect  the  American  manufacturers  and  employees 
against  the  foreign  competition  we  are  compelled  to  meet.  Our  ma- 
terial comes  mostly  from  Spain  and  Portugal,  where  the  wages  paid 
working  people  are  about  one-third  or  less  than  paid  same  class  of 
workers  in  this  country. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  you  to  know  the  wages  paid  cork  workers 
in  Chicago,  viz: 
Men: 

Cork-bark    sorters $13  to  $14 

Blockers 12  to    13 

Slicers 11  to    12 

Women    sorters 5  to      8 

We  trust  you  will  see  the  necessity  of  allowing  the  present  tariff  on 
corks  to  remain  as  it  is. 

Yours,  very  truly,  CHICAGO  CORK  WORKS  COMPANY, 

S.  D.  SIMPSON,  President. 

GEORGE  W.  LEE,  OF  PEA30DY,  MASS.,  OPPOSES  ANY  INCREASE  OF 
THE  DUTY  ON  CUT  CORK  SOLES  FOR  SHOES. 

PEABODY,  MASS.,  December  2,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  are  advised  that  there  is  before  you  a  petition 
from  the  Armstrong  Cork  Company  relative  to  the  duty  on  cut  cork 
soles,  in  which  they  make  the  claim  that  the  duty  of  25  per  cent  ad 
valorem  on  a  price 'of  88  cents  per  gross  is  not  sufficient,  and  urging 
the  placing  of  a  specific  duty  of  8  cents  per  pound  on  same,  and  we 
would  like  to  present  for  your  consideration  a  few  facts  of  interest 
having  a  bearing  on  the  question.  We  are,  to  my  best  knowledge 
and  belief,  the  only  competitor  of  the  Armstrong  Cork  Company  in 
this  line,  and  we  formerly  cut  our  own  cork  wood.  A  few  years  ago. 
with  no  solicitation  on  our  part,  we  were  offered  imported  cut  soles 
at  88  cents  per  gross,  which  offer,  after  due  consideration,  we  accepted. 
This  price  we  consider  equitable  and  think  that  the  Armstrong  Cork 
Company  must  have  so  considered  it,  as  they  also  bought  largely  at 
this  price,  and  discontinued,  we  presume,  because  they,  with  their 
larger  facility,  cut  them  cheaper. 

Now,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  we  are  to-day  the  only  users  of  these 
soles,  and  that  the  imposing  of  this  excessive  duty'  would  leave  the 
Armstrong  Cork  Company  a  monopoly,  we  think  that  you  will  agree 
with  us  that  the  present  duty  is  sufficient  for  the  protection  of  an 
industry  of  the  size  of  the  Armstrong  Cork  Company,  which  has 
long  since  passed  its  infancy. 

Yours,  respectfully,  GEORGE  W.  LEE. 


CORK — JOSE  TORRES.  6593 

JOSE  TORRES,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  FILES  SUPPLEMENTAL  STATE- 
MENTS RELATIVE  TO  CUT  CORK  SOLES. 

NEW  YORK,  December  8, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  "W  AYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  Armstrong  Cork  Company  has  made  a  petition 
to  your  committee  that  all  cork  articles  paying  now  ad  valorem  duties 
to  make  them  pay  specific  duties.  I  am  in  perfect  accord  with  the 
Armstrong  Company,  provided  the  new  duties  will  be  the  equivalent 
of  the  duties  in  force  now. 

The  cost  in  Spain  of  cork  soles  as  presented  by  the  Armstrong 
Cork  Company  is  erroneous,  as  your  committee  will  find  out  by  the 
inclosed  certified  invoices.  Notice  that  the  soles  I  import  are  con- 
signed goods  and  are  sold  here  at  exactly  the  same  prices  specified  in 
the  consular  invoices,  as  per  the  sworn  statement  inclosed  of  George 
W.  Lee,  of  Peabody,  Mass.,  the  only  customer  I  sell  these  goods  in 
this  country. 

The  average  weight  of  cork  soles  as  imported  is  of  5£  pounds  per 
1  dozen  pairs  at  the  rate  of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem.  They  pay  about 
21  cents  duty  per  dozen  pairs.  If  you  put  the  duty  at  8  cents  per 
pound,  as  requested  by  the  Armstrong  Cork  Company,  they  will  pay 
44  cents  per  dozen  pairs.  That  is  more  than  double  what  they  pay 
now.  This  rate  of  duty  will  be  prohibitory  and  the  Government 
will  derive  no  more  revenue  from  these  goods. 

These  cork  soles  are  used  by  poor  people,  who  will  have  to  stand 
the  raise  in  price.  The  equivalent  duties  should  be  4  cents  per 
pound  instead  of  8  cents,  or  else  no  more  cork  soles  will  be  imported 
into  this  country. 

Yours,  very  truly,  JOSE  TORRES. 

EXHIBIT  A. 

PEABODY,  MASS.,  December  2,  1908. 
Mr.  JOSE  TORRES. 

DEAK  SIR  :  In  answering  your  letter  of  November  30,  1908,  this  is  to  certify 
that  I  have  been  for  several  years  and  am  still  buying  cut-cork  soles  from  Jose 
Torres,  importing  the  same  from  Europe,  paying  88  cents  for  men's  sizes  and  82 
for  women's  sizes,  subject  to  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  duty,  and  that  any  increase 
of  duty  would  practically  drive  me  from  business,  as  the  Armstrong  Cork  Com- 
pany are  reputed  to  control  the  corkwood  trade,  which  would  prevent  the  cut- 
ting to  advantage.  In  this  country  men's  sizes  are  sold  mostly,  about  nine- 
tenths  men's  to  one-tenth  women's  sizes  we  import. 

Yours,  truly,  GEO.  W.  LEE. 


NEW  YORK,  December  3, 1908. 
Hon.  S.  W.  McCALL,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  I  address  you  this  correspondence  because  I  have 
faith  that  you  will  do  your  best  to  do  justice  to  a  citizen  of  your 
State.  I  can  furnish  you,  if  desired,  with  consular  invoices  dating 
back  to  1900.  Mr.  George  W.  Lee  can  not  manufacture  the  prime 
article  in  this  country,  because  he  is  not  engaged  in  the  cork  business 
in  general,  and  can  not  compete  in  any  way  with  the  powerful  cork 
trust  wearing  the  name  of  Armstrong  Cork  Company. 


6594  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

I  trust  you  will  remember,  when  this  case  comes  up,  to  call  the 
attention  of  your  committee  to  the  injustice  of  raising  the  duties 
over  the  ones  c  f  the  present  tariff,  remembering  that  Armstrong  fig- 
ures are  entirely  wrong,  as  proven  by  my  consular  invoices,  filed  with 
committee. 

The  Armstrong  Cork  Company  have  a  factory  in  Spain  and 
import  their  own  goods.  They  can  put  prices  to  suit  themselves  and 
deceive  your  committee.  Their  importations  of  cork  soles  have  been 
very  small. 

Yours,  truly,  JOSE  TORRES. 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  CORK  COMPANY,  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  THINKS 
AN  INCREASE  RATHER  THAN  A  DECREASE  OF  DUTY  IS  NECES- 
SARY ON  CORK  PRODUCTS. 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  December  3,  1908. 
Hon.  SEREXO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  are  informed  that  an  attempt  is  being  made  to 
reduce  the  present  tariff  rates  on  corks  and  cork  products,  and  we 
ask  that  you  consider  our  side  of  the  case  before  making  or  advocat- 
ing a  change  which  means  so  much  to  all  American  manufacturers  of 
corks. 

When  the  facts  are  considered,  we  are  confident  that  you  will  un- 
doubtedly decide  that,  if  anything,  there  should  be  an  increase  in 
many  cases.  Allow  us  to  submit  the  following  brief  review  of  condi- 
tions in  our  business  relative  to  cork-bark  squares  or  cubes;  manu- 
factured corks  three-fourths  incli  or  less  in  diameter  of  large  end; 
manufactured  corks  larger  than  three-fourths  inch  in  diameter  of 
large  end ;  and  cork  disks  one-eighth  inch  or  less  in  thickness. 

The  present  duty  on  the  above  is  barely  sufficient  to  protect  Ameri- 
can manufacturers,  and  any  decrease  will  make  it  impossible  for 
manufacturers  in  this  country  to  compete  with  the  imported  corks. 
However,  we  think  no  increase  of  duty  necessary  with  any  of  the 
above,  excepting  the  cork  disks  referred  to  above. 

These  cork  disks,  used  in  connection  with  a  tin  cap  or  shell,  have 
taken  the  place  of  ordinary  corks  to  a  very  large  extent.  The  change 
has  come  about  since  the  last  revision  of  the  tariff.  It  is  an  entirely 
new  condition,  which  explains  why  these  cork  disks  were  never  before 
given  serious  consideration. 

Statistics  will  show  that  enormous  quantities  of  these  cork  disks 
are  imported — in  fact,  practically  all  that  are  used  in  this  country. 

Although  these  cork  disks  are  large  in  diameter,  about  1TV  inches, 
they  are  very  thin,  and  therefore  light  in  weight.  They  rightly  be- 
long in  the  class  with  ordinary  bottle  corks  of  three-fourths  inch  and 
less  in  diameter.  In  order  to  protect  the  American  manufacturers, 
as  was  originally  intended,  they  should  be  listed  separately  and 
charged  at  25  cents  per  pound. 

CORK   WASTE. 

On  account  of  the  changed  conditions  forcing  American  manu- 
facturers of  corks  to  devote  their  energies  almost  exclusively  to  the 
manufacture  of  corks  of  the  smaller  sizes,  which  have  a  very  small 


COBK — STANDARD  CORK   CO.  6595 

value,  the  manufacturer  looks  to  the  sale  of  his  cork  waste  almost 
exclusively  for  his  profits.  In  manufacturing  corks  from  60  to  70 
per  cent  of  the  cork  bark  is  "  waste,"  so  you  can  readily  understand 
the  importance  of  this  matter  to  a  manufacturer.  Cork  waste  is  now 
free  and  can  be  imported  to  such  advantage  that  the  value  of  domes- 
tic waste  is  continually  decreasing.  In  order  to  adequately  protect 
the  cork  manufacturing  industry  in  this  country  a  sufficient  duty 
should  be  placed  on  imported  cork  waste  to  allow  manufacturers 
here  to  dispose  of  their  waste  at  the  same  price  as  formerly.  A 
charge  of  $5  per  gross  ton  would  be  enough.  As  to  artificial  cork 
and  products,  cork  paper  and  split  cork,  cork  floats  for  nets, 
cork  insoles,  and  cork  for  life-preservers  and  life  buoys,  we  do 
not  manufacture  any  of  the  above  articles,  known  in  the  trade 
as  "  cork  specialties."  We  can  only  say  that  on  investigation  with 
a  view  to  manufacturing  some  of  these  cork  products  we  find  that 
the  importation  of  all  these  articles,  especially  cork  paper,  cork 
insoles,  and  life-preserver  blocks,  is  continually  increasing  and  that 
it  is  practically  impossible  for  American  manufacturers  to  compete. 
We  therefore  advocate  an  increase  in  the  tariff  on  all  these  articles. 
All  the  above  is  respectfully  submitted  in  full  confidence  that  it 
will  have  your  best  attention,  for  which  we  thank  you. 
Yours,  most  respectfully, 

INTERNATIONAL  CORK  COMPANY, 

JOHN  ALBERTI,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 


THE   STANDARD    CORK    COMPANY,    CHICAGO,    ILL.,   ASKS   THAT 
THERE  BE  NO  REDUCTION  IN  DUTY  ON  CORKS. 

CHICAGO,  December  h  1908. 
WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE  OF  THE 

HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 

Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Understanding  there  is  to  be  a  public  hearing  allow- 
ing persons  interested  in  the  several  articles  shown  by  Schedule  N" 
of  the  tariff  act,  1897,  and  being  unable  to  appear  personally  at  such 
a  hearing,  we  desire  to  enter  our  protest  against  a  reduced  rate  of 
duty  on  corks,  contained  in  paragraph  416. 

It  is  our  best  judgment  that  the  existing  duties  are  not  higher 
than  necessary  to  protect  the  American  manufacturer  and  employee 
against  the  foreign  competition  which  we  are  daily  meeting.  Our 
material  comes  almost  entirely  from  Spain  and  Portugal,  where  you 
well  know  the  wages  paid  to  working  people  are  about  one-third 
or  less  than  paid  to  same  class  of  workers  in  this  country,  which  run 
about  as  follows:  Cork  sorters,  $12.50  to  $15:  blockers,  $11  to  $13; 
slicers,  $10.50  to  $12;  women,  $4.50  to  $8. 

We  trusj,  you  will  see  the  necessity  for  allowing  the  present  tariff 
on  corks  to  remain  as  it  is,  for  we  can  honestly  say  that  if  the  duty 
be  reduced  wo.  for  one,  will  be  compelled  to  retire  from  business. 
Yours,  respectfully, 

STANDARD  CORK  Co., 
A.  W.  RIETZ,  President. 


6596  SCHEDULE  N — SUNDEIES. 

THE  R.  W.  McCREADY  CORK  COMPANY,  CHICAGO,  ILL.,  ASKS  PRO- 
TECTION FROM  SPANISH  AND  PORTUGUESE  LABOR. 

CHICAGO,  December  5,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  wish  to  enter  our  protest  against  the  reduction 
in  duty  on  corks,  Schedule  N,  paraghaph  416.  If  there  is  any  change 
at  all  it  should  be  higher  and  not  lower. 

To  prove  which  you  need  not  take  ours,  or  any  other  manufac- 
turer's word  for  it  on  the  one  hand,  or  the  importer's  on  the  other. 

All  cork,  whether  manufactured  or  unmanufactured,  used  in  this 
country  is  imported,  therefore  the  government  statistics  on  the 
article  referrred  to  will  show  whether  the  present  rate  is  too  high  or 
too  low. 

In  1897,  when  the  present  act  went  into  effect,  the  importations 
were,  in  round  numbers: 

Cork   unmanufactured . $1,  325,  000 

Cork  manufactured 465,  000 

In  1907  importations  were: 

Cork   unmanufactured $2,  3GO,  000 

Cork  manufactured 1,  700,  000 

The  above  figures  show  that  unmanufactured  increased  only  78 
per  cent,  while  the  manufactured  increased  265  per  cent.  It  also 
shows  that  in  1897  the  proportions  were  to  the  whole,  unmanufac- 
tured, 74  per  centj  manufactured,  26  per  cent;  while  the  year  1907 
shows  the  proportions  to  the  whole  were,  unmanufactured,  58.2  per 
cent;  manufactured,  41.8  per  cent. 

Now,  we  submit  that  these  figures  are  conclusive  in  themselves 
and  need  no  argument.  They  show  that  we  need  a  higher  and  not 
a  lower  schedule.  It  is  impossible  for  us  to  compete  with  the  Spanish 
and  Portuguese,  who  work  for  about  one-fourth  of  our  wages  and 
longer  hours  at  that. 

Kespectfully  submitted. 

THE  R.  W.  MCCREADY  CORK  Co., 
E.  W.  MCCREADY. 


THE  NEWARK   (N.  J.)   CORK  WORKS  WISHES  AN  INCREASE  OF 
DUTY  ON  CORK  WASHERS  AND  CORK  DISKS. 

NEWARK,  N.  J.,  December  12,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  MR.  CHAIRMAN:  We  are  informed  that  it  is  the  intention 
of  the  Congress,  at  its  next  session,  to  revise  the  tariff  on  some 
manufactured  articles  of  cork,  also  cork  chips  and  shavings. 

As  we  represent  a  fair  percentage  of  the  industry  in  the  United 
States  depending  upon  a  home  market  for  our  goods,  we  respectfully 
submit  herewith  for  your  consideration  a  few  suggestions  and  recom- 


COKK.  6597 

mendations  for  the  protection   of  the  cork  manufacturers  of  the 
United  States. 

We  respectfully  request  you  to  favorably  report  on  an  increase 
from  the  present  rate  of  15  cents  per  pound  to  25  cents  per  pound 
duty  on  cork  washers  and  cork  disks.  Our  reason  for  asking  this  in- 
crease of  10  cents  per  pound  is,  at  the  present  low  rate  we  are  unable 
to  manufacture  disks  and  washers  and  meet  foreign  competition; 
consequently  we  lose  most  of  the  business  in  this  line  which  repre- 
sents thousands  of  dollars  per  year  to  the  manufacturers  of  the 
United  States.  With  the  increased  duty  we  will  be  able  to  successfully 
meet  this  competition. 

We  also  recommend  that  cork  chips  and  shavings  be  removed  from 
the  free  list,  and  a  duty  of  $5  per  ton  placed  thereon.  Manufacturers 
of  corks  are  dependent  upon  disposing  of  this  branch  of  their  busi- 
ness, which  represents  a  great  portion  of  the  cork  industry,  and  at 
best  this  is  not  a  lucrative  one. 

We  trust  that  you  will  recommend  this  and  make  it  dutiable  as  per 
figure  asked,  and  we  know  it  will  be  a  great  benefit  to  us  all. 

The  present  duty  on  manufactured  corks  for  stopper  purposes  is 
satisfactory,  and  we  do  not  recommend  any  change.  In  requesting 
these  changes,  we  do  so  for  the  protection  and  interest  of  the  cork 
manufacturers  of  the  United  States. 

Trusting  you  will  report  favorably  on  the  above  recommendations 
and  requests,  we  are, 

Yours,  very  respectfully, 

THE  NEWARK  CORK  WORKS  (INC.), 
E.  C.  BROWNING. 


ARMSTRONG  CORK  COMPANY,  PITTSBURGH,  PA.,  FILES  SUPPLE- 
MENTAL BRIEF  RELATIVE  TO  CORK  INDUSTRY. 

PITTSBURG,  PA.,  December  14,  1908. 
THE  WATS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

'Washington,  D.  C. 

SIRS:  Our  attention  has  been  called  to  statements  made  by 
Messrs.  Francisco  Llado  Farrell,  Joseph  Torres,  Ferdinand  Gutmann, 
and  the  Manhattan  Cork  Specialty  Company  in  regard  to  the  cork 
manufacturing  industry  in  the  United  States.  As  these  statements 
are  inaccurate  and  misleading  we  feel  called  upon  to  reply. 

Mr.  Farrell  states  that  as  no  corkwood  is  produced  in  the  United 
States  it  is  not  necessary  to  protect  the  manufactured  product  and 
that  the  present  duty  is  prohibitive.  The  best  answer  to  this  claim 
is  that  from  1897  to  1907  under  the  present  law  the  importation  of 
manufactured  cork  bark  increased  267  per  cent,  whereas  the  importa- 
tion of  cork  bark  unmanufactured — the  raw  material — increased 
only  78  per  cent.  Mr.  Farrell  asserts  that  the  increase  in  importa- 
tions of  corks  larger  than  three-fourths  inch  in  diameter  consists 
mostly  of  cork  disks.  This  is  true,  but  these  cork  disks  are  corks 
used  to  stopper  bottles  and  each  disk  takes  the  place  of  one  of  the 
old-style  corks.  If  his  argument  proves  anything  it  is  that  the  present 
duty  is  not  high  enough  to  protect  the  American  manufacturer. 


6598  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  Farrelt  says  further  that  owing  to  the  present  duty  on  manu- 
factured corks  in  this  country,  Spain  and  Portugal  are  considering  an 
export  duty  on  cork  bark.  The  fact  is  there  is  now,  and  has  been  for 
many  years,  an  export  duty  on  corkwood.  The  Spanish  export  duty 
is  5  pesetas  per  100  kilos,  which  is  equivalent  to  40  cents  per  100 
pounds.  In  the  case  of  the  raw  material  used  for  life-preservers, 
insoles,  etc.,  this  duty  amounts  to  from  20  per  cent  to  40  per  cent 
ad  valorem. 

Mr.  Farrell  makes  the  statement  that  the  cork  industry  is  controlled 
by  a  combination  which  has  arbitrarily  advanced  the  prices  of  corks 
from  25  per  cent  to  50  per  cent,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  price  of 
cork  bark — the  raw  material — has  not  advanced  for  the  last  fifteen  or 
twenty  y^ars.  There  are  in  the  United  States  more  than  20  manu- 
facturers of  corks  entirely  independent  of  each  other,  and  competi- 
tion in  the  business  is  so  keen  that  the  average  price  of  corks  to  the 
consumer  has  not  increased  during  the  last  ten  years,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  there  has  been  a  material  advance  in  the  cost  of  labor  and 
manufacturing  supplies  of  all  kinds.  There  has  been  an  enhancement 
of  10  per  cent  to  20  per  cent  in  the  value  of  fine  corkwood  of  all  thick- 
nesses daring  the  last  five  years. 

Mr.  Torres  states  that  this  company  controls  85  per  cent  of  the 
corks  and  cork  products  manufactured  hi  the  United  States.  Mr. 
Farrell  asserts  that  the  home  manufacturers  now  control  85  per  cent 
of  the  corks  consumed  in  the  United  States.  Evidently  the  importers 
agreed  upon  a  percentage,  but  did  not  have  a  clear  understanding  as 
to  how  it  should  be  calculated.  Both  statements  are  incorrect.  A 
very  careful  estimate  shows  the  value  of  manufactured  corks,  includ- 
ing cork  disks,  consumed  annually  in  the  United  States  to  be  about 
$6,000,000.  Of  this  amount,  the  statistics  of  the  United  States  show 
that  $1,704,030  were  imported  in  1907  and  the  amount  of  duty  paid 
on  the  same,  $390,714,  making  the  entire  value  $2,194,744.  Estimat- 
ing the  domestic  consumption  at  $6,000,000,  it  is  clearly  seen  that 
36  per  cent  of  this  amount  is  represented  hi  the  imported  material, 
making  no  allowance  whatever  for  an  importer's  profit. 

Mr.  Torres  states  that  the  cost  of  manufacturing  in  Spain  is  higher 
than  hi  the  United  States,  with  which  assertion  we  do  not  agree. 
In  our  previous  statement,  we  submitted  a  table  of  comparative 
wages  actually  paid  by  us  in  our  factories  in  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and 
Seville,  Spain,  in  which  we  show  that  the  wages  in  Spain  are  about 
one-quarter  of  those  paid  in  the  United  States.  While  our  manufac- 
turing in  Spain  has  been  confined  largely  to  specialties,  we  have  found 
by  experience  that  we  actually  turn  out  as  much  per  operative  in  our 
Seville  factory  as  we  do  in  Pittsburg.  Properly  organized,  led,  and 
drilled,  the  Spaniard  makes  a  very  efficient  workman,  and  we  are 
certain  that  corks  can  be  manufactured  in  Spam  at  one-quarter  of  the 
American  cost  for  labor  and  necessary  factory  expenses.  Modern 
machinery  has  been  largely  introduced  into  Spain  of  late  years  and 
a  large  proportion  of  the  so-called  Spanish  hand-cut  corks  are  now 
turned  out  by  machine. 

Mr.  Torres  states  that  we  are  able  to  compete  in  Porto  Rico,  Cuba, 
Mexico,  and  the  South  American  Republics,  which  statement  is  incor- 
rect. We  do  sell  some  corks  in  Porto  Rico  at  American  prices,  but 
elsewhere  we  do  practically  no  export  business  in  the  cork  line,  as 
we  have  long  since  found  it  a  waste  of  time  to  try  to  compete  with 
the  European  manufacturers. 


CORK ARMSTRONG   CORK    CO.  6599 

Mr.  Torres  lays  great  stress  on  the  high  ad  valorem  equivalents  of 
the  25  cents  per  pound  duty  on  small  tapered  corks  of  low  quality, 
but  he  forgets  to  explain  that  the  proportion  of  these  actually  used 
in  this  country  is  exceedingly  small.  We  have  checked  over  our 
sales  of  corks  and  find  the  percentage  of  this  class  is  6  per  cent  of  the 
total.  When  we  remember  that  the  actual  labor  and  other  factory 
expense  on  1,000  of  these  low-grade  corks  is  as  much  or  even  a  little 
more  than  it  is  on  the  same  quantity  of  high  quality  corks  of  the 
same  size,  the  specific  duty  does  not  seem  unjust  in  this  case.  Com- 
paratively few  small  tapers  or  medicine  corks  are  used  in  Europe. 
In  making  bottle  corks  seven-eighths  inch  or  larger  in  diameter  the 
Spanish  manufacturers  necessarily  accumulate  considerable  scrap 
or  pieces  too  small  for  a  full  cork.  This  material  is  sold  for 
little  more  than  the  price  of  waste,  and  the  large  element  of  cost  is 
the  labor  of  squaring  and  turning  to  shape. 

Very  few  bottle  corks  lower  in  quality  than  fine  beer  corks  are 
consumed  in  this  country.  The  percentage  shown  by  our  sales  of 
these  cheap  bottle  corks,  taking  into  account  all  sizes  and  lengths,  is 
2  per  cent  of  the  total. 

Mr.  Gutmann  states  that  corks  are  manufactured  abroad  almost 
entirely  by  hand.  This  statement  is  incorrect,  as  the  German  firm 
which  Mr.  Gutmann  represents  in  this  country  is  well  known  to  have 
its  factory  equipped  with  modern  machinery. 

Mr.  Gutmann  says  that  on  account  of  the  high  duty  on  corks  the 
American  consumers  have  been  forced  to  use  crown  stoppers.  We 
are  surprised  that  Mr.  Gutmann  would  make  this  statement.  The 
reason  that  the  patent  tin  cap  known  as  the  crown  is  so  generally 
used  is  partly  because  of  its  cheapness,  but  principally  because  of  the 
ease  with  which  it  can  be  applied  to  and  removed  from  the  bottle. 
As  the  tin  part  of  the  cap  costs  very  little,  and  the  thin  cork  disk,  one- 
ninth  of  an  inch  thick,  requires  only  about  one-tenth  as  much  cork, 
the  cost  of  the  complete  crown  is  from  25  per  cent  to  50  per  cent  of 
that  of  the  old-fashioned  cork,  depending  of  course  on  trie  quality 
of  the  cork.  This  trade  change  is  not  a  question  of  duties,  but  of  the 
economical  advantage  of  the  new  style  stopper  for  certain  uses.  The 
crown  cork  requires  a  special  bottle,  and  for  this  reason  and  for  the 
well-known  conservatism  of  the  people,  its  introduction  in  Europe  has 
been  slower  than  in  the  United  States.  However,  it  is  now  used  ex- 
tensively in  Europe,  South  America,  and  the  Orient,  and  in  time  will 
certainly  displace  to  great  extent  the  old  style  cork  for  certain  uses. 

Mr.  Gutmann  refers  to  the  experience  of  his  firm  in  establishing  a 
factory  in  this  country.  The  house  he  represents  is  an  old  one  in  the 
business  and  should  thoroughly  understand  all  its  details,  but  after  a 
year's  trial  they  found  it  more  economical  to  manufacture  in  Germany 
and  pay  the  United  States  duties  than  to  pay  American  wages  and 
American  expenses  for  conducting  their  business  in  this  country^.  He 
refers  to  the  difficulty  of  finding  suitable  labor  for  cork  making  in 
the  United  States,  and  contrasts  it  with  conditions  in  Germany.  We 
and  other  domestic  manufacturers  have  no  serious  trouble  in  getting 
all  the  operatives  we  need,  provided  we  pay  wages  equal  to  those  paid 
for  similar  help  in  other  industries.  Mr.  Gutmann  practically  says 
that  American  conditions  are  now  too  difficult  to  manufacture  suc- 

7r>!)41—  II.  Doc.  1. •(»."..  <;o--J— Vol  6 53 


6600  SCHEDULE    K SUKDKJES. 

cessfully.  Why,  then,  should  they  be  made  more  so  by  lowering  the 
duties  ? 

In  the  statements  of  the  Manhattan  Cork  Specialty  Company, 
and  the  American  Cork  Specialty  Company,  and  of  Joseph  Torres, 
of  November  28,  the  charge  is  made  that  our  company  is  im- 
porting cork  disks  at  fictitiously  high  prices  to  deceive  your  com- 
mittee into  believing  that  the  duty  should  be  raised.  In  the  first 
place,  our  company  is  importing  no  disks,  and,  further,  we  have  asked 
for  no  increase  in  duty  on  this  article,  although  we  have  stated  that 
the  present  duty  does  not  protect  the  American  manufacturer.  In 
this  connection  we  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  American 
Cork  Specialty  Company,  the  Diamond  Cork  Company,  and  L.  Mun- 
det &  Son,  of  Brooklyn,  are  practically  one  concern,  all  being  con- 
trolled by  Li.  Mundet  &  Son.  The  Diamond  Cork  Company  are  man- 
ufacturers of  corks,  yet  the  American  Cork  Specialty  Company,  which 
manufactures  crown  corks,  finds  it  cheaper  to  import  their  disks 
used  in  these  crowns  through  L.  Mundet  &  Son  than  to  manufacture 
them  here  in  their  own  factory,  which  is  run  under  the  name  of  the 
Diamond  Cork  Company. 

In  Mr.  Gutmann's  statement  of  November  28  he  calls  attention  to 
the  small  importations  of  cork  squares,  alleging  it  to  be  due  to  the 
duty  of  8  cents  per  pound.  The  real  reason  is  that  very  few,  probably 
not  2  per  cent,  of  the  corks  made  in  this  country  are  cut  from  squares, 
the  usual  method  being  to  bore  or  punch  the  cylindrical  cork  direct 
from  the  strip,  thus  entirely  obviating  the  making  of  squares.  The 
duty  of  8  cents  per  pound  on  squares  is  not  too  high,  as  the  labor  cost 
of  making  squares  is  at  least  60  per  cent  that  of  the  finished  cork. 

Mr.  Gutmann's  statement  conveys  the  impression  that  tapered 
corks  are  generally  made  by  hand  in  Europe,  while  hi  this  country  it 
is  done  by  automatic  machinery.  Mr.  Gutmann  must  know  better 
than  this,  as  the  European  house  he  represents  has  a  modern  factory 
equipped  with  up-to-date  machinery  for  making  tapered  corks, 
straight  corks,  disks,  cork  paper,  and  various  specialties.  Mr.  Gut- 
mann tacitly  admits  this  in  other  parts  of  his  brief. 

Mr.  Gutmann  speaks  of  the  trained  labor  of  Europe,  peculiarly 
fitted  for  cork  making,  saying  it  is  practically  impossible  to  teach 
American  operatives  to  successfully  do  this  work.  Our  house  has 
made  corks  and  cork  products  on  a  large  scale  for  forty  years  or  more 
in  this  country,  and  we  now  have  hundreds  of  employees  who  are  as 
highly  skilled  in  this  art  as  any  others  in  the  world.  It  of  course 
requires  time  and  patience  and  entails  considerable  expense  to  train 
help  for  this  work,  but  it  has  been  done  and  can  be  done  again. 

Mr.  Gutmann  claims  cork  paper  can  not  be  made  successfully  in 
this  country.  This  is  also  incorrect,  as  we  have  made  this  material 
on  a  large  scale  for  years  and  are  making  it  to-day — our  product 
being  equal  in  every  way  to  the  foreign  article.  Our  company  has  as 
large  capacity  for  producing  cork  paper  as  any  concern  hi  Europe. 

Mr.  Torres  says  we  ask  a  specific  duty  of  8  cents  per  pound  on 
cork  soles,  while  he  claims  4  cents  is  the  equivalent  of  the  present 
duty.  As  a  matter  of  fact  we  recommended  5  cents  per  pound  instead 
of  8  cents,  and  believe  that  if  the  5-cent  rate  is  adopted  the  great 
majority  of  these  goods  will  still  be  imported.  We  ourselves  make 
these  insoles  abroad,  as  we  can  do  so  cheaper  than  we  can  in  this 
country.  We  think  it  is  better  to  have  the  duty  specific,  as  its 
collection  is  easier  and  more  certain.  We  import  more  cork  insoles 


CORK.  6601 

than  any  other  house,  which  statement  can  readily  be  verified  by 
reference  to  records  of  the  United  States  customs  service.  Practi- 
cally all  of  the  cork-sole  blanks  used  in  our  business  are  imported 
from  our  Seville  factory.  Our  Spanish  factory  is  located  at  Seville, 
in  the  midst  of  the  great  cork-wood  producing  district  of  Andalusia. 
Although  manufacturing  is  carried  on  more  extensively  in  Catalonia 
than  in  Andalusia,  this  latter  province  is  an  important  center  hi  the 
industry.  Ihe  wages  in  different  parts  of  Spain  vary  slightly,  but 
only  slightly,  and  are  perhaps  a  shade  higher  in  Catalonia  than  in 
Andalusia,  but  the  Catalans  themselves  claim  to  be  able  to  pro- 
duce cheaper  on  account  of  the  greater  efficiency  of  their  workmen. 
Our  figures  of  labor  costs  are  from  our  own  pay  rolls  in  Seville  and 
Pittsburg. 

The  importers  in  their  statements  allege  that  our  company  is  a 
trust  and  controls  the  cork  industry.  This  charge  is  untrue.  As 
already  stated,  there  are  over  20  entirely  independent  manufacturers 
in  the  United  States,  and  the  competition  in  this  industry  is  probably 
as  keen  as  in  any  other  business  in  the  country.  We  do  not  control 
prices  at  which  manufactures  of  cork  are  sold;  we  have  absolutely 
no  price  agreements  or  understandings  with  other  manufacturers; 
we  do  not  own  any  corkwood-producing  properties  or  control  the  raw 
material  in  any  way:  we  buy  our  supplies  in  Spain,  Portugal,  and 
the  United  States,  in  the  open  market,  the  same  as  other  manufactur- 
ers; we  own  no  broad  patents  on  cork-making  machinery  to  give  us 
any  advantage  over  competitors. 

To  sum  up,  we  have  not  asked  for  an  advance  in  duty,  but  have 
recommended  the  placing  of  certain  articles  on  a  specific  basis,  as 
we  are  firm  believers  in  the  wisdom  of  specific  duties  wherever  practi- 
cable. In  this  industry  it  has  been  conclusively  proved  in  past 
years  that  an  ad  valorem  duty  opens  the  door  to  fraud  through  under- 
valuation and  the  honest  importer  is  forced  out  of  business.  In  the 
working  of  a  specific  duty,  there  is  necessarily  some  variation  in  the 
ad  valorem  equivalents,  but  as  the  average  ad  valorem  equivalent 
for  1907  is  22.93  per  cent,  and  for  the  first  nine  months  of  1908  about 
20.88  per  cent,  the  duty  is  not  high  compared  with  most  other  manu- 
factured articles. 

We  earnestly  urge  your  committee  to  retain  the  present  rates  of 
duties  on  manufactures  of  cork  and  we  state  most  positively  that 
any  reduction  will  work  great  hardship  to  the  industry  in  the  United 
States. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

ARMSTRONG  CORK  COMPANY, 
CHAS.  D.  ARMSTRONG,  President, 


JOSE  TORRES,  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY,  CLAIMS  THAT  THE  FIGURES 
RELATIVE  TO  LABOR  COST  FURNISHED  BY  THE  ARMSTRONG 
COMPANY  ARE  MISLEADING. 

NEW  YORK,  December  15, 1908. 
WATS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  brief  submitted  by  the  Armstrong  Cork  Com- 
pany, which  appears  in  your  records,  dated  November  28,  1908.  is 
full  of  errors  which  the  writer  wants  to  correct.  The  wages  paid  to 


6602 


SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 


the  cork  workers,  which  the  Armstrong  Cork  Company  claims  are 
paid  in  the  United  States  and  Spain,  are  entirely  unreliable,  and  T 
herewith  give  you  a  table,  and  your  committee  can  ascertain  whether 
I  or  the  Armstrong  Cork  Company  is  correct: 

Weekly  wages  paid  cork  workers. 


United  States. 

Spain. 

Men: 
Cork-bark  sorters  

812.  00  to  815.  00 

85.60  to  86.00 

Slicers  

9.00  to    11.00 

3.  f>0  to    4.00 

Blockers  .   . 

10.00  to    12.00 

4.  00  and  5.  00 

Boys  

5.00  to      6.00 

(a) 

Women: 
M  achine  operators  

4.00  to      6.00 

2.50  to    3.  CO 

Sorters   

6.00  to      7.00 

2.40 

Packers  '  

6.00  to      6.00 

4.50  to    5.00 

o  Hardly  any  employed. 

The  Armstrong  Cork  Company  gave  your  committee  the  wagefi 
paid  in  Seville,  Spain,  where  they  have  their  own  factory.  To  com- 
mence with,  Seville  is  not  a  manufacturing  center,  and  your  com- 
mittee can  easily  find  out  that  95  per  cent  of  the  corks  imported  in 
this  country  come  from  Cataluna,  where  the  cork  industry  is  situated. 
The  writer  can  appear  to  your  committee  and  swear  to  the  above 
facts.  He  can  also  give  you  sworn  affidavits  from  any  amount  of 
cork  factories  in  Spain. 

The  writer  is  the  largest  importer  of  corks  from  Spain  outside  of 
the  Crown  Cork  and  Seal  Company,  of  Baltimore.  He  operates  one 
factory  in  Palaf rugell,  Spain,  and  one  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  therefore 
he  ought  to  know  what  he  is  talking  about.  The  cork  industry  in 
this  country  is  twice  as  much  protected  as  it  ought  to  be,  and  if  the 
manufacturers  of  corks  do  not  make  money  it  is  on  account  of  the 
great  competition  they  make  each  other,  and  it  is  especially  due  to 
the  cork  trust  trying  to  put  their  competitors  out  of  the  market. 

If  your  committee,  to  satisfy  the  Armstrong  Cork  Company,  change 
the  schedule  of  corks  and  specialties  in  any  way,  shape,  or  manner, 
the  Government  will  collect  no  revenue  hereafter  from  corks  or  arti- 
cles made  out  of  cork  wood,  and  the  consumer  will  be  at  the  mercy  of 
the  cork  trust. 

Yours,  very  truly,  JOSE  TORRES. 


THE  J.  H.  PADDOCK  COMPANY,  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  URGES  MAIN- 
TENANCE OF  PRESENT  DUTIES  ON  CORKS. 

BROOKLYN/  N.  Y.,  December  17,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYXE, 

Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  As  manufacturers  of  corks,  we  respectfully  ask  your 
consideration  of  the  following  facts,  in  connection  with  the  contem- 
plated revision  of  the  present  tariff:  In  1897  the  value  of  the  cork- 
wood imported  into  this  country  was  $1,323,000,  and  the  value  of  the 


COEK.  6603 

manufactured  corks  $463,000.  In  1907  the  value  of  the  corkwood 
imported  was  $2,358,000,  and  of  the  corks  $1,704,000.  This  shows 
that  under  the  tariff  now  in  effect  the  importation  of  raw  material 
has  increased  about  75  per  cent,  while  the  importation  of  manufac- 
tured corks  has  increased  225  per  cent,  and  certainly  refutes  the  state- 
ments of  some  of  the  cork  importers  made  at  the  hearing  at  the  even- 
ing session  of  November  28  last,  that  the  tariff  on  manufactured  corks 
was  too  high.  In  1897  the  average  wages  paid  employees  in  this 
business  was:  Men,  $10  per  week;  machine  girls,  $3.50  per  week; 
sorters,  $4.50  per  week. 

The  average  wages  now  paid  are:  Men,  $14  per  week;  machine 
girls,  $5  per  week;  sorters,  $7  per  week. 

If  the  tariff  is  lowered,  we  will  be  compelled  to  decrease  the  wages 
of  our  employees  proportionately.  We  also  beg  to  state  that  the 
prices  of  corks  manufactured  in  this  country  are  not  controlled  by 
any  trust,  as  stated  by  some  of  the  cork  importers  at  the  hearing 
given  them.  We  are  one  of  at  least  20  manufacturers,  all  of  whom 
are  absolutely  independent,  and  among  whom  competition  is  very 
keen. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  we  ask  that  the  present  tariff  be  at  least 
maintained,  if  not  increased. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  THE  J.  H.  PADDOCK  Co., 

By  J.  H.  PADDOCK. 


HERBERT  R.  LANE  &  CO.,  BOSTON,  ASK  FOR  SPECIFIC  CLASSIFI- 
CATION FOR  SHOE  CORK  AT  FIFTEEN  PER  CENT. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  December  19,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  As  importers  and  distributers  to  shoe  manufacturers 
and  jobbers  of  shoe  findings  of  two  articles  manufactured  for  the 
shoe  trade  by  our  English  correspondents,  the  Shepley  Mills  Lin- 
oleum Company,  we  present  same  to  your  honorable  board  for 
classification. 

SHOE    CORK. 

An  article  manufactured  from  ground  cork  mixed  with  linseed  oil 
and  applied  to  a  backing  of  cotton  muslin.  Represented  by  sample 
herewith  submitted  and  marked  "Sample  A." 

We  first  brought  this  article  into  this  country  in  October,  1907, 
under  Schedule  N,  paragraph  448,  of  the  tariff  act  of  July  24,  1897, 
as  a  manufacture  or  cork,  or  of  which  cork  was  the  component  mate- 
rial of  chief  value,  at  25  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

The  Government  has  since  changed  the  classification  of  this  article 
by  placing  same  under  Schedule  I,  paragraph  322,  as  a  manufacture 
of  cotton  not  specially  provided  for.  at  45  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Our  protest  against  this  decision  is  still  pending  and  the  National 
Board  of  General  Appraisers  has  not  as  yet  rendered  a  verdict. 

Should  this  latter -named  duty  prevail"  it  would  become  at  once 
prohibitive  and  the  article  could  not  be  brought  in. 


6604  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

The  article,  as  first  entered  and  brought  in  by  ourselves  under 
Schedule  N,  paragraph  448,  permitted  our  selling  same  in  the  Ameri- 
can market  at  30  cents  net  per  square  yard,  while  a  leading  domestic 
manufacturer  of  a  competitive  fabric,  viz,  the  Trenton  Oilcloth  and 
Linoleum  Company,  Trenton,  N.  J.,  freely  offers  a  competitive  article 
of  the  same  gauge  and  general  appearance  at  27.36  cents  net.  This 
makes  our  English  goods  10  per  cent  higher  in  price  than  theirs,  at 
least,  and  on  their  lowest  quotations,  which  at  present  we  are  unable 
to  determine,  a  still  greater  difference. 

Our  market  on  this  basis  could  only  be  maintained  through 
superiority  of  the  fabric  for  the  shoe  manufacturer's  usage.  Eyen 
under  these  conditions  we  fear  that  our  market  is  gone,  as  the  differ- 
ence in  price  between  the  English  and  American  is  too  great. 

We  would  therefore  respectfully  submit  for  your  consideration  that 
a  duty  of  15  per  centum  ad  valorem  be  placed  upon  the  article 
known  as  "shoe  cork." 

We  take  exception  to  the  suggestion  contained  in  the  brief  of  the 
Armstrong  Cork  Company,  dated  at  Pittsburg  on  November  23,  1908, 
wherein  they  advise  that  5  cents  per  pound  be  placed  upon  "cork 
bark,  wholly  or  partially  manufactured  for  life  preservers,  for  cork 
insoles,  etc.,"  as  a  duty  of  this  description  upon  our  article,  weigh- 
ing about  If  pounds  to  the  square  yard,  would  be  absolutely  prohibit- 
ive and  would  give  the  American  manufacturer  unwarranted  pro- 
tection. 

Our  other  articles  for  your  honorable  consideration,  and  attached 
hereto  marked,  "Sample  B,"  is  an  article  composed  of  ground  cork  and 
Unseed  oil,  forming  a  composition  applied  to  a  cotton  muslin  back- 
ing as  in  our  other  article  marked  "shoe  cork."  The  only  difference 
between  this  latter  named  and  shoe  cork  is  that  the  grinding  of  the 
cork  in  Sample  B  has  progressed  to  a  finer  stage.  This  is  an  article 
to  be  used  by  manufacturers  of  box  toes  for  shoes.  Heretofore  it  has 
been  impossible  to  bring  this  article  into  this  country  as  its  classifi- 
cation has  been  as  a  manufacture  of  cotton  not  especially  provided 
for,  viz,  Schedule  I,  paragraph  322. 

We  realize  full  well  that  our  tariff  is  primarily  for  the  protection 
of  the  American  manufacturer,  but  we  realize  also  that  the  revenue 
derived  therefrom  is  of  inestimable  benefit  to  the  Government  and 
that  a  tariff  which  prohibits  importation  protects  the  American 
manufacturer  to  the  exclusion  of  government  resources. 

We  therefore  present  these  two  articles  in  question  for  your  care- 
ful consideration,  feeling  sure  that  their  merits,  properly  consid- 
ered, will  show  to  your  honorable  selves  that  a  15  per  cent  ad  valo- 
rem duty  on  both  these  articles  insures  the  American  manufacturer 
sufficient  protection  and  will  not  prohibit  the  entire  importation 
of  such  articles  but  will  permit  of  their  selling  to  such  of  the  Ameri- 
can trade  as  may  favorably  consider  them. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

HERBERT  R.  LANE  &  Co., 
HERBERT  R.  LANE, 

President  arid  Treasurer. 


IVORY   ARTICLES OTTO  GERDATJ.  6605 

CORK  WASTE. 

[Paragraph  536.] 

NEW  YORK,  December  24,  1908. 
Hon.  JOHN  DALZELL,  M.  C.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  I  understand  that  some  of  the  cork  manufacturers 
have  petitioned  your  committee  asking  that  a  duty  be  placed  upon 
cork  waste. 

It  seems  'to  me  this  would  be  a  very  great  injustice  to  the  manufac- 
turers of  linoleum,  and  I  can  see  no  necessity  for  the  same,  as  the  cork 
manufacturers  are  now  protected  by  a  duty  on  their  manufactured 
corks  and  have  their  cork  wood  admitted  free,  and  the  waste  cork 
being  raw  material  for  the  linoleum  manufacturers. 

The  cork  manufacturers  in  the  United  States  already  do  not  make 
enough  waste  to  supply  our  manufacturers,  and  we  are  therefore  com- 
pelled to  import  about  50  per  cent  of  the  cork  waste  that  we  use. 

Some  time  early  in  January  I  would  like  very  much  to  come  to 
Washington,  if  you  can  set  the  time,  and  talk  with  you  on  the  question 
of  linoleum  and  the  raw  materials  entering  into  the  manufacture 
thereof. 

Yours,  truly,   '  H.  A.  POTTER. 


IVORY  ARTICLES. 

[Paragraphs  417  and  450.] 

STATEMENT  SUBMITTED  BY  OTTO  GERDAU,  OF  NEW  YORK,  RELA- 
TIVE TO  IVORY  PIANO  KEYS  AND  BILLIARD  BALLS. 

NEW  YORK,  November  18, 1908. 
To  the  honorable  members  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  consider  it  almost  useless  to  appeal  on  ivory  piano 
and  organ  keys  and  ivory  billiard  and  pool  balls,  because  for  thirty- 
five  years  my  appeals  have  had  no  effect  whatever,  but  as  the  ex- 
cessive protection  has  finally  had  the  inevitable  result  that  not  one 
dollar's  worth  of  these  articles  is  imported,  my  words  may  now  per- 
haps find  more  credence  or  attention.  I  therefore  beg  your  per- 
mission to  say  on  ivory  piano  and  organ  keys  that  this  article  is  but 
a  partially  manufactured  article,  sawn  by  automatic  machinery  and 
bleached  by  the  sun,  but  because  they  have  never  been  specially 
enumerated  they  are  subject  to  the  same  duty  of  35  per  cent  as  per- 
fectly hand-finished,  artistically  carved  ivory,  and  in  consequence 
nothing  at  all  is  imported  of  the  $2,000,000  worth  used  by  the  piano 
and  organ  manufacturers  of  this  country.  The  difference  between 
the  American  and  European  labor  on  ivory  piano  and  organ  keys 
is  estimated  to  be  not  over  2  per  cent  and,  in  fact,  an  American  manu- 
facturer of  them,  Mr.  George  Ropes,  was  frank  enough  to  admit  (see 
Tariff  Hearings  of  Fifty-third  Congress,  p.  1190)  that  the  entire 
amount  paid  for  labor  in  the  United  States  upon  a  set  of  ivory  keys 
is  not  over  10  per  cent. 


6606  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

They  have  been  assessed  since  the  war  at  50  per  cent  and  they  have 
remained  so  ever  since.  The  turning  of  a  ball  from  a  block  is  done 
by  lathe,  and  I  would  like  to  have  the  business  to  turn  them  at  an 
entire  cost  of  5  per  cent.  I  stand  for  protection,  but  not  for  such 
rank  prohibition  which  will  enrich  the  few  at  the  expense  of  the 
many  and  yield  no  revenue  to  the  Government. 

I  therefore  advocate  a  reduction  of  the  duty  to  5  per  cent  on  ivory 
piano  and  organ  keys  and  ivory  billiard  and  pool  balls  and  free  entry 
of  ivory  and  vegetable  ivory,  unmanufactured. 

Yours,  respectfully,  OTTO  GERDAU. 


TESTIMONY  OF  C.  W.  SIEBERT,  558  WEST  ONE  HUNDRED  AND 
EIGHTY-FOURTH  STREET,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  RELATIVE  TO  BIL- 
LIARD BALLS  AND  PIANO  IVORY. 

TUESDAY,  December  15,  1908. 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  I 
will  take  but  a  few  moments  of  your  time  on  this  subject  of  ivory 
billiard  balls  and  piano  and  organ  ivory. 

Ivory  billiard  balls  are  turned  from  blocks  of  crude  ivory  like  this 
sample,  and  any  turner  in  the  business  would  be  very  glad  to  do  the 
turning  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent  of  its  value.  The  true  cost  of  it  is 
nearer  3 — between  2  and  3.  The  duty  on  ivory  balls  since  the  civil 
war  has  been  50  per  cent.  For  what  reasons  I  do  not  know,  and  I 
should  be  very  glad  if  any  member  of  the  committee  could  tell  me  why 
it  is  so.  I  advocate  the  reduction  of  the  duty  on  ivory  balls  from  50 
to  5  per  cent  under  those  conditions. 

Piano  ivory,  of  which  I  have  here  sample  pieces,  is  in  exactly  the 
same  category.  It  is  made  by  machinery.  It  requires  little  or  no 
technical  knowledge,  and  it  has  a  duty  on  it  of  35  per  cent.  In  the 
hearings  of  the  Fifty-third  Congress,  I  believe  it  was — 

Mr.  HILL.  Under  what  paragraph  does  piano  ivory  come? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  I  can  not  give  you  the  number,  sir.  I  had  to  come 
here  very  suddenly  and  I  did  not  bring  my  data  with  me.  You  have 
the  testimony  of  Mr.  A.  G.  Ropes,  I  believe  of  Boston,  given  at  that 
time.  He  was  then  one  of  the  largest  manufacturers  of  piano  ivory 
in  the  country.  He  testified  before  the  committee  at  that  time  that 
he  could  produce  all  the  piano  ivory  he  required  at  not  over  and  less 
than  10  per  cent.  The  same  question  comes  up  upon  this  subject, 
why  there  should  be  a  35  per  cent  duty  on  an  article  that  a  manufac- 
turer himself  claims  he  can  produce  for  10  per  cent  or  less. 

It  is  for  that  reason  I  advocate  and  ask  that  organ  and  piano 
ivory  be  reduced  to  10  per  cent.  If  any  competition  to  American 
manufacturers  is  to  be  permitted  at  all  in  either  of  those  articles, 
there  can  be  no  other  method  of  regulating  it. 

Mr.  HILL.  The  ivory  itself  is  free? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  The  raw  material  is  free  in  all  countries;  yes,  sir. 
It  comes  from  Africa  and  Asia,  principally  the  east  and  west  coasts 
of  Africa,  and  is  free  all  over. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Your  raw  material,  this  ivory,  is  not  produced  in 
this  country  at  all,  is  it  ? 


BILLIARD   BALLS   AND   PIANO   IVORY 0.    W.    SIEBERT..         6607 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  No,  sir;  we  have  no  elephants  here. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  understand  you  to  say  you  know  it  to  be  a  fact 
that  these  balls  can  be  turned  for  5  per  cent  of  the  value  of  the  ivory 
contained  in  them  ? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Less;  yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Were  you  ever  in  the  business? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Twenty-five  year?. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  have  been  twenty-five  years  in  the  business? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Not  for  myself,  but  I  have  been  in  the  business 
twenty-five  years. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  They  are  turned  by  a  turning  lathe,  I  suppose. 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes.  sir;  an  ordinary  turning  lathe.  That  5  per  cent 
includes  not  only  the  turning,  Mr.  Chairman,  but  it  includes  the 
dyeing,  finishing,  and  polishing. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  much  is  the  ivory  worth  per  ball? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Do  you  mean  the  raw  ivory  in  its  block  shape,  or  do 
you  mean  the  finished  ball? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  mean  the  raw  ivory,  like  what  you  have  there. 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Ten  dollars. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Ten  dollars  for  what? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  The  block. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  block  you  have  there? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir ;  that  turns  out  one  2f -inch  billiard  ball. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  And  it  only  costs  50  cents  to  turn  it  ? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Less  than  that.  We  have  made  inquiries  and  ascer- 
tained from  one  turner  that  it  is  not  over  30  cents,  and  through 
inquiries  within  the  last  three  or  four  days  by  myself  a  quotation  was 
given  me  of  47  cents,  but  that  was  in  small  quantities,  with  re- 
ductions for  larger  quantities. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  much  do  those  balls  sell  for  at  the  factory? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  A  finished  ball  of  that  size  sells  to-day  at  $15. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  other  ivory  products,  the  piano  keys,  you  say, 
have  a  duty  of  35  per  cent? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  do  you  say  they  can  be  made  for? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  That,  Mr.  Chairman,  is  a  question  that  I  can  not 
answer  accurately,  and  I  would  rather  not  answer  it.  The  informa- 
tion that  I  have  about  that  is  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Ropes,  given  be- 
fore the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  in  the  Fifty-third  Congress. 
In  the  reports  of  the  hearing  I  believe  you  will  find  Mr.  Ropes's  tes- 
timony. At  the  time  he  was  one  of  the  largest  piano-ivory  manu- 
facturers of  the  United  States.  He  recently  died. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  was  when  the  Wilson  bill  was  in  process  of 
formation? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Probably.  As  I  told  you,  I  had  very  short  notice  to 
get  here,  and  I  had  to  leave  everything  behind. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  had  considerable  evidence  on  this  subject  when 
the  McKinley  bill  was  before  Congress. 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  I  do  not  know  whether  there  was  very  much  evidence 
on  it,  Mr.  Chairman. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  think  that  limitation  about  free  ivory,  describing 
it,  so  to  speak,  as  with  the  bark  on  it,  in  its  natural  state,  was  put 
into  that  bill. 


6608  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir ;  that  was  to  let  in  the  block  free ;  but  the  fact 
remains  that  this  enormous  duty  on  balls  simply  has  centralized  the 
whole  thing  here.  There  has  been  no  competition  in  balls. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  importation  of 
ivory  balls  at  all. 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  No ;  they  are  thoroughly  eradicated.  The  firm  I  was 
with,  with  whom  I  learned  my  business,  have  practically  been  out  of 
the  business  altogether  ever  since. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  But  there  is  quite  an  importation  of  other  manu- 
factures of  ivory.  That  is,  I  do  not  know  how  much  ivory  is  in  use, 
but  there  is  $78,000  a  year  of  the  other  manufactures  of  ivory  and 
finished  ivory. 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  They  must  be  altogether  finished  articles,  but  abso- 
lutely nothing  can  come  in  in  ball  shape. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  suppose  these  piano  keys  are  sawed  out  first 
and  then  there  is  some  polishing  or  smoothing  process. 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  They  are  simply  sawed  out  into  two  shapes,  and 
then  as  they  are  put  upon  the  piano  the  mechanic  joins  them  and 
puts  the  sharps  in  between,  you  see. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  can  not  tell  what  it  costs  to  turn  them? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Not  with  any  degree  of  accuracy;  no,  sir;  and  I 
would  rather  not  state  since  I  can  not  answer  the  question  accu- 
rately. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Why  would  you  recommend  the  reduction  of  the 
duty? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Simply  to  not  centralize  the  interest  entirely  in  this 
country.  Competition  is  the  life  of  trade.  I  believe  in  a  fair  tariff 
to  protect  American  labor,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  but  it  is  very 
simple  to  see  that  in  this  case  the  duties  are  absolutely  abnormal. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  There  would  be  no  one  benefited  by  a  reduction  of 
that  duty  except  the  purchaser  of  billiard  balls,  would  there? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Probably  not,  because  the  labor  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  most  of  these  articles  is  necessarily  very  small. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  However  little  it  is,  it  would  be  better  to  have  it 
here  than  to  have  it  abroad,  would  it  not? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Possibly,  as  far  as  the  labor. is  concerned;  yes. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  From  the  revenue  standpoint,  then? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  From  the  revenue  standpoint,  no.  Certainly  not, 
because  I  have  just  testified  that  there  has  not  been  a  dollar's  worth 
of  this  material  in  finished  shape  imported  here  for  years  and  years, 
simply  because  we  can  not  compete  under  that  heavy  duty^. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  There  certainly  has  been  no  importation  for  the 
last  twelve  years. 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  If  a  reasonable  duty  is  established,  to  enable  us  to 
compete  with  the  American  manufacturers,  instead  of  an  excessive 
duty,  that  would  bring  the  Government  revenue.  That  is  certain. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  But  there  has  been  considerable  ivory  imported  in 
one  way  and  another? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  They  have  been  articles  of  decoration,  etc, 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  What -is  your  business? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  I  am  with  a  concern  that  has  been  in  this  business  for 
twenty-six  years,  and  they  were  forced  to  give  it  up.  My  object  of 
coming  here  was  that  if  this  duty  could  be  put  upon  a  proper  basis  I 
should  immediately  go  into  business. 


BILLIARD   BALLS   AND   PIANO   IVOKY C.    W.    SIEBEBT.         6609 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  If  the  duty  were  reduced  from  50  per  cent  to  5  per 
cent,  do  you  think  the  revenues  of  the  Government  would  be  in- 
creased ? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  As  it  is  to-day,  sir,  it  gets  absolutely  nothing.  What 
does  the  revenue  come  from? 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Not  particularly  the  billiard  balls;  but  there  is  some 
duty  collected  from  other  manufactured  ivory,  is  there  not? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  As  I  told  you,  that  is  probably  on  some  finished  arti- 
cles of  decoration,  articles  of  virtu,  curiosities,  etc.,  but  absolutely 
nothing  from  these  trade  articles,  absolutely  not  a  dollar's  worth. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  May  I  ask  him  a  question  right  there  ? 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Certainly. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  This  paragraph  417  includes :  "  Dice,  draughts, 
chessmen,  chess  balls,  and  billiard,  pool,  and  bagatelle  balls,  of 
ivory,  bone,  or  other  material."  Would  you  have  the  duty  lowered 
on  all  those? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  No;  I  merely  speak  of  the  finished  balls.  It  would 
mean  another  paragraph,  of  course. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  mentioned  the  billiard  ball. 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Well,  one  of  the  grounds  is  because  it  requires  abso- 
lutely no  skilled  labor.  It  is  not  like  a  carved  chessman  or  any 
article  of  virtu.  That  is  a  different  class  altogether. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  If  there  are  no  billiard  balls  imported,  certainly 
what  billiard  balls  are  used  are  made  in  the  United  States,  are  they 
not? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Who  would  be  benefited,  then,  by  the  removal  of 
that  duty? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  The  purchaser  of  the  billiard  balls.  It  stands  to 
reason  that  the  more  competition,  the  better  the  chance  of  the  pur- 
chaser buying  at  more  reasonable  prices  than  if  the  thing  is  cen- 
tralized in  the  hands  of  two  or  three  concerns.  Besides  that,  it  would 
tend  to  bring  revenue  to  the  Government,  while  as  it  stands  the  Gov- 
ernment gets  absolutely  nothing  out  of  it. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Is  there  any  duty  on  the  ivory  imported  as  you 
have  it  there? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  On  the  block?  No,  sir.  On  the  piano  keys  there  is  a 
duty  of  35  per  cent. 

Mr.  HILL.  I  do  not  yet  quite  understand  what  business  you  are  in. 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  I  am  with  a  firm  that  formerly  was  very  large  in  the 
ivory  business. 

Mr.  HILL.  In  the  making  of  billiard  balls  and  piano  ivory? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Billiard  balls,  and  particularly  piano  ivory. 

Mr.  HILL.  They  are  not  now? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  They  are  utterly  unable  to  import  one  cent's  worth 
with  the  35  per  cent  duty  on  piano  ivory. 

Mr.  HILL.  What  are  they  doing  now? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  They  have  quit  that  branch. 

Mr.  HILL.  You  said  if  the  duty  was  reduced  you  would  go  into 
business.  What  kind  of  business? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Into  the  importation  of  the  piano  ivory  and  the  fin- 
ished balls. 

Mr.  HILL.  For  use  in  piano  manufacture  and  also  for  selling  bil- 
liard balls? 


6610  SCHEDULE   N — SUNDRIES. 

.  Mr.  STEBERT.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  In  what  form  does  the  ivory  come  in;  in  the  tusk,  or 
sawed  up  in  that  way?  Is  it  brought  into  the  country  in  that  shape? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Oh,  no ;  it  is  prohibitive  now.  The  only  way  it  could 
come  in  would  be  as  tusks. 

Mr.  HILL.  It  comes  in  free  now  ? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  The  tusk  does;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  Your  idea  is  to  reduce  the  duty  so  that  you  can  import 
this  in  the  finished  form? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  And  to  be  used  in  the  further  manufacturing  of  pianos? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  You  are  not  in  the  piano  business  now? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  Your  idea  is,  so  far  as  the  billiard-ball  business  is  con- 
cerned, to  import  the  finished  ball  rather  than  the  tusk  and  have  the 
labor  performed  here? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  And  the  work  carried  on  here  ? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir;  to  import  probably  not  tusks  so  much  as 
the  balls. 

Mr.  HILL.  Your  purpose,  then,  is  not  to  go  into  the  manufacture 
of  these  things  at  all.  It  is  to  go  into  the  manufacture  which  would 
utilize  these  things,  and  import  your  raw  material  practically  free 
or  at  a  very  much  lower  duty  ? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  No,  sir ;  that  is  not  the  raw  material 

Mr.  HILL.-  It  would  be  your  raw  material  in  the  mftnufacture  of 
the  piano,  of  course? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes ;  taking  it  in  that  sense,  of  course. 

Mr.  HILL.  That  is  what  you  want? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  To  get  the  raw  material  for  the  manufacture  of  the 
piano  as  an  encouragement  to  you  to  go  into  piano  manufacture? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  No,  sir;  so  as  to  permit  us  to  import  piano  ivory  to 
sell  to  the  piano  manufacturers. 

Mr.  HILL.  Oh,  you  simply  want  to  deal  in  the  products  ? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Exactly. 

Mr.  HILL.  I  see.  You  simply  want  to  put  yourself  on  a  more 
favorable  basis  as  an  importer. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Are  many  of  these  piano  keys  made  in  this  coun- 
try now? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  Yes;  a  great  many  in  Connecticut. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Most  of  them  are  made  in  this  country  ? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  At  the  present  time,  all. 

Mr.  HILL.  How  much  cheaper  would  a  piano  sell  for  if  that  article 
was  imported  free? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Not  very  much  cheaper,  I  am  afraid. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  In  reference  to  the  raising  of  revenue,  you  say  we 
get  nothing  from  that  now? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  At  the  present  time;  no. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Suppose  the  tariff  was  levied  on  the  ivory,  the  raw 
material  ? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir. 


BILLIAED   BALLS   AND   PIANO  IVORY C.    W.    SIEBERT.         6611 

Mr.  RANDELL.  And  then  on  the  finished  article,  enough  to  make 
the  difference,  whatever  difference  the  committee  might  think  would 
be  proper,  in  reference  to  the  labor  cost,  if  they  considered  that. 
Why  would  not  that  bring  in  revenue  and  at  the  same  time  make  it 
possible  for  you  to  do  business  here  or  to  import,  either  ? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes;  that  might  be  true,  but  it  would  be  against 
the  usual  principles  of  all  business  on  an  article  that  is  not  raised 
here. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  How  would  it  be  against  any  principle  ?  If  we  raise 
the  revenue  on  the  raw  material  and  that  gave  a  differential  on 
the  finished  product,  that  would  permit  the  manufacture  of  it  here 
and  at  the  same  time  would  permit  a  reasonable  competition  from 
abroad.  Why  would  that  violate  the  principle? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Well,  I  can  not  answer  that. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  The  result  of  it  would  be  if  the  tariff  was  placed  on 
the  tusks,  on  the  raw  material,  that  would  simply  raise  the  revenue 
for  the  Government  and  would  be  putting  a  tax  on  this  class  of 
goods,  would  it  not? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  It  would  be  taxing  something  in  the  nature  of  a 
luxury,  a  billiard  ball? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir.    Is  there  anything  more,  gentlemen  ? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  all. 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  I  am  much  obliged  to  you.  I  hope  I  will  have  better 
success  with  it  this  time  than  I  had  the  last  time.  I  am  a  little  afraid 
that  our  Connecticut  friends  take  too  good  care  of  their  constituents. 

Mr.  HILL.  Your  purpose,  then,  is  to  put  yourself  in  a  better  posi- 
tion as  an  importer  of  the  finished  product  and  not  as  establishing  a 
new  industry? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  No ;  it  is  no  industry  at  all. 

Mr.  HILL.  You  do  not  propose  to  manufacture  it? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  You  propose,  then,  to  transfer  the  industry  from  this 
country  elsewhere  in  order  that  you  may  handle  more  goods  as  an 
importer? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  And  pay  the  United  States  revenue. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  guess  we  all  understand  it.  Is  there  any  other 
gentleman  here  who  desires  to  be  heard  now? 

Mr.  RANDELL.  I  want  to  ask  this  gentleman  another  question. 
About  what  number  of  people,  if  you  know,  are  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  these  billiard  balls,  pool  balls,  etc.? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Not  many,  sir.      It  is  not  a  large  business. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Where  are  they  located? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Mainly  in  New  York,  I  should  judge. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  Brother  Hill  says  he  has  some  in  Connecticut. 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  That  is  the  piano  ivory. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  And  the  billiard  balls  are  mostly  manufactured  in 
New  York? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  The  way  it  is  now,  the  Government  gets  no  rev- 
enue, but  these  articles  have  to  be  manufactured  there  on  account  of 
the  tariff  excluding  outside  manufactures;  and  the  country  gets  no 
revenue,  but  must  pay  these  people  who  are  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture here? 


6612  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  And  the  way  I  stated  it  would  bring  in  the  revenue 
and  permit  the  competition  both,  would  it  not? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  I  should  judge  so;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  If  we  put  the  tax  on  the  ivory,  and  then  enough  dif 
ferential  on  the  finished  product  to  bring  the  revenue? 

Mr.  SIEBERT.  Yes,  sir. 


C.  W.  SIEBEET,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  SUBMITS  SUPPLEMENTAL  BRIEF 
RELATIVE  TO  MANUFACTURES  OF  IVORY. 

o58  WEST  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  EIGHTY-FOURTH  STREET, 

New  York,  December  15,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  wish  to  submit  to  you  the  following  brief  on  ivory 
billiard  balls  and  ivory  piano  and  organ  keys: 

The  billiard  balls  used  in  this  country  are  turned  from  blocks  like 
my  sample  and  ivory  turners  in  this  country  will  gladly  finish  such 
balls  ready  for  use  at  a  cost  of  not  exceeding  5  per  cent,  but  ever  since 
the  civil  war  the  duty  on  them  has  remained  50  per  cent,  and  I  feel 
sure  that  no  gentleman  of  your  honorable  committee  can  give  a  reason 
for  it  except  neglect.  I  ask  therefore  for  a  reduction  of  the  duty 
from  50  to  5  per  cent  on  ivory  billiard  balls  if  it  is  not  your  intention 
to  continue  to  stop  their  importation  altogether.  Ten  per  cent  would 
prohibit  them  as  effectually  as  the  present  50  per  cent. 

It  is  the  same  with  ivory  piano  and  organ  keys  like  my  sample. 
They  are  cut  by  machinery  and  an  American  manufacturer  testified 
before  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  of  the  Fifty-third  Congress, 
page  1190,  that  their  entire  cost  of  manufacture  does  not  exceed  10 
per  cent.  Yet  they  have  been  kept  dutiable  at  35  per  cent  and  noth- 
ing whatever  is  imported  of  it.  With  such  testimony  of  an  American 
manufacturer  before  you  and  the  fact  that  at  35  per  cent  nothing 
whatever  is  imported,  it  is  plain  that  they  ought  to  be  reduced  to  at 
least  10  per  cent  if  some  outside  competition  is  to  be  permitted  at  all, 
but  it  is  doubtful  whether  at  10  per  cent  any  can  be  imported. 
Yours,  respectfully, 

C.  W.  SIEBERT. 


OTTO  GERDAU,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  FILES  SUPPLEMENTAL  STATE- 
MENT RELATIVE  TO  LABOR  COST  IN  MAKING  AND  FINISHING 
IVORY  BILLIARD  BALLS. 

NEW  YORK,  December  19,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  0. 

DEAR  SIR:  Referring  to  my  letter  addressed  to  you  under  date  of 
November  18,  it  occurred  to  me  that  you  perhaps  would  like  some 
proof  to  support  my  assurance  that  the  whole  labor  in  this  country 
to  finish  ivory  billiard  balls  does  not  cost  above  5  per  cent. 


IVORY  ARTICLES OTTO   GERDAU.  6613 

I  therefore  made  an  inquiry  of  the  two  best  ivory  turners  in  this 
city  at  what  price  they  would  turn  and  finish  billiard  balls  for  me, 
and  you  will  see  from  their  two  inclosed  answers  that  one  asks  25 
cents  for  turning  the  balls  and  19  cents  for  finishing  them,  which 
makes  it  44  cents  per  ball;  while  the  other  asks  a  straight  price  of 
35  cents  per  ball  for  the  whole  business,  and  as  a  2 f -inch  block  of 
ivory,  which  is  the  size  used  for  billiard  balls,  averages  $10  in  cost, 
you  will  note  that  the  percentage  is  in  both  cases  less  than  5  per  cent. 
It  has  always  been  represented  to  me  that  the  cost  of  turning  and 
finishing  billiard  balls  is  30  cents  per  piece,  and  the  difference  between 
this  rate  and  the  quoted  prices  of  the  turners  is  no  doubt  their  profit; 
but  as  even  these  latter  prices  do  not  exceed  5  per  cent,  I  think  it 
must  be  plain  to  you  that  it  would  be  without  sense  or  reason  to 
leave  a  duty  of  50  per  cent  on  ivory  billiard  balls,  but  if  you  reduce 
the  duty  only  25  or  30  per  cent,  you  may  as  well  leave  it  50  per 
cent,  because  when  an  article  costs  here  only  3  per  cent  to  manu- 
facture, you  can  not  make  the  duty  more  than  5  per  cent  and  expect 
any  importations. 

I  trust  that  you  will  include  this  proof  of  my  former  statement 
in  your  record,  and  I  am, 

Yours,  respectfully,  OTTO  GERDAU. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

NEW  YORK,  December  15,  1908. 
THE  OTTO  GERDAU  COMPANY, 

New  York. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  herewith  quote  you  price  to  rough  ivory  balls 
and  finish  them  for  35  cents  each. 

In  case  you  should  favor  us  with  the  work  and  the  ivory  delivered 
to  us,  we  would  request  you  to  take  the  responsibility  of  having  same 
insured. 

Trusting  to  hear  favorably  from  you,  we  are, 
Yours,  truly, 

THE  A.  JOSEPH  KAPP  SONS'  IVORY  Co. 


EXHIBIT  B. 

NEW  YORK,  December  14,  1908. 

DEAR  MR.  GERDAU:  We  have  never  roughed  ivory  balls  for 
money.  We  charge  nothing  for  the  work,  but  keep  the  rings  in  pay- 
ment; but  if  we  make  a  price  it  must  be  25  cents,  and  then  we  return 
the  rings.  The  roughing  of  balls  from  blocks  is  a  difficult  operation, 
and  unless  carefully  done  you  would  lose  much  in  the  deterioration  of 
the  ball,  and  if  sufficient  time  and  judgment  is  used  it  pays  better  than 
to  hurry  the  work  in  order  to  do  it  cheaply.  We  prefer  to  have  a 
man  do'  25  balls  a  day  carefully  than  to  have  50  or  more  done  care- 
lessly. 

To  finish  balls  we  will  charge  75  cents  per  set  of  four  or  25  cents 
each.  Of  course  it  depends  somewhat  on  quantity;  if  you  can  have 


6614  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

enough  done  at  one  time  to  give  a  man  a  few  days'  work  it  may  be 
cheaper.  At  any  rate,  our  prices  may  be  higher  than  some  competi- 
tors, but  our  work  is  also  superior,  just  as  your  blocks  are  superior  to 
most  others. 

Yours,  etc.,  F.  R.  KALDENBERG. 


GEORGE  L.  CHENEY,  DEEP  RIVER,  CONN.,  FOR  VARIOUS  MAKERS 

OF  PIANO  IVORY,  PROTESTS  AGAINST  REDUCTION  OF  DUTY  ON 

MANUFACTURES  OF  IVORY. 

DEEP  RIVER,  CONN.,  February  #,  1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  On  behalf  of  Arnold,  Cheney  &  Co.,  of  New  York, 
importers  of  ivory  tusks;  The  Comstock,  Cheney  £  Co.,  of  Ivory  ton, 
Conn.,  manufacturers  of  piano  ivory  and  piano  keyboards,  and 
Pratt,  Read  &  Co.,  of  Deep  River,  Conn.,  ivory  cutters  and  piano-key 
makers,  I  submit  their  protest  against  a  reduction  in  the  duty  im- 
posed by  the  Dingley  tariff  on  manufactures  of  ivory. 

The  particular  manufacture  of  ivory  in  which  we  are  interested  is 
piano  ivory. 

By  paragraph  450  of  the  Dingley  tariff  a  duty  of  35  percentum  ad 
valorem  is  imposed  on  manufactures  of  ivory,  and  by  paragraph  584 
ivory  tusks  in  their  natural  state,  and  cut  vertically  across  the  grain 
only,  with  the  bark  left  intact,  are  admitted  free. 

Manufactures  of  ivory  were  subject  to  this  duty  of  35  per  cent 
under  the  tariff  of  1883. 

Upon  the  application  of  the  German  representatives  of  foreign 
ivory  cutters  this  duty  was  reduced  by  the  Mills  bill  to  30  per  cent. 

The  Wilson  bill  proposed  to  fix  the  duty  at  the  old  rate,  35  per 
cent;  but  the  McKinley  tariff,  after  full  hearings  on  the  subject, 
fixed  the  duty  at  40  per  cent. 

Under  the  Mills  tariff  foreign-manufactured  ivory  was  freely  im- 
ported and  sold,  and  the  American  factories  suffered  severely. 

The  Germans  have  now  again  asked  your  committee  to  reduce  the 
duty.  Otto  Gerdau,  for  many  years  the  agent  in  this  country  of  the 
largest  European  ivory  factory,  Heinr.  Ad  Meyer,  of  Hamburg,  has 
written  you  a  letter  asking  that  the  duty  be  reduced  to  5  per  cent; 
and  C*  W.  Siebert,  whom  I  have  been  unable  to  identify  except  as  an 
employee  of  Mr.  Gerdau,  appeared  before  you  December  15  and  made 
a  similar  request. 

Mr.  Siebert  concealed  his  business  connection  in  his  discussion 
before  your  committee  and  gave  only  his  residence  address,  but  stated 
that  he  wished  the  duty  reduced  "  so  as  to  permit  us  to  import  piano 
ivory  to  sell  to  the  piano  manufacturers,"  stating,  however,  that  "  if 
piano  ivory  were  imported  free  he  was  afraid  the  piano  would  not 
sell  very  much  cheaper."  His  sole  interest  is  that  01  a  representative 
of  a  foreign  factory  seeking  a  market  in  this  country  at  the  expense 
of  the  American  factories,  and  is  identical  with  the  interest  of  Mr. 
Gerdau,  who  stated  before  Mr.  McKinley 's  committee  that  he  did  not 
cut  the  ivory  here  because  his  factory  happened  to  be  on  the  other 
side,  and  that  it  was  really  a  question  between  the  factories  here  and 
the  factories  there,  and  that  was  all. 


IVORY  ARTICLES — GEORGE   L.   CHENEY.  6615 

Both  these  Germans  quoted  Mr.  George  Ropes  as  their  only  au- 
thority on  the  comparative  cost  of  piano  ivory  in  this  country.  Mr. 
Ropes  was  in  fact  not  a  manufacturer,  but  an  East  India  merchant 
and  importer,  who  ran  a  little  spite  factory  for  a  while  on  the  side. 
He  did  not  make  a  success  of  it  and  it  was  shortly  sold  out.  He  had 
no  practical  knowledge  or  experience  as  an  ivory  manufacturer,  and 
his  only  policy  as  such  was  to  injure  the  ivory  cutters  who  did  not  buy 
the  tusk  ivory  that  he  imported. 

The  companies  for  whom  I  now  appeal  to  you  have  imported  ivory 
and  manufactured  ivory  goods  for  several  generations  and  are  the 
principal  support  of  several  flourishing  villages. 

The  continuance  of  the  business  is  dependent  on  the  tariff,  and  the 
duty  fixed  at  30  per  cent  by  the  Mills  bill  was  found  in  practice  to 
permit  of  large  importations  by  the  Germans  at  prices  with  which 
the  American  factories  could  not  compete.  This  is  not  a  theory,  but 
a  condition,  which  we  had  to  confront  once,  and  which  we  can  not 
afford  to  confront  again. 

There  are  a  number  of  reasons  why  the  American  manufacturers  of 
piano  ivory  can  not  compete  with  the  German  ivory  cutters  when  the 
duty  is  only  30  per  cent. 

In  the  first  place,  only  a  part  of  the  duty  fixed  is  actually  collected. 
In  an  article  like  manufactured  ivory  there  are  so  many  ways  of 
undervaluations  that  the  Germans  have  been  able  in  the  past  to 
avoid  payment  of  a  considerable  part  of  the  duty  required  by  the 
statute.  Persistent  and  expensive  efforts  on  our  part  to  prevent  this 
have  always  failed. 

In  the  second  place,  no  such  profitable  utilization  of  the  waste  is 
possible  in  this  country  as  abroad.  More  than  half  the  tusk  goes  to 
waste  in  cutting  up  for  piano  ivory.  Various  little  outlets  exist 
abroad  for  this  waste,  but  not  here,  and  we  are  obliged  to  export  in 
order  to  sell  it. 

In  the  third  place,  the  German  ivory  cutters  are  close  to  the  source 
of  supply,  which  is  now  the  quarterly  sales  at  Antwerp.  The  Ameri- 
can ivory  cutter  has  to  pay  the  freight  from  Antwerp  to  Connecticut, 
or  Massachusetts,  or  New  York,  on  his  ivory,  and  then  back  to  Ger- 
many on  the  waste,  with  insurance,  interest,  port  charges,  and  all 
those  little  things  which  eat  up  the  profits.  Nearness  to  the  source 
of  supply  and  nearness  to  the  market  for  products  from  the  waste 
gives  the  German  a  serious  advantage. 

In  the  fourth  place,  and  this  is  the  most  important  of  all,  the  great 
difference  in  wages  paid  labor  and  the  great  difference  in  the  scale 
of  living  between  German  and  American  manufacturing  communi- 
ties make  it  impossible  to  sell  the  products  of  our  factories  in  com- 
petition with  the  products  of  their  factories  without  bringing  our 
labor  down  to  a  scale  of  living  which  the  American  refuses  to  accept. 
We  pay  ivory  cutters  $2.50  a  day ;  in  Germany  they  get  from  40  to  50 
cents. 

With  these  facts,  the  problem  works  out  something  as  follows : 

The  ivory  necessary  to  produce  a  set  of  piano  keys  costs  in  Ger- 
many, let  us  say,  $3.85;  but  in  this  country,  because  we  are  so  far 
away  and  because  we  can  not  utilize  our  waste,  let  us  say,  $4.50.  The 
amount  labor  receives  on  this  set  of  ivory  in  taking  it  from  the  tusk 
and  transferring  it  to  the  piano  maker  ready  to  be  put  upon  his 

75941—II.  Doc-.  1  r>05,  60-2— Vol  6 54 


6616  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

piano  keys  is  in  Germany,  say,  30  cents,  and  in  this  country  $1.  The 
set  of  ivory  which  has  cost  here  $5.50  is  to  be  sold,  let  us  say,  at  $6.50 ; 
and  the  set  of  ivory  which  has  cost  in  Germany  $4.15  is  to  be  exported 
for  sale  here.  The  German  puts  this  set  of  ivory  with  a  lot  of  other 
sets  and  some  waste  ivory  in  a  barrel,  and  ships  it  as  "  ivory  waste," 
all  mixed  together,  at  $1  per  pound,  and  we  hear  of  it  in  the  ap- 
praiser's stores.  If  we  succeed  in  having  the  sets  of  ivory  picked 
out  for  valuation  as  piano  ivory,  the  German  contends  that  it  should 
be  assessed  on  $4.15.  If  the  duty  be  35  per  cent,  this  will  make  his 
ivory  cost  landed  here  just  about  the  same  as  our  ivory  costs  us,  so 
that  he  can  just  about  import  it.  If  it  is  taxed  at  a  higher  rate,  and 
honestly  valued  and  correctly  appraised,  he  can  not  import  it.  If  it 
is  taxed  at  a  lower  rate,  even  though  it  be  honestly  valued  and  cor- 
rectly appraised,  we  can  not  run  our  factories  in  competition  with  it. 
In  no  event,  and  we  have  vigorously  tried,  can  we  export  it;  and 
at  the  present  duty,  even  our  home  market  is  dependent  on  the 
superiority  of  our  product. 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  kept  in  mind  that  what  the  Ger- 
mans seek  to  accomplish  through  lowering  the  duty  on  manufactures 
of  ivory  is  not  to  lower  the  cost  to  the  consumer  who  buys  the  piano, 
but  simply  the  transfer  of  the  manufacturing  business  from  the 
American  factories  to  the  German  factories,  and  the  resultant  benefit 
to  themselves  as  importing  agents.  This  is  frankly  set  forth  in  their 
own  evidence  before  your  committee,  above  referred  to. 

There  are  five  or  six  ivory-cutting  factories,  located  in  Connecti- 
cut, New  York,  and  Massachusetts,  between  which  the  keenest 
competition  prevails. 

The  raw  material,  which  can  not  be  produced  in  this  country,  has 
always  been  selected  as  a  proper  subject  for  the  free  list. 

The  manufactured  article,  as  a  luxury,  has  always  been  selected  as 
a  proper  subject  for  taxation. 

The  old  free-list  reading  admitted  as  free  "  ivory  unmanufac- 
tured," but  under  this  reading  the  German  imported  partly  manufac- 
tured ivory  as  free,  and  the  reading  was  therefore  changed  to  "  ivory 
not  sawed,  cut,  or  otherwise  manufactured."  This,  however,  did  not 
stop  the  disputes  at  the  custom-house;  and  the  wording  was  finally 
changed  to  "  ivory  tusks  in  their  natural  state,  or  cut  vertically 
across  the  grain  only,  with  the  bark  left  intact."  There  are  some 
disputes  under  the  present  reading,  but  business  had  adapted  itself 
to  it,  and  on  the  whole  it  should  not  be  changed. 

If  the  first  effect  of  a  reduction  in  the  duty  were  to  reduce  the 
price,  this  effect  could  be  but  temporary  on  account  of  the  limitation 
of  the  supply.  Any  increase  in  the  demand  consequent  on  the  re- 
duced prices  would  hasten  the  extinction  of  the  elephants;  and  the 
progress  of  the  extinction  would  speedily  be  heralded  by  a  rise  in 
the  cost  of  the  raw  material.  A  reduction  in  the  duty  would  there- 
fore be  of  no  ultimate  benefit  to  anyone  in  this  country,  but  would 
in  the  meantime  sacrifice  the  American  industry  for  the  benefit  of 
the  German  industry. 

On  Tuesday,  December  15,  1908,  Mr.  Randell  suggested  that  a 
tariff  be  levied  on  the  raw  material  for  revenue  purposes,  and  then 
on  the  finished  article  for  protective  purposes.  In  this  line  I  would 
suggest  that  if  any  part  of  the  raw  material  be  taxed  it  should  be 
that  part  which  is  sawed  crosswise  only,  and  not  lengthwise,  leaving 


1VOHY   ARTICLES DOLLS  AND    TOYS.  6617 

on  the  free  list  "  ivory  not  sawed,  cut,  or  otherwise  manufactured," 
and  putting  a  duty  of,  say,  10  per  cent  on  "  ivory  sawed  or  cut  ver- 
tically across  the  grain  only,  with  the  bark  left  intact;"  and  that  the 
duty  imposed  by  section  No.  450  of  the  Dingley  tariff  on  manufac- 
tures of  ivory — 35  per  cent — be  not  altered,  or,  if  it  be  altered,  that 
it  should  be  increased  to  the  40  per  cent  fixed  by  the  McKinley  Act. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

GEO.  L.  CHENEY,  for 

ARNOLD,  CHENEY  &  Co. 

COMSTOCK,  CHENEY  &  Co. 

PRATT,  READ  &  Co. 


DOLLS  A]SD  TOYS. 

[Paragraph  418.] 

PETER  ZUCKER,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  FOR  IMPORTERS  AND  MANU- 
FACTURERS OF  DOLLS  AND  TOYS,  SUGGESTS  NEW  CLASSIFICA- 
TION AND  SCHEDULE  OF  RATES. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  January  19,  1909. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

SIR:  In  behalf  of  the  importers  of  dolls  and  toys  of  the  United 
States  and  in  behalf  of  the  domestic  manufacturers  of  the  same  arti- 
cles, I  beg  to  submit  the  following:  I  wish  to  say  at  the  outset  that 
in  representing  these  two  associations  I  represent  practically  all  the 
importers  and  the  domestic  manufacturers — I  may  say  95  per  cent, 
the  5  per  cent  not  represented  not  objecting,  but  simply  not  having 
been  heard  from— so  that  the  requests  herein  made  represent  the 
unanimous  request  of  all  the  importers  and  domestic  manufacturers 
of  said  articles. 

The  paragraph  that  affects  this  industry  is  paragraph  418,  which 
now  reads  as  follows: 

Dolls,  doll  heads,  toy  marbles  of  whatever  materials  composed,  and  all  other 
toys  not  composed  of  rubber,  china,  porcelain,  parian,  bisque,  earthen  or  stone 
ware,  and  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  35  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

We  desire  and  request  that  the  paragraph  be  amended  so  as  to  read 
as  follows: 

Dolls  and  parts  of  dolls  and  toy  marbles  of  whatever  materials  composed,  and 
all  other  toys  and  parts  of  toys,  not  composed  of  china,  porcelain,  parian,  bisque, 
earthen  or  stone  ware,  and  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  35  per  centum 
ad  valorem. 

As  will  be  noticed  the  only  changes  requested  in  this  paragraph 
are  the  following :  The  addition  of  the  words  "  parts  of  dolls,"  and 
the  addition  of  the  words  "  parts  of  toys,"  and  the  striking  out  of  the 
word  "  rubber." 

It  is  manifestly  absurd  and  an  obvious  inconsistency  to  tax  parts  of 
an  article  at  a  higher  rate  than  the  assembled  and  completed  article, 
the  latter  being  admitted  at  a  lower  rate.  Therefore  doll's  eyes,  doll's 
wigs,  etc.,  should  be  admitted  at  the  same  rate  as  dolls.  Parts  of  toys 
are  imported  almost  entirely  for  the  completion  of  American-made 
toys,  and  these  parts  should  therefore  be  considered  as  the  raw  mate- 


6618  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

rial  for  the  American  manufacturer.  This  error  crept  in  through  an 
oversight  in  the  passage  of  the  Dingley  Act  and  should  be  corrected. 

In  the  passage  of  the  Dingley  Act,  too,  the  matter  of  rubber  balls, 
dolls,  and  toys  was  overlooked,  and  manufacturers  of  American  rub- 
ber dolls  and  toys  were  somewhat  badly  treated  by  having  these  classi- 
fied under  the  head  of  India  rubber  manufactures,  paragraph  449, 
which  only  fixes  a  duty  of  30  per  centum  ad  valorem.  The  effect 
was  that  whilst  the  other  American  toys  received  the  benefit  of  35 
per  cent  ad  valorem  the  rubber  toy  and  doll  only  got  the  benefit  of 
30  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

All  the  importers  and  manufacturers  request  the  correction  of  this 
inconsistency  and  oversight. 

I  am  requested  to  say  in  behalf  of  all  parties  concerned,  after  thor- 
ough discussion,  that  they  all  agree  that  a  lowering  of  duty  would  not 
increase  the  revenues  of  the  Government,  because  whilst  importation 
might  be  increased  to  a  slight  extent  it  would  not  increase  it  suffi- 
ciently to  overcome  the  difference  in  revenue  between  the  increased 
rate  and  the  present  rate,  whereas  an  increase  of  duty  would  probably 
cause  decreased  consumption,  and  therefore  it  is  respectfully  re- 
quested that,  with  the  exception  of  the  change  in  phraseology  as  to 
parts  of  dolls  and  toys  and  the  striking  out  of  the  word  rubber,  the 
paragraph  stand  as  it  is. 

In  behalf  of  the  importers  I  particularly  desire  at  this  juncture  to 
protest  against  what  we  understand  is  a  proposed  change  in  this 
paragraph  by  the  addition  of  a  clause  which  we  understand  is  as 
follows : 

Provided,  That  toys  made  in  imitation  or  miniature  of  or  bearing  the  same 
name  as  articles  that  are  provided  for  in  the  dutiable  list  of  this  act  by  indi- 
vidual or  class  designation,  shall  pay  the  same  rate  of  duty  as  such  articles,  but 
in  no  case  shall  any  toys  pay  less  than  the  rate  of  duty  imposed  upon  miscel- 
laneous manufactures  of  the  material  of  which  such  toys  are  wholly  or  in  chief 
value  composed. 

We  respectfully  represent  that  this  proposed  addition,  besides  being 
very  unjust  (as  will  be  pointed  out) ,  is  almost  meaningless  and  would 
cause  endless  litigation  and  confusion.  The  adoption  of  this  pro- 
posed paragraph  would  cause  a  most  radical  change  in  the  meaning 
of  the  paragraph  itself. 

While  the  tariff  is  protective  in  its  nature,  as  applied  to  American 
manufactures,  this  particular  enactment  would  be  very  drastic  and 
unnecessary,  for  as  relates  to  toys  there  is  not  the  sharp  distinction 
drawn  between  the  American  industry  and  the  foreign  as  in  the  case 
of  other  industries.  Toys  manufactured  here  are  quite  different  in 
style,  conception,  and  in  every  essential  detail  compared  with  the 
imported  toy.  and  the  present  rate  of  duty  of  35  per  centum  ad 
valorem  is  satisfactory  to  the  importer  and  affords  protection  to  the 
domestic  manufacture. 

To  tax  a  toy  made  in  miniature  of  an  article  specifically  provided 
for  would  be  wholly  unfair,  somewhat  arbitrary,  and  inconsistent. 
For  instance,  a  toy  watch  retailing  at  from  1  cent  to  25  cents  each 
would  be  taxed  with  a  duty  of  40  per  cent  ad  valorem  on  the  case  and 
a  specific  duty  of  at  least  35  cents  each  on  the  works;  a  toy  tin 
trumpet  retailing  at  from  1  cent  to  50  cents  each  would  be  taxed  as  a 


DOLLS  AND   TOYS PETER  ZUCKEB.  6619 

musical  instrument  at  45  per  cent  ad  valorem;  and  a  toy  mechanical 
automobile  retailing  at  from  10  cents  to  $1  each  would  be  taxed  at 
the  same  rate  as  the  50-horsepower  racing  machine.  Other  illustra- 
tions could  be  given,  but  these  instances  are  sufficient  to  point  out  the 
manifest  injustice  of  the  proposed  legislation  and  of  the  hardship 
placed  upon  the  importers  of  toys.  There  can  be  no  possible  justifi- 
cation for  such  an  action.  The  tariff  should  be  framed  so  that  busi- 
ness may  be  conducted  and  not  throttled. 

Then,  too,  the  additional  proposal  of  taxing  toys  not  made  in  min- 
iature of  a  specifically  enumerated  article,  according  to  the  component 
material  of  chief  value,  would  greatly  curtail  importation,  if  it  would 
not  make  the  same  prohibitive,  for  the  following  reasons: 

First.  A  great  many  toys  consist  of  many  component  materials, 
and  to  arrive -at  a  conclusion  as  to  which  is  the  chief  value  would 
lead  to  endless  litigation.  It  would  be  practically  impossible  to  de- 
termine this  here,  and  recourse  would  of  necessity  be  had  to  affidavits 
from  the  foreign  manufacturers.  Such  evidence,  being  ex  parte, 
would  concededly  not  be  the  best  evidence,  and  the  question  could  not 
be  determined  otherwise.  Experience  has  shown  again  and  again 
that  the  results  arrived  at  from  the  use  of  such  evidence  are  always 
unsatisfactory,  both  to  the  importer  and  the  Government. 

Endless  controversies  between  the  Government  and  importers 
would  ensue,  and  the  result  of  litigation  would  establish  no  fixed 
principle,  for  the  reason  that  stjdes  and  designs  change  with  every 
season.  The  component  material  of  chief  value  in  fabrics  and  many 
other  classes  of  goods  can  be  determined  by  submitting  samples  for 
analysis,  but  completed  articles  like  toys  can  be  subjected  to  no  such 
tests. 

Second.  Great  confusion  would  arise  from  the  necessity  of  chang- 
ing the  styles  and  sizes  of  toys  to  meet  the  higher  rate  of  duty.  Toys 
are  manufactured  to  be  sold  at  fixed  retail  prices,  i.  e.,  an  article  is 
made  up  to  be  a  5,  10,  25,  50  cent,  or  $1  article.  Dealers  buy  these 
toys  to  be  sold  at  retail  at  such  prices,  importation  of  these  articles 
to  be  sold  at  other  prices  being  relatively  small.  The  selling  margin 
is  close,  and  if  the  rate  is  raised,  for  instance  on  a  metal  toy  manu- 
factured to  sell  for  5  cents  at  retail,  it  wrould  mean  that  the  toy  would 
have  to  be  made  smaller  in  size,  if  possible,  or  its  sale  will  be  pre- 
cluded and  its  importation  stopped.  The  same  holds  true  with  arti- 
cles manufactured  to  be  sold  at  the  other  prices  mentioned. 

Third.  Toys  paying  a  specific  and  an  ad  valorem  rate  (where 
manufactured  in  part  of  wool,  of  44  cents  per  pound  and  60  per  cent 
ad  valorem)  would  throw  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  the  same  into 
chaos,  as  no  two  shipments  of  the  same  article  would  show  the  same 
weight.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  body  of  such  toys,  principally 
in  the  case  of  toy  animals,  is  made  of  plaster,  by  hand  work,  and 
afterwards  covered  with  wool,  giving  it  the  classification.  Owing  to 
the  inaccuracy  natural  with  such  work,  a  uniform  weight  can  not  be 
had.  In  one  instance  a  dozen  toys  might  weigh  5  pounds;  in  another, 
6  pounds;  and  again,  4  pounds.  Manifestly  it  wrould  be  impossible 
to  make  contracts  for  delivery  when  it  would  be  impossible  to  know 
in  advance  what  sum  would  have  to  be  paid  as  duty. 


Per  cent. 

Papier-macb.6 3 

Celluloid 2 

Leather  1 

Silk 

Gallalith 

Pearl }      1 

Bone 

Willow  — 


6620  SCHEDULE    N SUNDEIES. 

Many  imported  toys  are  composed  of  a  variety  of  materials,  and 
the  approximate  chief  value  of  the  total  importations  show  about  the 
following  proportions : 

Per  cent. 

Metal 45 

Cotton 15 

Paper 7 

Rubber 6 

Wood 5 

Glass 5 

China 5 

Fur 

Skin 

Wool 

Fourth.  A  case  of  toys  frequently  contains  from  50  to  100  differ- 
ent classes  of  articles  made  up  of  an  endless  variety  of  materials. 
Every  single  piece  would  have  to  be  unpacked  and  subjected  to 
analysis  in  order  to  determine  the  precise  value  of  the  material  enter- 
ing into  its  manufacture.  The  determination  of  the  examining 
officer  would  be  nothing  more  than  conjecture  in  most  cases,  and  the 
salability  of  such  articles  would  be  seriously  impaired. 

Fifth.  An  intolerable  state  of  affairs  would  result  by  reason  of 
the  fact  that  the  public  stores  would  become  completely  blocked  for 
want  of  room,  with  the  enormous  amount  of  cases  being  held  for 
examination — causing  a  great  hardship  both  to  the  Government  and 
to  the  importer  and  seriously  interfering  with  business  and  the  ex- 
pected sale  of  articles  imported. 

The  present  duty  on  toys  is  35  per  cent  when  not  composed  of  rub- 
ber, china,  porcelain,  bisque,  etc. ;  when  composed  of  these  materials, 
it  is  30  and  60  per  cent,  respectively. 

The  difference  in  duty  under  the  paragraph  if  amended  would 
therefore  disturb  the  values  and  would  put  the  importers  and  foreign 
manufacturers  to  the  hardship  of  reorganizing  their  lines  and  upset- 
ting and  reducing  imports,  resulting  in  diminished  revenue  without 
benefit  to  anyone. 

Kespectfully  submitted. 

PETER  ZUCKER, 
Counsel  for  Importers  and 
Manufacturers  of  Dolls  and  Toys. 


DRESSED  DOLLS. 

[Paragraph  418.] 

KAHN  &  MOSSBACHER,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  ASK  AN  INCREASE  OF 
DUTY  ON  DRESSED  DOLLS  AND  SIMILAR  ARTICLES. 

NEW  YORK,  November  27, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  0. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  are  doll  outfitters.  This  industry,  though  in  its 
infancy  only,  is  a  steady  and  growing  one,  and  is  encouraged  by  the 
American  merchant. 

Speaking  of  ourselves,  we  employ  between  25  and  35  people  in 
our  place  of  business,  and  about  300  in  their  homes,  such  as  house- 


DRESSED  DOLLS.  6621 

wives  and  persons  who  are  physically  unable  to  work  elsewhere. 
These  people  do  all  our  hand  crochetting,  and  though  not  all  of  them 
depend  on  this  for  their  subsistence,  we  can  safely  say  that  the  major- 
ity of  them  do. 

Referring  to  the  manufacture  of  dolls'  dresses.  Most  of  these 
dresses  are  made  of  fabrics,  such  as  laces  and  embroideries,  material 
on  which  60  per  cent  duty  has  been  paid,  and  as  we  employ  experi- 
enced help,  and  are  paying  good  wages  for  such,  it  is  impossible  for 
us  to  compete  with  the  foreign  market. 

Only  a  small  percentage  of  the  trade  that  are  using  this  class  of 
merchandise  are  buying  same  in  the  home  market,  and  even  these 
import  most  of  their  dolls  already  dressed,  whereas  others,  not  only 
import  dressed  dolls  but  also  complete  sets  of  outfits  for  same,  on 
all  of  which  the  present  duty  is  35  per  cent. 

The  writer,  who  is  traveling,  selling  our  product,  has  convinced 
himself  that  some  outfits,  of  which  we  are  the  originators  as  to  style 
and  certain  marks  protected  by  patent  rights  of  the  United  States 
Patent  Office,  have  been  imitated  by  foreign  manufacturers  and  im- 
ported at  a  price  much  lower  than  we  can  produce  same,  although  we 
do  not  claim  that  our  trade-mark  appears  thereon. 

The  trade  in  the  American  market,  as  well  as  Canadian,  prefer  our 
goods  to  the  foreign  product  (ours  being  of  better  make  and  improved 
in  every  detail).  They  are  encouraging  our  efforts  and  are  willing 
to  help  sustain  and  support  this  industry  at  home,  were  it  not  for  the 
difference  of  cost  to  them,  which  we  maintain  is  caused  by  the  differ- 
ence of  cost  in  production,  mainly  due  to  their  using  material  less  the 
CO  per  cent  duty,  as  well  as  cheap  labor. 

We  therefore  ask  that  an  increase  of  duty  be  attached  to  this  class 
of  merchandise:  Dressed  dolls,  jointed  toy  animals,  and  outfits  of  every 
description  suitable  for  dressing  dolls  and  jointed  toy  animals.  We 
would  further  advise  that  no  increase  of  duty  be  attached  to  un- 
dressed dolls,  as  there  is  no  such  industry  of  this  particular  kind  in 
the  United  States  at  the  present  time.  The  only  doll  being  manufac- 
tured in  America  is  a  rag  or  rubber  doll. 

Feeling  confident  of  -your  worthy  support,  we  have  taken  the  lib- 
erty of  laying  this  appeal  before  you. 

To  conclude,  we  will  be  only  too  willing  to  submit  samples  of  our 
product  and  further  arguments  to  aid  in  sustaining  this,  our  claim 
and  contention. 

Trusting  that  this  will  receive  your  kind  consideration,  and  thank- 
ing you  in  advance,  I  am, 

Very  respectfully,  M.  L.  KAHN, 

Member  of  the  -firm  of 
Kahn  &  Mossbacher,  Doll  Outfitters. 


GEORGE  BORGFELDT  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  THINK  DUTY  ON 
DRESSED  DOLLS  SHOULD  NOT  BE  INCREASED. 

NEW  YORK  CITY, 

January  £3,  1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Noting  an  application  for  an  increase  of  duty  on 
dressed  dolls  and  similar  articles  appearing  in  the  "  Tariff  Hearings  " 


6622  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

of  December  17,  1908,  we  deem  advisable  to  lay  before  your  com- 
mittee a  statement  of  our  views  together  with  facts  why  the  said 
application  should  be  disregarded. 

We  agree  with  your  petitioners  in  their  statement  that  "  the  trade 
in  the  American  market,  as  well  as  Canadian,  prefer  our  goods  to 
the  foreign  product  (ours  being  of  better  make  and  improved  in 
every  detail)."  There  can  be  and  is  no  competition  between  the 
foreign  and  American-made  dolls'  dresses.  The  style,  workman- 
ship, and  finish  is  so  far  superior  to  the  imported  goods  that  it  is 
impossible  to  sell  the  imported  article  in  competition.  The  style 
and  price  of  the  American  dolls'  dresses  do  not  allow  of  competition. 
Also  the  imported  dressed  dolls  are  of  such  a  character  that  even  with 
a  protection  of  200  per  cent  they  could  not  be  made  here,  as  they  are 
glued,  tacked  on,  etc.,  at  the  time  the  dolls  are  made. 

Another  element  entering  into  consideration  is  the  disturbance  and 
confusion  arising  from  the  necessity  to  change  the  styles  and  manu- 
facture of  these  dressed  dolls  to  meet  a  higher  rate  of  duty.  They 
are  manufactured  to  be  sold  at  certain  fixed  prices,  i.  e.,  chiefly  5,  10, 
25,  50  cents,  and  $1. 

Dealers  buy  them  to  be  sold  at  these  prices  at  retail.  The  selling 
margin  is  very  close,  and  to  meet  a  higher  duty  it  would  mean 
rearrangement  of  value  by  reduction  in  size  or  quality,  which  would 
seriously  interfere  with  business  and  result  in  reduced  revenue,  with- 
out benefiting  anyone. 

Reference  is  made  in  said  application  to  the  items  of  laces  and 
embroideries  entering  into  the  make-up  of  domestic  doll  dresses. 
These  form  only  a  very  small  part  of  the  total  value.  The  main  value 
is  in  the  fabrics  of  which  the  dolls'  dresses  are  made,  such  as  cotton 
prints,  which  are  mostly  of  domestic  manufacture.  On  many  occa- 
sions we  have  had  made  up  abroad  samples  of  dolls'  dresses,  and  have 
invariably  found  that  we  could  not  compete  with  the  price  of  the 
American-made  article,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  fabrics  of 
which  they  are  made  (dimity,  gingham,  and  organdie)  are  sold  as 
cheap  in  the  United  States  as  in  Europe. 

We  therefore  assume  from  these  facts  that  the  labor  paid  in  the 
United  States  is  no  higher  than  the  wages  paid  abroad,  plus  the  geo- 
graphical protection  and  the  duty  of  35  per  cent.  In  addition,  the 
American  manufacturer  has  still  the  further  protection  arising  from 
the  cost  of  cases,  which  is  about  three  times  as  much  abroad  as  in  this 
country,  to  say  nothing  of  the  cost  of  transportation  to  the  importer 
of  bringing  these  goods  a  distance  of  about  4,000  miles. 

By  far  the  greater  proportion  of  dolls  imported  are  without 
dresses.  This  is  done  that  the  individual  taste  of  the  mother  may  be 
exercised  in  dressing  the  dolls  for  the  children ;  or  by  American  man- 
ufacturers of  dolls'  dresses,  of  which  there  are  a  large  number,  includ- 
ing department  stores,  etc.  In  fact,  the  larger  retail  toy  and  depart- 
ment stores  employ  help  to  make  dresses  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  pur- 
chasers of  dolls. 

With  reference  to  the  jointed  toy  animals  we  beg  to  6ay  that  the 
fabrics  of  which  they  are  made  are  American  make.  It  is  our  experi- 
ence that  with  the  present  duty  we  can  not  to-day  compete  success- 
fully against  the  American-made  articles.  The  only  reason  for  the 
importation  of  such  articles  is  the  superior  workmanship  and  finish 
of  each  individual  toy.  Compared  size  by  size  the  American-made 


DRESSED  DOLLS TOY  STEAM   ENGINES.  6623 

goods  are  cheaper  than  the  imported  goods,  plus  the  duty  of  35  per 
cent,  cost  of  cases,  and  transportation. 

Respectfully,  GEO.  BORGFELDT  &  Co. 

STROBEL  &  WILKEN  CO.,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  THINKS  THAT  THE 

APPLICATION   FOR   INCREASE   OF   DUTY    ON   DRESSED  DOLLS 

SHOULD  NOT  BE  CONSIDERED. 

501  BROADWAY, 
New  York,  January  23, 1009. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WATS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Referring  to  an  application  for  the  increase  of  duties 
on  dressed  dolls  and  similar  articles,  appearing  in  the  "  Tariff  Hear- 
ings "  of  December  17,  1908,  we  take  the  liberty  of  laying  before  your 
committee  a  statement  of  our  views  and  why  the  application  should 
not  be  considered. 

An  increase  of  duty  on  dressed  dolls,  dolls'  outfits,  or  jointed  toy 
animals  would,  in  our  opinion,  have  no  tendency  to  stimulate  Ameri- 
can production  in  view  of  the  fact  that  our  leading  department  stores 
have  the  dolls'  dresses  made  here  and  the  small  manufacturers  in  this 
industry  have  so  far  been  able  to  maintain  their  business  under  the 
present  tariff  schedule.  We  know  of  department  stores  in  this  city 
and  elsewhere  that  offer  for  sale  only  dolls  that  are  dressed  here, 
claiming  that  they  can  not  sell  the  imported  styles. 

An  increase  of  the  tariff  would  merely  enable  the  manufacturers  to 
extort  from  the  American  people  higher  prices  with  no  advantages 
for  those  who  work  in  that  industry. 

Toy  plush  bears  heretofore  imported  in  large  quantities  have  been 
utterly  routed  by  the  American  makers,  who  sell  them  far  below  prices 
that  these  goods  can  be  imported  for. 

A  material  increase  in  duties  levied  on  the  importers  and  wholesale 
dealers  necessitates  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  cost  to  small  deal- 
ers and  eventually  to  the  children,  a  vast  majority  of  whom  belong  to 
the  poorer  classes,  whose  purchases  are  in  cents  and  not  in  dollars. 
No  such  disturbing  conditions  should  be  imposed  except  for  the  most 
cogent  reasons,  and  no  such  reasons  exist. 
Respectfully,  yours, 

THE  STROBEL,  &  WILKEN  Co., 
E.  STROBEL,  President. 


TOY  STEAM  ENGINES. 

[Paragraph  41 S.] 

THE  WEEDEN  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY,  NEW  BEDFORD, 
MASS.,  THINKS  TOY  STEAM  ENGINES  SHOULD  BE  CLASSED  AS 
MANUFACTURES  OF  METAL. 

NEW  BEDFORD,  MASS., 

November  13,  1908. 
Hon.  W.  S.  GREEN,  M.  C., 

Fall  River,  Mass. 
******* 

DEAR  SIR:  Without  wishing  to  presume  too  much  on  your  time, 
we  will  state  a  few  of  the  facts  in  our  case :  In  the  past  twenty-five 


6624  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

years  several  different  concerns  have  started  to  manufacture  toy 
steam  engines  in  this  country,  and  up  to  the  present  time  we  are  the 
only  survivors;  while  we  have  been  favored  with  a  35  per  cent 
tariff,  it  is  only  by  very  close  attention  and  the  most  economical 
practices  that  we  have  been  able  to  keep  going.  We  will  give  two 
good  reasons  for  this.  From  all  we  can  learn,  raw  material,  which 
enters  into  the  manufacture  of  our  goods,  principally  sheet  brass, 
sheet  steel,  and  tin  plate,  are  procured  by  our  German  competitors 
at  a  very  much  lower  price  than  we  have  to  pay;  again,  their  labor 
is  only  about  one-third  of  what  we  have  to  pay,  they  being  able  to 
hire  skilled  labor  at  about  the  price  we  pay  apprentices  or  beginners. 

We  are  of  the  impression  that  our  class  of  goods  should  be  under 
the  head  of  "  manufactures  of  metal,"  which  they  certainly  are. 
This  would  give  us  a  protection  of  45  per  cent  and  permit  us  to 
employ  a  skilled  class  of  labor,  and  consequently  produce  a  higher 
grade  of  miniature  engines. 

Many  of  these  models  that  we  make  are  used  by  the  scientific 
schools  and  consequently  would  benefit  many  school  children  if 
better  made,  but  we  are  prevented  from  making  a  better  class  of 
goods  from  the  fact  that  we  can  not  compete  with  the  Germans  if 
we  utilize  the  higher  grade  of  labor. 

If  we  had  had  a  little  more  protection  this  year  we  should  have 
been  running  our  factory  with  a  much  larger  force  and  at  full  time, 
but  as  it  is  we  are  compelled,  through  the  dull  times  and  foreign 
competition,  to  run  with  a  comparatively  small  force. 

We  will  guarantee  this,  that  if  we  should  be  favored  with  a 
higher  tariff  we  will  not  advance  our  selling  price  one  penny;  all  we 
ask  for  is  the  home  market,  which  we  think  we  are  entitled  to. 

Our  business  was  originally  started  from  the  fact  that  at  that  time 
it  was  almost  impossible  to  procure  a  toy  steam  engine  that  would 
run  satisfactorily;  the  market  was  flooded  with  German  toys  that 
were  simply  engines  in  appearance  and  not  practical  working  goods. 
Through  our  efforts  we  have  forced  our  German  competitors  to  put 
a  better  grade  of  goods  on  the  market,  and  this  was  brought  about 
by  the  fact  that  we  guaranteed  everything  we  made  to  perform 
properly  or  we  would  replace  it  with  perfect  goods. 

If  the  committee  will  give  the  manufacturing  toy  industry  of  the 
United  States  in  all  lines  careful  investigation  they  will  probably 
find  that  there  is  no  business  in  this  country  that  is  turning  the  manu- 
facturers so  little  profit.  Most  of  us  have  our  capital  in  and  can  not 
get  it  out,  and  this  is  the  only  excuse  for  our  staying  in  the  business. 

The  toy  business  is  a  large  industry,  and  with  proper  protection 
could  be  increased  threefold  in  this  country,  but  we  are  all  held  back 
by  the  cheap  German  labor  and  the  low  price  of  all  raw  material  in 
European  countries. 

Referring  again  to  the  classification  of  our  goods,  would  say  that 
we  are  positive  that  no  fair-minded  person  could  object  to  their  being 
classed  as  "  manufactures  of  metal,"  inasmuch  as  they  are  model 
engines,  and  the  German  manufacturers  sell  their  goods  as  model  en- 
gines, illustrating  same  in  their  catalogues;  and,  moreover,  some  of 
them  are  sold  as  high  as  $200  each,  and  aftor  an  article  is  sold  much 
beyond  a  dollar  at  retail  it  can  be  hardly  classed  as  a  toy,  inasmuch 


TOY    STEAM    ENGINES EMERY    AND    EMERY    WHEELS.      6625 

as  they  are  purchased  and  used  by  youths  who  are  interested  in 
mechanics  and  are  exact  models  of  the  practical  article. 

Sincerely  hoping  that  you  can  benefit  us  in  this  matter,  we  remain, 
Yours,  truly, 

WEEDEN  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY. 


E3IERY  AND  EMERY  WHEELS. 

[Paragraph  419.] 

NORTON    COMPANY,    WORCESTER,    MASS.,    REGISTERS    ITS    AP- 
PROVAL OF  A  MAXIMUM  AND  MINIMUM  TARIFF. 

WORCESTER,  MASS.,  December  14, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  present  rate  of  duty  on  emery  grains  and  emery 
manufactured,  ground,  pulverized,  or  refined  is  1  cent  per  pound. 

Emery  ore  or  rock  as  it  is  taken  from  the  ground  is  on  the  free  list. 
The  duty  of  1  cent  per  pound  applies  to  emery  or  corundum  manu- 
factured, ground,  pulverized,  or  refined.  These  processes  consist  in 
crushing  the  rock,  washing  same,  sometimes  roasting  it  with  the  object 
of  removing  the  impurities,  and  finally  grading  it  through  sieves  into 
uniform  sizes,  so  that  it  is  ready  for  use  in  loose  grain  grinding  or 
for  the  manufacture  of  grinding  wheels,  stones,  paper,  and  cloth. 

The  Norton  Company  is  interested  in  this  tariff  schedule,  as  it  is  a 
large  manufacturer  of  abrasive  grains.  We  are  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  an  artificial  abrasive,  alundum,  made  in  the  electric 
furnace  from  bauxite  at  Niagara  Falls.  This  material  is  crushed, 
refined,  and  graded  in  our  works  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  and  is  then 
manufactured  into  wheels,  and  also  sold  extensively  for  abrasive  paper 
and  cloth  and  for  general  polishing  and  grinding  purposes. 

Alundum  comes  into  direct  competition  with  emery,  and  large  im- 
portations of  emery  grain  at  a  low  price  would  affect  the  manufacture 
of  alundum  grain  in  this  country.  The  directors  of  Norton  Com- 
pany are,  however,  in  favor  of  a  tariff  revision  on  the  basis  of  a  max- 
imum and  minimum  schedule,  and  have  at  various  times,  as  individ- 
uals and  as  representatives  of  this  company,  advocated  a  revision  of 
the  tariff  on  the  basis  of  a  maximum  and  minimum  schedule,  in  order 
to  promote  reciprocal  arrangements  with  foreign  countries. 

The  present  duty  of  1  cent  per  pound  on  emery  is  not  a  high  duty. 
In  no  sense  of  the  word  is  it  prohibitive,  as  can  be  seen  from  the 
importations  of  emery  and  corundum  grains  into  the 'United  States 
in  1907.  The  report  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  for  that 
year  states  that  4,282,228  pounds  of  emery  and  corundum  grains, 
valued  at  $185,156,  were  imported  into  the  United  States.  This 
showed  an  average  of  about  4£  cents  per  pound,  which  corresponds 
with  the  average  price  of  emery.  Therefore  the  present  duty  of  1 
cent  per  pound  is  less  than  25  per  cent  of  the  value.  We  believe  that 
the  present  duty  on  emery  grains  is  a  perfectly  fair  and  reasonable 
one,  and  a  duty  that  can  not  be  reduced  without  affecting  the  Ameri- 
can industry.  The  emery  ore  and  rock  that  is  now  imported  into 


6626  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

the  United  States  to  the  extent,  as  given  by  the  Geological  report 
mentioned  above,  of  11,235  long  tons,  valued  at  $211,192,  comes  in 
free,  and  the  present  duty  on  the  grain  protects  the  American  indus- 
try, American  labor,  and  American  capital  now  invested  in  the  manu- 
facture of  this  free  raw  material.  We  believe,  therefore,  that  for 
a  maximum  tariff  to  be  applied  to  those  countries  where  we  do  not 
have  reciprocal  relations,  the  present  tariff  is  just  and  reasonable,, 
and  we  therefore  urge  its  retention. 

We  believe,  however,  that  the  spirit  of  progress  indicates  freer 
trade  relations  by  reciprocal  duties  with  other  countries,  and  as 
manufacturers  of  abrasive  grain  and  as  users  of  abrasive  grains  in 
grinding  wheels,  stones,  and  the  like,  we  are  ready  to  overlook  pur 
immediate  business  interests  in  this  matter  and  to  advocate  a  mini- 
mum tariff  on  emery  grains  of  three-fourths  cent  per  pound. 

Those  manufacturers  interested  solely  in  importing  abrasive  grain 
to  manufacture  into  grinding  wheels,  etc.,  may  advocate  a  removal 
of  the  entire  duty.  Those  manufacturers  of  abrasive  grains  who 
sell  their  product  to'grinding-wheel  makers,  emery-cloth  manufac- 
turers, and  the  polishing  trade  in  general  may  advocate  a  retention 
of  the  duty.  This  company,  engaged  both  in  the  manufacture  of 
the  grain  and  in  the  manufacture  of  grinding  wheels,  looking  at  it 
from  the  standpoint  of  both  interests,  believes  that  the  present  duty 
is  a  reasonable  one  and  should  be  retained  as  the  maximum  duty  on 
a  revised  tariff  schedule ;  but  at  the  same  time  believes  that  we  should 
be  ready  to  give  something  for  the  benefit  o,f  reciprocal  trade  rela- 
tions, and  urges  that  a  minimum  duty  of  three-fourths  cent  per 
pound  be  fixed  on  emery  grain. 

Emery  ore  can  be  purchased  at  about  $30  per  ton,  including  freight. 
It  can  be  manufactured  for  about  $20  per  ton.  It  suffers  in  loss  by 
cleaning  and  in  unusable  numbers  about  $5,  making  a  total  cost 
of  about  $55  per  ton.  It  is  sold  to-day  for  about  3^  cents  per  pound, 
leaving  a  profit  of  about  three-fourths  cent  per  pound.  This  profit 
would  equal  the  minimum  duty  suggested  above. 

Alundum,  the  product  which  Norton  Company  is  manufacturing, 
costs  considerably  more  than  emery,  as  it  is  an  electric  furnace 
product  requiring  a  large  amount  of  power  which  is  expended  on  an 
expensive  raw  material.  Its  sale,  however,  has  been  limited  by  the 
importation  of  corundum,  which  pays  the  same  duty  as  emery. 

The  reduction  to  the  minimum  schedule  of  three-fourths  cent  per 
pound  would  not  only  affect  the  American  emery  manufacturers,  but 
would  also  affect  the  alundum  manufacturer.  A  further  reduction 
of  this,  we  believe,  would  be  harmful  and  dangerous,  and  we  believe 
no  facts  in  the  case  would  warrant  it. 

The  present  rate  of  duty  on  emery  wheels,  emery  files,  and  the 
manufactures  "of  which  emery  is  a  component  of  chief  value  is  25 
per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Norton  Company  is  the  largest  manufacturer  of  grinding  wheels, 
stones,  and  abrasive  products  in  the  country.  The  present  duty  on 
these  articles  of  25  per  cent  ad  valorem  has  served  to  curtail  the 
importation  of  a  lot  of  cheap  goods  made  by  low-paid  labor.  The 
proportion  of  labor  cost  on  the  grinding  wheel  is  about  one-third 
of  the  entire  cost,  and  the  labor  is  skilled  labor  and  is  paid  accord- 
ingly. Located,  as  foreign  countries  are,  near  the  source  of  supply 
of  emery,  which  comes  largely  from  Turkey  and  Naxos,  they  are 


EMEEY  AND  EMERY  WHEELS CANADA  CORUNDUM.          6627 

able,  with  their  low-cost  labor,  to  manufacture  abrasive  goods  at  a 
much  lower  cost  than  they  can  be  manufactured  in  the  United  States. 
The  duty  of  25  per  cent  is  already  so  reasonable  that  it  is  only  one 
element  in  the  protection  of  this  business.  The  class  of  trade  sup- 
plied from  abroad  will  doubtless  continue  to  be  supplied  as  at 
present,  and  the  United  States  Government  will  collect  its  25  per 
cent  revenue.  If  the  duty  is  reduced,  we  do  not  believe  that  the 
imports  will  be  materially  increased.  The  duty,  however,  is  now 
reasonable,  and  we  should  dislike  to  see  an  opportunity  opened  for 
the  importation  into  this  country  of  more  cheap  goods  than  are  now 
sold. 

We  believe,  however,  in  a  revision  of  the  tariff,  and  have  gone  on 
record  a?  strongly  favoring  a  maximum  and  minimum  tariff  in  order 
to  promote  a  reciprocal  trade  with  foreign  countries.  We  believe 
that  the  maximum  tariff  under  this  schedule  should  be  the  present 
tariff.  As  a  minimum  schedule,  we  would  suggest  a  reduction  of 
25  per  cent  from  the  present  rate,  so  that  the  minimum  schedule 
should  be  20  per  cent  ad, valorem. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

NORTON  COMPANY, 
By  GEO.  I.  ALDEN,  Treasurer. 


CANADA  CORTJ1STHJM . 

[Paragraph  419.] 

THE  SAFETY  EMERY  WHEEL  CO.,  OF  SPRINGFIELD,  OHIO,  URGES 
THE  REMOVAL  OF  DUTY  FROM  CORUNDUM. 

SPRINGFIELD,  OHIO,  December  14,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  0. 

DEAR  SIR  :  On  the  suggestion  of  the  Hon.  J.  B.  Foraker,  we  desire 
to  call  your  attention  to  the  duty  on  Canada  corundum,  which,  as 
you  know,  is  1  cent  per  pound.  As  manufacturers  of  abrasive  wheels, 
and  using  a  large  amount  of  this  material,  we  feel  that  this  duty  is 
a  burden  that  the  manufacturers  of  abrasive  wheels  in  this  country 
should  not  be  called  upon  to  bear.  There  is  not  a  single  pound  of 
corundum  being  mined  in  the  United  States  to-day;  neither  does  this 
corundum  compete  against  any  emery  produced  in  the  United  States, 
as  the  American  emery  is  of  such  a  very  poor  quality  that  we  do 
not  know  of  a  single  emery-wheel  manufacturer  who  uses  it  in  his 
product. 

We  feel  that  the  duty  should  be  entirely  taken  off  from  Canada 
corundum,  and  solicit  your  interest  in  this  matter. 

Trusting  you  will  give  it  your  attention,  and  thanking  you  in  ad- 
vance, we  beg  to  remain, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

THE  SAFETY  EMERY  WHEEL  Co., 
By  J.  B.  BAKER,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 


6628  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

THE   AMERICAN   EMERY   WHEEL  WORKS,   PROVIDENCE,   R.    I., 
WISHES  PULVERIZED  CORUNDUM  PUT  ON  FREE  LIST. 

PROVIDENCE,  R.  L,  December  17, 1908. 
Mr.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  your  committee  to  the 
duty  on  corundum  grains  (ground  or  pulverized  corundum)  and  state 
the  reasons  why  we  believe  corundum  grains  should  be  put  on  the 
free  list. 

Corundum  (by  which  we  mean  corundum  grains)  was  not  listed  in 
the  Dingley  tariff  bill,  but  it  has  always  been  taxed  under  the  classi- 
fication of  emery  grains,  the  duty  being  1  cent  per  pound.  This 
seems  to  be  obviously  wrong,  and  we  believe  a  serious,  though 
excusable,  mistake  was  made  in  classifying  corundum  as  emery. 

Emery  is  magnetic  iron  ore  carrying  30  to  60  per  cent  of  microscopic 
corundum  crystals.  Emery  ore  is  mined  almost  wholly  in  Turkey 
and  Greece.  The  ore  occurs  in  solid,  massive  form,  free  from  foreign 
matters.  It  is  shipped,  just  as  it  comes  from  the  mines,  to  this 
country  at  a  very  low  freight  rate.  There  are  several  companies  in 
this  country  engaged  in  crushing  and  grading  emery  ore,  and  the  duty 
of  1  cent  per  pound  on  emery  grains  was  doubtless  (and  properly) 
imposed  to  protect  these  companies. 

The  circumstances  surrounding  corundum  are  entirely  different. 
The  ore  is  in  the  form  of  small  crystals.  These  crystals  are  embedded 
in  various'kinds  of  rock.  The  proportion  of  corundum  crystals  is 
seldom  10  per  cent  of  the  whole  mass.  It  is  therefore  absolutely 
necessary  to  crush,  grade,  and  separate  the  corundum  grains  at  the 
mines.  The  only  source  of  corundums  suitable  for  our  purpose  (the 
manufacture  of  grinding  wheels)  is  Canada.  There  is  no  corundum 
being  mined  in  this  country  of  any  commercial  importance,  and 
there  never  has  been  a  supply  in  this  country  suitable  for  our  require- 
ments. Inasmuch  as  corundum  ore  can  not  be  brought  into  this 
country  (as  90  per  cent  or  more  of  rock  would  have  to  be  brought 
with  it),  it  can  not  be  crushed  and  graded  here,  duty  or  no  duty. 
We  would  also  mention  that  the  Canadian  government  demands 
that  the  ore  be  crushed  and  graded  in  Canada. 

Corundum  can  not  be  said  to  compete  with  emery,  as  it  is  sold  for 
about  double  the  price.  We  are  obliged  to  use  corundum  in  making 
a  large  proportion  of  our  wheels,  as  wheels  made  of  emery  are  not 
nearly  as  efficient  as  wheels  made  of  corundum  for  most  grinding 
operations. 

We  and  other  manufacturers  of  corundum  wheels  come  in  com- 
petition with  wheels  made  of  artificial  abrasives.  These  artificial 
abrasives  are  made  by  patented  processes,  and  are  monopolized 
exclusively  by  the  companies  making  them.  These  two  companies 
are  not  selling  their  patented  abrasives  to  other  wheel  manufacturers. 

It  will  be  noted  from  the  foregoing  that  the  duty  on  corundum 
grains  protects  no  one  but  the  manufacturers  of  the  monopolized 
artificial  abrasives.  The  duty  makes  the  wheels  cost  more  to  the 
consumer,  and  works  a  hardship  on  the  wheel  manufacturers  who 
have  to  compete  with  manufacturers  using  their  own  monopolized 
abrasives. 


CORUNDUM.  6629 

The  duty  lessens  our  export  trade,  as  corundum  wheels  are  made 
in  Europe,  especially  Germany,  at  lower  prices  than  we  can  make 
them.  We  make  better  wheels  than  the  Germans  do,  and  with  corun- 
dum on  the  free  list  (equivalent  to  a  reduction  of  about  14  per  cent 
in  its  cost)  we  could  largely  increase  our  export  trade.  We  are  unable 
to  take  advantage  of  the  drawback  on  account  of  the  constantly 
varying  proportion  of  corundum  and  other  materials  in  our  wheels. 
"We  request  that  you  give  this  matter  careful  consideration.  We 
believe  all  of  the  manufacturers  of  corundum  wheels  will  indorse 
the  statements  we  have  made. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

AMERICAN  EMTJTCY  WHEEL  WORKS, 
H.  A.  RICHMOND. 


STATEMENT  MADE  BY  E.  B.  PIKE,  OF  PIKE,  N.  H.,  WHO  ASKS  THAT 
CORUNDUM  ORE  BE  PLACED  ON  THE  FREE  LIST. 

SATURDAY,  December  19,  1908. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Where  do  you  reside? 

Mr.  PIKE.  At  Pike,  N.  H.  I  wish  to  present  what  I  have  to  say 
very  briefly,  and  I  will  try  to  finish  in  five  minutes.  I  hold  in  my 
hand,  Mr.  Chairman,  a  piece  of  corundum  ore,  and  I  will  tell  you  in 
just  a  moment  what  I  am  here  to  ask.  I  am  directly  interested  in  two 
companies  that  manufacture  abrasive  material  for  grinding,  polish- 
ing, sharpening,  and  so  forth,  and  in  behalf  or  in  the  interest  of  some 
twenty  other  manufacturers  of  grinding  wheels,  and  in  the  interest  of 
all  American  manufacturers  of  iron,  steel,  copper,  brass,  stone,  wood, 
and  every  other  material  that  requires  a  tool  for  cutting,  I  wish  to 
ask  this  committee  to  put  corundum  on  the  free  list. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Under  what  paragraph  does  corundum  come? 

Mr.  PIKE.  Corundum  is  not  listed.  It  is  under  paragraph  419, 
classified  with  emery,  put  there  by  the  appraiser,  as  I  understand,  as 
emery,  by  some  misapprehension  or  confusion. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  I  think  it  comes  in  under  paragraph  193. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Metals  not  provided  for? 

Mr.  PIKE.  It  is  not  provided  for  in  the  Dingley  tariff. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Is  it  not  provided  for  under  paragraph  193,  which 
reads : 

Articles  or  wares  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  composed  wholly  or 
in  part  of  iron,  steel,  lead,  copper,  nickel,  pewter,  zinc,  gold,  silver,  platinum, 
aluminum,  or  other  metal. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  where  it  comes. 

Mr.  PIKE.  Possibly,  in  a  general  way. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  The  duty  is  45  per  cent  ? 

Mr.  PIKE.  No,  I  beg  your  pardon;  you  will  find  it  in  paragraph 
419,  classified  with  emery. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  That  duty  is  25  per  cent  ? 

Mr.  PIKE.  Twenty  dollars  per  ton.    One  cent  a  pound. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  does  come  under  the  emery  paragraph,  I  know. 

Mr.  PIKE.  Yes;  it  does  come  under  the  emery  paragraph.  I  have 
made  no  attempt  to  present  a  technical  brief,  but  merely  to  outline 


6630  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

the  points,  and  I  will  submit  to  the  committee  later  such  statement 
as  you  want.  This  is  classified  as  emery,  not  as  emery  ore,  and  it  is 
brought  in  in  the  crushed  form. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Emery  ore  is  free? 

Mr.  PIKE.  Yes ;  emery  ore  is  free.  Emery  coming  in  in  this  form 
would  come  in  free.  The  point  I  want  to  make  is  this,  that  nothing 
is  accomplished  for  the  benefit  of  American  industry  or  protection 
for  any  American  resources  by  affixing  this  duty — by  classifying  it  as 
emery.  It  was  done  under  some  misapprehension.  It  was  a  substi- 
tute for  emery,  in  a  sense. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  want  corundum  ore  put  on  the  free  list? 

Mr.  PIKE.  I  want  corundum  ore  put  on  the  free  list. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  about  the  manufactured  product? 

Mr.  PIKE.  The  manufactured  product  may  remain  free.  I  pre- 
sume it  brings  a  duty  now.  I  do  not  care;  that  is  immaterial. 
Simply  in  the  interest  of  grinding  wheel  manufacturers  and  manu- 
facturers of  abrasives,  we  want  the  raw  material  brought  in  free — 
that  is,  the  crushed  corundum.  It  can  not  be  brought  in  in  the  ore 
form.  These  little  crystals  here  have  to  be  separated  at  the  mines 
from  the  rock ;  that  is,  the  corundum  crystal.  In  the  gem  form  that 
is  the  ruby  or  the  sapphire,  the  hardest  gem  in  the  world;  but 
emery  comes  in  in  great  masses  and  pieces. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  is  not  found  in  this  country  ? 

Mr.  PIKE.  I  do  not  say  that,  but  there  is  no  supply  that  is  obtain- 
able in  commercial  quantities.  I  have  been  an  owner  for  ten  years 
of  prospective  corundum  mines  in  North  Carolina.  Corundum  oc- 
curs there,  but  in  limited  amounts,  in  pockets.  I  presume  more  than 
a  million  dollars  has  been  spent  in  trying  to  develop  it.  A  little  is 
also  found  in  Montana,  but  of  a  low  grade.  Large  amounts  have 
been  expended  in  trying  to  develop  it.  Some  is  imported  from 
India.  But  the  only  supply  that  can  be  depended  upon  to  produce 
a  large  quantity  suitable  for  the  needs  of  the  manufacturers  of  this 
country,  which  is  so  far  known,  is  in  Canada. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Has  it  any  other  use  except  that  for  which  emery 
is  used  ? 

Mr.  PIKE.  No ;  in  general  it  is  used  only  for  grinding  or  sharpen- 
ing purposes,  but  it  is  superior  to  emery. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  is  used  also  for  polishing? 

Mr.  PIKE.  Yes,  sir;  for  polishing.  No  good  is  accomplished,  as 
I  say,  by  this  duty,  and  it  works  so  much  of  an  extra  hardship,  as  it 
makes  an  extra  price. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Is  any  emery  produced  here? 

Mr.  PIKE.  No ;  no  emery  is  produced  here.  There  are  two  so-called 
"  deposits  "  of  emery  ore,  but  it  is  brought  from  Asia  Minor  and  Greece 
in  the  form  of  ore,  in  large  massive  blocks,  and  brought  in  free  and 
is  crushed  here.  The  duty  on  emery,  I  presume,  is  for  the  purpose  of 
protecting  the  American  crushing  mills,  and  if  corundum  could  be 
brought  in,  if  it  occurred  in  such  form  that  it  could  be  brought  in,  in 
the  ore  form,  the  situation  would  be  satisfactory,  but  it  can  not  be. 
A  penalty  of  $20  a  ton  is  put  upon  corundum,  the  better  material,  the 
more  desirable  material,  quite  unintentionally,  I  apprehend. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  How  much  is  it  per  ton  ? 

Mr.  PIKE.  Twenty  dollars  per  ton ;  1  cent  per  pound.  That  is  done 
presumably  to  protect  the  American  crushers  of  corundum,  the  same 


CORUNDUM    OftE E.   B.   PIKE.  6631 

as  is  done  in  the  case  of  emery,  but  there  are  no  crushers  of  corundum 
and  can  not  be,  because  the  ore  averages  less  than  10  per  cent. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  manufacture  these  "  Pike  whetstones,"  and 
so  forth,  do  you  not? 

Mr.  PIKE.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  In  your  finished  product,  how  much  corundum  is 
there?  How  much  corundum  goes  into  the  finished  product;  what  is 
the  percentage? 

Mr.  PIKE.  I  will  have  to  make  it  brief,  because  I  am  late,  and  I  am 
talking  hurriedly  for  that  reason,  having  waited  all  day.  There  is 
none  of  it  in  our  whetstones,  except  in  the  corundum  oilstone,  which 
is  made  of  pure  corundum,  and  perhaps  98  per  cent  of  the  consump- 
tion of  corundum  is  in  grinding  wheels,  what  is  known  to  the  trade  or 
the  layman  as  the  "  emery  wheel,"  in  which  the  emery  is  replaced  by 
corundum,  because  it  is  the  better  cutting  material.  In  our  corundum 
wheels  we  use  only  corundum  and  a  bonding  material. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  that  ? 

Mr.  PIKE.  The  bonding  material,  the  binding  material;  the  clays. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  costs  you  $20  a  ton.  Now,  what  is  the 
value  of  the  corundum  in  the  grinding  wheel? 

Mr.  PIKE.  About  80  per  cent — no;  it  is  over  90  per  cent  of  the  value 
of  the  wheel. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  labor  cost,  then,  is  not  much? 

Mr.  PIKE.  I  was  thinking  you  meant  of  the  materials  used  in  the 
wheel.  The  labor  cost  is  an  important  factor ;  probably  20  per  cent. 
I  will  have  to  give  you  an  offhand  estimate. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  You  say  the  labor  cost  is  20  per  cent  of  the  cost 
of  the  wheel.  Then  the  corundum  will  form  80  per  cent  of  the  cost  ? 

Mr.  PIKE.  I  should  say  so,  offhand.  I  would  want  to  modify  that 
later  by  investigation  of  the  figures. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  do  you  sell  that  wheel  for? 

Mr.  PIKE.  The  prices  vary  from  5  cents  up  into  very  large  amounts, 
according  to  the  size.  The  wheels  run  from  a  fraction  of  an  inch  to 
4  feet  in  diameter. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  From  a  fraction  of  an  inch? 

Mr.  PIKE.  Yes.  They  are  used  in  the  mouth,  for  your  teeth,  and 
in  the  big  factories  for  grinding  steel. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Take  some  average  wheel  so  that  we  can  get  some 
average  price. 

Mr.  PIKE.  That  would  be  rather  impossible.  If  you  ask  me  for 
some  specific  purpose,  it  would  be  easier.  Take  a  wheel  for  grinding 
saws  in  your  southern  country.  The  corundum  wheel  is  the  wheel 
used  for  grinding  saws.  It  cuts  them  and  does  not  draw  the  temper. 
A  wheel  twelve  by  five-eighths  would  bring  $2. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  That  is  a  wheel  that  retails  for  $2  ? 

Mr.  PIKE.  I  presume  so.    I  am  not  connected  with  the  trade. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  your  cost  price  for  that  wheel  ? 

Mr.  PIKE.  I  should  say  not  far  from  half  that;  a  little  over,  per- 
haps; say  $1.15. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Now,  what  is  the  value  of  the  corundum  in  that 
wheel? 

Mr.  PIKE.  Of  course  you  will  allow  me  to  state  there  that  between 
our  cost  and  the  consumers'  price  come  two  profits,  at  least. 

75941— II.  Doc.  ir>0.r>.  <>0-2— Vol  G 55 


6632  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  understand. 

Mr.  PIKE.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  value  of  the  corundum  in  that  wheel 
which  costs  you  $1.15  ? 

Mr.  PIKE.  It  would  be  quite  conjecture  to  give  you  that  offhand, 
but  I  am  quite  willing  to  prepare  a  detailed  statement  if  the  com- 
mittee wishes  it.  .  I  only  wanted  to  -present  the  salient  points  and  not 
go  into  those  figures. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  But  it  is  material  for  me,  Mr.  Pike.  This  is  a 
question  of  revenue.  There  is  some  revenue  produced  by  it.  I  would 
like  to  get  an  estimate  if  I  can,  and  that  is  the  reason  I  am  asking 
you  these  questions,  as  to  how  much  the  burden  on  your  business  of 
this  present  tax  is,  and  that  is  what  I  am  trying  to  bring  out  by 
these  questions.  I  want  to  find  out  how  much  a  ton  you  are  selling 
this  stuff  for;  that  is  practically  what  the  question  amounts  to,  and 
that  is  the  reason  I  am  asking  you  how  much  corundum  there  is  in 
this  wheel  at  $1.15. 

Mr.  PIKE.  Yes ;  I  would  like  to  say  this,  rather  than  try  to  make  a 
specific  answer :  That  this  duty  prevents  the  American  manufacturer 
from  using  corundum  to  anything  like  the  extent  he  could  and  ought 
to  use  it  in  the  interests  of  the  American  manufacturers  as  a  whole. 
The  consumption  of  emery  is  large  and  of  corundum  small,  and  the 
duty  is  to  an  extent  responsible. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  understand  you  are  satisfied  with  your  opinion 
about  it.  That  is  your  opinion.  But  we  can  not  come  to  an  opinion 
on  that  question  unless  you  give  us  the  facts,  and  unless  you  give  us 
the  amount  of  corundum  that  goes  into  one  of  these  wheels  and  what 
you  are  selling  it  for  there  is  no  way  in  which  we  can  ascertain  what 
burden  is  being  placed  on  you  by  this  taxation. 

Mr.  PIKE.  Could  I  perhaps  answer  that  by  stating  that  I  should 
presume  the  removal  of  this  duty  would  make  10  per  cent  difference, 
would  make  a  10  per  cent  lower  price,  or  something  like  that  ?  Would 
that  answer  your  question  ? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  No;  it  is  not  the  selling  price  I  am  inquiring 
about,  or  what  the  consumer  would  get  it  for.  You  say  that  the  duty 
makes  this  corundum  cost  you  so  much.  The  duty  is  $20  a  ton.  Now, 
how  much  do  you  pay  for  the  corundum  itself,  yourself? 

Mr.  PIKE.  One  hundred  dollars  a  ton  at  the  mines. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  And  then  you  pay  a  duty  of  $20  a  ton? 

Mr.  PIKE.  I  think  I  can  perhaps  give  you  a  fact  that  will  make 
clearer  your  point.  Emery  comes  in  in  that  form  free  of  duty  and  is 
crushed  here  by  American  mills.  It  comes  in  pure — 95  per  cent  pure, 
perhaps — and  sells  at  from  3  to  3|  cents  per  pound.  Corundum  costs 

5  cents  at  the  mines  and  is  brought  in  here,  and  it  costs,  with  the  duty, 

6  to  6£  cents,  or  double  the  cost  of  emery. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  think  you  have  answered  my  question  to  some 
extent.  Your  corundum  costs  you  $100  a  ton  at  the  mines.  After 
you  get  it  in  here,  besides  the  freight  rate  you  have  got  a  duty  of  20 
per  cent  ? 

Mr.  PIKE.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  This  duty  amounts  to  one  part  in  six  of  what  you 
pay  for  it? 

Mr.  PIKE.  Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  So  that  the  duty  in  the  wheel  amounts  to  one  part 
in  six? 


CORUNDUM   OEE E.   B.    PIKE.  6633 

Mr.  PIKE.     Yes. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Then,  what  is  the  cost  of  that  wheel  at  your  fac- 
tory that  you  sell  for  $1.15?  That  gives  us  the  burden. 

Mr.  PIKE.  That  I  could  not  state  without  taking  up  factory  costs 
and  taking  a  specific  wheel,  which  I  have  not  in  mind,  because  that  is 
only  one  perhaps  of  several  thousand  sizes.  The  multiplicity  of  sizes 
of  wheels  is  something  tremendous — enormous. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  average  profit  you  make  on  these 
wheels  ? 

Mr.  PIKE.  The  net  profit? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Yes. 

Mr.  PIKE.  I  have  been  four  years  in  the  manufacture  of  corundum 
wheels,  and  I  am  trying  very  hard  to  get  it  onto  that  side  of  the 
ledger.  That  is  one  of  the  things  I  am  striving  for,  believing  this 
will  help;  but  so  far  the  profit  is  not  a  very  considerable  item. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  had  an  idea  that  your  business  must  afford  a 
pretty  good  profit,  because  as  I  understand  for  your  whetstones  you 
mine  your  material  in  Arkansas  and  ship  it  all  the  way  to  New  Hamp- 
shire and  grind  it  and  make  it  into  whetstones  and  sell  it. 

Mr.  PIKE.  That  business  stands  on  its  own  feet  and  has  nothing 
to  do  with  the  corundum  wheel  business.  My  Cortland  Corundum 
Wheel  Company  is  in  Cortland,  N.  Y.,  and  the  Pike  Whetstone 
Company  makes  whetstones,  and  we  dig  the  material  out  of  the  hills 
of  Arkansas  as  my  grandfather  did  many  years  ago.  and  ship  it  to 
New  Hampshire,  and  the  freight  rate  is  15  to  25  per  cent  on  the 
finished  article. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  freight  rate  on  the  rock,  shipping  it  across 
the  continent,  if  it  should  be  successful,  would  make  a  pretty  good 
profit. 

Mr.  PIKE.  That  would  appear  so.  but  that  is  fallacious. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  I  think  if  you  would  file  the  figures  that  show 
what  I  have  asked  you  for  it  would  throw  a  good  deal  of  light  on  the 
question  whether  we  ought  to  leave.this  duty  on  for  the  revenue,  per- 
haps, or  take  it  off  entirely,  so  that  your  industry  might  survive. 

Mr.  PIKE.  Taking  it  in  the  broadest  sense,  any  figures  you  indicate 
I  will  be  glad  to  give  you  at  a  later  time;  but  talcing  it  in  the  broader 
sense.  I  am  not  speaking  so  much  for  our  individual  industry,  because 
we  can  protect  ourselves,  but  this  protects  two  monopolies  in  abra- 
sives. Three  abrasives  are  in  the  field  now,  two  of  which  should  be 
replaced  by  the  better  material,  according  to  the  American  methods: 
corundum,  which  is  not  supplied  in  this  country,  and  two  artificial 
abrasives  which  are  monopolies,  being  in  the  hands  of  patentees,  who 
are  able  to  get  a  vastly  greater  profit  than  we  can  make.  We  are 
contending  against  them  and  producing  a  better  wheel  for  many  pur- 
poses— not  for  all  purposes.  But  we  can  show  a  decided  reduction 
of  cost  and  improvement  in  the  production  of  every  iron,  steel,  glass, 
and  stone  manufacturer  in  the  country  by  giving  him  the  better  wheel. 
It  is  becoming  more  a  question  of  the  tool  in  every  factory,  and  it  is 
therefore  in  the  interest  of  American  industry  in  the  broadest  sense 
to  procure  corundum  and  use  it;  so  that  I  do  not  make  the  plea  on 
the  ground  purely  of  our  own  profit  or  that  of  the  other  manufac- 
turers of  corundum  and  emery  wheels,  but  because  it  is  in  the  interest 
of  the  country  to-day;  and  if  the  supply  could  be  obtained  here  in 
this  country  it  would  be  a  splendid  thing  for  us. 


6634  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  Your  industry  is  to  be  considered  on  one  side  and 
(he  revenue  on  the  other,  and  you  ask  us  to  cut  off  a  certain  amount 
of  revenue  that  the  Government  is  obtaining 

Mr.  PIKE.  That  is  quite  trifling,  I  assure  you. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD  (continuing).  And  to  assist  your  industry.  Now, 
we  would  like  to  have  these  facts. 

Mr.  PIKE.  Yes;  I  would  be  very  glad  to  give  them  to  you,  and  I 
would  like  to  state  that  I  am  interested  as  a  consumer  and  as  a  pro- 
ducer. That  might  be  brought  up  later  on,  to  offset  anything  I  might 
state.  I  tried  to  produce  here  for  ten  years,  and  failing  to  do  so  I 
have  taken  a  temporary  interest  in  Canada,  and  I  appear  here  for 
the  consumer,  because  the  difference  in  duty  will  not  make  any  differ- 
ence to  the  owner  of  the  mines,  but  to  the  consumer. 

Mr.  Chairman,  will  you  indicate  perhaps  a  little  more  definitely 
the  information  which  you  want  me  to  give  ? 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  The  information  which  I  asked  for  was,  what  was 
the  profit  on  this  $1.15  wheel  you  said  you  could  give  me.  I  want  the 
information  as  to  what  the  amount  of  the  corundum  is,  and  the  profit. 

Mr.  PIKE.  I  think  I  understand.     Thank  you. 


EXPLOSIVES. 

[Paragraphs  421  and  422.] 

ROBEBT  S.  WADDELL,  OF  PEORIA,  ILL.,  RECOMMENDS  THAT  ALL 
EXPLOSIVES  BE  PUT  ON  THE  FREE  LIST. 

PEORIA,  ILL.,  January  IS ',  1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C.    • 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  the  matter  of  the  tariff  schedules  on  explosives,  I 
desire  to  submit  a  few  reasons  wKy  explosives  should  be  placed  upon 
the  free  list. 

1.  Because  a  protective  tariff  is  wholly  unnecessary. 

2.  For  the  reason  that  it  is  harmful  to  the  people  and  the  Gov- 
.ernment  and  is  of  no  benefit  to  the  American  manufacturers. 

3.  The  American  powder  and  dynamite  trust  by  its  unlawful  acts 
against  the  Government  has  forfeited  all  right  to  Federal  protection. 

Waiving  all  discussion  of  the  willful  violation  by  the  powder  trust 
of  state  and  national  laws  prohibiting  monopolies  in  restraint  of  trade 
within  the  United  State,  I  invite  your  attention  to  a  few  extracts 
copied  from  the  World  Agreement  fixing  prices,  restraining  trade, 
dividing  the  markets  of  the  world  between  the  American  and  Euro- 
pean explosives  trusts,  with  our  comments  thereon. 

This  agreement  was  made  in  October,  1897,  for  a  long  term  of  years 
and  to  continue  indefinitely  thereafter  from  year  to  year  until  six 
months'  notice  of  intended  termination  is  given. 

The  "  common  (or  slush)  fund  "  is  now  on  hand,  undivided,  and 
available  for  use. 

Agreement  made  this  26th  day  of  October,  1897,  between  Messrs.  E.  L.  Du 
Pont  de  Nemours  &  Co.,  of  Wilmington,  Del. ;  Laflin  &  Rand  Powder  Company, 
of  New  York  City;  Eastern  Dynamite  Company,  of  Wilmington,  Del.;  The 


EXPLOSIVES ROBERT   S.   WADDELL.  6635 

Miami  Powder  Company,  of  Xenia,  Ohio.;  The  American  Powder  Mills,  of 
Boston,  'Mass.;  The  Aetna  Powder  Company,  Chicago,  111.;  The  California 
Powder  Works,  of  San  Francisco,  Cal.;  The  Giant  Powder  Company  (Con- 
solidated), of  San  Francisco,  Cal.;  The  Jndson  Dynamite  and  Powder  Company, 
of  San  Francisco,  Cal.  (hereinafter  collectively  referred  to  as  the  "American 
factories")  of  the  one  part,  and  The  Vereinigte  Koln-Rottweiler  Pulverfabri- 
ken,  of  Cologne;  The  Nobel-Dynamite  Trust  Company  (Limited),  of  London 
(hereinafter  collectively  referred  to  as  "the  European  factories")  of  the  other 
part. 

Whereas  the  parties  hereto  own  or  control  a  large  number  of  companies  and 
works  engaged  in  the  manufacture  and  trade  of  explosives,  and 

Whereas  it  has  been  deemed  advisable  to  make  arrangements,  so  as  to  avoid 
anything  being  done  which  would  affect  injuriously  the  common  interest, 

It  has  therefore  been  agreed  as  follows: 

The  word  "  explosives "  in  this  agreement  is  to  be  understood  as  including 
detonators,  black  powder,  smokeless  sporting  powder,  smokeless  military  pow- 
der, and  high  explosives  of  all  kinds. 

A  list  of  all  the  companies  and  factories  controlled  by  the  American  factories 
directly  or  indirectly  is  to  be  prepared  and  handed  by  Messrs.  E.  I.  Du  Pout 
de  Nemours  &  Co.  in  duplicate  to  the  European  factories  at  the  time  of  the 
execution  of  this  agreement,  and  the  European  factories  are  to  hand  to  Messrs. 
E.  I.  Du  Pont  de  Nemours  &  Co.  a  complete  list  of  companies  controlled  by 
them  directly  or  indirectly  when  executing  this  agreement. 

The  lists  exchanged  show  dozens  of  manufacturing  corporations, 
both  American  and  European,  not  mentioned  in  the  agreement,  but 
all  parties  in  the  world  trust. 

It  embraces  a  complete  monopoly  in  the  United  States  of  black 
sporting  and  rifle  powders;  black  military,  ordnance,  and  saluting 
powders;  smokeless  ordnance  and  military  powders;  more  than  99 
per  cent  of  smokeless  sporting  powders;  all  fuse  powders;  more  than 
95  per  cent  of  dynamite  and  other  high  explosives;  all  detonators 
for  firing  high  explosives,  and  more  than  95  per  cent  of  the  blasting 
and  mining  powders  manufactured  and  consumed  in  the  United 
States.  The  chief  exception  is  the  trivial  amount  of  smokeless  ord- 
nance powder  made  by  the  navy  at  Indian  Head  plant  and  by  the 
army  at  its  miniature  plant,  Dover,  N.  J. — scarcely  enough  for  cur- 
rent target  practice. 

Of  nearly  a  million  pounds  black  military  and  sporting  powders 
made  per  year  in  the  United  States,  this  Du  Pont  trust  produces  all 
and  fixes  the  price,  with  a  net  profit  of  150  per  cent. 

Foreign  competition  is  prohibited.  Domestic  competition  impos- 
sible. 

The  American  factories  bind  themselves  not  to  erect  factories  in  Europe,  and 
the  European  factories  undertake  not  to  erect  any  factory  in  the  United  States 
of  America. 

Whenever  the  American  factories  receive  an  inquiry  from  any  Government 
other  than  their  own,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  they  are  to  communicate  with 
the  European  factories  through  the  chairman  appointed  as  hereinafter  set  forth, 
and  by  that  means  to  ascertain  the  price  at  which  the  European  factories  are 
quoting  or  have  fixed,  and  they  shall  be  bound  not  to  quote  or  sell  at  any 
lower  figure  than  the  price  at  which  the  European  factories  are  quoting  or 
h'ave  fixed.  Should  the  European  factories  receive  an  inquiry  from  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  of  North  America,  or  decide  to  quote  for  delivery 
for  that  Government,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  they  shall  first  in  the  like 
manner  ascertain  the  price  quoted  or  fixed  by  the  American  factories  and  shall 
be  bound  not  to  quote  or  sell  below  that  figure. 

The  American  powder  and  dynamite  trust  is  hereby  authorized 
and  empowered  to  fix  the  price  to  be  charged  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment for  smokeless  ordnance  and  military  powders,  and  for  dyna- 
mite and  other  high  explosives  for  the  Panama  Canal.  Competition 
is  eliminated,  and  the  power  of  the  Du  Pont  trust  is  supreme. 


6636  SCHEDULE   N SUNDBIES. 

Should  independent  competition  develop  in  this  country  two-thirds 
of  an  enormous  common  fund,  contributed  by  the  wealthiest  monop- 
oly in  the  world,  is  available  for  its  destruction. 

The  Du  Pont  trust  has  claimed  that  the  joint  army  and  navy 
board  fixed  the  price  of  ordnance  smokeless  powder.  By  this  agree- 
ment the  Du  Pont  trust  fixes  the  price.  This  caused  the  Government 
to  pay  75  cents,  and  it  now  pays  69  cents  per  pound  for  powder  that 
costs  32  cents  to  manufacture. 

From  the  execution  of  this  world  agreement  in  1897  up  to  date  the 
president  of  the  Du  Pont  trust  has  continuously  served  as  the  "Amer- 
ican chairman."  His  duties  and  powers  are  later  defined. 

Here  follows  the  division  of  the  markets  of  the  world,  including 
all  this  side  of  Mars  and  other  celestial  bodies : 

It  is  agreed  that  the  United  States  of  North  America,  with  their  present  or 
future  Territories,  possessions,  colonies,  or  dependencies,  the  Republics  of  Mex- 
ico, Guatemala,  Honduras,  Nicaragua,  and  Costa  Rica,  as  well  as  the  Republics 
of  the  United  States  of  Colombia  and  Venezuela,  are  to  be  deemed  the  exclusive 
territories  of  the  American  factories  and  are  hereafter  referred  to  as  "Ameri- 
can territory."  All  the  countries  in  South  America  not  above  mentioned,  as 
well  as  British  Honduras  and  the  islands  in  the  Caribbean  Sea  which  are  not 
Spanish  possessions,  are  to  be  deemed  common  territory,  hereinafter  referred 
to  as  "syndicated  territory;"  the  rest  of  the  world  is  to  be  the  exclusive  terri- 
tory of  the  European  factories,  hereinafter  referred  to  as  "  European  terri- 
tory." 

The  American  factories  are  to  abstain  from  manufacturing,  -selling,  or  quot- 
ing, directly  or  indirectly,  in  or  for  consumption  in  any  of  the  countries  of  the 
European  territory,  and  the  Europeans  are  to  abstain  in  like  manner  from 
manufacturing,  selling,  or  quoting,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  or  for  consumption 
in  any  of  the  countries  of  the  American  territory.  With  regard  to  the  syndi- 
cated territory  neither  party  are  to  erect  works  there,  except  by  a  mutual 
understanding,  a^id  the  trade  there  is  to  be  carried  on  for  joint  account  in  the 
manner  hereinafter  defined. 

The  American  factories  shall  forthwith  designate  in  writing  a  chairman  and 
vice-chairman,  who  shall  hold  office  as  such  until  their  respective  successors 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  party  of  the  first  part,  and  such  chairman,  or  in  his 
absence  such  vice-chairman,  shall  be  the  authorized  representative  of  the 
American  factories,  to  whom  and  through  whom  all  communications,  acts,  and 
transactions  in  respect  to  this  agreement,  unless  otherwise  stipulated,  shall  be 
had;  and  the  European  factories  shall  likewise  forthwith  designate  in  writing 
a  chairman  and  vice-chairman,  to  whom  'shall  be  referred  all  matters  which  by 
terms  of  this  contract  are  made  referable  to  the  chairman  representing  the 
European  factories.  The  said  chairmen  or  vice-chairmen  shall  jointly  establish 
rules  for  the  carrying  out  of  the  syndicate  arrangements  hereinafter  referred  to. 

The  chairmen  shall  from  time  to  time  mutually  agree  upon  a  basis  price  for 
each  market  in  the  syndicated  territory,  such  basis  price  to  include  cost  of 
manufacture,  freight,  insurance,  landing  charges,  magazine  charges,  and  all 
other  charges  until  delivery,  including  agency  commission  and  the  contribution 
toward  the  common  fund  hereinafter  stipulated. 

The  chairmen  shall  likewise  fix  a  selling  price  for  each  market,  which  is  to 
be  deemed  a  convention  price,  below  which  no  sales  are  to  be  effected,  and  the 
difference  between  the  basis  price  and  the  selling  price  is  to  be  deeemd  the  syn- 
dicate profit,  and  to  be  divided  in  equal  shares  between  the  American  factories 
and  the  European  factories. 

After  deducting  the  American  territory  and  the  syndicated  or 
pooled  territory,  the  "  rest  of  the  world  "  is  the  exclusive  territory  of 
the  European  factories. 

Please  note  the  American  factories  are  to  abstain  from  manufac- 
turing, selling,  or  quoting  in  the  "  European  territory,"  and  the 
Europeans  are  to  abstain  in  like  manner  from  manufacturing,  sell- 
ing, or  quoting,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  or  for  consumption  in  any 
of  the  countries  of  the  "American  territory."  This  portion  of  the 
agreement  is  strictly  enforced  at  the  present  time. 


EXPLOSIVES ROBERT   S.   WADDELL.  6637 

It  is  wholly  unnecessary  to  protect  the  American  manufacturers 
with  a  tariff,  when  they  have  so  completely  protected  themselves  by 
contract.  The  Du  Pont  trust  is  superior  to  tariff,  as  well  as  all  other 
laws. 

Should  independent  factories  develop  in  Europe  and  desire  busi- 
ness in  this  country  why  should  Congress  deny  the  American  con- 
sumers the  privilege  of  protecting  themselves  against  the  greed  of  the 
Du  Pont  trust  by  purchasing  abroad  and  without  the  payment  of 
tariff  charges? 

The  American  powder  trust  has  ample  protection  in  the  enormous 
"  common  fund  "  contributed  by  the  foreign  and  domestic  trusts,  two- 
thirds  of  which  is  available  for  the  destruction  of  American  com- 
merce that  comes  in  competition  with  this  world  monopoly. 

Please  note  the  "  syndicated  territory  "  and  the  method  of  fixing 
prices,  restricting  trade,  and  the  division  of  profits  between  the 
American  and  foreign  powder  trusts.  This  method  is  in  effective 
operation  to-day,  regardless  of  the  expiration  date  of  written  con- 
tracts. The  world  trade  was  divided  and  the  contract  results  remain 
in  statu  quo. 

A  common  syndicate  fund  is  to  be  constituted  by  a  payment  of  $1  per  case  of 
75  per  cent  dynamite  or  per  case  gelignite,  gelatin  dynamite,  or  blasting  gelatin, 
and  a  payment  of  such  portion  of  $1  as  the  percentage  of  nitroglycerin  in  lower 
grade  dynamites  bears  to  75  per  cent,  until  such  fund  reaches  the  amount  of 
3fiO,000,  when  the  contribution  is  to  be  reduced  to  one-half  the  above-mentioned 
rates. 

The  syndicate  accounts,  according  to  clause  10,  made  up  to  December  31  in 
each  calendar  year,  are  to  be  handed  in  by  both  parties  so  as  to  reach  the  chair- 
man of  the  other  party  by  April  15  next  ensuing,  and  the  payments  for  the 
balance  are  to  be  made  by  June  30  following,  when  the  amount  contributed 
to  the  common  fund  shall  likewise  be  paid. 

The  common  fund  shall,  as  the  chairman  may  decide,  be  invested  in  govern- 
ment securities,  and  it  is  from  this  fund  that  any  fine  or  fines  hereinafter  stipu- 
lated, not  recovered  from  the  parties,  shall  be  taken.  It  shall  likewise  be  ad- 
missible for  the  chairmen  to  dispose  of  two-thirds  of  the  common  fund  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  the  common  interest  against  outside  competition. 

Any  breach  of  this  agreement  shall  be  adjudicated  upon  by  the  chairmen, 
and  if  they  can  not  agree  they  shall  appoint  an  umpire.  For  the  guidance  of 
the  chairmen  and  umpire  it  is  agreed  that,  should  either  of  the  parties  erect 
factories  in  a  country  reserved  to  the  other,  the  liquidated  damages  shall  not 
be  fixed  lower  than  £10,000. 

Should  either  party  trade  in  the  territory  of  the  other,  it  shall  be  admissible 
for  the  chairmen  to  absolve  them  of  any  accidental  breach;  but  if  an  intentional 
breach  shall  be  proved,  the  fine  shall  be  the  invoice  value  of  the  goods  supplied. 
No  restriction  is  placed  on  the  decision  of  the  chairmen  as  to  the  penalty  to  be 
imposed  for  intentional  underselling  in  one  of  the  markets  of  the  syndicate 
territory. 

There  has  not  been  a  single  independent  competitor  of  this  Ameri- 
can powder  trust  within  the  United  States  during  the  past  ten  years 
that  has  not  felt  the  blighting  force,  directly  or  indirectly,  of  this 
common  fund.  All  have  been  its  victims.  The  destructive  methods 
of  the  American  trust  have  been  sufficient  to  blight  competition  in 
this  country,  but  when  to  this  is  added  the  contributions  of  the 
wealthy  European  factories,  through  the  common  fund,  for  the  elim- 
ination of  competition,  it  is  a  marvel  how  any  competitor  has  sur- 
vived. 

The  enormous  proportions  of  this  common  fund  may  be  judged  by 
two  items: 

The  United  States  Government  places  orders  frequently  for  lots 
of  eight  and  ten  million  pounds  of  75  per  cent  nitroglycerin  dynamite 


6638  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

for  the  Panama  Canal.  Ten  million  pounds  means  200,000  cases.  At 
$1  per  case  this  would  net  $200,000.  At  50  cents,  the  minimum  per 
case,  the  contribution  on  this  single  order  would  net  a  payment  of 
$100,000  into  the  common  fund.  A  single  shipment,  oft  repeated, 
from  European  factories  to  South  Africa  would  contribute  a  larger 
sum  to  the  common  fund ;  yet  these  are  only  two  points  of  activity  in 
the  great  markets  of  the  world. 

An  independent  manufacturer  of  explosives  in  the  United  States, 
with  this  great  organized  combination  of  foreign  and  American 
monetary  interests  against  him,  has  about  as  much  chance  to  survive 
as  a  snowball  in — the  Tropics. 

Why  should  the  patriotic  representatives  of  the  American  people 
protect  this  gigantic  powder  monopoly  with  a  tariff  at  the  expense  of 
their  constituents? 

The  present  tariff  on  blasting  powder  is  4  cents  per  pound,  or  $1 
per  keg.  In  Pennsylvania,  West  Virginia,  and  throughout  the 
Middle  West  the  powder  trust  now  fixes  the  delivered  price  of  this 
article  at  $1.10  per  keg  and  supplies  most  of  the  trade  at  $1. 

The  freight  rate  from  the  seaboard  will  average  20  cents  per  keg. 
The  manufacturing  cost  varies  from  80  to  90  cents  per  keg  at  mills. 

Think  of  a  protective  tariff  of  $1  per  keg  on  an  article  that  sells 
inland  for  $1,  which  costs  at  the  seaboard  90  cents  to  import  and  20 
cents  freight  cost  to  deliver.  This  powder  for  the  past  five  years  has 
all  been  sold  at  from  90  to  95  cents,  until  the  larger  independent  com- 
panies were  ruined  and  absorbed  (my  own  company  among  others), 
when  the  present  list  was  established. 

Please  note  that  if  the  European  trust  should  sell  in  this  country 
at  any  price,  the  offending  company  is  fined  the  full  "  invoice  value 
of  the  goods  supplied ;  "  and  if  it  fails  to  pay  the  fine,  it  is  paid  out 
of  the  '"common  fund."  Free  trade  would  be  futile  in  securing  com- 
petition. A  protective  tariff  is  ridiculous. 

With  regard  to  the  markets  in  the  European  territory  in  which  the  American 
factories  have  already  done  business,  and  from  which — in  accordance  with  the 
stipulations  of  this  agreement — they  are  to  retire,  as  well  as  the  markets  of  the 
American  territory  in  which  the  European  factories  have  already  done  busi- 
ness, and  from  which  they  are — according  to  the  stipulations  of  this  agree- 
ment— to  retire,  the  following  is  agreed: 

Agents  are,  as  far  as  possible,  to  be  retained  by  the  party  who  is  hencefor- 
ward to  do  the  business  in  the  market  question. 

Magazines  are  in  a  like  manner  to  be  taken  over  at  their  present  value,  to  be 
determined  by  mutual  agreement  or  arbitration. 

Stocks,  if  in  good  merchantable  condition,  are  to  be  taken  over  at  full  cost, 
i.  e.,  the  amount  which  the  goods  at  present  cost,  with  accumulated  charges. 

This  agreement  is  to  be  in  force  for  ten  years,  beginning  from  July  15,  1S97, 
subject  to  written  notice  being  given  six  months  prior  to  July  15,  1907.  In 
the  absence  of  notice  this  agreement  is  to  continue  thereafter  from  year  to 
year  until  such  six  months'  notice  of  intended  termination  is  given. 

Settlements  have  been  made  annually  for  many  years  between  the 
American  and  European  chairmen  under  this  world  agreement.  It 
is  still  in  full  force  and  effect  and  will  remain  so  for  years,  with 
some  variations  made  by  the  chairmen,  to  avoid  technical  complaints 
and  proofs;  the  trade  of  the  districted  territories  is  restrained,  and 
the  common  fund  is  undistributed. 

Was  not  this  world  agreement  a  willful  violation  of  both  the  civil 
and  criminal  laws  of  our  country,  prohibiting  monopolies,  the  fixing 
of  prices,  and  the  restraint  of  trade  ? 


EXPLOSIVES ROBERT   S.    WADDELL,.  6639 

Courts  may  dissolve  and  enjoin  the  present  form  of  this  world 
monopoly;  it  will  only  change  its  chameleon  hue  and  continue  in 
efficient  operation. 

You  may  break,  you  may  shatter  the  vase  if  you  will, 
But  the  scent  of  the  roses  will  hang  round  it  still. 

No  independent  powder  manufacturer,  possessing  a  full  knowledge 
of  the  situation,  would  desire  a  protective  tariff  on  explosives. 

Their  production  is  limited  to  blasting  powder  and  dynamite,  and 
the  powder  trust  fixes  a  ruinously  low  price  on  these,  depending  for 
its  rich  revenues  on  the  support  of  the  United  States  Government, 
through  its  excessive  price  and  liberal  and  exclusive  purchases  of 
ordinance  and  military  smokeless  powders,  and  dynamite  for  the 
Panama  Canal. 

A  protective  tariff  is  not  necessary  either  on  blasting  powder  or 
dynamite.  There  is  no  competition  in  the  United  States  with  the 
Du  Pont  trust  on  black  rifle,  sporting,  and  military  powders,  nor  on 
smokeless  sporting,  ordnance,  and  military  powders.  On  these  the 
American  trust  enjoys  a  complete  monopoly  and  is  amply  protected 
from  foreign  competition  by  its  world  agreement. 

We  therefore  respectfully  protest  against  any  protective  tariff  on 
explosives  and  request,  on  behalf  of  the  consumers  of  this  country, 
that  explosives  be  placed  upon  the  free  list. 

The  Congress  and  the  President  will  need  no  interpreter  to  point 
with  pride  to  the  glowing  patriotism  and  scrupulous  fidelity  of  the 
Du  Pont  trust,  as  exemplified  in  its  compact  with  foreign  trusts  to 
corner  the  markets  of  the  world  against  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment. 

Its  successful  efforts  in  fixing  an  extortionate  price  and  the  elimi- 
nation of  all  competition,  foreign  and  domestic,  in  the  supply  of 
ordnance  smokeless  powder  for  national  defense,  are  earnestly  com- 
mended for  the  thoughtful  consideration  of  those  in  Washington 
who  have  been  the  stalwart  friends  of  the  powder  trust. 

A  careful  perusal  of  this  world  agreement  will  disclose  why  our 
navy  powder  was  tested  in  the  guns  of  foreign  nations,  disclosing 
its  quality  and  ballistic  properties;  and  why  the  Du  Pont  trust  built 
the  factory  in  Brazil  to  manufacture  American  navy  powder  for  use 
in  foreign  guns. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  the  War  and  Navy  Departments  and 
the  Congress  have  not  taken  concerted  action  to  break  this  unholy 
alliance  with  the  Du  Pont  powder  trust  and  establish  government 
plants  of  adequate  capacity  to  conserve  the  public  welfare. 

Our  patriotism  should  be  broad  enough  and  of  a  quality  to  freely 
grant  protection  to  all  American  industries  that  need  it.  It  should 
be  vital  enough  to  resent  every  successful  combination  with  for- 
eigners to  "  hold  up  "  the  United  States  Government  for  private 
mercenary  purposes. 

For  the  edification  of  the  Congress  I  will  be  pleased  to  furnish  a 
certified  copy  of  this  ."  world  powder  trust  agreement,"  if  it  is 
desired. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

ROBERT  S.  WADDELL, 
President  Buckeye  Powder  Company. 


6640  SCHEDULE   N SUNDKIES. 

THE  INDEPENDENT  POWDER  COMPANY,  JOPLIN,  MO.,  TTRGES  RE- 
TENTION OF  PRESENT  DUTY  ON  EXPLOSIVES. 

218  WEST  FOURTH  STREET, 

Joplin,  Mo.,  February  1,  1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  been  informed  that  Robert  S.  Waddell,  president 
of  the  Buckeye  Powder  Company,  of  Peoria,  111.,  addressed  a  peti- 
tion to  your  honorable  committee  under  date  of  January  13,  1909, 
asking  that  powder  and  high  explosives  be  placed  upon  the  free  list — 
that  is,  that  foreign  manufacturers  be  permitted  to  ship  their  ex- 
plosives into  this  country  duty  free  and  compete  with  American 
manufacturers. 

This  company  is  strongly  against  this  proposition,  both  as  a  gen- 
eral proposition  and  as  a  particular  proposition  applied  to  business 
in  the  southwestern  part  of  this  country. 

The  Independent  Powder  Company,  of  Missouri,  is  a  strictly  inde- 
pendent concern — that  is,  not  allied  with  any  other  firm  or  corpora- 
tion in  any  manner  whatsoever.  We  are  manufacturing  from  25,000 
to  35,000  pounds  of  dynamite  per  day  at  our  factory  near  Joplin, 
Mo.  We  have  numerous  offices  and  magazines  throughout  the  west- 
ern half  of  the  United  States,  and  our  trade  covers  a  large  territory, 
as  we  are,  I  believe,  the  only  independent  competitors  of  the  so- 
called  "  powder  trust  "  west  of  the  Mississippi  River. 

One  of  our  most  important  branch  offices  is  at  El  Paso,  Tex.  Our 
representatives  from  this  office  visit  the  large  mining  trade  in  west- 
ern Texas,  New  Mexico,  and  Arizona,  and  we  'have  in  these  States  a 
very  valuable  trade  which  we  are  anxious  to  hold. 

Formerly  we  did  a  large  business  in  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  ship- 
ping as  high  as  eight  or  ten  carloads  of  dynamite  per  month  to  the 
mercantile  firm  of  Hasam  &  Moreno,  Mexico  City,  and  to  the  promi- 
nent railroad  contracting  firm  of  Hampton  &  Smith.  We  also  had 
other  important  customers  in  the  Republic. 

About  three  years  ago  our  business  in  the  Republic  of  Mexico  was 
suddenly  stopped  by  a  prohibitive  import  duty  of  $6  per  100  pounds, 
imposed  upon  dynamite  by  the  Mexican  Government.  A  company, 
known  as  the  Compania  Nacional  Mexicana  de  Dinimita  y  Explosives, 
had  been  formed  in  the  Republic  for  the  manufacture  of  dynamite.  A 
prohibitive  duty  was  placed  upon  dynamite,  while  black  powder  was 
left  upon  the  free  list,  not  being  manufactured  by  the  new  company 
in  Mexico. 

Since  the  duty  went  into  effect  we  received  many  leters  from  Mex- 
ican mine  owners  imploring  us  to  do  something  for  them  on  dyna- 
mite and  complaining  bitterly  of  the  treatment  they  were  receiving 
at  the  hands  of  the  Mexican  company.  We  we  not  able  to  help  them. 

The  Mexican  Dynamite  Company,  however,  met  with  numerous 
accidents,  and  after  endeavoring  to  operate  their  plant  for  about  one 
year  decided  that  it  was  cheaper  to  purchase  dynamite  than  make  it, 
especially  as  their  concession  from  the  Mexican  Government  permitted 
them  and  them  only  to  import  dynamite  duly  free  under  their  charter. 
Consequently,  through  eastern  friends  of  ours,  we  were  favored  with 


EXPLOSIVES INDEPENDENT   POWDER   CO.  6641 

orders  for  eight  or  ten  carloads  of  dynamite,  which  we  shipped  into 
the  Republic  within  a  period  of  forty-five  days. 

The  Mexican  company,  however,  rebuilt  their  plant  and  endeavored 
once  more  to  run  it,  some  dissatisfaction  with  their  business  methods 
having  grown  up  inside  their  company.  I  imagine  the  faction  desir- 
ing to  operate  the  plant  was  headed  by  Juan  F.  Brittingham,  the 
manager  and  director  of  a  large  soap  works  at  Torreon,  Mexico.  A 
soap  concern,  of  course  you  understand,  manufactures  large  quanti- 
ties of  glycerin  and  were  interested  in  the  Mexican  Dynamite  Com- 
pany principally  to  secure  a  sale  for  their  own  product. 

At  any  rate  it  appeared  that  some  decided  move  was  to  be  made 
by  the  Mexican  company,  and  we  sent  a  representative  to  Torreon  to 
investigate  conditions.  He  found  the  Mexican  company  was  about  to 
close  a  contract  for  the  purchase  of  a  large  quantity  of  dynamite,  it 
having  developed  that  even  with  their  plant  in  full  operation  they 
were  unable  to  supply  the  demand  in  Mexico,  all  American  manu- 
facturers being  shut  out  by  the  prohibitive  duty  of  $6  per  100  pounds. 

As  soon  as  it  became  known  that  our  company  was  figuring  on  this 
contract  the  matter  was  closed  up  with  the  Dupont  Powder  Company 
before  we  had  time  to  submit  our  figures. 

Since  that  time  I  understand  the  Mexican  Dynamite  Company  has 
largely  increased  their  plant  and  are  becoming  a  great  factor  in  the 
dynamite  manufacturing  business. 

I  have  given  you  this  little  history,  so  that  you  can  appreciate  our 
position  should  the  duty  be  removed  from  dynamite  by  the  United 
States  Government.  All  our  western  mining  business  would  be 
thrown  open  to  the  competition  of  the  Mexican  company,  whereas  we 
would  be  prohibited  from  entering  Mexican  territory  by  the  $6  per 
100  pounds,  which  is  about  50  per  cent  of  the  value  of  the  goods  at 
the  border. 

The  present  duty  on  dynamite  brought  into  this  country,  which  I 
understand  is  4  cents  per  pound,  is  no  more  than -enough  to  protect 
us  against  the  lower  cost  of  manufacture  in  Mexico.  In  this  country 
dynamite  labor  is  a  very  high-paid,  skilled  labor.  In  addition  to  our 
heavy  pay  roll  we  are,  of  course,  called  upon  to  stand  the  losses  due 
to  explosions  and  to  frequently  pay  damage  suits,  which  greatly 
diminish  our  profits. 

The  Mexican  Dynamite  Company,  on  the  other  hand,  works  the 
cheap  Mexican  peon  labor,  and  I  imagine  suffers  little  loss  from  explo- 
sives other  than  the  destruction  of  their  property. 

I  feel  very  confident  that  this  matter  is  worthy  of  your  serious 
attention,  and  I  feel,  upon  further  investigation,  you  will  develop  the 
fact  that  Mr.  Waddell's  request  for  powder  and  dynamite  to  be  placed 
upon  the  free  list  is  merely  to  hurt  what  he  has  designated  as  the 
"  powder  trust,"  and  not  from  any  economic  or  philanthropic  motives 
nor  from  a  knowledge  of  the  practical  manufacture  of  dynamite. 

While  the  actions  of  our  largest  competitor  have  at  times  been  very 
painful  to  this  company,  at  the  same  time  we  believe,  as  American 
manufacturers,  our  interests  are  the  same  as  theirs  where  a  matter  of 
import  duty  is  concerned. 

I  am  not  able  at  this  time  to  appear  before  your  honorable  com- 
mittee in  person,  but  I  will  be  glad  to  furnish  you  with  any  further 
data  you  may  require  in  regard  to  the  matter  discussed  in  this  letter, 


6642  SCHEDUI/E    N SUNDRIES. 

and  I  will  be  glad  to  have  some  expression  in  regard  to  the  matter 
from  you. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  yours,  very  truly, 

INDEPENDENT  POWDER  COMPANY  OF  MISSOURI, 

N.  P.  ROOD,  Secretary. 


MATCHES. 

[Paragraph  423.] 

HON.  D.  F.  LAFEAN,  M.  C.,  SUBMITS  LETTER  OF  THE  PENNSYL, 
VANIA  MATCH  CO.,  BELLEFONTE,  PA.,  PROTESTING  AGAINST 
REDUCTION  OF  DUTY  ON  MATCHES. 

BELLEFONTE,  PA.,  November  18, 1908. 
Hon.  D.  F.  LAFEAN,  M.  C.,  York,  Pa. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  LAFEAN  :  We  understand  there  is  to  be  an  effort 
made  to  have  the  duty  on  matches  lowered.  We  feel  that  this  should 
not  be  done  for  the  following  reasons : 

The  duty  on  materials  we  import  is  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
amount  of  protection  we  receive.  We  are  importing  for  matches  all 
our  glue.  The  difference  between  domestic  prices  on  chlorate  of 
potash  and  the  prices  obtaining  in  Europe  is  very  considerable.  The 
raw  material  for  this  chemical  is  all  imported  from  Germany.  The 
chlorate  of  potash  manufacturers  are  so  thoroughly  protected  at  this 
time  that  they  obtain  in  this  country  about  1£  cents  per  pound  more 
for  chlorate  of  potash  than  the  prevailing  price  in  England,  which  is 
equal  to  about  80  per  cent  duty  on  the  article. 

Prices  abroad  on  paraffin  wax  are  uniformly  lower  than  here.  The 
difference  in  the  cost  of  labor  between  our  home  manufacturers  and 
the  English  and  German  manufacturers  is  from  25  to  50  per  cent  more 
here.  Manufacturers  of  matches  in  this  country  have  at  this  time 
only  a  reasonable  profit  for  the  money  invested,  not  more  than  10  per 
cent.  The  consumer  is  getting  his  matches  at  a  most  reasonable  price. 

All  in  all,  the  duty  on  matches  is  very  inconsiderable  and  ought 
not  to  be  reduced. 

Will  you  kindly  take  this  up  before  the  proper  committee  and  pre- 
sent the  points  as  we  have  outlined  them  above? 
Yours,  very  truly, 

THE  PENNSYLVANIA  MATCH  Co., 
J.  L.  MONTGOMERY,  Treasurer. 


BRIEF  SUBMITTED  RELATIVE  TO  REDUCTION  IN  TARIFF  ON 
MATCHES  BY  THOMAS  CADWALLADER,  VICE-PRESIDENT  ILLI- 
NOIS MATCH  CO.,  JOLIET,  ILL. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  28, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee. 

SIR  :  As  a  prelude  to  my  protest  against  the  reduction  of  the  tariff 
on  matches,  I  wish  to  state  that  the  last  thirty  years'  record  of  inde- 


MATCHES— THOMAS   CADVVALLADER.  6643 

pendent  match  factories  in  the  United  States  show  something  like  50 
to  60  failures,  entailing  losses  running  up  to  several  millions  of  dollars 
in  that  particular  line  of  effort. 

About  thirty  years  ago,  prior  to  the  organization  of  the  Diamond 
Match  Company,'  it  had  become  quite  apparent  to  the  several  match 
factories  then  in  existence  that  the  competition  of  foreign  match 
manufacturers  would  sooner  or  later  affect  them  under  existing  con- 
ditions, and  with  that  fact  before  them  they  no  doubt  were  easily  per- 
suaded to  enter  into  one  company. 

Since  that  time  those  who  started  in  the  manufacture  of  matches 
independently  have  had  quite  a  hard  time  of  it,  and  the  consequence 
was  that  one  after  another  failed  in  their  enterprise.  The  smaller 
ones  of  course  more  quickly,  but  the  larger  ones  in  time,  and  out  of 
this  long  list  of  failures  there  are  to-day  only  13  independent  match 
factories  in  existence. 

It  is  quite  apparent  that  through  the  organization  of  the  Diamond 
Match  Company  that  they  have  been  much  better  prepared  to  combat 
the  low  prices  made  by  foreign  match  factories  than  they  would 
otherwise. 

•  In  behalf  of  the  Illinois  Match  Company,  of  Joliet,  111.,  of  which  I 
am  a  stockholder  and  vice-president,  I  wish  to  enter  a  protest  against 
any  reduction  of  the  tariff  on  foreign  matches  of  any  description.  It 
is  only  within  the  last  ten  years  that  those  manufacturers  outside  of 
the  Diamond  Match  Company  have  been  able  to  secure  a  foothold  in 
the  manufacture  of  this  product  in  the  United  States. 

There  are  at  the  present  time  13  independent  match  factories  run- 
ning, in  which  are  employed  3,000  to  3,500  people  directly,  and  prob- 
ably 5,000  more  indirectly.  There  are  at  the  present  time  five  or  six 
new  companies  in  process  of  organization;  some  of  them,  no  doubt, 
will  be  ready  to  start  manufacturing  within  the  next  six  months. 

I  beg  to  say  that  all  the  raw  material  that  goes  into  the  manufacture 
of  matches  in  the  United  States  is  produced  by  American  labor,  and 
at  a  good  wage  for  such  labor,  and  believe  that  the  manufacture  of 
matches  by  so-called  independent  concerns,  meaning  those  outside  of 
the  Diamond  Match  Company,  is  in  its  infancy,  as  it  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  the  increase  in  the  consumption  of  matches  in  the  United 
States  is  about  12  to  15  per  cent  each  year,  and  with  this  increase  com- 
ing along  regularly  there  is  plenty  of  room  for  a  much  larger  number 
of  manufacturers  of  matches  at  a  reasonable  profit  for  the  investor, 
if  conditions  are  kept  at  a  point  whereby  such  manufacturers  will  not 
have  to  compete  against  cheap  foreign  labor,  which  is  used  entirely  in 
the  factories  from  which  foreign  matches  are  imported. 

Most  of  the  independent  factories  mentioned  herein  which  failed 
in  the  business,  were  started  at  points  east  of  Ohio  and  north  of  the 
Mason  and  Dixon  line,  in  which  territory,  owing  to  the  low  rate  of 
freight  from  sea  coast,  the  distributing  points  for  foreign  matches, 
and  the  low  prices,  they  were  unable  to  manufacture  and  sell  at  a 
profit  or  even  cost,  and  in  consequence  thereof  were  driven  to  the  wall. 
Nearly  all  of  these  concerns  when  they  first  started  put  in  foreign 
match-making  machinery,  so  they  could  make  the  same  style  match 
as  the  imported,  but  notwithstanding  this  condition  they  were  unable 
to  pay  the  price  of  labor  in  this  country  and  make  the  matches  to  sell 
at  a  profit  as  against  the  foreign  matches  with  the  present  duty,  or 
the  duty  at  that  time  added. 


6644  SCHEDULE   N SUNDEIES. 

After  the  organization  of  the  Diamond  Match  Company,  about 
1880,  and  prior  to  1900,  about  thirty  independent  match  factories 
were  started,  which  went  out  of  business  or  failed  with  approximate 
losses  of  about  $3,000,000.  In  1900  three  were  started  which  failed 
or  went  out  of  business  with  approximate  losses  of  $50,000.  Nineteen 
hundred  and  one  shows  thirteen  new  companies  started  and  failed 
and  went  out  of  business  with  an  approximate  loss  of  about  $2,000,000. 
Nineteen  hundred  and  two  shows  three  enterprises  which  failed  or 
went  out  of  business  with  approximate  losses  of  $500,000.  Nine- 
teen hundred  and  three,  two  more  were  started  which  failed  and 
went  out  of  business  with  approximate  loss  of  $60,000.  Nineteen 
hundred  and  five,  one  started  and  failed  with  approximate  loss  of 
$30,000.  Nineteen  hundred  and  six  shows  one  which  failed  and  went 
out  of  business  with  a  loss  of  $20,000.  And  the  record  for  1907 
shows  four  failures  in  the  business,  with  an  approximate  loss  of 
$800,000,  making  a  total  of  a  loss  within  thirty  years  of  near 
$6,500,000  sustained  by  people  who  embarked  in  the  match  business. 

It  is  extremely  doubtful  if  more  than  three  or  four  of  the  thirteen 
present  independent  match  manufacturers  are  able  to  pay  dividends 
regularly,  and  a  reduction  of  the  present  tariff  would  without  doubt 
drive  most  of  them,  if  not  all  of  them,  to  the  wall.  The  business 
at  the  present  time  is  growing  very  nicely,  and  it  should  grow  much 
greater  in  time  to  come,  but  a  reduction  in  the  present  tariff  would 
work  a  great  injury  to  an  industry  that  has  a  wonderful  possibility 
before  it  in  the  manufacture  of  one  of  the  greatest  commodities  of 
the  age. 

While  at  the  present  time  the  Diamond  Match  Company  controls 
about  70  per  cent  of  the  match  business  in  the  United  States,  yet  the 
independent  manufacturers  if  properly  protected  and  fostered  will 
sell  matches  as  cheap,  if  not  cheaper,  than  they  do,  and  surely  make 
inroads  upon  their  proportion  of  the  business  very  rapidly  within 
the  next  few  years,  and  at  the  same  time  give  investors  a  fair  return 
on  their  venture.  In  fact,  if  this  protection  is  afforded,  the  develop- 
ments of  independent  match  manufacturers  will  show  much  greater 
progress  in  the  next  ten  years  than  they  have  in  the  past  thirty  years. 

If  the  Diamond  Match  Company,  with  its  thirty  years  of  experience, 
its  wonderful  economical  machinery,  $16,000,000  capital,  and  being  as 
it  is  acknowledged  one  of  the  best  organized  industries  in  the  United 
States  to-day,  was  able  to  earn  in  1907  (said  to  be  their  banner  year 
for  the  past  ten  years)  only  14  per  cent,  I  ask  in  all  candor  what 
would  become  of  the  independent  manufacturers  if  we  had  to  con- 
tend with  any  reduction  whatever  of  the  present  tariff. 

The  importations  of  foreign  matches  into  the  United  States  in 
1903  amounted  to  $161,197,  increasing  to  $219,169  in  1908,  about  35 
per  cent  in  four  years,  or  about  9  per  cent  per  year  increase,  which 
based  on  a  match  man's  unit  would  approximate  about  one  carload 
of  matches  per  day,  which  quantity  would  be  termed  a  very  good 
output  for  an  independent  match  factory. 

In  the  year  1904  $230,867,  or  about  50  per  cent  increase  over  1903, 
worth  of  foreign  matches  were  brought  into  the  United  States,  and 
with  my  knowledge  of  conditions  I  make  the  assertion  that  this 
quickly  increased  percentage  over  1903  was  cut  down  in  the  fol- 
lowing years  only  by  increased  facilities  of  the  independent  match 
manufacturers  and  their  ability  to  invent  more  economical  machinery 


MATCHES — THOMAS  CADWALLADEB.  6645 

that  enabled  them  to  meet  the  competition  with  present  tariff  on 
foreign  matches,  both  in  quality  and  style.  Had  the  present  tariff 
not  been  such  as  to  give  the  home  manufacturers  this  opportunity  to 
invent  competitive  machinery,  there  is  no  question  whatever  in  my 
mind  but  the  imported  matches  would  have  increased  every  year  50 
per  cent,  as  it  did  in  1904  as  against  1903. 

The  independent  match  manufacturers  are  not  afraid  of  competi- 
tion at  home,  but  the  low-priced  imported  matches  that  come  into 
the  United  States  mainly  from  such  countries  as  Austria-Hungary, 
Belgium,  Germany,  Italy,  England,  Norway,  Sweden,  Russia,  and 
Japan,  where  they  use  in  factories  of  our  character  the  very  lowest- 
priced  labor  obtainable,  there  being  but  very  little  so-called  skilled 
labor  employed  in  foreign  match  factories.  I  am-told  by  old-country 
match  employers  that  in  most  of  the  factories  abroad  women  do  the 
work  for  50  cents  per  day  which  men  get  $2  for  doing  in  the  United 
States. 

Since  I  started  the  Illinois  Match  Company  seven  years  ago  the 
wages  of  our  employees  have  been  increased  up  to  the  present  time 
in  every  department  15  to  25  per  cent,  while  the  price  on  matches  is 
10  per  cent  lower  in  some  sections  than  in  1901,  and  I  feel  quite  confi- 
dent that  this  statement  will  be  borne  out  by  every  other  independent 
match  manufacturer  who  was  in  existence  at  that  time,  as  well  as  the 
Diamond  Match  Company.  We  are  to-day  paying  such  of  our  em- 
ployees as  are  at  the  head  of  the  various  departments  from  $2.50  to 
$4  per  day.  while  our  common  laborers  around  the  factory  get  $1.75 
to  $2  per  day,  while  from  the  best  information  obtainable  I  learn  that 
the  employees  in  foreign  match  factories  working  in  the  same  relative 
positions  get  40  to  75  cents  per  day  and  common  labor  25  to  35  cents. 

Notwithstanding  the  present  tariff  on  imported  matches,  the  price 
on  an  average  has  been  lowered  by  foreigners  on  a  number  of  sizes 
as  much  as  40  per  cent  within  the  last  ten  years,  their  ability  to  do 
so  no  doubt  being  brought  about  either  by  the  lowering  of  their  wage 
scale  or  willingness  to  sell  their  product  on  a  smaller  (I  emphasize 
the  word  "  smaller  ")  margin  of  profit  or  both;  yet  they  are  just  as 
solicitous  to-day  for  business  in  the  United  States  on  a  certain  size, 
which  they  export  largely  into  the  United  States  at  23  cents  per 
gross,  c.  i.  f.  (paying  8  cents  duty),  as  they  were  ten  years  ago  at  40 
to  45  cents  per  gross.  They  have,  by  such  reductions,  forced  the  home 
manufacturer  to  sell  this  size  at  the  same  price,  therefore  causing  loss 
to  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  home  manufacturers,  a  condition  that  home 
manufacturers  can  not  get  away  from,  as  the  buyers  insist  that  they 
must  be  supplied  with  this  same  size  and  at  the  same  price  of  for- 
eigners, otherwise  they  will  not  buy  certain  large  sizes  from  us  on 
which  we  can  make  a  little  money.  I  believe  I  am  stating  nothing  but 
facts  when  I  say,  commercially  speaking,  that  there  are  no  matches 
made  abroad  that  we  can  not  or  do  not  make  here. 

Almost  everything  that  goes  into  the  manufacture  of  matches  is 
much  higher  than  it  was  ten  years  ago,  and  nearly  everything  in  the 
way  of  raw  products  is  continuing  to  cost  a  little  more,  generally 
speaking,  each  year. 

Our  home  competition  has  brought  the  price  down  to  the  consumer 
where  he  can  to-day  buy  200  matches  for  a  penny;  ten  or  fifteen  years 
ago  he  paid  3  cents  for  this  quantity.  Consequently  I  feel  that,  in- 
stead of  any  reduction  of  the  present  tariff  on  matches,  that  it  should 


6646  SCHEDULE    N — SUNDRIES. 

be  raised,  thereby  permitting  us  to  make  a  fair  profit  on  pur  invest- 
ment, so  that  we  can  continue  paying  our  labor  in  the  United  States 
a  decent  wage  instead  of  40  to  75  cents  per  day  maximum  paid  by 
the  foreigners. 

The  foregoili  g  we  trust  will  have  your  due  consideration,  and  that 
the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  will  recognize  at  once  the  position 
in  which  the  independent  match  manufacturers  will  be  placed  should 
there  be  any  reduction  whatever  on  foreign  matches  imported  into  the 
United  States. 

Yours,  very  respectfully, 

THOS.  CADWALLADER, 
V ice-President  Illinois  Match  Co.,  Joliet,  III. 


THE  DIAMOND  MATCH  CO.,  OF  NEW  YORK,  ASKS  INCREASE  IN 
DUTY  ON  MATCHES  TO  MEET  FOREIGN  COMPETITION. 

NEW  YORK,  December  16,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE. 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  respectfully  ask  your  consideration  of  that  portion 
of  the  tariff  law  fixing  the  import  duty  on  matches,  paragraph  423  of 
which  is  as  follows: 

Matches,  friction  or  lucifer,  of  all  descriptions  per  gross  of  144  boxes  containing  not 
more  than  100  matches  per  box,  8  cents  per  gross;  when  imported  otherwise  than  in 
boxes  containing  not  more  than  100  matches  each,  1  cent  per  1,000  matchea. 

We  ask  that  this  paragraph  be  revised  to  read  as  follows : 

Matches,  friction  or  lucifer,  of  all  descriptions  per  gross  of  144  boxes  containing  not 
more  than  100  matches  per  box,  12  cents  per  gross;  when  imported  otherwise  than  in 
boxes  containing  not  more  than  100  matches  each,  1£  cents  per  1,000  matches. 

There  are  about  15  or  16  companies  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
matches  in  the  United  States,  but  the  business  is  not  one  that  has  been 

generally  profitable.  While  it  is  true  the  Diamond  Match  Company 
as  been  successful,  it  has  been  only  because  its  constantly  increasing 
volume  of  business  has  more  than  counterbalanced  the  steady  increase 
in  the  cost  of  manufacture.  In  the  production  of  matches  white  pine 
is  almost  exclusively  used  for  the  match  stick  or  splint,  because  of  its 
free-burning  nature,  its  quick  absorption  of  paraffin,  and  generally 
attractive  appearance  to  the  consumer;  but,  by  reason  of  the  con- 
tinued advance  in  the  price  of  lumber  and  labor,  the  cost  of  the  stick 
has  increased  70  per  cent  in  the  past  ten  years.  During  the  same 
period  all  other  materials,  as  well  as  labor  employed  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  matches,  have  advanced  greatly.  Nevertheless  the  Diamond 
Match  Company  has  made  no  corresponding  advance  in  the  selling 
price  of  its  matches,  nor  were  its  prices  advanced  at  the  time  the  pres- 
ent tariff  law  went  into  effect.  On  the  other  hand,  the  company  has 
relied  for  its  profit  upon  its  increased  volume  of  business,  due  to  the 
increasing  consumption  of  matches,  for,  since  the  year  1890,  while  the 
population  of  the  United  States  has  increased  but  about  43  per  cent, 
the  consumption  of  matches  has,  it  is  estimated,  increased  nearly  150 
per  cent. 


MATCHES DIAMOND    MATCH    CO.  6647 

Matches  are  manufactured  extensively  in  Great  Britain,  Sweden, 
Denmark,  France,  Belgium,  Germany,  Austria,  Switzerland,  Russia, 
Italy,  and  Japan.  In  all  countries  substantially  the  same  ingredients 
are  used  for  the  composition  of  the  head.  The  match  stick  or  splint, 
however,  as  well  as  the  box  containing  the  match,  are  made  or  dif- 
ferent materials  in  different  countries,  depending  upon  the  materials 
available,  the  cost  of  such  materials,  and  the  requirements  and 
demands  of  the  trade.  In  the  match-producing  countries  of  conti- 
nental Europe  aspen,  from  Russia,  is  employed  almost  entirely  for 
the  stick  or  splint,  and,  up  to  the  present  time,  it  has  been  possible 
to  obtain  this  wood  at  a  low  price.  The  season  during  which  navi- 
gation is  open  and  during  which  shipments  of  aspen  logs  may  be 
made  from  Russian  ports  is  short;  furthermore,  the  wood  begins  to 
deteriorate  very  soon  after  it  has  been  cut.  For  this  reason,  and 
for  the  further  reason  that  under  existing  conditions  it  is  impossible 
to  contract  for  a  supply  for  a  number  of  years  to  come,  The  Diamond 
Match  Company  has  not  considered  it  practicable  to  buy  aspen  logs 
in  Russia  and  import  them  into  this  country,  nor  has  it  felt  justified 
in  establishing  a  plant  in  Russia  for  the  manufacture  of  match  sticks 
or  splints  to  be  shipped  into  this  country  to  be  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  matches,  it  has,  therefore,  in  the  production  of  sticks  or 
splints  adhered  to  white  pine,  which  costs  appreciably  more  than 
the  aspen  used  by  match  manufacturers  in  other  countries.  Conse- 
quently, its  foreign  competitors  operate  under  a  great  advantage 
because  of  then1  ability  to  obtain,  up  to  the  present  time,  in  a  country 
comparatively  near  by  lumber  for  match  sticks  or  splints  at  a  price 
much  less  than  that  which  match  manufacturers  in  this  country  are 
required  to  pay  for  the  white  pine  they  use.  Even  assuming,  how- 
ever, that  it  would  be  practicable  to  manufacture  or  buy  match 
splints  in  Russia  to  be  snipped  into  this  country,  a  duty  of  35  per 
cent  would  be  levied  thereon,  as  required  by  the  existing  law.  In 
addition  to  the  match  stick  or  splint,  the  more  important  materials 
employed  in  the  manufacture  of  matches  are  as  follows: 

Strawboard  or  box  board,  on  which  there  is  a  duty  at  present  of 
25  per  cent; 

Pulp  board,  on  which  there  is  a  duty  of  25  per  cent; 

Wrapping  paper,  on  which  there  is  a  duty  of  25  per  cent; 

Glue,  on  which  there  is  a  duty  of  2^  cents  per  pound  when  costing 
less  than  10  cents  per  pound,  and  25  per  cent  when  costing  more  than 
10  cents  per  pound; 

Ink,  on  which  there  is  a  duty  of  25  per  cent; 

Phosphorus,  on  which  there  is  a  duty  of  18  cents  per  pound; 

Chlorate  of  potash,  on  which  there  is  a  duty  of  2£  cents  per  pound; 

Coloring  materials,  on  which  the  duties  range  from  25  per  cent  to 
35  per  cent; 

Brimstone,  on  which  there  is  a  duty  of  $8  per  ton; 

Flint,  on  which  there  is  a  duty  of  35  per  cent; 

Whiting,  on  which  there  is  a  duty  of  one-fourth  cent  per  pound. 

The  materials  other  than  lumber  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
matches  in  the  match-producing  countries  of  continental  Europe  will 
be  found  to  cost  less  in  such  countries  than  in  the  United  States  by 
about  the  amount  of  duty  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  pay  on  such 
materials  if  imported  into  tliis  country.  In  point  of  fact,  some  of 

Tr.'.Ml— II.  Doc.  ir.on.  150-2—  V..1    (J 56 


6648  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

the  material  used  by  The  Diamond  Match  Company,  in  the  manu- 
facture of  matches,  notably  glue,  is  imported.  Scotch  or  Irish  glue 
has  been  found  to  be  more  uniform  and  greatly  superior  to  that  pro- 
duced in  this  country,  due  apparently  to  the  greater  care  used  in  the 
selection  of  the  stock  from  which  it  is  made,  and  due  also  to  the  cli- 
matic conditions  surrounding  its  manufacture. 

In  respect  to  labor,  the  average  wage  rate  in  match  factories  in  the 
countries  in  continental  Europe  is  only  about  30  per  cent  of  the  wage 
paid  in  this  country  to  the  same  class  of  operators.  In  England, 
where  the  wage  rate  is  higher  than  on  the  Continent,  there  are  over  600 
girls  employed  in  one  of  the  prominent  match  factories,  whose  average 
weekly  wage  is  9  shillings  9  pence,  whereas  the  average  weekly  wage 
rate  of  girls  paid  by  The  Diamond  Match  Company  is  about  $7.50. 
The  match  manufacturer  in  continental  Europe,  therefore,  has  advan- 
tages over  the  match  manufacturer  in  the  United  States  because  of 
his  ability  (1)  to  secure  lumber  at  a  price  materially  less  than  that 
paid  in  this  country  for  white  pine;  (2)  to  obtain  other  materials 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  matches  at  a  price  less  than  the  manufac- 
turer in  this  country  is  required  to  pay  by  about  the  amount  of  duty 
on  such  materials;  and  (3)  to  employ  labor  at  about  30  per  cent  of  the 
price  paid  in  this  country  for  the  same  class  of  labor. 

So  far  as  the  export  trade  in  matches  is  concerned,  the  volume  is 
almost  negligible;  from  time  to  time  The  Diamond  Match  Company 
has  sought  to  enter  the  field  in  South  American  countries,  and  while 
an  occasional  order  has  been  secured,  it  has  been  unable  to  make  any 
headway  or  come  anywhere  near  meeting  the  prices  of  foreign-made 
matches. 

We  have  heretofore  confined  our  remarks  to  the  conditions  sur- 
rounding the  production  of  matches  in  the  match-producing  countries 
of  continental  Europe.  In  reference  now  to  the  match  situation  in 
Japan,  we  invite  your  attention  to  a  report  of  Consul  John  H.  Snod- 
grass,  published  hi  the  Daily  Consular  and  Trade  Reports  of  November 
20,  1908,  as  follows:] 

It  is  learned  through  the  Osaka  papers  that  a  leading  Japanese  match-stick  company 
is  arranging  to  secure  capital  from  the  Swedish  match  trust.  It  is  explained  that 
Swedish  match  manufacturers,  the  principal  match  manufacturers  of  Europe,  have 
cut  down  almost  all  the  Scandinavian  trees  available  for  match  sticks,  and  that  they 
are  now  getting  a  supply  of  wood  from  Russia,  where  the  supply  is  also  falling  short. 

The  trust  formed  in  1966  by  eighteen  match  manufacturing  companies  of  Sweden 
for  the  sale  of  matches  has  been  quite  successful,  and  it  has  been  able  to  overcome 
the  Japanese  match  competition  in  India.  The  Swedish  trust,  at  the  opening  of  such 
a  brilliant  future  for  its  business,  has  begun  to  feel  anxious  regarding  the  sources  of  its 
future  supply  of  wood  for  match  sticks.  Learning  that  Japanese  match  manufacturers, 
who  have  repeatedly  failed  in  attempts  to  form  a  combination,  are  anxious  to  secure 
foreign  money,  and  also  that  there  is  an  abundant  supply  of  match -stick  wood  in  Japan, 
the  Swedish  syndicate  has  made  investigations  into  the  position  of  the  industry  in  this 
country.  Satisfied  with  the  result  of  the  investigations,  the  trust  decided  to  invest 
money  in  the  industry  in  Japan,  and  negotiations  were  entered  upon  with  several  Japa- 
nese companies.  A  proposal  was  made  that  the  Swedish  trust  should  take  half  the 
amount  of  the  capital  of  the  Japanese  match-stick  company  already  referred  to,  but 
in  view  of  the  depression  of  business  in  Japan  the  trust  hesitated  to  agree  to  the  pro- 
posal. Negotiations  for  the  combination  between  the  trust  and  the  Japanese  company 
have,  however,  again  been  opened.  If  the  combination  is  successfully  arranged,  a 
large  export  of  match  sticks  will  result,  and  in  that  case  the  price  in  Japan  will  rise  and 
the  match  industry,  which  is  already  suffering  from  the  depression  of  trade,  will  be 
reduced  to  an  even  worse  position.  Therefore,  manufacturers  outside  the  proposed 
combination  have  been  holding  comerences  to  consider  the  course  to  be  taken. 

The  leading  match  manufacturers  of  Kobe  and  Osaka  are  considering  a  proposal 
to  incorporate  the  industry  into  one  company,  and,  if  possible,  to  obtain  a  charter  to 


MATCHES DIAMOND   MATCH    CO.  6649 

monopolize  the  export  of  matches,  this  effort  having  been  brought  about  by  the  alarm- 
ing decrease  of  trade.  There  are  124  match  factories  in  Kobe  and  Osaka.  Of  this 
number  13  in  Osaka  and  17  in  Kobe  have  temporarily  suspended  operations,  the  output 
of  matches  falling  off  considerably  in  consequence.  A  local  publication  states  on 
authority  that  the  market  in  China  and  elsewhere  in  the  Far  East  for  Japanese  matches 
(large  sticks)  has  been  largely  encroached  upon  by  Swedish  and  German  matches. 
The  export  of  Japanese  matches  so  far  this  year  shows  a  decrease  of  40  per  cent,  as 
compared  with  the  corresponding  period  of  last  year,  and  the  outlook  is  considered 
almost  hopeless  unless  united  efforts  are  made  by  the  companies  to  relieve  the  situation. 
It  is  expected  that  the  amalgamation  scheme  will  come  to  a  successful  issue.  The 
total  value  of  matches  exported  from  Kobe  and  Osaka  were  as  follows  in  1906  and  1907: 
Kobe,  $4,207,413  and  $3,517,189,  respectively;  Osaka,  $1,212,932  and  $1,115,469, 
respectively. 

Up  to  this  time,  as  Mr.  Snodgrass  states,  the  match  industry  in 
Japan  has  been  disorganized,  and  apparently  but  little  capital  has 
been  available  for  the  purpose  of  developing  it  and  of  establishing 
large  plants.  Due  to  the  inferior  character  of  the  match  heretofore 
produced  there,  relatively  few  have  been  imported  into  this  country, 
and  such  small  quantities  as  have  been  imported  from  time  to  time 
have  been  unsatisfactory.  If,  however,  Swedish  capital  be  invested 
in  the  business  and  the  well-demonstrated  ability  and  skill  of  the 
Swedish  manufacturers  be  utilized  in  developing  the  match  industry 
in  Japan  and  in  manufacturing  such  types  01  matches  as  the  trade  in 
this  country  demands,  Japan  will,  by  reason  of  the  low  cost  of  labor 
and  of  the  lumber  available  for  the  manufacture  of  the  match  stick  or 
splint,  be  able  to  produce  matches  at  a  price  so  greatly  less  than  any 
other  country  that  it  could  sweep  the  markets  of  the  United  States. 
While  the  rate  of  wages  paid  in  match  factories  in  England  and  on 
the  Continent  appears  low  as  compared  with  the  wages  paid  in  this 
country,  they  appear  high  in  comparison  with  the  wages  paid  in 
Japan.  Lumber  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  matches  can  be 
obtained  in  Japan  for  greatly  less  than  the  amount  we  are  required  to 
pay  for  white  pine  in  this  country.  The  possibilities  of  the  match 
industry  in  Japan  were  so  well  appreciated  at  the  time  the  tariff  duties 
were  established  in  the  Philippine  Islands  that  the  import  duty  on 
matches  was  fixed  by  the  Philippine  government  at  a  figure  that  will 
be  found  to  be  approximately  four  times  that  now  imposed  by  the 
United  States  Government. 

If,  as  we  contend,  conditions  are  such  as  to  justify  an  advance  in 
the  present  tariff  against  the  match  manufacturers  of  continental 
Europe,  how  much  more  warrant  is  there  for  this  contention  in  the 
face  of  the  likelihood  of  the  development  of  the  match  industry  in 
Japan? 

Practically  the  only  type  of  match  imported  into  this  country  is  the 
safety  match;  it  can  be  bought  f.  o.  b.  New  York,  duty  paid,  packed 
in  zinc-lined  cases,  for  32  cents  per  gross  of  144  boxes,  each  box  con- 
taining about  60  matches.  This  is  below  the  factory  cost  (eliminating 
entirely  administrative,  selling  expenses,  and  profit)  of  a  similar  match 
made  in  this  country  of  white  pine,  in  the  same  kind  of  a  box,  con- 
taining the  same  number  of  matches  per  box,  and  packed  in  zinc  or 
tin  lined  cases.  An  advance  in  the  duty  of  from  8  cents  to  12  cents  per 
gross,  or  about  one-half  cent  per  thousand  matches,  would  not,  in  our 
judgment,  reduce  importations  nor  work  any  hardship  on  the  con- 
sumer, nor  could  it  afreet  the  price  of  parlor  and  double-dip  matches, 
which  form  95  per  cent  or  more  of  the  consumption  of  matches  in  this 
country.  We  ask,  therefore,  that  the  tariff  on  matches  be  increased 
from  8  cents  to  12  cents  per  gross  when  packed  in  boxes  containing 


l>650  SCHEDULE    N SUNDKIES. 

less  than  100  matches  per  box,  and  from  1  cent  to  1^  cents  per  1,000 
when  imported  otherwise  than  in  boxes  containing  not  more  than  100 
matches  each. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

THE  DIAMOND  MATCH  Co., 
O.  C.  BARBER,  President. 


AMMUNITION. 

[Paragraph  424.] 

VON  LENGERKE  &  DETMOLD,  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY,  THINK  THE 
DUTIES  IMPOSED  ON  AMMUNITION  PROHIBITIVE. 

349  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y., 

November  13, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  As  hearings  on  the  proposed  revision  of  the  tariff  have 
begun,  we  respectfully  submit  the  following  with  a  view  of  seeking 
redress  from  what  we  consider  unjust  and  excessive  duties  applying 
to  some  articles  in  our  line  of  business,  and  furnish  facts  and  informa- 
tion showing  why  we  call  them  unjust  and  excessive. 

We  refer-  especially  to  empty  shotgun  and  loaded  rifle  ammunition, 
and  also  to  guns,  rifles,  and  revolvers  in  general. 

The  tariff  duties  on  above  ammunition  have  been  practically  pro- 
hibitive, and  for  a  good  many  years  have  been  the  means  of  creating 
and  fostering  one  of  the  most  complete  monopolies  and  most  pow- 
erful trusts  in  this  country,  namely,  the  Ammunition  Manufacturers' 
Association,  a  combination  of  the  Union  Metallic  Cartridge  Company 
and  Winchester  Repeating  Arms  Company  and  one  or  more  smaller 
concerns  controlled  by  above.  These  factories  furnish  fully  95  per 
cent  of  all  the  ammunition  sold  and  used  in  the  United  States.  There 
is  only  one  independent  company  making  a  more  or  less  complete  line 
of  goods,  namely,  the  Peters  Cartridge  Company,  and  they  have  a 
business  understanding  with  above  and  are  obliged  to  conform 
minutely  to  prices  and  terms  of  the  manufacturers'  association. 

The  above  firms  have  for  many  years  controlled  the  various  dealers 
of  ammunition  in  this  country  absolutely  and  arbitrarily.  For  years 
the  dealers  were  forced  to  sign  "  cast-iron  "  agreements  not  to  deal 
in  any  other  makes  of  ammunition,  domestic  or  foreign,  or  to  be  cut 
off  from  the  wholesale  list  and  forfeit  rebates  which  had  accumulated 
on  sales  running  as  far  back  as  six  months.  As  the  rebates,  amount- 
ing to  about  10  per  cent,  were  in  nearly  all  cases  the  whole  profits  the 
dealers  could  figure  on,  and  as  no  other  goods  were  procurable,  im- 
porting them  being  out  of  the  question  on  account  of  the  duties,  it 
left  the  dealers  helpless  in  the  matter.  In  recent  years,  in  order  not 
to  conflict  with  the  antitrust  laws,  the  agreements  between  the  car- 
tridge trust  and  the  trade  were  somewhat  changed  in  phraseology — 
i.  e.,  calling  "  rebates  "  now  "  salaries,"  etc. 

The  duties  on  ammunition  range  from  35  to  45  per  cent  ad  valorem. 


AMMUNITION VON   LENGERKE   &  DETMOLD.  6651 

The  two  companies  owning  the  manufacturers'  association — the 
Union  Metallic  Cartridge  Company  and  the  Winchester  Repeating 
Arms  Company — turn  out  more  goods,  barring  government  ammu- 
nition, than  all  the  ammunition  factories  in  England,  Germany,  and 
France  together.  The  quality  of  the  American  goods  being  as  good 
as  any,  there  can  be  no  valid  claim  now  for  protection  on  account  of 
an  infant  industry.  The  labor-saving  machinery  used  for  the  manu- 
facture of  cartridges  is  nowhere  better  and  more  complete  than  here. 
This  enables  the  American  manufacturers  to  turn  out  goods  cheaper 
than  goods  of  equal  quality  can  be  made  in  Europe,  in  spite  of  the 
slight  difference  in  cost  of  labor.  It  has  further  enabled  the  Ameri- 
can manufacturers  to  successfully  compete  with  the  European  manu- 
facturers on  their  own  ground  at  their  own  prices  by  selling  their 
products  to  foreign  countries  at  much  cheaper  prices  than  American 
dealers  can  buy  their  products  here.  On  the  other  hand,  competition 
by  dealers  in  the  United  States  with  foreign-made  cartridges  is  im- 
possible, owing  to  the  excessively  high  duties. 

The  result  of  above  has  been  that  while  the  American  dealers  are 
forced  to  do  the  bulk  of  their  ammunition  business  at  a  promissory 
profit  of  10  per  cent  and  the  American  public  has  to  pay  from  20  to 
30  per  cent  more  than  it  ought  to,  the  American  cartridge  manu- 
facturers' monopoly  is  making  millions  of  dollars  per  annum  and  has 
turned  out  several  multimillionaires. 

We  wish  to  mention  a  couple  of  incidents  illustrating  the  injustice 
worked  out  by  excessive  tariff  and  the  practice  of  selling  American- 
made  ammunition  cheaper  to  foreign  than  to  American  trade,  and 
show  the  abuses  resulting  from  the  fact  that  American  dealers  are 
absolutely  dependent  upon  the  pleasure  of  the  excessively  protected 
and  favored  American  monopoly. 

We  are  ready  to  make  an  affidavit  that  some  years  ago  we  bought 
of  a  party  in  Canada  a  large  quantity  of  empty  shotgun  shells  which 
were  ordered  by  and  sold  to  the  Canadian  parties  by  the  above 
American  manufacturers  much  cheaper  than  we  or  other  American 
dealers  could  buy  them  at.  Freight  was  paid  on  these  goods  to 
Canada ;  the  expenses  of  having  a  man  on  the  Canadian  border  to  in^ 
tercept  these  goods  were  paid ;  return  freight  to  New  York  was  paid ; 
and  the  goods  were  sent  back  to  us  in  New  York  City.  The  Canadian 
parties  who  ordered  the  goods  made  a  commission,  and  yet  we  landed 
these  goods  back  in  New  York  at  a  net  cost  considerably  less  than  we 
OF  other  American  dealers  could  buy  them  at  from  the  discriminat- 
ing American  manufacturers.  We  believe  the  same  thing  could  be 
engineered  to-day. 

We  have  never  given  publicity  to  the  above  before,  but  business, 
economic,  or  tariff  conditions,  which  will  make  such  tactics  possible, 
are  unhealthy  and  unjustifiable.  Another  incident  is  of  a  more 
recent  date  and  concerns  bur  firm  vitally.  We  have  been  the  pioneers 
in  many  of  the  more  important  improvements  in  shotgun  ammuni- 
tion, and  were  one  of  the  first  to  load  shotgun  ammunition  for  the 
trade  in  larger  quantities.  As  soon  as  our  business  had  increased  to 
decent  proportions,  the  American  manufacturers  took  up  the  loading 
of  shotgun  ammunition  themselves.  By  simply  increasing  the  cost 
of  the  empty  shells  and  wads,  necessary  for  making  loaded  ammuni- 
tion, the  business  of  outside  loaders  has  been  choked  off  most  effectu- 
ally. 


G652  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

In  order  not  to  lose  our  identity  and  individuality  entirely  we 
liave  continued  pushing  certain  trade-marked  brands  of  shells.  The 
business  in  these  trade-marked  shells  represents  many  years  of  hard 
work  and  many  thousands  of  dollars  worth  of  advertising  on  our 
part.  Last  year  the  cartridge  trust  refused  to  further  make  our 
trade-marked  goods,  which  action  placed  us  in  a  position  to  either 
abandon  the  business  built  up  by  us  during  twenty-five  years  of 
active  business  work  or  to  have  trade-marked  goods  made  up  in 
Europe,  pay  the  excessive  protective  duty,  and  sell  them  here  at  cost 
in  order  to  keep  our  specialties  alive.  We  chose  the  latter,  which, 
owing  to  a  duty  of  45  per  cent  on  empty  shotgun  shells  and  heavy 
freight  on  account  of  goods  being  bulky,  has  proved  a  losing  ven- 
ture. This  year  the  American  makers — probably  afraid  of  the  ac- 
tion of  the  Government  in  investigating  "  trusts  " — have  a^ain  ac- 
cepted our  orders  for  our  special  goods,  in  order,  as  they  say,  to  stop 
the  importation  of  goods  for  this  market. 

We  also  wish  to  go  on  record  that  the  duties  on  shotguns,  rifles, 
and  pistols  are  excessive.  Most  of  these  goods  are  sold  cheaper  to 
European  customers  than  they  are  here.  These  goods,  owing  to 
better  machinery,  are  being  made  as  cheaply  here  as  abroad,  as 
many  thousands  of  American-made  rifles,  etc.,  are  successfully  sold  in 
Europe  in  competition  with  European-made  arms,  while  competi- 
tion with  European  goods  here  is  extremely  difficult.  Much  less 
revenue  has  been  received  by  the  Government  during  the  last  few 
years  from  duties  on  above  goods  than  formerly,  when  the  duties 
were  not  so  excessive. 

Hoping  that  the  above  will  receive  due  consideration  by  your 
committee  and  assuring  you  that  we  shall  be  pleased  to  furnish  you 
any  further  information  your  committee  may  ask  for,  we  are, 
Respectfully,  yours, 

VON  LENGERKE  &  DETMOLD. 


THE  UNION  METALLIC  CARTRIDGE  COMPANY,  BRIDGEPORT, 
CONN.,  STATES  THAT  THERE  IS  NO  MONOPOLY  IN  THE  MANU- 
FACTURE OF  AMMUNITION. 

BRIDGEPORT,  CONN.,  December  3,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  -ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  Our  attention  has  just  been  called  to  extracts  from  a 
letter  addressed  to  your  committee  by  Messrs.  Von  Lengerke  & 
Detmold,  of  New  York  City,  upon  the  subject  of  what  they  claim  to 
be  excessive  duties  on  ammunition  and  other  goods  in  their  line  of 
business.  The  said  letter  contains  so  many  incorrect  and  exaggerated 
statements  that  we  desire  to  at  once  put  before  your  committee  the 
following  facts: 

1.  Messrs.  Von  Lengerke  &  Detmold  is  a  small  firm  doing  a  retail 
business  in  firearms,  ammunition,  sporting  goods,  fishing  tackle, 
cameras,  etc.  It  has  several  foreign  agencies  for  goods  in  its  line 
and  in  self-interest  is  evidently  desiring  to  increase  its  foreign  con- 
nections and  affiliations  without  regard  to  the  effect  of  such  desire 
upon  a  large  and  important  American  industry. 


AMMUNITION — UNION    METALLIC    CARTRIDGE   CO.  6653 

2.  Present  tariff  duties  on  cartridges  are  not  prohibitory,  as  shown 
by  the  yearly  importation  for  the  past  five  years,  averaging  from 
$100,000  to  $150,000  per  annum. 

3.  There  is  no  monopoly  in  the  manufacture  or  sale  of  American 
ammunition,  neither  is  there  any  combination  or  association  of  manu- 
facturers, and  there  has  been  no  such  association  for  a  considerable 
period. 

4.  The  Union  Metallic  Cartridge  Company  has  no  connection  or 
moneyed  interest  whatsoever  in. the  Winchester  Repeating  Arms  Com- 
pany, neither  has  it  any  connection  or'  moneyed  interest  in  any  other 
manufactory  of  ammunition. 

5.  The  Union  Metallic  Cartridge  Company  has  no  business  rela- 
tions or  understandings  with  The  Peters  Cartridge  Company,  of  Cin- 
cinnati, but,  on  the  contrary,  The  Peters  Cartridge  Company  is  an 
active  competitor  and  is  not  obliged  to  conform  to  any  fixed  prices 
and  terms,  but,  being  strictly  independent,  markets  its  product  at  its 
own  prices  and  upon  its  own  terms. 

6.  There  are  at  the  present  time  in  this  country  the  following 
manufacturers  of  ammunition  between  whom,  so  far  as  we  are  in- 
formed, there  exist  no  relations  other  than  those  of  active  com- 
petitors : 

Winchester  Repeating  Arms  Company,  New  Haven,  Conn.;  The 
Peters  Cartridge  Company,  Cincinnati,  Ohio;  United  States  Car- 
tridge Company,  Lowell,  Mass.;  Western  Cartridge  Company,  East 
Alton,  111. ;  National  Cartridge  Company,  St.  Louis,  Mo. ;  Robin  Hood 
Cartridge  Company,  Swanton,  Vt. ;  The  Union  Metallic  Cartridge 
Company,  Bridgeport,  Conn. 

The  customers  of  the  Union  Metallic  Cartridge  Company  are  not 
required  to  sign  agreements  of  any  kind  or  character,  neither  have 
they  been  for  a  long  period.  The  profit  to  merchants  on  this  product 
is  arranged  by  The  Union  Metallic  Cartridge  Company  through  the 
payment  of  reasonable  commissions  at  stated  periods,  this  being  the 
popular  and  usual  method  of  marketing  trade-marked  goods  of  va- 
rious kinds,  and  the  only  method  found  whereby  merchants  are  safe- 
guarded against  ruinous  local  competition. 

7.  The  statement  that  The  Union  Metallic  Cartridge  Company  and 
the  Winchester  Repeating  Arms  Company  turn  out  more  ammuni- 
tion than  all  the  ammunition  manufacturers  of  England,  Germany, 
and  France  is  wholly  incorrect. 

8.  The   statement  that  American  manufacturers   of  ammunition 
employ  machinery  equal  in  efficiencj7  to  that  used  in  other  countries  is 
doubtless  true,  but  it  is  also  true  that  labor  in  the  United  States, 
which  enters  largely  into  the  cost  of  the  manufa-cture  of  ammunition, 
is  better  paid  by  at  least  100  per  cent  than  similar  labor  in  Europe, 
resulting  in  the  production  of  ammunition  of  the  highest  quality,  but 
at  correspondingly  greater  cost. 

9.  Foreign   ammunition   is  sold   in   Europe,   South   and   Central 
America,  and  other  countries  in  quantities  far  greater  than  is  Ameri- 
can ammunition,  the  foreign  product  being  manufactured  at  a  much 
less  cost  on  account  of  cheaper  materials  of  all  kinds,  especially  lead, 
and  of  cheaper  labor. 

10.  American  ammunition  is  sold  only  in  foreign  countries  where 
American  firearms  are  used  and  where  superior  ammunition  made  ex- 
pressly for  them  is  appreciated,  but  invariably  at  much  higher  prices 


6654  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

than  ammunition  made  in  Europe.  This  statement  is  proven  by  the 
value  of  American  ammunition  exported  to  foreign  countries  not 
exceeding  in  value  from  5  to  8  per  cent  of  that  sold  in  this  country. 
-  11.  Prices  of  American  ammunition  are  not  excessive;  neither  are 
they  unduly  enhanced  because  of  the  present  tariff,  which  fact  is 
well  known  by  those  most  familiar  with  the  line  of  manufacture. 
We  know  of  no  other  line  employing  so  large  capital  and  skill  where 
actual  returns  are  less,  without  considering  the  not  infrequent  injury 
to  life  and  property  incident  to  the  manufacture  of  explosives. 

12.  Ammunition  manufactured  by  The  Union  Metallic  Cartridge 
Company  is  sold  to  merchants  in  Canada,  and  has  been  for  a  long 
period,  at  exactly  the  same  prices  and  upon  the  same  terms  as  to  mer- 
chants in  the  United  States. 

13.  The  reference  made  to  special  brands  or  trade-marked  shotgun 
shells  covers  an  item  too  insignificant  to  mention,  except  to  say  that 
the  entire  value  of  these  goods  has  for  many  years  averaged  but  a  few 
hundred  dollars. 

14.  We  respectfully  submit  that  any  reduction  whatsoever  in  the 
tariff  on  ammunition  would  very  seriously  injure  American  manufac- 
turers of  this  commodity,  and  we  express  the  hope  that  no  change  will 
be  suggested  by  your  committee  without  full  investigation  of  what  the 
result  would  be. 

Tour's,  respectfully, 

THE  UNION  METALLIC  CARTRIDGE  COMPANY, 
WILLIAM  J.  BRUFF,  President. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  CARTRIDGE  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK  CITY, 
STATES  THAT  IT  SELLS  ITS  GOODS  INDEPENDENTLY. 

NEW  YORK,  December  3, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  We  understand  that  a  letter  has  been  presented  to  your 
committee  by  Messrs.  Von  Lengerke  &  Detmold,  of  this  city,  to  the 
effect  that  we,  as  manufacturers,  are  in  some  way  connected  with  or 
subservient  to  other  manufacturers  in  this  line,  or  to  a  so-called  asso- 
ciation, and  that  this  is  one  of  the  arguments  used  for  a  reduction  in 
the  tariff  on  goods  in  this  line. 

We  can  simply  say  in  regard  to  this  matter  that  the  United  States 
Cartridge  Company  sell  their  goods  independently  and  at  prices  that 
in  many  instances  are  more  favorable  to  the  purchaser  than  those  of 
some  other  manufacturers. 

The  cartridge  industry  is  an  important  one  to  those  interested  in  it, 
although  its  volume  is  quite  insignificant  in  comparison  with  many 
others.  However,  what  business  is  done  in  this  country  in  the  ammu- 
nition line  has  been  made  possible  only  by  means  of  a  reasonable 
tariff,  which  if  reduced  would  certainly  retard  if  not  entirely  destroy 
a  business  that  has  taken  many  years  to  build  up. 

It  is  our  earnest  hope,  therefore,  that  your  committee,  in  consider- 
ing this  subject,  will  not  give  undue  importance  to  any  of  the  state- 
ments made  by  Messrs.  Von  Lengerke  &  Detmold,  which  is  a  foreign 
firm,  or  rather  is  composed  of  Germans  whose  interests  are  profor- 


AMMUNITION.  6655 

eign,  and  who  would  evidently  like  nothing  better  than  to  see  such 
reduction  in  the  tariff  as  would  enable  them  to  .import  heavily  in  this 
line  and  become  an  important  factor,  which  they  are  not  at  the  pres- 
ent time. 

Yours,  truly,  UNITED  STATES  CARTRIDGE  Co., 

U.  T.  HUNGERFORD, 


THE  WINCHESTER  REPEATING  ARMS  COMPANY,  NEW  HAVEN, 
CONN.,  FILES  STATEMENTS  RELATIVE  TO  AMMUNITION. 

NEW  HAVEN,  CONN.,  December  3, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  G. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  understand  that  request  has  been  made  on  your 
committee  for  alteration  of  the  present  tariff  on  cartridges,  and  we 
would  respectfully  request,  in  view  of  what  we  believe  to  be  the  fair- 
ness of  the  present  tariff  schedule,  that  no  change  be  made. 

The  foreign  manufacturer  of  cartridges  is  in  a  far  better  position 
than  the  domestic  manufacturer  when  the  price  at  which  he  may 
obtain  labor  and  material  is  considered,  and  in  outlining  the  same 
we  would  respectfully  submit  the  following,  based  upon  $100  worth 
(factory  cost)  of  ammunition: 

This  $100  may  be  resolved  as  follows:  Labor,  $20;  material,  $80, 
including  lead  (33  per  cent),  $26.40;  powder  (30  per  cent),  $24; 
copper  (17  per  cent),  $13.60;  sundries  (20  per  cent),  $16. 

Of  these  factors  the  continental  manufacturer  pays  for  labor  70 
per  cent  less  than  the  American  manufacturer,  or  $6;  for  lead,  30 
per  cent  less  than  the  American  manufacturer,  or  $18.48 ;  for  powder, 
25  per  cent  less  than  the  American  manufacturer,  or  $18.  The  other 
factors,  copper  and  sundries,  the  continental  manufacturer  purchases 
on  practically  the  same  basis  as  the  American  manufacturer,  viz, 
copper,  $13.60;  sundries,  $16,  making  the  cost  to  the  continental 
manufacturer  $72.08.  To  the  cost  to  the  continental  manufacturer 
add  a  profit  of,  say,  12^  per  cent,  $9.01,  and  the  present  schedule  duty 
of  35  per  cent,  $28.38,  making  the  cost  of  the  goods,  duty  paid,  in 
New  York,  $109.47.  To  the  American  manufacturer's  factory  cost  of 
$100  add  a  profit,  as  above  allowed  the  foreign  manufacturer,  of  12^ 
per  cent,  making  the  market  cost  $112.50;  this  gives  the  continental 
manufacturer  an  advantage  of  $3.03  over  the  American  manufac- 
turer, or  a  little  over  2|  per  cent  on  the  present  basis. 

In  the  above  the  figures  for  labor  are  taken  on  the  basis  of  operative 
labor  wages  in  Berlin,  the  figures  for  lead  from  recent  quotations 
(on  this  item  the  variation  has  even  been  far  greater),  for  powder  on 
the  basis  of  black  powder,  with  which  the  larger  proportion  of  ammu- 
nition is  loaded. 

It  might  be  argued  that  the  basis  is  hardly  fair  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  foreign  ammunition  manufacturer  does  not  take  as  much 
advantage  of  automatic  labor-saving  machinery  as  does  the  domestic 
manufacturer.  This  argument,  while  it  might  have  held  a  few  years 
ago  will  not  hold  to-day,  and  that  the  figures  are  not  far  incorrect 
is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the  foreign  manufacturer  when  he 


6656  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

does  come  into  this  country  is  pleased  to  sell  his  goods  on  the  same 
or  lower  basis  than  those  of  the  domestic  manufacturer,  and  is  ap- 
parently satisfied  with  the  profit  which  he  so  obtains.  That  more 
of  these  goods  of  foreign  manufacture  do  not  reach  this  market  is  a 
matter  of  continual  surprise  to  us,  and  were  it  not  for  the  general 
belief  that  American  manufactures  in  these  lines  are  superior  to  the 
foreign  brands,  we  believe  that  larger  importations  would  result 
even  under  the  present  schedules. 
Very  respectfully, 

WINCHESTER  REPEATING  ARMS  Co., 
WINCHESTER  BENNETT, 

Second  Vice-President. 


THE  WINCHESTER  REPEATING  ARMS  CO.,  NEW  HAVEN,  CONN., 
FILES  ADDITIONAL  STATEMENT  RELATIVE  TO  AMMUNITION. 

NEW  HAVEN,  CONN.,  December  3,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

House  of  Representatives.  Washington,  D.  G. 
DEAR  SIR  :  Our  attention  has  been  called  to  a  statement  by  Messrs. 
Von  Lengerke  &  Detmold,  of  New  York  City,  filed  with  you,  we 
believe,  on  Saturday  last,  November  28,  and  in  justice  to  ourselves 
we  feel  that  we  must  bring  to  your  attention  some  glaring  inac- 
curacies in  that  statement,  which  was  doubtless  presented  as  the 
result  of  purely  personal  consideration  on  the  part  of  Messrs.  Von 
Lengerke  &  Detmold,  who  are  agents  for  and  whose  business  is  chiefly 
in  the  sale  of  foreign  materials,  including  ammunition  and  guns,  and 
who  in  their  own  advertising  (see  copy  of  their  advertisement  on  the 
rear  cover  of  the  Sportsman's  Review,  issue  of  August  8, 1908,  inclosed) 
have  publicly  announced  that  they  are  the  sole  agents  in  this  country 
for  Mauser  guns  and  pistols,  Mannlicher  guns  and  pistols,  Francotte, 
and  Knockabout  guns.  The  first  two  of  the  items  above  mentioned 
are  of  German  manufacture ;  the  Francotte  gun  being,  we  believe,  of 
French  manufacture,  and  the  Knockabout  an  English  gun.  These 
parties  have  never,  even,  as  retailers,  done  a  large  business  in  domestic 
goods,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they,  so  far  as  this  company  is  con- 
cerned, have  received  the  best  prices  which  we  accord  to  any. 

That  the  tariff  duties  on  ammunition  have  practically  prohibited 
its  importation  we  rather  doubt,  as  to  a  certain  extent  it  is  imported ; 
and  where  so  imported  comes  on  the  market  at  a  price  lower  than 
that  of  domestic  manufacture.  The  fact  that  it  is  not  largely  sold  in 
this  country  can  be  readily  explained  by  the  general  belief  that  but 
little  ammunition  of  foreign  manufacture  is  equal  in  quality  to  the 
regular  domestic  grades. 

The  Winchester  Repeating  Arms  Company  manufactures  and  dis- 
tributes its  products  entirely  independent  of  any  corporation,  firm, 
or  individual,  and  we  know  of  no  such  control  or  collusion  as  the 
statements  of  Von  Lengerke  &  Detmold  would  indicate.     We  believe 
there  are  in  this  country  some  eight  factories  manufacturing  ammu- 
nition, four  at  least  of  which  manufacture  a  very  complete  line  of 
foods;  and  to  .the  best  of  our  knowledge  these  concerns  are  all  manu- 
acturing  and  marketing  their  goods  independently  of  and  without 


AMMUNITION WINCHESTER  REPEATING  ARMS  CO.  6657 

other  than  due  competitive  regard  to  each  other.  The  goods  of  these 
various  companies  are,  we  believe,  all  sold  by  the  respective  companies 
at  more  or  less  different  prices. 

While  the  volume  of  goods  marketed  by  this  company  is  undoubt- 
edly large,  it  has  recently  been  pretty  thoroughly  demonstrated  that 
it  is  small  indeed  as  compared  to  the  output  of  European  factories; 
nor  is  it  surprising,  in  view  of  the  small  amount  of  game  remaining 
in  continental  Europe,  that  the  output  of  the  continental  factories 
is  comparatively  larger  in  militar}*-  ammunition  than  in  sporting 
ammunition. 

With  the  statement  that  labor-saving  machinery  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  cartridges  is  nowhere  better  or  more  complete  than  in  this 
country,  we  would  willingly  agree  in  general,  although  it  is  not 
always  so,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment Arsenal  at  Frankford  has  recently  gone  abroad  to  purchase 
automatic  machinery  for  loading  ammunition;  but  the  art  of  manu- 
facturing ammunition  is  very  thoroughly  developed  abroad,  and  in 
consequence  of  their  cheaper  labor  costs  (not  50  per  cent  of  the  labor 
cost  in  this  country)  the  continental  manufacturer  has  an  advantage 
for  which  no  amount  of  automatic  machinery  can  entirely  com- 
pensate. 

That  this  country  in  some  instances  markets  its  goods  in  foreign 
countries  at  a  lower  price  than  they  bring  in  this  country  is  admitted. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  many  instances  where  our  manufactures  are 
fairly  well  known  a  larger  price  is  demanded  for  them  abroad  than 
in  this  country;  and  where  the  export  prices  are  lower  than  the 
domestic  prices  it  can  invariably  be  shown  that  it  is  to  maintain  our 
identity  even  at  a  loss  in  foreign  markets,  where,  owing  to  foreign 
competition  or  unusual  import  duties,  we  would  be  completely  shut 
out  were  we  not  to  sacrifice  our  profit;  and  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  domestic  manufacturer  in  preparing  ammunition  for  foreign 
shipment  takes  advantage  of  the  drawback  customs  arrangement  and 
uses  foreign  lead,  which,  drawback  being  considered,  can  usually  be 
purchased  at  30  per  cent  below  domestic  lead. 

Competition  amongst  American  manufacturers  in  our  lines  is  ex- 
tremely keen,  so  keen  that  it  .renders  it  necessary  that  this  company 
should  not  only  employ  a  large  force  of  salesmen  and  exploiters,  but 
of  necessity  it  must  also  expend  large  sums  for  advertising  its  prod- 
uct; and  this  condition  is  not  peculiar  to  this  company  alone,  but 
similar  activity  is  noticeable  among  all  the  American  manufacturers, 
between  whom  there  is  the  stiffest  and  healthiest  kind  of  competition. 

As  to  the  undue  profit  which  it  is  claimed  the  American  manu- 
facturer has  been  making,  it  can  be  truthfully  said  that  the  net 
margin  of  profit  so  far  as  shot-shell  ammunition  is  concerned  has 
been  for  the  past  ten  years  less  than  10  per  cent :  while  if  the  whole 
line  which  they  touch  upon  is  considered  (i.  e..  shot-shell  ammunition, 
rifle  ammunition,  and  arms),  it  can  be  authoritatively  stated  that  the 
profits  to  this  company  for  the  past  three  years  have  been  less  than 
15  per  cent,  and  for  the  last  year  less  than  10  per  cent  on  net  sales — 
which  can  not  be  regarded  as  excessive  when  the  hazard  in  this  line 
is  considered.  From  this  it  will  be  plain  to  see  how  seriously  even 
the  slightest  reduction  in  tariff  upon  these  lines  would  affect  the  busi- 
ness of  this  concern  at  least.  This  concern  has  employed  for  the 


6658  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

past  two  years  on  an  average  of  5,500  people,  who  receive  wages  about 
double  those  paid  abroad  for  similar  employment. 

As  to  the  statement  concerning  the  complainants'  ability  to  pur- 
chase goods  in  Canada  at  prices  lower  than  can  be  obtained  in  this 
country,  we  would  state  that  our  prices  to  Canadian  customers  are 
identical  with  those  to  our  domestic  trade,  and  the  condition  referred 
to,  if  the  goods  mentioned  as  purchased  in  Canada  were  similar  in 
quality  to  those  regularly  on  the  market  in  this  country,  could  not 
have  obtained,  so  far  as  the  manufactures  of  this  company  are  con- 
cerned, at  any  rate,  in  the  experience  of  the  writer;  nor  do  we  believe 
that  a  similar  purchase  could  be  engineered  to-day  with  regard  to 
goods  of  any  of  the  standard  ammunition  manufacturers  of  this 
country,  who  to  the  best  of  our  knowledge  and  belief,  like  ourselves, 
make  but  one  quality  of  their  respective  brands. 

So  far  as  the  empty  paper  shot  shells  manufactured  by  this  com- 
pany are  concerned,  it  can  be  shown  that  there  has  been  no  change  in 
the  price  of  the  higher  grade  shells  (those  intended  for  use  with 
heavy  loads  of  smokeless  powder)  during  the  past  six  years,  and  the 
same  is  true  of  the  intermediate  grades  (those  intended  for  use  with 
moderate  loads  of  smokeless  powder) ;  while  the  grade  of  shells  in- 
tended for  use  with  black  powder  has  not  altered  in  price  in  more 
than  eight  years,  notwithstanding  greatly  increased  cost  of  labor  and 
material  during  that  period.  While  the  complainants  have  not 
favored  our  company  in  recent  years  with  their  business  in  empty 
paper  shot  shells,  they  could  have  purchased  such  goods  of  our  reg- 
ular manufacture  as  they  desired  from  this  company  at  no  greater 
price  than  we  charged  our  other  customers  purchasing  in  similar 
quantity. 

With  regard  to  American  arms  being  successfully  sold  in  Europe 
in  competition  with  European-made  arms,  we  would  call  your  at- 
tention to  the  fact  that  the  arms  manufactured  by  this  company  are 
marketed  in  Europe  to  but  a  limited  extent,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  foreign  market  is  flooded  with  lower  priced  arms,  such  as  are 
now  largely  imported  into  this  country.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  no 
arms  similar  to  those  manufactured  by  us  are  made  in  Europe,  which 
would  undoubtedly  account  for  our  sales,  as  in  many  instances  the 
lever-action  form  of  repeating  arm  is  preferred  by  the  user  to  the 
military  or  so-called-  bolt  system. 

What  the  volume  of  the  complainants'  business  in  loading  paper 
shot  shells  (this  seems  to  be  their  chief  cause  for  complaint)  may 
have  been  we  can  not  definitely  state ;  but  from  our  knowledge  of  the 
business  it  must  have  been  comparatively  small.  This  company  is 
to-day  loading  over  a  million  and  a  half  rounds  per  day.  That  the 
complainants  lost  this  business  is  hardly  to  be  wondered  at  when  it 
is  considered  that  for  their  hand-loaded  ammunition,  put  up  in  a 
shell  identical  to  that  regularly  made  by  and  placed  upon  the  market 
by  the  manufacturer  in  loaded  form — except  possibly  so  far  as  the 
trade-mark  is  concerned — they  attempted  to  obtain  from  $4  to  $5 
per  hundred  shells,  while  the  larger  regular  American  manufacturers 
placed  these  goods  in  the  hands  of  the  customer  at  from  $2.50  to  $2.75 
per  hundred.  In  the  infancy  of  the  shot  shell  loading  business  in  this 
country  their  customers  discovered  that  identically  the  samp  goods, 
loaded  with  the  same  powders  with  equal  accuracy,  and  perhaps  of 
superior  finish,  could  be  obtained  from  the  manufacturers  at  from 


AMMUNITION BLASTING  CAPS  AND  SAFETY  FUSE.  6659 

one-half  to  two-thirds  the  price  which  they  had  been  paying  the  com- 
plainants. Can  it  not  be  readily  understood  why  they  lost  their  trade, 
and  did  the  condition  which  caused  their  loss  of  trade  in  any  way 
work  a  hardship  on  the  American  public? 

In  closing,  and  to  explain  the  chief  cause  of  the  complainants'  posi- 
tion, we  would  again  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  they  publicly 
announce  that  they  are  sole  agents  for  a  number  of  foreign  manufac- 
turers; and  an  examination  of  their  stock  would  show  that  their 
other  lines  of  goods  of  foreign  manufacture  are  many  and  varied. 

We  believe  it  will  be  evident  to  you  that  the  complainants'  plea  is 
not  disinterested  and  is  prompted  by  purely  selfish  motives. 
Very  respectfully, 

WINCHESTER  REPEATING  ARMS  Co., 
WINCHESTER  BENNETT, 

Second  V ice-President. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

[From  Sportsmen's  Review.] 

Sole  United  States  agents  for  the  only  genuine  Mauser.  Mauser  automatic 
pistols,  $27.50  net.  Has  stood  severe  government  test  more  successfully  than 
any  other  self-loading  arm.  One  hundred  and  twenty  shots  possible  within  one 
minute.  Sighted  to  1,000  yards,  extreme  range  a  mile.  Mauser  sporting  rirles, 
7  mm.  and  8  mm.,  $45  to  $50. 

Sole  United  States  agents  for  Francotte  guns,  from  $80  to  $450  net.  Knock- 
about guns,  $GO  net ;  with  ejector,  $S5  net. 

United  States  agents:  The  Mannlicher  Schoenauer  featherweight  sporting 
rifle,  made  in  two  calibers — 6,5  m/m,  256  bore;  9  m/m,  355  bore.  Price,  6,5  and 
9  m/m  without  telescope,  $75;  price,  6,5  and  9  m/m  with  telescope,  $125.  Von 
Lengerke  &  Detmold,  349  Fifth  avenue,  near  Thirty-fourth  street,  opposite  the 
Waldorf-Astoria,  New  York  City,  N.  Y. 


BLASTING  CAPS  AND  SAFETY  FUSE. 

[Blasting  caps,  paragraph  424 ;  safety  fuse,  dutiable  according  to  the  component 

of  chief  value.] 

BRIEF  SUBMITTED  BY  J.  FRITZ  BRIND,  GENERAL  MANAGER  OF 
THE  INSOLOID  FUSE  COMPANY,  DENVER,  COLO. 

DENVER,  COLO.,  November  23,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE,  M.  C., 

Chairman  of  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  We  inclose  herewith  a  brief  statement  showing  why  the 
duty  on  blasting  caps  should  be  made  the  same  as  sporting  caps — 30 
per  cent  ad  valorem — and  safety  fuse  reduced  from  35  and  45  per 
cent  to  10  per  cent,  and  hope  your  honorable  committee  will  recognize 
the  justice  of  our  claim  by  making  the  necessary  change  in  the  pro- 
posed new  tariff  bill. 

We  may  add  for  your  information  that  A.  H.  Merritt,  of  the  Coast 
Manufacturing  and  Supply  Company,  referred  to  in  the  inclosed 


6660  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

letter  from  San  Francisco,  is  merely  a  figurehead,  being  simply  an 
employee  of  the  Ensign-Bickford  Company,  which,  as  stated  else- 
where, controls  and  owns  all  the  fuse  factories  in  this  country. 

Blasting  caps. 

"Blasting  caps  have  a  specific  duty  under  the  present  tariff  law 
(par.  424)  of  $2.36  per  1,000.  Triplex  caps,  which  are  mostly  used 
in  this  country,  can  be  bought  in  Germany  for  8  marks  ($1.90)  per 
1,000,  making  the  present  duty  thereon  125  per  cent.  In  Denver  the 
same  grade  of  domestic  cap  is  now  sold  by  the  Du  Pont  Powder  Trust 
at  $5.50,  nearly  three  times  as  much  as  the  present  price  in  Germany, 
because  there  is  no  foreign  competition  in  this  country. 

Some  time  ago  we  imported  a  lot  of  German  caps  at  the  present 
high  rate  of  duty,  but  as  soon  as  we  tried  to  market  the  goods  the 
price  of  domestic  caps  was  made  so  low  that  we  had  to  sell  at  less 
than  cost  in  order  to  get  rid  of  them. 

The  same  rate  of  duty  should  be  placed  on  mining  caps  as  on  per- 
cussion caps  used  for  sporting  purposes — 30  per  cent  ad  valorem — 
so  that  the  working  miner  could  have  the  same  benefit  as  those  who 
go  gunning  for  "  Teddy  Bears,"  and  to  such  a  fair  proposition  no 
reasonable  Member  of  Congress  could  possibly  object. 

Besides,  fulminate  of  mercury  used  in  the  manufacture  of  all  min- 
ing caps  in  this  country  is  imported  from  Canada,  at  an  ad  valorem 
rate  of  30  per  cent,  while  the  copper  used  in  most  of  the  caps  made 
abroad  is  exported  from  this  country,  and  when  brought  back  in  the 
shape  of  the  manufactured  article  is  subject  to  the  outrageous  duty 
of  125  per  cent. 

Safety  fuse. 

Safety  fuse,  with  a  gutta-percha  covering,  is  admitted  under  para- 
graph 450,  as  manufactures  of  gutta-percha  (that  article  being  the 
component  material  of  chief  value),  at  35  per  cent  ad  valorem.  Fuse. 
in  which  the  chief  value  is  cotton,  is  dutiable  at  45  per  cent  under 
paragraph  322. 

Double  tape  fuse,  the  kind  generally  used  in  this  country,  was  for 
several  years  (before  the  consolidation  of  the  four  companies  in  Cali- 
fornia went  into  effect,  and  now  controlled  by  the  Ensign-Bickford 
Company,  known  as  the  "  fuse  trust ")  shipped  into  various  points 
of  Colorado  from  San  Francisco,  at  a  net  return  to  the  manufacturer 
of  $1.75  per  1,000  feet,  and  upon  which  they,  even  then,  made  a  profit. 

The  present  price  under  the  trust,  at  the  factory,  is  more  than 
double  that  figure,  as  shown  by  the  accompanying  price  list  of  the 
Dupont  powder  trust. 

Precisely  the  same  article  is  shipped  to  Mexico  from  New  York 
at  $2.75  per  1,000  feet,  as  per  letter  of  Schaefer  Hermanos  herewith. 

In  our  opinion,  fuse  can  be  made  cheaper  in  this  country  than 
abroad,  because  of  the  improved  machinery  introduced  within  the 
last  few  years  and  the  greater  intelligence  of  the  operators,  although 
only  10  per  cent  of  those  employed  can  be  regarded  as  skilled  laborers, 
most  of  the  work  being  done  by  automatic  machinery,  very  much  the 
same  as  is  the  case  in  watch  factories,  where  most  of  the  operatives 
are  girls,  getting  as  low  as  $5  per  week. 


BLASTING   CAPS  AND   SAFETY  FUSE J.   FRITZ   BRIND. 

Then,  again,  the  materials  cost  less  than  in  Europe.  For  instance, 
cotton  in  this  country  is  a  domestic  product,  while  in  Europe  it  is 
imported. 

Inasmuch,  therefore,  as  the  fuse  trust  is  controlled  and  owned  by 
the  Ensign-Bickford  Company,  of  New  York,  and  Simsbury,  Conn., 
and  that  the  net  profits  of  the  combination  now  exceed  100  per  cent, 
the  duty  on  all  classes  of  fuse  should  be  specially  provided  for  under 
the  new  law,  and  the  rate  of  duty,  if  not  removed  altogether,  should 
be  reduced  to  at  least  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

INSOLOID  FUSE  COMPANY, 
J.  FRITZ  BRIND. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

[The  Ensign-Bickford  Company,  261  Broadway,  New  York  City.] 

SIMSBURY,  CONN.,  May  16,  1907. 
To  the  Customers  of  the  Climax  Fuse  Company. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  stockholders  of  the  Climax  Fuse  Company  hav- 
ing decided  to  dissolve  that  corporation,  the  business  is  to  be  taken 
over  by  the  Ensign-Bickford  Company,  of  Simsbury,  Conn.,  which 
has  purchased  all  the  assets  and  good  will  of  the  Climax  Fuse  Com- 
pany. 

No  change  has  been  made  in  the  management,  and  all  the  officers  of 
the  Climax  Fuse  Company  are  now  connected  with  this  company. 

The  Ensign-Bickford  Company  will  continue  to  manufacture  every 
variety  of  fuse  hitherto  made  by  the  Climax  Fuse  Company. 
Hoping  for  a  continuance  of  your  patronage, 
We  are,  very  truly, 

THE  ENSIGN-BICKFORD  COMPANY. 

Orders  sent  to  New  York  office,  261  Broadway,  or  to  Simsbury  will 
receive  prompt  attention. 

EXHIBIT  B. 

[The  Ensign-Bickford  Company,  manufacturers  of  fuse,  Simsbury,  Conn.,  Hartford 
County.  New  York  office,  261  Broadway.  Factories,  Simsbury  and  Avon.  Ralph  H. 
Ensign,  president ;  Joseph  R.  Ensign,  first  vice-president ;  Henry  S.  Chapman,  second  vice- 
president  ;  Lemuel  S.  Ellsworth,  treasurer ;  Charles  E.  Curtiss,  secretary.  Directors :  The 
officers.  ] 

AUGUST  12,  1907. 

A  joint  stock  company  organized  under  the  general  laws  of  Con- 
necticut April  26,  1907,  with  an  authorized  capital  of  $1,600,000, 
divided  into  16,000  shares  of  $100  each.  The  certificate  filed  gives 
the  following  names  as  incorporators : 

Shares. 
Ralph  H.  Ensigu,  Simsbury,  Conn 3,714 

Joseph  R.  Ensign,  Simsbury,  Conn 1,320 

Henry  S.  Chapman,  Glen  Ridge,  N.  J 2,000 

Lemuel  S.  Ellsworth,   Simsbury,   Conn 1,(!00 

Charles  E.  Curtiss,  Simsbury,  Conn.        ... 1,3(50 

Marie  Davey,  trustee,  Rouen,  France 2,069 

J.  C.  Bickford  Smith,  Red  Brook,  Cambonie,  England 1,882 

W.  N.  Bickford  Smith,  Trevarno  Helstou,  England 1,710 

Albert  H.  Merritt,  Elmhurst,  Cal 342 

Joseph  R.  Ensign,  trustee,  Simsbury,  Conn 3 

16,000 


6662 


SCHEDULE   N — SUNDRIES. 


This  corporation  succeeds  to  the  business  which  has  been  conducted 
under  style  Ensign,  Bickford  &  Co.  at  Simsbury,  Conn.,  the  business 
having  been  established  at  this  place  in  1836  under  style  Toy,  Bick- 
ford &  Co.  Mr.  Toy  died  April  2,  1887,  and  the  business  has  since 
been  conducted  by  relatives  who  were  interested  in  the  estate,  also 
William  Bickford  Smith  or  his  heirs  of  Helston,  England,  and 
Robert  S.  Davey  or  his  heirs,  of  Rouen,  France. 

Since  incorporation  the  company  has  purchased  the  fuse  business 
which  has  heretofore  been  conducted  by  the  Climax  Fuse  Company, 
with  headquarters  and  office  in  New  York  City  and  factory  at  Avon, 
Conn.  A  statement  in  detail  can  not  be  obtained.  Certificate  filed 
indicates,  and  the  treasurer  also  states,  that  the  capital  stock  is  fully 
paid. 

The  business  for  many  years  has  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
successful  in  this  vicinity,  and  has  now  been  increased  by  the  addition 
of  the  Climax  Fuse  Company,  which  company  was  owned  and  con- 
trolled by  individuals  who  were  connected  with  Ensign,  Bickford 
&  Co.  It  is  claimed  by  the  officials  and  fully  believed  by  authorities 
that  this  company  has  capital  at  command  and  universally  takes 
advantage  of  cash  discounts,  and  the  company  is  considered  entitled 
to  the  highest  credit  rating  on  the  basis  of  its  paid-in  capital. 


EXHIBIT  C. 

BERKELEY,  CAL.,  November  IS,  1907. 

Please  be  advised  that  effective  immediately  the  following  prices 
for  fuse  per  1,000  feet  will  apply: 

Fuse. 

[P.  o.  b.  San  Francisco,  Cal.] 


Grade. 

List  price. 

Grade. 

List  price. 

ATneripfln  Eagle  

$5.00 

Bear  Brand.           .             ... 

f4.30 

Tri  pie  Tape  

4.75 

Trvme  Brand  '.  

4.30 

Victor  Brand    ..     .          

4.50 

Single  Tape  .  .                                   ... 

8  85 

Double  Tape  

4.30 

Blue  Label  

8.50 

DISCOUNTS. 

Carloads  (minimum  210  cases),  10  per  cent  and  7^  per  cent. 
Lots  of  300,000  feet,  10  per  cent  and  5  per  cent. 
Lots  of  90,000  feet,  10  per  cent. 
Lots  of  30,000  feet,  7£  per  cent. 
Lots  of  G,000  feet,  5  per  cent. 
Less  than  6,000  feet,  net. 

Terms:  Sixty  days,  less  2  per  cent  for  cash  in  thirty*  days. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

E.  I.  Du  PONT  DE  NEMOURS  POWDER  Co. 

°Kow  ten  days. 


BLASTING   CAPS  AND   SAFETY  FUSE J.   FRITZ   BEIND.        6663 

EXHIBIT  D. 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  August  11^,  1907. 
Mr.  THEO.  G.  SMITH, 

Cashier,  The  First  National  Bank  of  Denver, 

Denver,  Colo. 

DEAR  SIR  :  We  have  received  your  favor  of  the  8th  instant  asking 
us  for  .information  regarding  the  C.  M.  &  S.  Co.  We  are  informed 
that  this  company  is  a  manufacturer  of  fuse,  and  the  president  is  Mr. 
A.  H.  Merritt  and  the  secretary  Robert  McGill.  The  works  are 
located  at  Berkeley,  Alameda  County,  this  State.  The  company  was 
formed  by  a  consolidation  of  the  following  fuse  companies,  namely, 
Ensign-Bickford  Company,  California  Fuse  Company,  Western 
Fuse  Company,  and  the  Metropolitan  Fuse  Company,  the  last  three 
being  California  corporations.  We  are  also  informed  that  the  rating 
of  this  concern  is  very  high  and  that  any  contracts  entered  into  by 
them  would  be  fully  carried  out,  and  amongst  the  stockholders  of 
this  company  are  some  of  the  most  prominent  stockholders  of  E.  I. 
du  Pont  de  Nemours  Powder  Company.  Altogether  the  concern  is 
very  highly  spoken  of,  and  we  have  not  heard  of  any  reason  why  the 
above  facts  should  not  be  approximately  correct. 

In  case  you  wish  us  to  get  any  further  information  of  this  com- 
pany, kindly  inform  us  and  we  will  be  only  too  glad  to  go  into  the 
matter  further. 

Yours,  truly, 

E.  L.  JACOBS,  Assistant  Cashier, 
Wells  Fargo  Nevada  National  Bank  of  /San  Francisco. 


EXHIBIT  E. 

PARRAL,  July  7,  1908. 
THE  INSOLOID  FUSE  Co.   (LTD.), 

Denver,  Colo. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  refer  to  your  favor  of  the  4th  instant.  At  the 
present  time — that  is,  rather  dull — we  are'  using  about  25  boxes 
monthly,  and  we  are  handling  only  one  grade — D.  F.  Climax  fuse. 
As  soon  as  the  mines  resume  operations,  we  expect  to  handle  con- 
siderable more  fuse;  and  as  the  money  scare  seems  to  be  over  in  the 
States,  we  expect  better  times  in  the  near  future. 

The  D.  F.  Climax  fuse  we  are  purchasing  at  $2.75  United  States 
currency,  by  1,000  feet  f.  o.  b.  New  York,  and  with  freight  and  duties 
the  case  of  6,000  feet  costs  f.  o.  b.  Parral  $39.70;  gross  weight  per 
case  118  to  120  pounds.  Net  weight,  97  to  99  pounds. 

Kindly  quote  us  on  the  different  brands  you  handle  and  send  us 
by  express  or  mail  a  roll  or  half  roll  of  each  brand,  duly  marked,  so 
we  can  make  a  test  of  each  one. 

We  believe  that  if  you  place  some  attractive  figures  before  us,  and 
your  fuse  gives  good  satisfaction,  we  will  build  a  fair  trade  between 
us.  You  may  quote  us.  if  convenient  to  you,  in  sixty  days'  time  or 
immediate  remittance  on  receipt  of  the  goods. 

Awaiting  your  advice  we  remain, 

Yours,  very  truly,  SCHAEFER  BROS. 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 57 


6664  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

GERMANIA  IMPORTING  COMPANY,  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY,  RECOM- 
MENDS DUTY  OF  TEN  PER  CENT  ON  SAFETY  FUSE. 

NEW  YORK,  December  1, 190S. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

SIR:  We  are  importers  of  safety  mining  fuse  made  in  Germany. 
This  article  has  no  special  classification  in  the  present  tariff,  but  the 
duty  on  the  various  kinds  of  mining  fuse  is  assessed  now  as  on  manu- 
factures of  cotton  45  per  cent,  or  on  manufactures  of  hemp  45  per 
cent,  or  on  manufactures  of  gutta-percha  35  per  cent. 

This  article  is  used  by  nearly  every  individual  miner  in  the  United 
States  and  paid  for  out  of  his  own  pocket. 

Mining  fuse  is  manufactured  in  the  United  States  in  four  facto- 
ries, which  are  all  owned  or  controlled  by  one  concern,  the  Ensign 
Bickford  Company,  of  Connecticut,  in  conjunction  with  the  firm  of 
E.  I.  Du  Pont  De  Nemours  Powder  Company,  of  Wilmington,  Del., 
the  so-called  "  powder  trust." 

Mining  fuse  is  manufactured  by  special  automatic  machinery  and 
requires  very  little,  if  any,  skilled  labor.  Most  articles  composing  it, 
like  cotton  yarn  and  tar,  are  products  of  the  United  States,  and  are 
as  cheap  here  as  in  England  and  Germany. 

The  manufacture  of  mining  fuse  at  prices  which  the  individual 
miners  at  present  have  to  pay  yields  extremely  large  profits,  far  in 
excess  of  average  legitimate  manufacturing  profits.  The  manufac- 
turers of  mining  fuse  sell  such  fuse  for  export  to  Canada  and  Mexico 
at  prices  much  below  the  prices  which  they  exact  in  the  United 
States. 

In  view  of  the  above  statements,  we  respectfully  ask  your  commit- 
tee to  place  the  various  kinds  of  safety  mining  fuse,  to  vrit,  hemp 
fuse,  cotton  fuse,  single-taped  fuse,  double-taped  fuse,  triple-taped 
fuse,  and  gutta-percha  fuse,  under  a  special  classification  subject  to  a 
duty  of  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 
Yours,  very  respectfully, 

GERMANIA  IMPORTING  Co., 
GEO.  STABER,  President. 


J.  H.  LAU  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  ASK  FOR  LOWER  DUTIES  ON 
SAFETY  FUSE  AND  BLASTING  CAPS. 

NEW  YORK,  December  2,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 
DEAR  SIR:  We  are  importers  of  safety  mining  fuse  and  blasting 
caps  made  in  Germany  and  in  other  countries.  Safety  mining  fuse 
has  no  special  classification  in  the  present  tariff,  but  the  various  kinds 
are  assessed  now  as  on  manufactures  of  cotton,  45  per  cent;  manu- 
factures of  hemp,  45  per  cent;  or  manufactures  of  gutta-percha,  35 
per  cent.  This  article  is  used  by  nearly  every  individual  miner  in 
the  United  States  and  paid  for  out  of  his  own  pocket.  Mining  fuse 


SAFETY   FUSE.  6665 

is  manufactured  in  the  United  States  in  four  factories,  which  are 
owned  and  controlled  by  one  concern,  the  E.  I.  du  Pont  de  Nemours 
Powder  Company,  of  Wilmington,  Del.,  the  so-called  "  powder  trust." 

This  fuse  is  manufactured  by  special  machinery  and  requires  very 
little  if  any  skilled  labor,  and  besides  most  articles  composing  it, 
like  cotton  yarn  and  tar,  are  products  of  the  United  States  and  are 
as  cheap  here  as  in  England  or  Germany.  The  manufacture  of 
mining  fuse  at  prices  which  the  individual  miners  at  present  have  to 
pay  yields  extremely  large  profits,  far  in  excess  of  the  average  legiti- 
mate manufacturing  profits. 

The  manufacturers  of  mining  fuse  in  the  United  States  sell  such 
fuse  for  export  to  Canada  and  Mexico  at  prices  much  below  the 

E  rices  they  are  asking  in  the  United  States.     In  view  of  the  above 
acts,  we  respectfully  ask  your  committee  to  place  the  various  kinds 
of  safety  mining  fuse,  hemp,  cotton,  single  tape,  double  tape,  triple 
tape,  and  gutta-percha  fuse  in  a  special  classification,  subject  to  a 
duty  of  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

With  regards  to  blasting  caps,  the  duty  we  are  now  paying  under 
the  present  tariff  is  $2.36  per  thousand,  or  virtually  125  per  cent  ad 
valorem.  These  caps  are  manufactured  in  this  country  by  two  fac- 
tories, both  of  which  are  controlled  by  the  E.  I.  du  Pont  de  Nemours 
Powder  Company,  of  Wilmington,  Del.,  the  so-called  "  powder 
trust,"  as  stated  before,  and  we  respectfully  ask  you  to  place  them  on 
the  same  footing  as  ordinary  percussion  caps,  i.  e.,  a  rate  of  duty  of 
30  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Yours,  respectfully,  J.  H.  LAU  &  Co. 


THE  NATIONAL  FUSE  AND  POWDER  CO.,  DENVER,  COLO.,  ASKS 
MAINTENANCE  OF  PRESENT  DUTIES  ON  SAFETY  FUSE. 

DENVER,  COLO.,  January  10,  1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  Under  the  present  tariff  schedule,  there  being  no 
separately  classified  duty  on  fuse,  it  is  possible  for  foreign  fuse  manu- 
facturers to  secure  a  duty  on  fuse  which  varies  from  30  per  cent  to  45 
per  cent  ad  valorem,  under  paragraphs  347,  349,  and  350,  according 
to  the  component  material  of  chief  value  used  in  its  manufacture, 
which  arrangement  is  used  as  a  basis  for  securing  a  low  duty  on  fuse. 

We  maintain  that  for  the  proper  protection  of  the  American  fuse 
industry  and  to  place  the  American  manufacturers  on  an  even  footing 
with  foreign  manufacturers  who  export  to  the  United  States,  first, 
that  there  should  be  a  separately  classified  duty  on  fuse;  second,  that 
this  duty  should  not  be  less  than  45  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

MATERIALS. 

Practically  all  the  different  materials  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
American-made  fuse  are  the  products  of  American  labor. 

Practically  all  the  different  materials  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
foreign-made  fuse  are  the  products  of  foreign  labor. 


6666 


SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 


We  offer  the  following  comparisons  of  the  prices  of  material  pre- 
vailing in  the  United  States  and  the  extremely  low  prices  of  material 
prevailing  in  Europe : 


Prices  in  Europe. 

Prices  in  United  States. 

Jute  varn  •.  . 

6J  cents  per  pound  

8  cents  per  pound 

Cotto'n  yarn  

16|  cents  per  pound  

18  cents  per  pound. 

Cotton  cloth.    (Unable  to  get  quotations 
of  similar  quality.) 
Asphalt  

$31.40  per  ton  

$23  per  ton 

Sheet  gutta-perc'ha  

38  cents  per  pound  

50  cents  per  pound. 

Glue  

85  cents  per  pound  

China  clay  
Whiting  

$6.50  per  ton  
86.20  per  ton  

$15.50  per  ton. 
$'0  40  per  ton 

Paper  

3J  cents  per  pound  

4J  cents  per  pound. 

Coal  

S4  50  per  ton 

Powder  

8.93  cents  per  pound  

17.10  cents  per  poundi 

LABOR. 

Below  we  submit  the  following  figures,  showing  the  relative  cost 
of  labor  prevailing  in  the  United  States  and  Germany,  as  ascertained 
by  our  superintendent,  L.  J.  Beemer,  who  spent  considerable  time 
in  the  largest  fuse  factory  in  the  Prussian  Empire : 

Germany :  Per  hour. 

Males   $0.  068 

Females  .  028 

United  States: 

Males   .  20 

Females  .  125 

German  fuse  makers  employ  about  80  per  cent  females  and  20  per 
cent  males.  United  States  fuse  makers  employ  about  65  per  cent 
females  and  35  per  cent  males. 

EFFECTS  OF  PRESENT  TARIFF-  SCHEDULE. 

The  cost  of  material  and  labor  in  Germany  makes  it  possible  for 
one  of  the  prominent  German  fuse  manufacturers,  whose  competition 
we  meet  with  daily,  to  quote  their  leading  brand  of  gutta-percha  fuse 
at  $1.91  per  1,000  feet  f.  o.  b.  vessels  at  foreign  point  of  shipment. 
This  price  includes  the  manufacturer's  profit,  the  freight  from  factory 
to  vessel,  and  loading  charges  on  vessel.  This  quotation  of  $1.91  is 
but  63  per  cent  of  our  actual  cost  of  manufacture,  not  taking  into 
consideration  the  cost  of  placing  the  fuse  on  the  market  and  a  reason- 
able manufacturer's  profit. 

It  also  makes  it  possible  for  fuse  importers  and  foreign  manufac- 
turers to  sell  fuse  in  the  middle  West  at  a  price  that  we  can  not  meet 
without  quoting  our  fuse  at  actual  cost. 

It  also  makes  it  possible  for  the  E.  I.  du  Pont-De  Nemours  Powder 
Company  and  Giant  Powder  Company  and  J.  Fitz  Brind  to  bring 
German-manufactured  fuse  into  Denver  for  distribution  in  the  Middle 
West  in  such  quantity  as  to  practically  equal  the  total  sales  of  Ameri- 
can-manufactured fuse  sold  in  the  Middle  West. 

In  1900  the  National  Fuse  and  Powder  Company  erected  its  plant 
at  Denver,  and  it  was  equipped  with  fuse  machinery  and  appliances 
imported  from  Germany  under  direction  of  L.  J.  Beemer,  superin- 
tendent, who  had  previously  spent  considerable  time  in  Germany  in 
the  largest  fuse  factory,  learning  the  process  of  making  gutta-percha 


SAFETY   FUSE.  6667 

fuse.  For  five  years  this  company  manufactured,  at  a  loss,  gutta- 
percha  fuse  similar  to  the  fuse  now  being  imported,  owing  to  the  dif- 
ference in  cost  of  labor  and  material,  and  finally  was  compelled  to 
discontinue  the  manufacture  of  gutta-percha  fuse  and  discard  all  of 
the  machinery  which  had  been  imported  from  Germany.  The  plant 
was  then  equipped  with  new  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  taped 
fuses,  which  command  a  lower  price  on  the  market. 

The  present  tariff  schedule  further  offers  the  foreign  manufac- 
turer a  dumping  ground  for  their  surplus  product.  One  importer's 
quotations  vary  according  to  the  price  that  can  be  obtained,  provid- 
ing that  price  is  a  trifle  lower  than  the  American  manufacturer's 
price,  thus  demoralizing  the  market  and  making  a  reasonable  profit 
impossible  for  the  American  manufacturer. 

PROFITS   OF   BUSINESS. 

Possibly  the  best  proof  we  can  offer  to  substantiate  the  above 
statements  is  the  following  fact : 

That  the  National  Fuse  and  Powder  Company,  meeting,  as  it  does, 
the  severe  competition  of  foreign  manufactured  fuse,  has  shown 
quite  a  loss  for  the  ten  years  it  has  been  in  existence,  regardless  of 
the  fact  that  the  plant  of  this  company  is  modern  in  every  way,  with 
the  latest  and  most  modern  equipment,  and  with  the  production  of  a 
fuse  equal  in  quality  with  the  foreign-made  product. 

We  feel  that  to  give  a  fair  opportunity  to  American  manufacturers 
and  labor  interests  the  duty  should  not  be  reduced,  but  that  fuse 
should  be  given  a  separate  classification  and  be  placed  upon  the  list 
at  45  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

THE  NATIONAL  FUSE  AND  POWDER  Co. 


THE  ENSIGN-BICKFORD  COMPANY,  OF  SIMSBURY,  CONN.,  FILES 
BRIEF  ADVOCATING  RETENTION  OF  THE  PRESENT  CLASSIFICA- 
TION OF  SAFETY  FUSE. 

SIMSBURY,  CONN.,  January  12,  1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Under  the  tariff  schedule  of  1897  fuse  is  not  separately 
classified,  and  the  rule  for  all  fuses,  except  what  is  known  as  gutta- 
percha  fuse,  has  been  to  class  them  under  paragraph  347,  manufac- 
tures of  which  the  component  material  of  chief  value  is  hemp  or 
other  vegetable  fiber,  by  which  the  duty  is  45  per  cent.  This  lack  of 
separate  classification  has  led  to  constant  confusion  as  to  the  proper 
section  under  which  duty  should  be  levied  and  an  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  importers  to  have  it  classified  under  sections  carrying  less 
duty.  They  have  convinced  the  custom-house  that  gutta-percha  fuse 
should  be  classified  under  paragraph  450,  the  manufactures  of  which 
the  component  material  of  chief  value  is  gutta-percha,  thus  taking 
the  duty  of  35  per  cent.  Recently  they  have  secured  a  decision  ad- 
mitting gutta-percha  fuse  under  paragraph  449,  taking  duty  of  30 
per  cent,  as  a  manufacture  whose  component  material  of  chief  value 
is  India  rubber. 


6668  SCHEDULE   N — SUNDRIES. 

Gutta-percha  fuse  is  made  in  Europe  in  a  variety  of  ways,  using 
more  or  less  gutta-percha,  so  that  one  classification  or  another  may 
be  applicable,  according  to  the  method  of  manufacture.  We  know 
of  one  prominent  brand  made  there  in  which  the  component  material 
of  chief  value  by  a  large  margin  is  cotton  yarn.  Furthermore,  Bolas, 
a  high  chemical  authority,  says  that  balata  is  "  only  a  better  quality  of 
gutta-percha,  having  identical  chemical  composition,"  and  yet  under 
the  above  Treasury  decision  it  is  used  as  a  basis  for  securing  a  less 
duty  on  fuse.  It  is  very  desirable  to  end  this  indefiniteness  and  con- 
fusion by  giving  fuse  a  separate  classification,  applying  the  same  rate 
of  duty  to  all  varieties. 

MATERIALS. 

The  principal  materials  used  in  the  manufacture  of  sa,f ety  fuse  with 
the  present  prices  for  same  in  Europe  and  the  United  States  are  as 
follows : 


Prices  in  Europe. 

Prices  in  United  States. 

Jute  yarn  

6}  cents  per  pound    

8  cents  per  pound. 

Cotton  yarn  

164  cents  per  pound  

18  cents  per  pound. 

Cotton  cloth  o  

Asphalt  

$31.  40  per  ton  

823  per  ton. 

Sheet  gutta-percha 38  cents  per  pound :  60  cents  per  pound. 

Glue 3i  cents  per  pound j  10  cents  per  pound. 


China  clay 

Whiting 

Paper 

Coal 

Powder •. — 


$6. 50  per  ton I  815.50  per  ton. 

$6. 20  per  ton !  $10. 40  per  ton. 

3|  cents  per  pound ;  4£  cents  per  pound, 

$4. 50  per  ton j  84. 65  per  ton. 

8. 93  cents  per  pound j  17. 10  cents  per  pound. 


a  Unable  to  get  quotations  of  similar  quality. 

Practically  all  the  different  materials  used  here  are  the  product 
of  American  labor. 

LABOR. 

European  fuse  makers  employ  about  20  per  cent  males  and  80  per 
cent  females;  American,  65  per  cent  males  and  35  per  cent  females. 
The  comparison  of  the  wages  paid  in  the  United  States  per  day  with 
those  paid  in  England  is  as  follows: 

United  States. 

Per  day. 

Males $1.60  to  $2.00 

Females 1.00  to    1.75 

England. 

Per  day. 

Males $0.75  to  $1.00 

Females .  37 

Wages  in  Germany  are  about  the  same  or  less. 

The  above  is  for  ordinary  labor  only.  Skilled  labor,  of  which  a 
very  considerable  amount  is  required,  we  are  obliged  to  pay  from  $2 
to  $5  per  day. 

IMPORTATIONS. 

Under  the  present  tariff  a  large  quantity  of  fuse  is  imported. 
Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  fuse  is  not  separately  classified,  there  is 
no  record  kept  by  the  customs  service  showing  the  total  amount  of 


SAFETY   FUSE ENSIGN-BICKFOKD    CO.  6669 

importation  of  fuse.  However,  we  give  below  the  principal  importers 
into  this  country,  w.th  the  amount  of  importation  as  far  as  we  have 
been  able  to  ascertain  them. 


Importerg. 


Approximate  amount  of  annual 
importation. 


Insoloid  Fuse  Co.,  J.  Fitz  Brind,  president,  Denver,  Colo. 
E.  I.  du  Pont  de  Nemours  Powder  Co.,  Wilmington,  Del.. 

Giant  Powder  Co.,  San  Francisco,  Cal 

Goodall  &  Perkins,  San  Francisco,  Cal 

Autolyte  Manufacturing  Co.,  New  York  City 

Darbyshire  &  Evans,  El  Paso,  Tex 

Burton  Powder  Co.,  Pittsburg,  Pa 

T.  H.  Lau  &  Co.,  New  York  City 


Germania  Importing  Co.,  New  York  City . 


7,500,000  feet. 
14,000,000  feet. 
Unable  to  get  figures. 
Considerable. 
Large  quantity. 
1,000,000  or  2,000,000  feet 
Large  quantity. 
Considerable. 
Do. 


Owing  to  severe  competition  with  foreign-made  fuse,  and  the  fact 
that  freight  rates  from  continental  ports  to  Denver  are  less  than  from 
Simsbury  to  Denver,  we  are  forced  at  present  to  sell  in  Colorado  dis- 
trict at  prices  very  little,  if  any,  above  cost.  Under  present  condi- 
tions the  Germans,  particularly  in  their  shipments  of  gutta-percha 
fuse  to  this  country,  are  availing  themselves  of  a  dumping  ground,  in 
very  much  the  same  way  as  we  at  times  have  found  it  convenient  to 
do  with  Mexico,  in  order  to  dispose  of  our  surplus  product  and  keep 
our  employees  steadily  at  work,  though  the  prices  at  which  we  sell 
there  are  practically  without  profit. 

PROFITS  OF  BUSINESS. 

The  profits  of  the  business  of  fuse  manufacturing  are  moderate, 
the  dividends  of  the  Ensign-Bickford  Company  being  6  per  cent  per 
annum.  The  National  Fuse  and  Powder  Company,  of  Denver,  Colo., 
in  which  this  company  has  been  interested  for  the  last  ten  years,  has 
never  paid  a  dividend,  mainly  owing  to  severe  competition  from  the 
imported  article. 

CONCLUSION. 

In  conclusion,  we  would  call  your  attention  to  the  hazardous  na- 
ture of  the  business,  which  necessarily  results  from  the  handling  of 
gunpowder.  There  have  been  numerous  explosions  in  the  history  of 
this  company  and  heavy  loss  of  life.  An  explosion  which  took  place 
three  years  ago  cost  15  lives  and  a  very  large  amount  of  money. 

With  the  constantly  increasing  cost  of  materials  and  labor  in  this 
country,  we  feel  that  to  give  a  fair  opportunity  to  American  manu- 
facturers and  labor  interests,  the  duty  should  not  be  reduced.  We 
respectfully  submit  the  above,  and  ask  that  safety  fuse  of  all  kinds 
be  given  a  separate  classification  and  placed  upon  the  list  at  45  per 
cent  ad  valorem,  as  originally  provided  under  the  Dingley  law. 

Should  it  be  desired  to  fix  maximum  and  minimum  duties  on  this 
article,  we  ask  that  the  maximum  be  45  per  cent,  as  under  the  Dingley 
law,  and  that  a  minimum  of  not  less  than  40  per  cent  may  be  made, 
applicable  only  to  such  countries  as  admit  this  same  article  to  their 
own  markets  at  no  higher  rates  of  duty. 

THE  ENSIGN-BICKFORD  Co., 
K.  H.  ENSIGN,  President. 


6670  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

THE   COAST  MANUFACTURING   AND   SUPPLY   COMPANY,   BERK- 
ELEY, CAL.,  FILES  BRIEF  RELATIVE  TO  SAFETY  FUSE. 

BERKELEY,  CAL., 

February  12,  1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  Relative  to  the  statements  made  in  printed  letter  of 
J.  Fritz  Brind,  we  have  to  say : 

1.  A.  H.  Merritt  is  not  an  employee  of  the  Ensign-Bickford  Com- 
pany, but  is  vice-president  and  general  manager  of  the  Coast  Manu- 
facturing and  Supply  Company,  of  Berkeley,  Cal. 

2.  The  Ensign-Bickford  Company  does  not  own  or  control  all  of 
the  fuse  factories  in  the  United  States.     They  do  not  own  a  majority 
of  the  stock  of  the  Coast  Manufacturing  and  Supply  Company,  of 
Berkeley,  Cal.,  which  corporation  is  controlled  by  its  own  board  of 
directors. 

3.  As  the  largest  manufacturers  of  domestic  gutta-percha  fuse, 
we  deny  that  gutta-percha  is  the  chief  article  of  value  in  so-called 
gutta-percha  fuse. 

4.  Our  books  will  show  that  double-taped  fuse  is  not  the  kind  that 
is  generally  used  in  this  country,  but  is  exceeded  in  general  use  by 
other  brands. 

5.  The  statement  that  a  profit  was  made  by  the  several  companies 
operating  previous  to  the  consolidation  is  erroneous,,  as  all  of  the 
companies  either  made  no  profit  or  lost  money  at  that  time. 

6.  The  present  price  list  is  subject  to  discounts  and  does  not  show 
on  its  face  the  true  amount  received  or  netted  by  the  manufacturers. 
The  consumer  is  supplied  by  jobbers,  who  in  turn  receive  certain 
compensation  for  their  services  as  distributers,  which  is  taken  care 
of  by  the  discounts  from  the  list  price. 

7.  The  price  on  fuse  shipped  to  foreign  countries  should  not  be 
considered,  as  it  is  sold  wherever  possible  and  at  whatever  prices  the 
manufacturer  is  able  to  get,  owing  to  foreign  competition,  and  to 
serve  as  a  dumping  ground  for  our  surplus,  in  order  to  increase  the 
output  of  our  plants  and  keep  our  employees  steadily  at  work. 

8.  The  statement  that  fuse  can  be  made  cheaper  in  this  country 
than  in  foreign  countries  is  decidedly  erroneous,  as  accompanying 
comparison  of  prices  of  materials  and  wages  will  show. 

9.  The  statement  that  female  help  receive  as  low  as  $5  per  week 
is  also  erroneous  and  misleading,  as  accompanying  statement  will 
show. 

10.  The  statement  that  there  is  now  a  profit  of  100  per  cent  is  also 
erroneous,  as  will  be  pointed  out  in  accompanying  brief. 

11.  We  contend  that  it  is  no  crime,  nor  does  it  follow  that  because 
the  manufacturers  of  fuse  have  good  reputations  and  business  stand- 
ing any  inference  should  be  drawn  against  them. 

The  tariff  schedule  of  1897  does  not  give  separate  classification  for 
fuse,  and  we  understand  from  interviews  with  the  customs  appraisers 
at  New  York  City  that  the  rule  has  been  to  apply  paragraph  347  on 
fuses  the  chief  component  part  of  which  is  hemp  or  other  vegetable 
fiber.  The  duty  thereon  is  45  per  cent. 

The  customs  officials  also  stated  that  where  the  chief  component 
part  of  fuse  is  gutta-percha  they  apply  the  classification  of  para- 


SAFETY   FUSE— COAST    MFG.    AND   SUPPLY   CO. 


6671 


graph  450,  taking  a  duty  of  35  per  cent.  We  have  also  been  informed 
that  recently  there  has  been  gutta-percha  fuse  admitted  under  para- 
graph 449,  claiming  that  india  rubber  or  balata  was  the  article  of 
chief  value. 

This  method  of  classification  has  been  so  unsatisfactory  that  it 
has  caused  considerable  confusion  and  dissatisfaction,  and  we  have 
applied  to  the  customs  officials  for  information  and  relief  several 
times.  Their  replies  to  our  contentions  were  always  that  they  based 
their  appraisals  on  the  chief  article  of  value  used  in  its  manufacture. 
They  also  stated  that  an  analysis  was  made  of  the  gutta-percha  cov- 
ering on  each  shipment.  We  have  been  informed  that  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  accurately  analyze  vegetable  compounds,  and  therefore  do  not 
believe  that  the  result  has  been  properly  arrived  at. 

Further,  we  contended  that  the  appraisers  did  not  value  the  gutta- 
percha  at  a  proper  figure.  There  are  a  great  many  grades  of  gutta- 
percha,  ranging  in  price  from  7  cents  to  $1.25  per  pound,  and  the 
quality  used  by  the  fuse  manufacturers  is  of  the  cheapest  grades.  We 
might  state  here  that  we  have  used  carloads  of  the  10  cents  per 
pound  grade  in  connection  with  balata  and  other  ingredients,  and 
from  years  of  experience  in  this  line  our  coatings  are  superior  to 
the  imported  article. 

One  grade  of  fuse  imported  is,  of  our  knowledge,  composed  of  a 
majority  of  cotton  yarns,  and,  as  far  as  we  know,  no  particular  notice 
was  taken  of  that  fact,  the  basis  of  duty  being  as  others,  viz,  the 
gutta-percha  covering. 

MATERIALS  USED  IN  FUSE   MANUFACTURE. 

We  give  the  following  comparative  figures  on  the  value  of  mate- 
rials used  in  the  manufacture  of  fuse  in  the  United  States  and  in 
Europe.  These  prices  are  as  near  as  we  are  able  to  get  at  the  present 
time,  and  the  prices  given  for  the  United  States  are  the  actual  prices 
we  are  now  paying.  We  would  also  like  to  add  that  at  the  present 
time  we  are  buying  materials  at  a  very  low  figure  compared  with 
the  prices  of  these  materials  during  the  past  five  years. 


Prices  in  United  States. 

Prices  in  Europe. 

Cotton  varns  of  different  grades  

16  to  20  cents  per  pound  

18  cents  per  pound 

Cotton  cloths  ....           

3r7B  to  5  cents  per  pound.... 

J  ute  varns  .  

10i  to  11  cents  per  pound... 

figures. 
8  cents  per  pound 

California  asphaltum  
Powder            .              ...                      

$16.20  per  ton  
80.189  per  pound 

$23  per  ton. 
$0  089  per  pound 

Crude  gutta-percha  

10  to  2°2£  cents  per  pound... 

No  figures 

Sheet  gutta-percha  

50  to  22j  cents  per  pound  ... 

38  cents  per  pound. 

China  clay  
Glue  
Paper  

815.50  per  ton  
10  cents  per  pound  
6  cents  per  pound 

86.50  per  ton. 
3J-  cents  per  pound. 
Do 

Coal  

Whiting  

$10.25  per  ton  
$20  per  ton  

$4.25  per  ton. 
S6.20  per  ton. 

A  glance  at  the  above  comparative  prices  of  materials  will  show 
that  American  labor  has  its  part  in  the  difference  in  prices,  also  that 
several  of  the  higher-priced  materials  used  are  properly  protected 
by  duty.  An  example  is  jute  yarns.  The  duty  on  jute  yarns  is  35 
per  cent,  and  it  is  one  of  our  chief  materials  in  the  manufacture  of 
fuse,  yet  the  duty  on  the  manufactured  article  (fuse)  made  up  of 
those  materials  is  the  same  as  on  the  material  itself. 


6672  SCHEDULE    N— SUNDRIES. 

The  labor  qiestion  is  one  of  the  chief  questions  to  be  taken  into 
consideration,  as  the  difference  between  foreign  wages  and  the  wages 
paid  here  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  high  cost  of  production  here. 

EUROPEAN   LABOR. 

A  statement  made  by  a  prominent  European  fuse  manufacturer  last 
October  to  us  is  our  authority  for  the  following  schedule : 

Superintendents  and  foremen $65.00  to  $80.00  per  month. 

Male  operatives .75  to      1.00  per  day. 

Female   operatives .24  to        .37  per  day. 

In  European  fuse  factories  there  is  an  average  of  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  20  per  cent  males  to  80  per  cent  females. 

AMERICAN    LABOR. 

Superintendents  and  foremen $100.00  to  $175.00  per  month. 

Machinists 2.75  to        4.10  per  day. 

Operatives,  male . 1.35  to        2.50  per  day. 

Operatives,  female 1.35  to        1.75  per  day. 

In  our  plants  the  average  help  employed  is  72  per  cent  males  and 
28  per  cent  females. 

IMPORTATION    OF   FOREIGN   FUSE. 

We  have  no  source  of  information  whereby  we  can  give  an  estimate 
of  the  amount  imported.  Application  to  the  customs  officials  gives 
no  relief  as  no  vrecord  seems  to  be  kept,  and  also  from  the  fact  that 
fuse  is  brought  into  this  country  at  so  many  different  ports  of  entry. 

COMPETITION  BY  FOREIGN  FUSE. 

We  are  constantly  harrassed  by  the  competition  of  foreign  fuse  in 
several  localities,  particularly  in  Colorado,  Utah,  Arizona,  Nevada, 
California,  Oregon,  Idaho,  and  Montana.  This  competition  has  made 
itself  felt  in  our  sales  and  reduced  our  profits  to  a  ridiculously  small 
margin.  In  order  to  hold  our  trade,  especially  in  Colorado,  we  have 
been  forced  to  sell  at  almost  cost.  Particularly  in  Colorado,  for  the 
reason  that  the  freight  rates  from  Europe  to  Denver  have  been  less 
than  one-half  the  rate  from  San  Francisco  to  Denver.  We  believe 
that  our  efforts  with  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  have 
brought  about  some  little  relief,  but  the  rate  is  still  in  favor  of  the 
European. 

It  is  very  evident  that  the  German  manufacturers  are  using  this 
country  as  the  dumping  ground  for  their  surplus  output.  We  freely 
admit  that  we  have  been  forced  to  sell  our  goods  in  foreign  countries 
at  cost  price  in  order  to  keep  our  factories  running  and  our  labor  con- 
stantly employed,  whereas  if  we  had  sufficient  protection  in  the  mat- 
ter of  duties  and  freight  rates  to  give  American  fuse  manufacturers 
the  benefit  of  all  the  American  trade,  we  would  find  that  we  would  be 
kept  busy  supplying  our  own  trade  and  not  having  to  sell  at  cost  in 
foreign  countries. 


SAFETY  FUSE — COAST   MFG.   AND   SUPPLY   CO.  6673 

We  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  the  profits  of  the  fuse  business  is 
far  below  TOhat  is  justified  by  the  nature  of  the  business.  We  are 
engaged  in  a  dangerous  business  and  are  constantly  in  danger  of 
explosions  and  unable  to  insure  our  plants  against  such  explosions. 
Consequently  when  an  explosion  occurs  we  are  forced  to  stand  the 
loss  out  of  our  pockets. 

In  November,  1906,  an  explosion  occurred  which  wrecked  over 
half  the  plant.  No  lives  were  lost,  fortunately,  but  the  loss  of  the 
plant  meant  thousands  of  dollars. 

Other  explosions  have  occurred  at  various  plants  in  the  United 
States  at  different  times,  all  of  which  were  very  costly,  and  a  num- 
ber of  lives  were  lost. 

The  prices  at  which  our  fuse  is  sold  are  reasonable,  as  we  desire 
them  to  be ;  and  if  we  were  able  to  sell  our  product  at  the  list  prices 
now  in  effect  without  having  to  meet  foreign  competition,  our  profits 
would  be  very  reasonable,  and  the  consumers  are  satisfied  with  the 
prices  charged. 

The  profits  of  this  company  have  been  cut  down  during  the  past 
years  from  6  per  cent  in  former  years  to  only  3  per  cent  during  the 
year  1908,  and  is  directly  traceable  to  the  effect  of  foreign  com- 
petition, 

In  conclusion,  we  would  direct  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
request  for  a  reduction  in  duty  comes  from  the  class  of  people  who 
make  their  profits  by  commission  on  handling  goods  and  not  from 
any  complaint  from  the  consumers  that  our  prices  are  too  high. 
These  people  are  not  employers  of  labor  and  dp  not  buy  any  mate- 
rials or  put  any  money  into  circulation  in  this  country,  but  send 
their  money  to  purchase  foreign  goods  and  support  cheap  foreign 
labor  in  competition  with  American  labor. 

The  tendency  of  the  market  during  the  past  few  years  on  all  ma- 
terials used  in  the  manufacture  of  safety  fuse  had  been  to  advance, 
and  this,  together  with  the  advance  in  the  wages  of  labor,  brings  us 
to  believe  that  we  should  receive  an  adequate  protection  on  our  inter- 
ests to  the  exclusion  of  foreign  goods. 

Particular  attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  the  fuse  business  is  a 
very  peculiar  one,  unlike  any  other  business  that  we  know  of,  in  the 
fact  that  our  product  is  bought  only  by  a  limited  number  of  industries 
who  use  explosives,  such  as  mines,  quarries,  and  railroad  contractors. 
It  is  not  an  article  that  can  be  sold  indiscriminately  or  in  any  other 
quantities  than  can  be  used.  It  can  not  be  forced  on  anyone  by  clever 
salesmen  or  pushing  business  tactics,  but  the  sales  are  dependent  on 
the  general  conditions  of  the  country  and  prices  of  metals.  A  strik- 
ing example  is  the  period  of  financial  depression  through  which  this 
country  has  passed.  During  the  so-called  "  panic  "  the  price  of  cop- 
per dropped  so  low  that  nearly  all  of  the  large  copper  mines  closed 
down,  with  the  result  that  our  business  dropped  off  between  60  per 
cent  arid  70  per  cent  below  normal.  From  this  can  be  seen  that  the 
fuse  business  can  stand  no  foreign  competition  and  live.  If  the  duty 
should  be  lowered,  it  would  be  but  a  matter  of  a  short  time  before  all 
the  fuse  plants  in  the  United  States  would  be  closed  down  and  go  out 
of  business. 


6674  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

We  believe  that  the  best  interests  of  all  concerned  would  be  sub- 
served by  giving  fuse  a  separate  classification,  and  instead  of  reduc- 
ing the  duty  to  make  a  specific  duty  of  $1  per  1,000  feet  on  all  kinds 
and  grades  of  fuse. 

We  believe  that  a  specific  duty  is  the  proper  method  of  handling 
the  matter,  as  with  the  low  cost  in  Germany  on  an  ad  valorem  basis, 
it  gives  a  chance  for  juggling  with  invoices. 

We  submit  the  above  facts  and  explanations  to  your  committee 
with  a  belief  that  you  will,  after  going  over  the  matter,  accept  the 
facts  as  outlined  by  the  manufacturers  of  the  products  in  question 
and  give  the  relief  asked  for,  to  protect  an  American  industry  and 
American  labor. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

COAST  MANUFACTURING  AND  SUPPLY  COMPANY. 


FEATHERS  A^D  FLOWERS. 

[Paragraph  425.] 

STATEMENT  MADE  BY  JACOB  DE  JONG,  REPRESENTING  THE  NEW 
YORK  FLOWER  AND  FEATHER  COMPANY,  OF  207  WOOSTER 
STREET,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

SATURDAY,  November  %8\  1908. 

Mr.  DE  JONG.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  the  industry  which 
we  represent  is  one  that  is  peculiarly  subject  to  tariff  provisions;  and 
it  is  hardly  possible  for  us  to  put  the  matter  before  you  in  an  in- 
telligent manner  with  a  view  to  your  acting  upon  it  in  the  short  time 
that  we  are  allowed. 

Artificial  flowers  and  fancy  feathers  represent  an  industry  of  about 
$20,000,000.  They  are  imported  to  the  extent  of  over  $6,300,000.  The 
duty  paid  upon  them  is  over  $3,000.000.  The  advance  we  ask  you  to 
place  upon  this  article  is  from  50  to  70  per  cent.  We  can  prove  to 
you  that  this  will  increase  the  revenues  of  the  Government  over 
$1,000,000 — enough  to  pay  the  salaries  of  this  committee,  including 
their  overtime. 

The  industry  that  we  represent,  Mr.  Chairman,  is  particularly 
adapted  to  an  increase  in  the  tariff,  because  it  is  an  article  of  luxury, 
and  the  wages  paid  in  this  country  as  compared  with  those  in  Europe 
are  double.  The  materials  used  in  the  industry  pay  an  average  duty 
of  50  per  cent.  Under  the  operation  of  the  present  bill,  under  which 
we  labor,  the  importations  have  increased  from  $2,800.000  to  $6,400,- 
000.  And  this,  in  spite  of  the  energy,  enterprise,  courage,  and  deter- 
mination of  the  domestic  manufacturers  to  create  an  American  indus- 
try which  is  entirely  new  in  this  country,  and  requires  great  skill 
and  dexterity.  We  must  train  a  new  force  of  laborers  in  the  United 
States  and  make  them  perfect  in  a  class  of  industry  in  which  for 
generations  past  the  workers  of  Europe  have  been  trained  to  a  degree 
of  perfection  that  makes  American  competition  almost  impossible. 

But  in  spite  of  these  facts  we  are  to-day  producing  nearly  50  per 
cent  of  the  artificial  flowers  and  fancy  feathers  of  the  United  States. 
The  manufacturers  work  on  a  very  small  basis,  and  only  the  fact  that 
we  have  a  high  tariff  makes  it  possible  to  compete  with  foreign  manu- 


FEATHERS  AND  FLOWERS.  6675 

facturers  on  this  article.  A  high  tariff  makes  it  possible  to  pay  the 
American  laborers,  chiefly  girls,  an  average  of  from  $8  to  $9  a  week 
in  an  industry  that  does  not  take  away  one  single  hand  from  any  other 
industry  in  the  United  States. 

We  therefore  ask  you  to  fairly  consider  the  question  of  artificial 
flowers  and  feathers.  And  if  my  time  is  to  be  limited,  in  order  to 
present  the  case  properly  before  your  committee  I  am  willing  to  ap- 
pear again  Monday  week  if  you  think  it  is  necessary. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  No ;  we  do  not  think  it  is  necessary.     File  a  brief. 

Mr.  DE  JONG.  We  will  also  file  a  brief;  and  we  would  ask  you,  in 
considering  that  we  ask  for  something  which  may  seem  to  you  ex- 
treme as  far  as  a  tariff  for  protection  is  concerned,  to  bear  in  mind 
the  fact  that  we  labor  under  greater  difficulties  than  any  other  indus- 
try of  this  character.  I  wish  to  impress  upon  you  the  fact  that  the 
tariff  existing  in  Europe  between  continental  countries,  where  the 
tariff  is  only  for  revenue,  is  larger  than  the  tariff  placed  upon  the 
same  articles  that  are  imported  into  the  United  States. 


FRANK  A.  HALL,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  THINKS  DUTY  ON  CRUDE 
FEATHERS  AND  DOWN  SHOULD  BE  REMOVED. 

NEW  YORK,  November  *30, 1908. 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

DEAR  SIR  :  As  a  wholesale  manufacturer  of  feather  pillows,  I  would 
like  to  call  the  attention  of  your  committee  to  the  present  duty  of  15 
per  cent  on  crude  feathers  and  down.  To  enable  the  manufacturers 
of  the  Eastern  States  to  compete  with  the  western  manufacturers,  this 
duty  should  be  removed. 

The  source  of  supply  in  this  country  of  feathers  for  use  in  pillows 
is  the  Middle  States.  The  pillow  manufacturers  situated  .there  are 
able  to  .^et  their  raw  material  direct  from  the  farms,  and  so  save  all 
commissions,  middlemen's  profits,  and  freight  charges.  The  eastern 
manufacturer  has  to  pay  a  collector  for  gathering  the  feathers,  also 
freight  to  the  East,  thereby  being  put  to  a  great  disadvantage,  and  the 
present  duty  of  15  per  cent  makes  foreign  feathers  prohibitive.  The 
removal  of  this  duty  would  not  affect  the- western  manufacturer  on 
account  of  the  advantages  he  now  has  of  situation  and  the  saving  of 
freight  and  commissions.  Neither  are  there  enough  feathers  of  the 
higher  grades  produced  in  this  country  to  meet  the  demand;  the 
result  being  high  prices. 

Many  of  the  foreign  grades  are  not  and  can  not  be  duplicated  in 
this  country  on  account  of  the  difference  in  the  birds  producing  the 
feathers  and  the  difference  in  climate  where  the  birds  are  raised. 
China,  Japan,  and  Siberia  export  large  quantities  of  feathers  and 
down  that  are  peculiar  to  those  countries  alone  and  can  not  be  dupli- 
cated elsewhere. 

1  trust  that  you  will  give  this  matter  your  consideration,  and  would 
be  pleased  to  give  any  further  information  or  send  any  samples  that 
you  may  desire. 

Yours,  very  truly,  FRANK  A.  HALL. 


6676  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

PHILADELPHIA  MANUFACTURERS  OF  ARTIFICIAL  FLOWERS  AND 
FANCY  FEATHERS  ASK  AN  INCREASE  OF  DUTY. 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  December  1, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  "W  *  YS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  We,  the  Associated  Manufacturers  of  Artificial 
Flowers  and  Fancy  Feathers  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  ask  for  an 
increase  in  import  duty  on  said  artificial  flowers  and  fancy  feathers 
for  many  reasons : 

I.  The  European  manufacturer  can  at  the  present  time  operate 
more  cheaply  than  the  American  manufacturer. 

(A)  Because  the  scale  of  wages  in  Europe  is  much  lower,     (a) 
It  is  in  proportion  to  dollars  to  marks,     (b)  A  comparison  of  wages 
between  France,  Germany,  and  Austria,  and  the  United  States  is  in 
favor  of  the  former  countries,     (aa)  This  comparison  may  be  ap- 
plied not  only  to  hands,  but  also  to  rents  and  general  running  ex- 
penses with  the  same  result,     (c)  There  has  been  a  steady  increase 
in  the  scale  of  wages  in  the  United  States  in  all  lines.     With  the 
first   return   of   increased   activity   this  will  operate   still   further, 
meaning  an  increase  in  the  cost  of  manufacturing  domestic  goods. 

(B)  (a)  The   foreign   manufacturer   can   specialize.     He   either 
makes  flowers  or  feathers,  not  both.     He  gets  his  orders  far  in  ad- 
vance of  the  domestic  maker  and  fills  in  his  dull  season  with  orders 
for  the  United  States.    This  enables  him  to  operate  his  plant  the 
whole  year  to  full  capacity,  giving  steady  employment,     (b)  On  the 
other  hand  the  domestic  manufacturer  must  make  both  flowers  and 
feathers  to  keep  his  plant  running  or  remain  idle  part  of  the  time 
at  the  risk  of  losing  his  organization. 

(C)  The  price  of  the  domestic  article  is  governed  largely  by  the 
price  of  the  imported  and  by  the  stock  of  the  imported  goods  on  the 
market    (bought  long  before  the  domestic  manufacturer  gets  his 
orders).    Even  with  a  50  per  cent  duty  the  foreign  manufacturer  is 
able  to  successfully  undersell  the  domestic  manufacturer  in  a  good 
many  cases;  hence  the  latter  is  forced  to  sell  his  product  at  a  very 
close  margin.    Then,  why  lower  the  duty  and  make  it  still  easier  for 
the  foreign  manufacturer?     Why  not  raise  the  duty  and  make  it 
easier  for  the  domestic  manufacturer? 

II.  There  are  many  items  which  domestic  manufacturers  are  un- 
able now  to  produce  at  all. 

(A^  With  a  raise  in  duty  we  could  make  these  articles. 
(IB)  With  a  reduction  in  duty  there  would  be  many  more  items 
which  could  not  profitably  be  produced. 

III.  The  increased  importation  shown  by  statistics  and  the  in- 
creased competition  with  the  foreign  manufacturers  has  driven  out 
specialty  houses  in  the  flower  line. 

(A)  Some  years  ago  fruits,  foliages,  and  some  other  articles  were 
made  by  specialty  houses. 

(B)  The  cheap  foreign  manufacturers  specialize  in  these  lines  and 
have  driven  these  people  from  the  business. 

IV.  (A)  A  reduction  of  duty  would  only  lower  prices  and  mean 
fiercer  competition  between  the  domestic  manufacturers  themselves, 
as  well  as  between  them  and  the  foreign  man.     This  would  result 
in  a  destruction  of  the  industry  and  a  general  lowering  of  the  wages. 


FEATHERS  AND  FLOWERS JACOB   HENLY. 


0077 


(B)  If  the  duty  on  cases  and  cartons  only  were  lowered  it  would 
mean  a  reduction  of  at  least  6  per  cent  in  the  schedule.    The  Amer- 
ican manufacturer  can  not  afford  this. 

(C)  That  the  industry  at  the  present  time  does  not  pay  exorbitant 
profits  is  shown  by  the  "fact  that  no  one  man  has  grown  enormously 
wealthy  in  it. 

V.  (A)  Cotton  goods,  silk  goods,  velvets,  etc.,  used  for  flower 
manufacturing  purposes  pay  a  duty  at  least  as  heavy  as  the  imported 
made  flowers,  and  in  some  cases  even  more;  hence  the  raw  materials 
cost  more  duty  than  the  domestic  finished  product  received  protection. 

(B)  Statistics  show  that  from  1890  to  1905  the  value  of  the  prod- 
uct, the  number  of  establishments,  the  amount  of  wages  paid,  and'the 
number  of  persons  employed  has  steadily  decreased,  showing  that  the 
protection  given  this  industry  is  not  sufficient. 

(a)  Extract  from  Census  of  Manufacturers,  1905. 
[Bull.  57,  p.  276,  Table  84.     Published  by  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor.] 


Tear. 

Number  of 
establish- 
ments. 

Capital. 

Hands. 

Output. 

1890 

251 

$3,081,828 

6,357 

$9,078,683 

1900.            

224 

3,632,789 

5,331 

6,293,235 

1905  

218 

2,567,648 

4,343 

5,246,822 

(C)  Since  1905  the  domestic  business  has  shared  in  the  general 
prosperity  of  the  country,  but  it  has  not  increased  in  any  proportion 
to  the  foreign-importation  business,  (a)  To  make  a  fair  comparison 
between  the  two,  the  duty,  the  expense  of  importation  (freight 
charges,  marine  insurance,  etc.),  and  a  profit  should  be  added  to  the 
totals  of  merchandise  imported,  as  shown  by  the  custom-house  entry. 
This  brings  the  total  sales  of  imported  goods  to  over  twice  that  of  the 
domestic  goods,  (b)  From  the  above  statistics,  a  liberal  estimate- 
shows  that  all  the  domestic  manufacturers  together  do  not  turn  out 
more  than  $5,000,000  worth  of  merchandise. 


Year  ending  June  80  — 

Feathers,  flow- 
ers, fruits, 
grasses,  leaves. 

Feathers, 
downs,  manu- 
factured and 
finished  birds. 

Total. 

1905                    

$2,402,539 

$1  772  880 

$4,174.919 

1SXJ6        

3,747,021 

2,648,212 

6,395,238 

NOTE. — This  refers  to  artificial  flowers  and  fancy  feathers,  exclusive  of  os- 
trich feathers. 

Goods  imported,  1908 $6,395,233.00 

60  per  cent  duty 3,197,616.50 

40  per  cent  expense,  commissions,  profit 2,  558,  073.  20 


Actual   sales 12,  550,  922.  70 

Estimate  of  domestic  output 5,000,000.00 

The  above  shows  that  the  imported  sales  amount  to  150  per  cent  of 
the  domestic  sales. 

We  respectfully  submit  the  above  statement  of  facts  and  argument 
on  behalf  of  The  Associated  Flower  and  Feather  Manufacturers  of 
Philadelphia. 

JACOB  HENLY, 
For  Associated  Manufacturers  of  Artificial  Flowers 

and  Fancy  Feathers  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia. 


6678  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

STATEMENT  MADE  BY  PETER  ZUCKER,  OF  45  BROADWAY,  NEW 

YORK     CITY,     REPRESENTING    IMPORTERS     OF    MILLINERY 

FLOWERS  AND  FEATHERS. 

SATURDAY,  December  1%,  1908. 

(The  witness  was  sworn  by  the  chairman.) 

Mr.  ZUCKEE.  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  I  am  only 
an  attorney,  and  appear  for  my  clients. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Well,  I  suppose  an  attorney  can  tell  the  truth  as 
well  as  anybody  else. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  He  has  been  known  to  do  that,  I  think. 

I.  appear  on  behalf  of  the  importers — millinery  importers — of  the 
city  of  New  York,  and  I  will  say  that  I  speak  for  the  eastern  im- 
porters generally,  for  the  Millinery  Jobbers'  Association,  with  head- 
quarters at  Chicago,  covering,  I  understand,  the  entire  western  terri- 
tory, and  for  the  larger  manufacturers  of  flowers  and  feathers  of  the 
city  of  New  York. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  paragraph  are  you  speaking  upon  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Paragraph  425.  That  is  the  only  paragraph  that  I 
wish  to  speak  upon  this  morning. 

I  have  said  to  you  that  I  desire  leave  to  file  a  brief,  which  I  will  do 
as  expeditiously  as  possible,  on  quite  a  few  other  paragraphs,  and 
the  reason  I  can  not  speak  on  that  is  that  it  will  require  expert  testi- 
mony, and  those  paragraphs  being  matters  of  classification  and  the 
information  not  yet  having  been  furnished  me,  I  will  have  it  in  a 
few  days  and  will  send  in  my  brief  as  rapidly  as  possible.  I  refer 
now  to  the  latter  part  of  paragraph  425,  which  fixes  a  duty  of  50  per 
cent  ad  valorem  on  artificial  flowers  and  artificial  feathers — or, 
rather,  feathers  when  dressed,  colored,  or  otherwise  advanced  or 
manufactured  in  any  manner.  The  reason  I  am  addressing  you  as  to 
that  is  that  certain  manufacturers  of  the  city  of  New  York  some  time 
ago,  some  few  days  ago,  appeared  and  urged  a  change  in  this  para- 
graph from  50  per  cent  ad  valorem  to,  I  believe,  70  per  cent  ad  valo- 
rem. And  on  behalf  of  the  associations  and  the  people  I  represent 
I  am  here  to  oppose  any  increase  and  to  suggest  that  we  desire  that 
the  paragraph  shall  stand  as  it  is.  I  will  briefly  give  my  reasons  and 
my  clients'  reasons  therefor. 

The  first  reason  is  this:  The  manufacturers  that  asked  for  this 
increase  are  manufacturers  of  the  very  cheapest  grade  of  flowers. 
Looking  over  the  list  of  those  who  have  associated  themselves  for  this 
purpose  I  find  that,  as  far  as  I  can  make  out,  about  90  per  cent  of 
this  entire  list  are  located  on  the  east  side  of  New  York  City,  and 
are  perhaps  95  per  cent  Greeks,  Italians,  and  French.  Whether  these 
people  are  naturalized  or  not  I  do  not  know,  but  they  are  all  for- 
eigners, employing  exclusive  foreign  hands  to  manufacture  the  very 
cheapest  grades  of  flowers  and  feathers  for  the  very  cheapest  hat. 
Of  course  the  committee  understands  that  the  flower  and  feather, 
the  artificial  flower  and  the  colored  feather,  is  not  used  for  the  deco- 
ration of  the  house,  or  for  any  other  purpose  in  the  world  excepting 
for  the  decoration  of  the  hat.  This  enters  into  the  hat.  And  there  is 
one  article  in  the  world  in  which  every  American  man  is  interested, 
and  that  is  the  hat  that  his  wife  wears ;  if  there  is  any  article  in  the 
world  that  the  man,  or  the  consumer,  is  interested  in,  it  is  the  Amer- 
ican hat. 


FEATHERS   AND  FLOWERS PETER  ZUCKER.  6679 

When  the  Dingley  bill  was  passed  I  think  there  were  very  few  man- 
ufacturers of  cheap  flowers  and  feathers.  They  have  increased  from, 
I  think,  25  at  that  time  to  about  200,  and  I  think  120  are  located  in 
New  York  City.  And  as  I  have  said,  this  paragraph,  when  it  passed, 
enabled  these  people  to  put  some  capital  into  the  manufacture  of  the 
very  cheapest  flowers  and  feathers;  and  it  has  at  no  time — and  this 
is  the  point  I  am  trying  to  get  at — prevented  the  importation  of  the 
better  grade  of  flowers  not  the  slightest.  And  you  can  put  10  per  cent 
more  duty  on,  20  per  cent  duty,  40  per  cent,  and  even  100  per  cent, 
and  I  do  not  believe  you  will  prevent  the  importation  of  a  single 
flower,  and  the  reason  is  this :  The  style  for  the  hat  and  for  the  deco- 
rations of  the  hat  is  set  in  Paris  for  the  entire  world;  certainly  for 
the  United  States.  Take  the  present  season  of  the  year,  as  an  illus- 
tration. The  importers  of  this  country  have  buyers  now  in  the  city  of 
Paris  to  see  what  flowers  will  be  needed  for  the  trimming  of  the  hat 
for  the  spring  season  about  to  come.  Many  of  them  have  been  there 
for  two  or  three  weeks,  for  a  month,  and  some  are  just  going.  The 
leading  milliners  of  the  United  States  are  also  there  for  the  purpose 
of  seeing  the  general  shape  of  the  hat. 

Now,  the  committee  will  understand  that  the  milliners  of  the 
United  States,  the  leading  milliners  especially — all  the  milliners — • 
get  their  shapes  from  abroad.  The  shape  is  made  over  there,  it  is 
invented  there,  if  I  can  use  such  a  term,  as  well  as  the  decoration  of 
the  hat.  The  milliners  here  follow  that  shape.  They  have  not  the 
capital,  the  means,  nor  the  desire  to  import  the  decorated  part  of  the 
hat,  the  flower  and  the  feather.  That  is  left  to  the  importers,  who 
have  millions  of  dollars  invested  in  capital  in  this  trade.  Now,  the 
question  might  be  asked  me,  Why  can  not  the  manufacturer  of  the 
United  States  prevent  the  importation  of  foreign  flowers  and 
feathers  by  putting  an  additional  duty  on  so  that  those  who  manu- 
facture the  cheapest  grade  may  also  manufacture  the  better  grade? 
and  for  this  reason:  The  importer  goes  over  there  and  sees  what  is 
needed  for  the  flower,  and  the  milliner  is  over  there  at  the  same  time. 
He  scarcely  gets  back — the  importer — when  the  milliner  here  asks  for 
the  flower  that  is  used  on  the  hat  in  Paris.  Now,  he  would  not  have 
the  time,  and  it  takes  the  highest  skill,  the  very  highest  skill,  to  make 
some  of  those  artificial  flowers  and  feathers.  The  people  over  there 
have  been  trained  to  do  it  for  years.  That  is  one  thing.  In  the  next 
place,  it  takes  about  two  months  to  make  up  the  material,  and  so  you 
see  he  would  not  have  the  time.  The  milliner  wants  that  particular 
flower,  that  particular  rose,  or  that  particular  pansy,  and  wants  it 
immediately;  and,  in  fact,  before  he  leaves  Paris  his  importer  is 
already  giving  the  orders  to  people  there,  anticipating,  to  make  them 
up  for  the  importer.  We  could  not  do  it  on  that  account. 

And  there  is  another  reason.  The  average  woman  wants  the  im- 
ported flower.  The  flower  that  the  manufacturer  who  appeared 
before  you  uses  is  only  used  on  the  hat  that  runs  anywhere  from  $2 
to  $5.  Nowhere  in  the  United  States — and  if  any  of  you  are  mar- 
ried you  will  know  this — does  the  $15  hat  or  the  $25  hat  have  any- 
thing upon  it  but  the  imported  flowers.  Custom  demands  it,  the 
women  demand  it,  absolutely,  and  unless  the  importer  wishes  to  be 
dishonest,  he  has  got  to  give  what  is  asked  for. 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 58 


6680  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

Now,  the  importer  uses  a  large  amount  of  capital  in  manufacture, 
and  many  of  my  clients  happen  to  be  manufacturers  on  a  large  scale 
as  well  as  importers.  What  they  can  do  is  to  employ  capital  in  the 
manufacture  of  some  of  these  imported  flowers  on  repetition  orders; 
that  is  to  say,  supposing  a  certain  rose  is  imported  by  the  importer, 
and  he  says  that  it  is  going  to  take  in  style  for  a  period  of  some 
months.  He  employs  high-skilled  labor,  knowing  that  he  will  have 
?  large  number  of  repetitions  on  this  order.  He  will  put  a  certain 
force  of  workmen  on  the  manufacture  of  this  particular  rose,  because 
he  can  afford  to  take  the  chances  on  the  repetitions  of  the  order.  Even 
then,  I  am  told,  there  is  a  difference  in  the  class  of  workmanship,  so 
that  the  finer  class  of  milliners  will  not  take  it  upon  any  condition, 
but  insist  upon  the  imported  article.  The  point  I  am  getting  at  is 
this:  As  I  said  before,  no  matter  what  duty  you  put  on  this  article,  I 
do  not  think  you  can  keep  out  a  flower  or  a  feather  that  is  wanted  by 
the  consumer ;  and  if  there  is  one  thing  in  the  world  that  comes  home 
to  every  man  in  the  United  States — not  the  richer  classes  alone,  but 
the  vast  middle  class — it  is  the  article  of  the  hat.  The  higher  duty 
you  put  on,  the  importer  will  import  just  the  same,  because  the  mil- 
liner, through  his  customers,  demands  it,  and  the  consumer  will  sim- 
ply have  to  pay  the  additional  duty,  and  it  does  not  go  to  the  benefit 
of  anybody  but  the  Government,  and  the  consumer  will  be  very,  very 
much  hurt.  In  not  the  slightest  degree  would  the  east  side  manu- 
facturers, or  pardon  me,  any  manufacturer  who  manufactures  the 
cheapest  grade  of  flowers,  be  benefited,  but  you  keep  this  feather  or 
flower  out.  He  can  not  manufacture  them.  The  consumer  has  de- 
manded it,'  he  would  have  to  pay  the  additional  price,  and  the  Gov- 
ernment would  simply  get  the  additional  revenue.  That  is  to  say,  it 
would  be  a  useless  high  tariff  put  on. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  are  you  advocating? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  am  advocating  to  let  it  stand  as  it  is — 50  per  cent 
ad  valorem.  We  do  not  ask  to  have  it  reduced. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  is  a  pretty  good  revenue  producer.  The  women 
are  not  obliged  to  buy  foreign  flowers  or  feathers,  especially  in  such 
large  quantities  as  are  put  on  their  hats  now,  for  they  are  so  large 
and  have  so  much  upon  them  that  it  is  difficult  to  see  beyond  them.  I 
think  the  question  is  largely  one  of  revenue,  and  incidentally  that  of 
sufficient  protection,  so  that  our  people  are  getting  into  the  manufac- 
ture of  them,  even  in  the  lower  grades;  and  I  think  that  is  a  good 
proposition. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Within  proper  limits  I  am  a  great  believer  in  protec- 
tion myself,  but  if  there  is  one  article  in  the  world  where  you  would 
not  get  that  protection — 

The  CHAIRMAN.  There  is  one  thing  that  I  can  not  understand.  I 
know  it  is  true  that  we  import  the  Paris  styles,  and  have  to  have  these 
foreign  goods,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing;  and  yet,  when  I  look  over  a 
convocation  of  women  in  a  theater  and  see  the  various  forms  of  head- 
gear used,  the  different  decorations,  and  all  that,  it  certainly  can  not 
be  said  that  they  are  all  made  from  the  same  pattern  or  style. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  can  explain  that. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  made  some  inquiry,  after  we  had  hearings  here, 
as  to  the  cost  of  these  things  when  they  are  imported,  and  the  cost 
when  they  come  to  what  Mr.  Boutell  would  say,  the  "  ultimate  con- 
sumer," and  I  found  that,  while  the  retail  trade  in  some  branches 


FEATHERS   AND  FLOWERS PETEE  ZUCKER.  6681 

makes  large  profits,  yet  in  the  millinery  business  the  profits  seem  to  be 
exaggerated  tenfold  or  more. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  There  are  two  millinery  houses  in  New  York,  makers 
of  hats,  who  ask  and  demand  and  receive  from  the  ultrarich  enor- 
mous profits.  But  those  are  such  exceptional  cases  that  it  does  not  en- 
ter into  this  controversy  at  all.  The  vast  middle  class  who  do  not 
buy  $200  and  $300  hats — and  that  is  what  some  of  these  millinery 
people  ask,  and  probably  make  500  per  cent  profit — but  the  vast 
number  of  milliners  that  I  speak  of  now  sell  the  moderate  priced 
hat  for  $15,  $20,  and  $25.  When  you  get  away  from  those  three 
prices,  you  are  getting  to  a  price  that  does  not  enter  into  this  point  at 
all,  because  those  higher  priced  hats,  those  tremendously  priced  hats, 
are  imported  direct  by  the  ultrarich,  who  do  not  go  to  the  American 
milliner  at  all.  Those  hats  are  not  made  up  by  the  American  milli- 
ner, and  no  orders  are  given  to  them.  I  do  not  suppose  that  1  per 
cent  of  the  female  population — 2  per  cent — buy  anything  of  that 
kind.  But  it  is  the  $15,  the  $20,  and  the  $25  hat  upon  which  these 
flowers  and  feathers  go;  and  if  you  put  an  additional  duty  on,  you 
do  not  stop  the  importation  of  one  flower  or  feather,  not  one.  I 
assure  you  of  that. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  that  is  true,  what  difference  does  it  make  what  the 
tariff  is? 

Mr.  ZUCKEK.  It  is  the  consumer  who  would  have  to  pay  it.  If  it 
makes  no  difference,  why  not  put  on  100  per  cent? 

Mr.  CLARK.  That  is  what  I  am  understanding  you  to  argue. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Why  would  not  60  per  cent  be  better  than  50  per 
cent  ?  It  would  increase  the  revenue  of  the  Government,  would  it  not  ? 

Mr.  CLARK.  But  here  is  the  way  of  it:  It  does  not  make  any  dif- 
ference whether  a  man  is  a  free-trade  man  or  a  high-protective  man, 
or  what  he  is,  we  have  got  to  have  revenue.  You  say  that  it  does 
not  make  any  difference  what  the  tariff  is  on  high-priced  things,  that 
they  would  come  in  anyhow. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  That  is  my  opinion. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  a  woman  is  able  to  pay  $200  for  a  bonnet,  she  does 
not  care  a  snap  what  is  on  the  bonnet. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  She  imports  the  bonnet  direct;  she  does  not  buy  it 
in  this  country. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Does  she  not  have  to  pay  tariff  on  it  ? 

Mr.0 ZUCKER.  I  am  not  speaking  of  bonnets  or  hats.  I  am  speaking 
of  flowers  and  feathers  named  in  the  paragraph  upon  which  we  are 
paying  a  duty  of  50  per  cent,  and  on  which  an  increase  of  duty  has 
been  asked. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Who  asks  for  an  additional  tariff? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Certain  manufacturers  of  the  city  of  New  York. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  they  would  come  in,  anyhow,  would  they  not,  for 
nobody  but  the  rich  use  them  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  The  ultra  rich  are  not  affected  by  this  at  all,  but  it  is 
the  poorer  classes — the  poorer  classes  who  buy  a  $10  hat. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  thought  you  were  speaking  of  the  ultrarich. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  am  not  speaking  of  them  at  all;  you  are  mistaken 
about  my  argument. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  it  will  make  the  bonnets  cheaper  to  the  common 
people,  I  am  in  favor  of  cutting  the  tariff  down. 


SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  The  common  people — the  very  poorest — will  buy  the 
$5  hat. 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  very  poorest  will  do  nothing  of  the  sort. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Pay  more  ? 

Mr.  CLARK.  They  pay  less. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Oh,  no. 

Mr.  CLARK.  The  bulk  of  hats  sold  in  the  United  States  do  not  cost 
$2.50. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  My  dear  sir • 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  do  not  know  very  much  about  what  they  wear  in 
New  York,  but  I  know  what  they  wear  outside  of  New  York. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Very  well. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Have  you  any  proposition  to  make  that  will  cause  them 
to  be  cheaper? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  No;  we  could  not  make  them  cheaper;  you  could  not 
possibly  make  those  hats  cheaper.  If  you  put  any  duty  on  it,  you 
would  not  make  them  cheaper. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Suppose  you  take  the  duty  off? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Then  you  could  not  manufacture  any  flowers  in  this 
country  at  all. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Then  you  can  not  do  anything  here  without  the  tariff. 
Is  that  it? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  If  you  take  the  duty  off,  will  hats  cost  just  as 
much  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Hats  would  cost  just  as  much ;  yes ;  and  that  is  one 
of  the  reasons — you  see,  I  am  in  a  peculiar  position.  The  importers 
that  I  represent  now  would  be  glad  to  have  free  trade,  but  I  repre- 
sent a  large  number  of  manufacturers  whose  capital  is  infinitely 
greater  than  those  people  who  appeared  before  you  and  asked  for  an 
increase.  And  my  clients,  the  manufacturers,  say  that  they  think 
the  duty  is  about  right;  it  enables  them  to  make  the  cheapest  grade 
of  flower  for  the  poorer  classes,  which  they  could  not  do ;  but  if  you 
added  to  the  duty  it  would  not  enable  them  to  make  any  cheaper 
flowers,  nor  in  any  greater  quantity.  They  have  no  idea  why  the 
increased  duty  should  be  put  on ;  they  can  not  see ;  the  larger  manu- 
facturers can  not  see  anything  in  it. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  propose  to  increase  the  duty? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Not  I.  I  am  simply  appearing  here  because  a  few 
days  ago  certain  manufacturers  from  the  east  side  of  New  York — I 
think  the  greater  part;  I  don't  know  just  where  they  are — came  be- 
fore this  committee  and  asked  that  paragraph  425,  which  now  fixes 
a  50  per  cent  ad  valorem  duty,  should  be  increased  to  60  or  70  per 
cent ;  and  my  clients,  the  larger  manufacturers  and  the  importers,  do 
not  feel  that  that  is  right  nor  that  it  should  be  done.  And  it  is  on 
that  point  that  I  have  been  arguing — to  leave  it  as  it  is. 

I  do  not  kr>ow  that  I  shall  take  up  any  more  time. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  will  look  into  the  matter  carefully,  and,  so 
far  as  I  am  concerned,  if  GO  per  cent  would  bring  in  any  more  reve- 
nue than  50  per  cent,  I  would  be  inclined  to  vote  for  60  per  cent. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Then,  you  would  simply  make  the  middle-class  people 
pay  that. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  only  argument  against  it  would  be  that  the 
trade  relations  are  fixed  at  50  per  cent,  and  it  would  have  to  be 
readjusted. 


FEATHERS  AND   FLO  WEES.  6683 

Mr.  ZTJCKER.  Yes;  there  is  a  large  stock  of  goods  on  hand,  and  it 
would  make  quite  a  difference  in  values. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  understand  you  are  an  attorney,  not  a  manufac- 
turer. Do  you  really  know  anything  about  this  hat  and  feather 
business  itself? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  don't  know ;  you  might  question  me  to  see. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  take  a  hat  that  costs  a  woman  here  at  retail  from 
$5  up  to  $20.  Where  do  the  trimmings  come  from?  Are  they  for- 
eign made  or  American  made? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Take  the  $5  hat ;  it  is  American  made.  But  the  mo- 
ment you  get  over  the  $10  hat,  then  it  is  foreign  made. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Everything  below  $5  is  American  make? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  &ot  everything.  Odd  to  say,  the  very  cheapest  stuff, 
the  stuff  that  goes  on  a  $1.50  and  a  $2  hat,  also  comes  into  New  York. 
That  is  made  by  hand  in  Italy  and  France,  and  by  such  cheap  labor 
that  you  can  not  keep  it  out.  When  you  get  to  the  hat  which  sells 
for  from  $3  to  $5,  I  should  say  that  it  had  American  stuff  in  it 
But  when  you  get  above  $10  to  $15  and  $20,  then  the  statistics  show 
that  the  great  middle  class — I  do  not  know  how  to  term  them  any 
other  way,  but  I  am  referring  to  the  men  who  get  $1,200  a  year  to 
$5,000  a  year — I  think  their  wives  buy  all  the  way  from  $15  to  $25 
hats,  and  those  are  made  of  the  foreign  flowers  and  feathers.  Those 
women  want  them  themselves;  they  insist  upon  it,  and  we  can  not 
make  them  for  reasons  that  I  gave  before  and  do  not  want  to  go  over 
again  and  explain. 


STATEMENT  OF  JULES  AUGUST  COLLET,  OF  No.  1198  PACIFIC  AVE- 
NUE, BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  RELATIVE  TO  ARTIFICIAL  FLOWERS 
AND  FANCY  FEATHERS. 

SATURDAY,  December  12,  1908. 
(The  witness  was  sworn  by  the  chairman.) 

Mr.  COLLET.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  I  ask 
to  be  heard  on  behalf  of  the  labor  people  of  this  particular  industry. 
At  first,  I  wish  to  place  before  you  the  interests  of  the  working 
classes  in  this  industry.  I  believe  that  I  am  qualified  to  do  so,  for 
the  reason  that  I  have  been  born  and  brought  up  in  the  business. 
I  ran  my  father's  factory  from  the  age  of  14  to  21,  and  from  21  I 
ran  it  myself  up  to  a  few  years  ago,  at  which  time  the  present  duty 
of  50  per  cent  drove  me  out  of  business.  At  that  time  I  employed 
more  help  than  any  other  manufacturer  did  in  those  days,  or  even 
to-day.  I  employed  upward  of  400.  There  is  not  to-day  a  manu- 
facturer of  artificial  flowers  or  fancy  feathers  who  employs  that 
number  of  help.  But  under  the  duty  of  50  per  cent  I  could  not  keep 
up  again,  and  I  am  an  expert  in  the  business,  positively. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Do  you  want  more  tariff  put  on,  to  hold  it  where  it  is, 
or  do  you  want  to  take  the  tariff  off? 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  come  here  to  plead  for  more  tariff,  gentlemen,  and 
to  give  you  some  truthful  reasons  for  it. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  are  you  advocating — a  higher  tariff? 
Mr.  COLLET.  Yes. 

Mr.  HILL.  As  I  understand  it,  in  this  and  in  a  large  number  of  in- 
dustries of  a  somewhat  similar  character  we  can  compete,  and  do  com- 


6684  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

pete,  on  the  lower  grades.  On  the  higher  grades  we  can  not  compete, 
and  there  is  no  manufacturer  of  this  and  other  articles  in  this  country 
of  the  fine  high  grades.  Now,  supposing  they  were  classified  so  that 
the  duty  of  50  per  cent  possibly  was  reduced  below  a  certain  amount  to 
a  smaller  percentage  and  increased  above  a  certain  amount  to  a  higher 
percentage.  I  would  like  to  know  what,  in  your  judgment,  would  be 
the  effect  on  the  industry,  and  as  to  the  revenue  also  f 

Mr.  COLLET.  It  is  impossible,  and  I  speak  as  an  expert,  to  classify 
any  flowers  or  fancy  feathers.  You  can  not  separate  them. 

Mr.  HILL.  As  a  matter  of  fact  they  are  classified  by  the  fact  that  we 
make  some  of  them  here  and  others  we  can  not  make;  so  that  they 
are  classified  naturally. 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  must  contradict  the  previous  speaker  in  regard  to 
that. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Why  can  you  not  classify  them  ? 

Mr.  COLLET.  Impossible;  and  I  must  contradict  the  previous 
speaker. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Perhaps  I  misunderstood  you,  but  I  understood 
you  to  say  that  the  present  duty  had  injured  your  business. 

Mr.  COLLET.  Yes. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  duty  under  the  McKinley  Act  of  1890  was  the 
same — 50  per  cent.  Under  the  Wilson  Act  of  1894  it  was  reduced  to 
35  per  cent,  and  then  it  was  increased  again  by  the  Dingley  Act  to 
50  per  cent? 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  know ;  I  was  before  you  twelve  years  ago. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Then,  the  present  duty  could  not  have  ruined  your 
business. 

Mr.  COLLET^  No;  and  I  can  give  you  many  reasons  for  it,  and  make 
truthful  statements.  I  was  a  large  manufacturer  and  keeping  mostly 
all  imported  goods.  I  was  able  to  bring  in  manufactured  goods  by 
saving  traveling  expenses,  railroad  expenses,  selling  to  the  importers 
and  the  large  jobber,  at  $1.60  for  a  dollar's  worth  of  foreign  goods — 
in  other  words,  it  costs  the  importer  $1,  and  then  50  cents  for  freight 
and  insurance — about  $1.60 — and  I  tell  you  I  was  able  to  compete 
with  them.  In  the  first  place,  I  used  American  ingenuity  to  produce 
my  goods,  and  being  in  Brooklyn  I  was  able  to  employ  help  in  this 
way :  During  my  greatest  career  in  business  I  would  get  girls  coming 
out  of  school,  14  or  15  years  old,  and  they  would  give  two  months' 
free  service  as  learners.  After  eight  weeks  they  commenced  to  earn 
from  25  cents  a  week  up  to  $2  a  week  for  eight  weeks.  They  worked 
sixteen  weeks  before  they  got  $2,  and  so  on.  After  that  they  were 
put  on  piecework;  but  to-day  I  want  to  say  that  you  can  not  do  that. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  When  was  it  that  your  business  was  profitable  or 
prosperous  ? 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  made  it  a  little  bit  prosperous  during  my  period  of 
nineteen  years,  and  by  working  eighteen  hours  a  day. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  understood  you  to  say  that  some  calamity  had 
come  to  your  business ;  when  was  that  ? 

Mr.  COLLET.  That  showed  itself  in  1899  and  1900. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Just  after  this  bill  was  passed.  Since  then  you 
have  been  very  prosperous? 

Mr.  COLLET.  Since  that  time  I  have  been  out  of  business,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Out  of  business  ?  . 

Mr.  COLLET.  Yes,  sir. 


FEATHERS  AND   FLOWERS JULES  A.   COLLET.  6685 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  was  it  that  struck  you  in  1899  and  1900? 
What  was  the  matter  ? 

Mr.  COLLET.  My  inability  to  compete  with  the  foreign  grades, 
created  by  the  cheap  help. 

THE  CHAIRMAN.  The  duty  was  raised  from  35  per  cent  in  1894  to 
50  per  cent  in  1897,  and  your  greatest  difficulty  seems  to  have  come 
on  with  the  higher  duty? 

Mr.  COLLET.  Yes,  sir.  I  got  out  of  business  in  1900,  and  that  took 
place  a  year  or  two  previous  to  that. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  am  afraid  something  else  besides  the  tariff  in- 
terfered with  your  business. 

Mr.  COLLET.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Did  you  not  go  out  of  business  because  you  had  gotten 
too  rich  to  stay  in  it? 

Mr.  COLLET.  No.  In  my  career  of  nineteen  years — my  wife  and 
myself  started  with  a  $5  bill — but  we  got  out  of  business  in  the 
neighborhood  of  $30,000  of  maximum  money,  and  that  in  the  nineteen  - 
years'  career,  and  having  produced  in  this  country  these  articles  with 
no  other  money  put  in  and  with  only  experience  and  good  products. 

Mr.  CLARK.  But  you  made  money  enough  to  retire  on,  was  not 
that  it? 

Mr.  COLLET.  If  you  call  that  retiring ;  yes. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Well,  I  would  like  to  have  $30,000  to  retire  on  myself. 

Mr.  COLLET.  But  I  did  not  come  here  for  this  purpose.  I  came  to 
show  you  where  a  70  per  cent  duty  will  not  create  a  loss  to  the  im- 
porter beyond  the  maximum  of  one-third  of  the  present  imports. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Are  you  in  business  now  ? 

Mr.  COLLET.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  You  do  not  do  anything  at  all  now? 

Mr.  COLLET.  Well,  I  do  a  little  real  estate  business,  about  all  a  man 
can  do  after  he  is  out  of  his  profession. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  may  go  on  and  show  us  what  you  want. 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  want  to  show  you,  gentlemen,  that  if  you  place  a 
minimum  duty  at  70  per  cent  that  no  more  than  one-third  of  the 
present  imports  will  be  manufactured  by  the  present  manufacturers, 
because  70  per  cent  is  not  sufficient  to  produce  the  rest.  The  present 
import  value  is  six  millions,  round  numbers.  They  had  trouble  in 
the  last  three  years,  and  if  you  will  look  up  the  statistics  the  imports 
will  show  the  present  condition,  but  it  ran  from  two  millions  up  to 
six  millions,  round  figures.  If  you  reduce  the  imports  one-third, 
or  $2,000,000,  it  will  leave  you  four  millions,  and  at  70  per  cent  that 
is  $2,800,000,  which,  taken  from  the  revenue  of  $3,000,000  leaves  a 
deficit  of  $200,000.  Now,  if  you  permit  the  domestic  manufacturers 
to  produce  that  $2,000,000,  maximum,  worth  of  importations,  goods 
costing  $1  in  any  part  of  Europe  and  sold  at  $2  in  America,  and  with 
50  per  cent  duty,  then  there  is  a  profit  of  not  more  than  8  or  9  per 
cent. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  referred  to  goods  costing  $1  in  any  part  of 
Europe  and  sold  by  the  importer  at  $2  here. 

Mr.  COLLET.  Therefore  $2,000,000  of  reduced  importations  would 
create  $4.000,000  additional  home  production. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  true  without  regard  to  the  tariff.  The 
tariff  is  only  50  per  cent.  That  would  make  them  sell  for  $1.50,  and 
you  say  they  sell  at  $2. 


6686  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  COLLET.  Yes;  on  a  tariff  of  50  per  cent.  They  are  sold  at  $2 
on  the  dollar  invested.  If  you  decrease  the  importations,  which  is 
the  maximum  possible  under  the  duty  of  70  per  cent,  you  will  there- 
fore create  a  home  production  of  $4,000,000.  We  would  consume  out 
of  that  $4,000,000  $1,633,000  in  materials.  Half  of  those  materials 
only  are  imported.  All  of  our  raw  material  pays  a  duty  of  from  50 
to  60  per  cent;  hence  the  raw  material  pays  more  duty,  and  has  all 
the  time,  under  any  tariff,  than  the  finished  product.  If  we  manu- 
factured this  $4,000,000  worth  consumed,  then  half  of  the  $1,633.000 
of  manufactured  product  would  give  you  a  revenue  at  50  per  cent  of 
$408,250,  which,  in  connection  with  the  previous  deficit  of  $200,000, 
would  leave  a  net  profit  of  $208,250  under  present  conditions. 

Now,  another  thing :  If  while  you  are  protecting  the  manufacturers 
and  the  workers  you  want  revenue,  let  me  suggest  to  you  that  in 
this  paragraph  425,  as  it  is  written,  flowers  and  feathers  are  two 
distinct  articles,  just  as  much  as  a  coat  and  pants;  one  makes  one  and 
one  makes  the  other.  That  is,  there  is  not  to-day  a  flower  manu- 
facturer who  makes  feathers.  They  are  compelled  to  make  fancy 
feathers,  for  the  reason  that  if  they  did  not  do  that  they  would  be 
idle  three  or  four  months  in  the  year.  I  used  to  close  my  factory 
three  months  in  the  year  under  the  50  per  cent  tariff,  while  the  im- 
porters would  go  to  the  other  side  and  place  orders  at  the  lowest  pos- 
sible price  on  that  side — the  foreign  orders.  I  offered  to  give  the  im- 
porters the  production  of  my  factory,  three  or  four  hundred  hands, 
for  four  months  in  any  one  year,  charging  nothing  for  myself,  noth- 
ing for  my  wife  at  the  head  of  the  factory — and  other  help — just  at 
the  cost  of  materials  and  labor,  and  I  could  not  get  the  orders  from 
them.  They  still  would  go  on  the  other  side.  Now,  what  I  want  to 
say  is,  that  if  you  want  to  raise  revenue  for  the  Government,  you  will 
find  that  if  you  protect  this  manufacturer — I  suggest  to  you  that 
here  is  an  article  compared  to  diamonds — suppose  you  were  to  raise 
the  duty  on  diamonds  15  or  20  per  cent;  they  must  come  in.  The 
ostrich  feather  is  a  foreign  production,  and  it  must  come  in.  You 
can  raise  the  raw  material,  the  feathers,  20  or  30  per  cent,  and  the 
lady  will  pay  more  for  the  feathers.  It  is  the  same  kind  of  an  argu- 
ment that  Mr.  Littauer  made  before  this  committee  a  few  weeks  ago, 
where  he  said  that  the  girl  up  in  his  town  would  buy  the  feather 
anyhow  and  go  without  lunches  for  a  month.  Now,  here  is  a  style ; 
Dame  Fashion  creates  something  that  is  manufactured  and  supplied 
to  our  ladies,  and  which  they  desire.  And  on  behalf  of  the  laboring, 
the  strictly  laboring  class,  I  want  to  say  this,  and  I  want  to  be 
clear  in  the  suggestion  that  I  make  to  you,  that  I  am  not  in  any  way 
representing  any  manufacturer,  or  anybody  else,  but  myself — ex- 
cepting the  laboring  class  of  people  generally.  Your  tariff  has 
created  a  prosperity ;  there  is  no  question  about  that.  It  has  created 
an  opportunity  for  labor  which  years  ago  got  $2  a  week,  then  $4, 
then  $5,  and  $6,  and  on  up. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  understood  you  to  say  at  the  outset  that  you  had 
girls  working  at  25  cents  a  week  to  commence  with,  and  they  got 
up  to  $2  a  week.  Is  that  true  ? 

Mr.  COLLET.  Positively. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  know  where  else  you  can  get  labor  as  cheap 
as  that? 

Mr.  COLLET.  No,  sir ;  excepting  in  Europe.    Not  here. 


FEATHERS   AND   FLOWERS JULES  A.   COLLET.  6687 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Can  you  get  it  in  Europe? 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  understand  they  do. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Twenty-five  cents  a  week? 

Mr.  COLLET.  Well,  no. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  And  from  25  cents  a  week,  by  diligence,  they  get 
up  as  high  as  $2  a  week. 

Mr.  COLLET.  It  takes  time  to  make  a  flower  maker.  It  is  not  a 
thing  that  you  can  pick  up  in  five  minutes.  When  one  girl  gave  five 
or  six  weeks  to  learn,  when  I  got  out  of  business,  and  for  two  or 
three  years  before  that,  where  I  had  to  give  a  girl  $2  to  start,  where 
a  few  years  before  she  worked  two  months,  then  dropped  back  to 
six  weeks,  then  one  month,  then  two  weeks,  and  then  no  week  at  all, 
to  start.  Under  the  present  conditions  to-day,  with  the  increase  of 
prosperity,  everybody  wants  more  pay ;  the  labor  people  want  it,  and 
they  get  it.  Girls  want  more  pay  than  they  ever  have  been  getting. 

Now,  the  importations  in  1894  were  $2,156,000.  In  1905  they  were 
$4.000,000,  in  round  numbers.  From  1905  to  1908  they  have  increased 
to  $6,395,000.  The  cause  of  that  was  the  foreigner  keeping  our  manu- 
facturers out  in  certain  things,  where  our  labor,  our  girls,  would  not 
work  in  the  industry  for  what  the  manufacturers  could  afford  to  pay. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  What  did  you  get  out  of  the  business  for;  because 
the  tariff  was  not  high  enough  ? 

Mr.  COLLET.  It  just  drove  me  out.  In  the  last  two  years  I  simply 
made  ends  meet,  and  then  I  had  to  strain  myself. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  You  sold  your  business,  didn't  you  ? 

Mr.  COLLET.  No ;  I  have  my  tools  to-day.    I  just  closed  up. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  You  say  you  have  your  tools  yet? 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  have  them  and  anybody  can  buy  them  for  5  cents 
on  the  dollar. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  If  you  got  a  duty  of  70  per  cent  on  flowers  and 
feathers,  would  you  go  back  into  the  business  again? 

Mr.  COLLET.  It  is  not  likely. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  long  did  it  take  you  to  accumulate  that 
$30,000  that  you  spoke  of? 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  started  in  with  a  $5  bill  on  the  4th  of  June,  1882. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  accumulated  $30,000  when  you  retired? 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  retired  nineteen  years  afterwards. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Did  these  girls  who  received  25  cents  a  week  and 
on  up  to  $2  a  week  have  the  same  bank  account? 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  paid  my  girls  in  Brooklyn  when  they  came  and 
started  to  work,  on  piecework,  the  same  prices  that  they  paid  in  New 
York  City,  the  same  prices  that  prevailed  all  around.  I  want  to  tell 
you  right  here  that  I  made  creations  in  that  business  that  if  I  had 
gotten  a  patent  on  I  would  have  made  just  the  same.  I  made  things 
nobody  else  could  produce  and  can  not  produce  to-day. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  If  you  are  not  in  this  business  now,  and  do  not  want 
to  go  back  into  it  again,  what  is  your  interest  in  the  tariff? 

Mr.  COLLET.  My  interest  is  a  general  interest  in  American  pros- 
perity. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Especially  the  laboring  girls  ? 

Mr.  COLLET.  Yes ;  and  I  like  to  see  the  girls  well  dressed,  and  they 
do  dress  better  to-day  than  they  did  years  ago.  And  I  want  to  cafi 
your  attention  to  the  laboring  classes — the  hardships — that  in  any 
industry  you  couldn't  employ  help  the  whole  year  around  in  this 


6688  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

business,  or  eleven  months  in  the  year,  and  that  is  one  reason  why 
they  do  not  like  to  go  into  it.  The  mothers  came  to  my  factory  and 
told  me  that  as  I  had  to  lay  them  off  so  long  they  would  not  go  into 
it.  It  is  hard  for  a  girl  to  change  her  profession  every  year. 

Mr.  HILL.  You  started  these  girls  in  at  no  compensation  at  all  for 
the  first  month,  is  that  it? 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  am  talking  of  twenty-five  or  twenty-eight  years  ago. 

Mr.  HILL.  I  understood  that  at  the  beginning  you  started  the  work- 
ers in  as  apprentices  without  pay  for  a  certain  time,  then  small  pay 
for  a  certain  time,  and  then  subsequently  they  were  made  piece- 
workers. 

Mr.  COLLET.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  After  the  girls  had  learned  the  trade,  what  would  they 
earn  weekly  at  piecework — the  average  of  your  workers  ? 

Mr.  COLLET.  After  their  first  year  they  would  earn  from  five  to 
seven  dollars  a  week.  In  the  second  year  they  would  earn  up  to  $9 
a  week,  and  in  the  third  year  $12. 

Mr.  HILL.  Is  this  a  factory  product  in  Europe,  or  is  it  a  domestic 
product — a  home  product— that  is,  is  it  called  a  domestic  industry 
or  a  factory  industry?  Is  it  made  in  the  homes  of  the  people  or  in 
the  factories? 

Mr.  COLLET.  The  major  part  is  made  in  factories  in  Europe.  They 
have  small  factories  at  different  points  along  the  railroads,  making 
certain  things. 

Mr.  HILL.  What  is  the  total  consumption  of  the  artificial  flowers 
and  feathers  in  the  United  States  ? 

Mr.  COLLET.  The  total  imports  will  show  $12,000,000,  while  the 
manufactures  are  $6,000,000 — $18,000,000  in  round  numbers. 

Mr.  HILL.  Of  artificial  goods? 

Mr.  COLLET.  Of  artificial  goods.    That  is  at  the  factory  price, 

Mr.  HILL.  Do  we  make  the  fine  class  of  these  goods,  and  do  we 
compete  in  the  open  market  with  the  foreign  importations  upon  the 
high-grade  goods,  such  as  would  go  on  a  $40  or  a  $50  hatt 

Mr.  COLLET.  No,  sir ;  we  do  not  make  them  here. 

Mr.  HILL.  Why? 

Mr.  COLLET.  We  make  a  trifle  in  this  way:  The  milliner  wants  a 
certain  flower,  and  the  importer  has  not  got  the  exact  color.  He 
comes  and  asks  us  to  make  the  flower,  and  he  will  pay  any  price 
we  ask,  just  the  same  as  you  would  if  you  wanted  a  special  decoration 
for  your  room. 

Mr.  HILL.  Then  the  high-grade  goods  are  imported  and  the 
cheaper  grades  of  goods  are  manufactured  here.  Isn't  that  about 
the  size  of  it? 

Mr.  COLLET.  By  our  American  ingenuity  we  have  practically  cre- 
ated a  new  kind  of  goods,  something  that  is  showy  and  something 
that  requires  very  little  labor,  and  there  is  a  certain  characteristic 
demand  for  these  goods. 

Mr.  HILL.  That  is  just  what  I  wanted  to  get  at  High-class  goods 
that  require  a  high  grade  of  labor  and  an  increased  amount  of  labor 
are  imported,  while  the  low  class  of  goods  requiring  a  lower  amount 
of  labor  is  manufactured.  Is  there  no  way,  in  technical  terms,  by 
which  the  line  can  be  drawn  in  the  tariff  bill? 

Mr.  COLLET.  It  is  totally  impossible. 

Mr.  HILL.  I  think  we  ought  to  get  the  revenue  on  what  we  can  not 
manufacture. 


FEATHERS   AND   FLOWERS JULES  A.   COLLET.  6689 

Mr.  COLLET.  You  make  it  general ;  you  can  not  make  it  specific. 

Mr.  HILL.  Is  there  any  staple  market  price  in  Europe  for  these 
goods,  or  does  each  manufacturer  fix  the  price  according  to  his  suc- 
cess in  developing  something  that  meets  the  popular  taste? 

Mr.  COLLET.  That  is  what  it  is. 

Mr.  HILL.  There  is  no  specific  market  price  for  these  artificial 
goods  like  there  is  upon  gloves  or  boots  and  shoes  or  clothing  or 
anything  of  that  kind;  it  is  a  fancy  product  which  meets  a  fancy 
price  or  else  is  of  no  value? 

Mr.  COLLET.  That  is  right.  Take  my  brother,  who  is  in  the  busi- 
ness to-day  with  35  hands  at  the  most ;  he  produces  in  one  year  over 
400  different  styles,  with  only  a  little  bit  of  a  manufactory,  and  with 
only  35  hands  at  the  most  when  they  are  busy.  He  creates  over  400 
different  styles  in  one  year. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  If  these  goods  are  held  past  the  season,  they  are  of 
no  value,  generally  speaking,  are  they? 

Mr.  COLLET.  They  are  of  value  with  few  exceptions.  They  are 
kept  in  stock. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Why  do  the  milliners  of  the  country  sell  out  their 
stock  on  hand  at  cost  price  at  the  end  of  the  season? 

Mr.  COLLET.  If  you  have  such  things  as  shoe  laces  in  boxes  con- 
taining grosses,  and  so  on,  they  are  solid  goods,  and  they  are  left  on 
the  shelves.  But  if  you  have  broken  boxes,  and  the  milliner  has  a 
few  flowers,  this  and  that,  they  are  sold  out  cheap.  The  goods  in 
stock  are  imported  goods,  and  with  very  few  exceptions  are  very 
good.  The  leather  importer  buys  continually  and  accumulates  a 
stock.  This  year  he  sells  a  certain  stock,  next  year  another,  and  next 
year  another.  In  the  course  of  ten  years  he  has  sold  everything.  As 
to  the  flowers,  there  is  very  little  valuation.  When  the  style  changes, 
they  gradually  change.  Once  in  a  while  they  get  a  spurt  of  certain 
articles,  and  if  it  wasn't  for  that  the  manufacturer  would  not  exist. 
There  was  one  season  when  we  doubled  our  prices  on  account  of  a 
very  heavy  demand  for  only  six  weeks,  when  anything  could  be  sold, 
any  colors,  but  that  was  only  momentary.  One  employer  would 
offer  a  girl  $6  a  week,  while  another  would  say,  "  If  you  come  to  me 
I  will  give  you  twenty."  But  it  did  not  last  but  a  little  while. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  How  are  these  flowers  invoiced  ? 

Mr.  COLLET.  By  the  dozen  or  the  gross. 

Mr.  CRCMPACKER.  Do  you  not  have  a  graduated  ad  valorem  tax 
on  grades  where  they  are  worth  less  than  so  much  per  dozen — that 
is,  the  tax  would  be  40  per  cent — where  they  are  worth  between  cer- 
tain high  points,  and  50  per  cent,  and  still  above  that  ? 

Mr.  COLLET.  No,  sir;  because  that  would  be  most  unfair.  It  is 
on  its  actual  ad  valorem.  In  the  fine  trade  there  are  some  roses  cost- 
ing $6  or  $8  a  dozen.  There  are  two  or  three  grades  of  roses,  when 
they  are  fashionable,  that  can  be  sold  to  the  bon  ton,  while  in  two 
weeks  that  same  line  of  custom  might  purchase  one  of  the  so-called 
"  cheap  articles  "  of  the  importer.  Take  the  forget-me-nots ;  they  are 
sold  for  between  35  and  40  cents,  imported,  while  I  have  paid  as  high 
as  60  to  75  cents  to  make  them.  But  the  trade  might  require  that 
article.  That  trade  might  consume  on  the  $45  hat  those  35  to  45 
cent  articles — 

Mr.  CRUMPACKEK.  Are  artificial  leaves  made  a  specialty  ? 


6690  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  COLLET.  There  is  in  this  country  to-day  no  leaf  manufacturers. 
The  minute  you  create  you  bring  the  manufacturers  back  to  the  old- 
time  specializing.  That  is  the  greatest  secret  of  manufacture,  to 
specialize.  When  I  had  two  or  three  hundred  help  employed,  on 
50  per  cent  of  that  help  the  work  would  be  changed  three  or  four 
times  a  day. 


BRIEF  FILED  BY  JULES  AUGUST  COLLET,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  FOR 
THE  ASSOCIATED  FLOWER  AND  FANCY  FEATHER  MANUFAC- 
TURERS OF  AMERICA. 

NEW  YORK,  December  10, 1908. 
MEMBERS  or  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  manufacturers  of  artificial  flowers  and  fancy 
feathers  in  the  United  States,  representing  an  industry  composed  of 
over  200  manufacturers,  6,000  employees  (principally  females), 
a  capital  investment  of  $2,000,000,  respectfully  petition  your  com- 
mittee to  recommend  a  revision  of  section  425  of  the  present  tariff, 
pertaining  to  artificial  flowers  and  fancy  feathers. 

Our  contention  is  that  this  class  of  merchandise  should  be  subject 
to  a  duty  of  not  less  than  70  per  cent  ad  valorem,  instead  of  50  per 
cent  ad  valorem,  for  the  following  reasons: 

First.  In  forming  the  Dingley  bill  there  must  have  been  some  mis- 
conception as  to  the  proper  rate  of  duty  for  artificial  flowers  and 
fancy  feathers  in  placing  them  under  a  50  per  cent  ad  valorem  duty, 
when  articles  that  are  certainly  of  the  same  class  and  character  are 
all  subject  to  a  60  per  cent  ad  valorem  duty,  as,  for  instance : 

Schedule  B,  sections  95-96.  China,  crockery,  earthenware,  cut  glass, 
etc. 

Schedule  C,  section  179.  Braids,  laces,  trimmings  made  wholly 
or  in  part  of  tinsel  wire. 

Schedule  J,  section  339.  Articles  of  cotton,  curtains,  bed  sets,  cor- 
sets, flounces,  handkerchiefs,  embroideries,  trimmings. 

Schedule  K,  section  369.  Women's  and  children's  dress  goods. 

Schedule  K,  section  370.  Clothing  and  articles  of  wearing  apparel. 

Schedule  K,  section  371.  Fringes,  cords,  nets,  buttons,  dress  trim- 
mings, etc. 

Schedule  L,  section  390.  Articles  of  silk,  veilings,  laces,  braids, 
gloves,  trimmings,  wearing  apparel,  etc. 

Schedule  N,  section  408.  Trimmings  and  all  articles  made  wholly 
or  in  part  of  beads. 

Schedule  N,  section  434.  Jewelry. 

Schedule  N,  section  459.  Pipes  and  smokers'  articles. 

As  articles  of  luxury  artificial  flowers  and  fancy  feathers  should 
be  subject  to  a  higher  rate  of  duty  than  is  placed  on  the  aforesaid 
articles,  both  for  purposes  of  revenue  and  protection.  Had  flowers 
and  feathers  been  listed  at  60  per  cent  it  would  have  added,  during 
the  operation  of  the  Dingley  bill,  the  handsome  additional  revenue 
to  the  Government  of  $4,000,000,  without  in  the  least  placing  an  ex- 
tra burden  upon  the  American  consumer. 

Second.  The  materials  used  in  making  artificial  flowers  and  fancy 
feathers  are  subject  to  a  duty  of  not  less  than  50  per  cent  ad  valorem, 


FEATHERS  AND   FLOWERS JULES   A.    COLLET.  6691 

in  most  instances  60  per  cent  or  more,  hence  the  duty  on  materials  is 
greater  than  on  the  manufactured  article,  and  the  materials  used  con- 
stitute 40  per  cent  of  the  value  of  the  finished  article. 

Principal  materials  used  are  silk  fabrics,  silk  velvets,  velveteens, 
medium  grades  of  cotton  fabrics,  dutiable  as  per  Schedule  L,  para- 
graphs 308,  386,  387. 

Third.  An  increase  in  duty  on  artificial  flowers  and  fancy  feathers 
would  not  reduce  the  Government's  revenue,  as  the  following  figures 
will  show :  From  June,  1894,  to  June,  1895,  the  importations  of  arti- 
ficial flowers  and  fancy  feathers  amounted  to  $2,156,557.  The  duty 
at  35  per  cent  produced  a  revenue  of  $754,795.  From  June,  1907,  to 
June,  1908,  the  importations  amounted  to  $6,395,233.  The  duty  at  50 
per  cent  produced  a  revenue  of  $3,197,617. 

An  increase  in  duty,  even  though  it  should  tend  to  reduce  the 
steady  increase  in  importations,  would,  on  the  present  basis,  result 
in  an  increased  revenue  to  the  Government,  as  following  example 
will  show: 

Example  in  round  figures. 

Present  importation  value $6,  000,  000 

Revenue  therefrom _: $3,  000,  000 

Maximum  possible  reduction,  one-third 2,  000,  000 

Amount  subject  to  70  per  cent  duty 4,  000.  000 

Revenue  therefrom 2,  800,  000 


Apparent  deficit 200,  000 

General  statement:  Goods  valued  at  $1  abroad  are  sold 

at  a  cost  of  $2  in  America. 

Two   million    dollars    reduction    in    importations   would 

create  $4,000,000  additional  home  production.     One  million 

six  hundred  and  thirty-three  thousand  dollars  of  this  home 

production  would  be  materials. 

One-half  of  this  material  is  foreign  and  subject  to  mini- 
mum duty  of  50  per  cent,  creating  a  revenue  of 408,  250 


Net  increase  in  revenue $208,  250 

The  $4,000,000  increase  in  home  production  would  mean  an  expend- 
iture for  labor  amounting  to  $1,100,000,  which  averaged  at  $8  per 
week  would  furnish1  steady  employment  to  at  least  2,500  additional 
workers. 

We  contend  the  reduction  in  importation  will  not  exceed  25  per 
cent,  and  that  the  calculation  of  one-third  above  cited  is  for  the  guid- 
ance of  your  committee  and  should  be  considered  by  you  only  as  the 
extreme  possibility.  In  evidence  hereof  we  call  attention  to  the  sta- 
tistics shown  below,  operating  under  an  increase  tariff  from  35  to  50 
per  cent  from  1895  to  1908,  showing  the  increase  importations  of  200 
per  cent,  as  against  the  increase  of  home  production  of  50  per  cent. 

Statistics  of  importations  taken  from  custom-house  records. 

From  June  30,  1894,  to  June  30,  1895 $2, 156,  557 

From  June  30,  1895,  to  June  30,  1896 2,  711,  002 

From  June  30,  1896,  to  June  30,  1897 2,  850,  825 

From  June  30,  1897,  to  June  30,  1898 3,  022,  442 

From  June  30,  1898,  to  June  30,  1899 2,  756,  080 

From  June  30,  1899,  to  June  30,  1900 „ 2,  297,  025 

From  June  30,  1900,  to  June  30,  1901 2, 122,  746 

From  June  30,  1901,  to  June  30,  1902 *, 2,  940,  341 

From  June  30,  1902,  to  June  30,  1903 2,  660,  255 

From  June  30,  1903,  to  June  30, 1904 2,  590,  449 


6692  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

From  June  30,  1904,  to  June  30,  1905 $2,516,730 

From  June  30,  1905,  to  June  30,  1906 4,  018,  352 

From  June  30,  1906,  *o  June  30,  1907 5, 139,  083 

From  June  30,  1907,  to  June  30,  1908 6,  395,  235 

The  selling  value  of  these  importations  is  double  the  cost  as  here 
shown. 

The  domestic  industry  can  not  furnish  exact  figures,  but  the  follow- 
ing is  a  fair  estimate,  computed  on  reliable  information  gathered 
from  the  manufacturers  at  present  engaged  in  this  industry: 

Number  of  manufacturers 200 

Total  value  of  annual  production  (about) $6,000,000 

Number  of  employees 6,  000 

Amount  of  wages,  per  week $8  to  $10 

Amount  of  wages  paid  per  annum $2,  300,  000 

Amount  of  material  used  per  annum $2,  500,  000 

Amount  of  fixed  charges $600,  000 

Average  profits,  subject  to  bad  accounts $600,  000 

Please  note  imports  have  trebled  from  1905  to  1908,  due  to  Amer- 
ican prosperity,  which  created  an  advance  in  salaries,  which  domestic 
manufacturers  could  not  meet,  thus  favoring  imports. 

Fifth.  The  cost  of  these  goods  is  less  to  the_  American  consumer 
to-day,  under  a  50  per  cent  duty,  than  it  was  in  1895,  under  a  35  per 
cent  duty,  for  this  reason :  The  present  tariff  has  made  it  possible  to 
establish  manufacturers  in  America  able  to  compete  with  foreign 
manufacturers  on  some  articles,  and  compelled  the  latter  to  quote 
the  lowest  possible  prices  to  American  buyers. 

In  order  to  employ  their  help  constantly  during  the  dull  season 
from  May  till  November,  the  foreign  manufacturers  accept  orders 
from  Americaix  importers  at  prices  very  much  lower  than  they  receive 
from  buyers  in  their  home  market  and  on  the  Continent. 

It  is  therefore  self-evident  that  any  reduction  of  the  present  tariff 
on  artificial  flowers  and  fancy  feathers  would  prove  destructive  to 
the  home  industry,  giving  the  foreign  manufacturers  control  of  our 
market,  and  they  would  then  undoubtedly  arbitrarily  raise  their 
prices  to  the  American  buyers. 

Sixth.  A  higher  duty  would  influence  the  placing  of  advance  or- 
ders in  America  instead  of  Europe,  thereby  providing  steady  em- 
ployment for  the  entire  year  to  a  greater  number  of  workers  at  the 
present  or  better  wages.  Place  a  higher  duty  on  the  imported  goods 
in  this  line  and  you  will  give  the  home  industry  an  impetus  which 
will  result  in  the  employment  of  thousands  of  workers  at  good  wages 
in  addition  to  those  now  engaged,  practically  creating  a  new  work- 
ing force  in  America,  as  the  making  of  artificial  flowers  and  fancy 
feathers  requires  skill  and  dexterity,  as  all  work  is  by  hand.  The 
employment  is  clean,  healthful,  and  artistic.  The  employees  are 
mostly  females,  earning  from  $8  to  $10  per  week,  working  fifty-two 
hours  per  week. 

Seventh.  The  scale  of  wages  in  this  line  in  Europe  is  less  than 
one-half  the  scale  of  the  American  labor. 

Eighth.  Rents,  fixed  charges,  and  other  expenses  in  America  are 
more  than  double  those  existing  in  this  line  in  Europe. 

Ninth.  Modern  methods  of  transportation  have  brought  the  Ameri- 
can market  in  closer  touch  with  the  foreign  manufacturers  and  rates 
of  transportation  have  been  reduced. 

Tenth.  Owing  to  the  nature  of  the  business,  no  trust  or  combina- 
tion can  control  the  industry.  Anyone  with  a  small  capital  and 


FEATHERS   AND   FLrOWEBS.  6693 

knowledge  of  the  business  can  start  a  factory.     No  large  fortunes 
have  been  made  in  the  home  industry  by  any  concern. 

Eleventh.  We  particularly  request  that  all  cartons,  packing  cases, 
etc.,  be  included  in  the  dutiable  charge,  because  we  manufacturers 
must  supply  the  same  to  our  customers.  The  importers  use  their 
boxes  and  cases  for  reshipment.  Fifty  per  cent  duty  on  cartons  and 
cases  averages  fully  7  per  cent  on  the  goods  contained  therein,  and  if 
given  to  the  importer  the  consumer  will  never  receive  it.  (The  item 
is  too  small  when  it  reaches  the  consumer.) 

Twelfth.  We  leave  to  your  consideration  the  effects  and  purchas- 
ing powers  of  an  additional  $1,100,000  paid  to  wage-earners  (not 
now  paid),  and  also  the  wages  paid  out  of  $816,250  of  home  prod- 
ucts, which  we,  as  manufacturers,  must  purchase  if  you  give  us  70 
per  cent  duty.  This  we  base  on  being  able  to  produce  maximum, 
one-third  of  present  imports.  As  a  further  revenue,  it  is  fair  to 
state  that  as  population  increases  so  will  imports  proportionately. 

In  conclusion  permit  us  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  the  artificial- 
flower  and  fancy- feather  manufacturing  industry  in  America  is  only 
partially  developed.  If  your  committee  will  adopt  the  suggestions 
briefly  outlined  herein  and  recommend  a  higher  rate  of  duty  on  the 
imported  goods  in  this  line,  you  will  be  instrumental  in  developing 
the  American  industry  to  a  high  state  of  efficiency,  thus  placing  same 
on  a  more  equitable  competitive  basis  with  foreign  manufacturers, 
whose  great  weapon  of  competition  is  free  material  and  cheaper  labor. 
Do  this,  gentlemen,  and  by  your  action  you  will  make  it  impossible  for 
the  foreign  manufacturers  to  control  the  American  market  to  the  det- 
riment of  the  American  consumer,  the  home  industry,  its  present  and 
future  employees.  It  is  a  most  worthy  cause  and  one  that  will  meet 
with  the  hearty  approval  of  every  true  American. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

THE  ASSOCIATED  FLOWER  AND  FANCY  FEATHER 

MANUFACTURERS  OF  AMERICA. 


ADDITIONAL  STATEMENT  OF  PETER  ZTJCKER,  OF  45  BROADWAY, 
NEW  YORK,  RELATIVE  TO  MILLINERY  ORNAMENTS. 

* 

SATURDAY,  December  IS,  1908. 

(The  witness  was  previously  sworn.) 

Mr.  HILL.  Do  you  manufacture  directly  in  competition  upon  all 
these  lines  of  importations  which  are  shown  in  the  statement? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  We  do  not. 

Mr.  HILL.  Will  you  try  to  explain  the  difference  between  where 
competition  does  come  into  the  United  States  and  where  there  is  no 
competition? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  will  try.  I  am  not  a  manufacturer,  but  only  an 
attorney;  but  it  so  happens  that  I  am  related  to  one  of  the  largest 
importers  in  the  United  States,  perhaps  the  largest,  who  is  also  a 
large  manufacturer.  I  have  been  in  Paris  and  watched  the  pur- 
chases, and  upon  one  thing,  before  the  gentleman  sits  down,  I  want 
to  take  issue  with  him — 

Mr.  HILL.  But  I  wish  you  would  answer  my  question. 


6694  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  We  can  never,  as  I  am  given  to  understand,  go  into 
competition  with  Europe  upon  the  finer  grades  of  goods,  and  for  this 
reason,  and  I  will  touch  upon  it  again :  We  do  not  originate  the  stuff. 
That  is  the  whole  thing  m  a  nutshell.  Until  we  can  originate  the 
stuff  and  get  the  American  milliners  to  take  our  hats,  and  not  look 
to  Europe,  we  will  never  be  able  to  compete  with  them.  That  is  the 
whole  thing  in  a  nutshell.  That  is  an  inexorable  fact.  We  have  got 
to  import,  we  always  will  import,  until  you  change  the  styles  here, 
and  originate  them  here. 

Mr.  HILL.  That  is,  if  we  originated  the  style,  and  followed  it.  Is 
there  a  sharp  distinction  drawn  between  what  we  do  manufacture  and 
what  we  import? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Absolutely.  We  manufacture  nothing  but  the  cheap- 
est grades  of  goods,  and  we  import  the  high  grades.  Not  alone  the 
higher  grades,  but  the  better  grades,  because  I  make  a  distinction  be- 
tween a  $200  hat  and  a  $2  hat. 

Mr.  HILL.  Are  there  technical  terms  that  describe  those  two  differ- 
ent classes  of  goods,  or  is  it  simply  a  question  of  production  only  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  It  is  not  either  one  or  the  other,  in  my  opinion.  You 
take  a  real  fine  rose — it  is  called  a  rose,  but  I  do  not  know  exactly 
what  name  you  would  give  it — but  when  that  rose  comes  here,  if  we 
say  it  is  going  to  be  the  style,  the  manufacturer  who  has  capital  will 
put  his  workmen  on  it,  imitate  it  as  closely  as  he  can,  because  he  feels 
that  it  is  going  to  be  the  style,  and  that  he  can  compete.  But  the 
original  imported  article  can  not  be  secured  in  any  other  way,  and  I 
do  not  think  there  is  any  way  of  classification. 

Mr.  HILL.  .  In  the  importation  of  this  rose,  which  may  be  of  double 
value  to-day,  w%hat  it  would  be  next  year,  or,  say,  last  year — 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Next  year  they  have  no  value. 

Mr.  HILL.  How  is  the  valuation  fixed  by  the  Board  of  Appraisers? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Upon  the  cost  price  abroad. 

Mr.  HILL.  Is  it  the  cost  price,  or  an  arbitrary  valuation  price,  ac- 
cording to  the  fashion? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  There  is  no  arbitrary  over  there.  When  this  gentle- 
man stated  that  he  had  dealers  over  there  fix  arbitrary  prices,  he 
states  what  I  regret  to  say — he  is  mistaken  about  it  absolutely.  There 
is  not  a  difference  of  a  cent.  That  is  absolutely  a  fixed  price. 

Mr.  HILL.  Fluctuation  in  value  comes  with  the  retailer  and  not 
with  the  manufacturer — the  wholesaler. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Precisely,  and  the  wholesaler  over  there  has  his  fixed 
price  as  much  as  here.  There  isn't  any  difference.  It  is  when  you 
get  to  the  retailer,  and  pay  a  fancy  price — but  that  is  in  the  extreme 
cases  only. 

Mr.  HILL.  Is  there  any  way  by  which  we  can  get  any  more  revenue 
out  of  this  compulsory  import? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  If  you  put  a  compulsory  revenue  on  it. 

Mr.  HILL.  What  would  be  the  effect  of  increasing  the  duty,  would 
it  reduce  the  importations  or  bring  us  more  revenue  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  do  not  think  you  would  decrease  the  importations 
the  slightest;  that  is  my  belief. 

Mr.  HILL.  Would  it  increase  the  importation  of  the  cheaper  grades 
if  we  reduced  the  duty  on  that  classification  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Do  you  mean  reduce  the  50  per  cent? 

Mr.  HILL.  Yes ;  on  articles  below  a  certain  value. 


FEATHERS  AND  FLOWERS PETER  ZUCKER.       6695 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Then  you  would  bring  in  the  cheapest  grades  again. 

Mr.  HILL.  If  we  increase  the  rate  of  duty,  it  would  not  decrease 
the  high-priced  importations? 

Mr.  TUCKER.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  It  would  not  protect  tlje  American  manufac- 
turer ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Not  at  all. 

Mr.  CRUMPACKER.  Because  they  do  not  come  in  competition  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  No. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  If  it  were  possible  to  employ  two  different  rates  of 
duty,  one  on  the  low  class  of  goods  and  one  on  the  high  class  of 
goods,  would  you  not  think  that  advisable? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  It  would  be,  but  it  can  not  be  done. 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Suppose  you  were  called  upon  to  make  a  tariff  after 
that  fashion,  imposing  one  rate  of  duty  on  the  high  class  of  goods 
and  another  on  the  low  class,  how  would  you  do  it  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  say  that  it  can  not  be  done.    I  would  not  know  how. 

Mr.  II  AN  DELL.  Is  not  an  ad  valorem  duty  different? 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Certainly.  Is  there  not  a  difference  between  these 
two  grades  of  goods  measured  by  their  value?  Is  not  there  some 
point  where  the  high  class  of  goods  begins  and  the  low  class  of  goods 
ends  in  value? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  do  not  think  so.  I  told  you  how  they  make  the 
cheaper  grades.  They  put  on  all  of  their  cheapest  labor. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  There  are  hundreds  of  different  articles  that  come 
in  under  this  schedule.  There  is  on  an  article  of  this  value  so  much 
duty,  and  on  another  article  above  that  so  much  duty;  it  would  be 
impossible  to  go  into  detail. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  That  is  right. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  agree  with  the  statement  that  $20,000.000 
worth  of  these  goods  are  made  in  this  country?  How  many  do  you 
say? 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  said  $18,000,000  worth. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  My  clients  alone  have  about  $26,000,000  invested  in 
this  industry.  I  do  not  know  what  their  snles  are. 

Now,  one  of  the  things  that  I  was  going  to  sav  is  this:  I  believe 
that  75  per  cent  of  those  engaged  in  manufacturing  these  goods  in 
the  United  States  do  not  ask  for  this  increase.  It  is  only  the  cheap- 
est, and  the  smallest  in  capitalization;  nearly  all  foreigners.  And 
this  gentleman  here,  Mr.  Collet,  hears  what  I  say — those  that  employ 
the  cheapest  girls  and  pay  the  cheapest  wages;  those  are  the  manu- 
facturers who  ask  for  this  increase. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Is  there  an  active  competition  amongst  the  manu- 
facturers here? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  No;  except  among  the  cheaper  grades.  You  take  the 
higher  grade  of  manufacturers,  and  they  can  only  manufacture  on 
repetition  orders.  For  instance,  a  man  is  over  there  now  buying  for 
the  house,  and  he  says  that  a  certain  forget-me-not  is  going  to  be  the 
style.  He  will  buy  that  in  large  quantities.  He  sends  over  some  of 
it  right  away  to  his  house  and  he  says,  "  I  believe  you  can  take  chances 
on  that  and  manufacture  it."  But  even  then  we  can  not  manufacture 
any  great  amount,  because  the  high-grade  skilled  labor  of  Europe 
that  has  been  developed  perhaps  for  centuries,  from  father  to  son — 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  60-2— Vol  6 59 


6696  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

they  are  not  in  this  country.  And  then  we  can  not  afford  to  keep 
these  all  the  time,  because  we  do  not  know  until  the  repetition  orders 
come  in  how  much  work  we  will  have.  But  we  take  the  chance  and 
manufacture  it.  We  can  sell  perhaps  to  certain  milliners  who  get 
crowded  for  orders  and  can  not  get  the  article  fast  enough  from 
Paris.  We  can  manufacture  to  a  certain  extent.  We  do  not  enter 
into  the  competition  with  the  cheap  manufacturer — do  not  touch  that 
article  at  all.  He  only  makes  the  very  cheapest  article  with  the 
cheapest  labor,  and  how  it  is  going  to  even  help  him,  to  increase  this 
duty,  in  spite  of  what  he  says,  I  can  not  see. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  In  your  opinion,  is  the  entire  duty  added  to  the 
price  by  the  domestic  manufacturers  of  these  goods,  the  equivalent 
amount  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  can  not  answer  that  exactly,  because  I  do  not  think 
I  have  technical  information  enough.  But  I  do  not  think  it  is;  but 
that  is  only  an  inference  on  my  own  part. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Is  there  such  a  competition  in  this  country  that  he 
can  not  add  the  whole  of  the  duty  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  can  not  say.  I  do  not  represent  any  of  those  cheaper 
manufacturers. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  did  not  mean  them,  but  I  mean  the  manufac- 
turers you  do  represent. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  They  add,  I  think,  the  entire  duty. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  But  that  is  only  a  matter  of  opinion  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  That  is  only  a  matter  of  opinion. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  have  no  personal  knowledge  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  No. 

Mr.  BOUTELL.  Have  there  been  any  charges  of  undervaluation  in  the 
admission  of  these  high-class  imported  flowers,  feathers,  and  fruits? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  have  not  heard  of  anything  of  that  kind  in  years — 
not  for  years.  I  have  had  a  friendship  with  Mr.  Stranahan,  and  I 
have  discussed  that  subject  with  him  more  or  less,  and  I  do  not  think 
there  has  been  any  attempt  on  their  part  at  all. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  Where  are  those  goods  made  abroad — in  what  coun- 
try? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Both  Italy  and  France.  The  better  grades  all  in 
Paris. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  By  whom  is  the  market  value  of  these  goods  made; 
by  the  importer,  the  expert  from  abroad  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  The  foreign  manufacturer  fixes  the  cost  price;  he 
sells  at  a  certain  price.  Our  importer  takes  those  goods  to  the 
American  consul  at  Paris,  who  issues  the  original  invoices.  On  that 
it  is  done. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  That  is  only  since  this  so-called  "  German  trade 
agreement  "  has  been  adopted.  Has  that  always  been  the  case  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  understand  that  to  be  the  case.  I  know  it  has  been 
the  rule  for  twelve  years  in  my  personal  experience. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  That  is,  fixed  abroad,  and  not  by  our  Board  of  Ap- 
praisers? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  They  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  and  have  not  had  in 
twelve  years.  My  personal  experience  does  not  extend  back  of  that. 

Mr.  HILL.  Are  these  what  are  called  "  sweat-shop  goods?  " 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  would  only  be  speaking  from  hearsay  upon  that. 

Mr.  HILL.  I  did  not  mean  to  use  that  in  an  offensive  way. 


FEATHEKS    AND    FLOWERS JULES    A.    COLLET.  6697 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  can  only  say  in  regard  to  that  that  they  have  the 
cheapest  girls.  I  do  not  represent  them,  !nit  the  higher  grade  of 
manufacturers  do  not  do  anything  of  that  kind.  They  have  to  pay 
higher  prices. 

Mr.  HILL.  Where  are  the  factories  that  you  represent  located  ? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  What  I  would  call  on  the  better  or  the  west  side  ol 
Broadway.  I  do  not  want  to  use  an  offensive  term  in  regard  to  that, 
but  what  I  mean  is  along  Broadway,  near  Houston  street,  and  along 
there,  where  the  rents  are  higher  and  the  character  of  the  stores  is 
better. 

Mr.  HILL.  But  where  are  the  factories  located  that  you  represent? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  The  major  part  of  them  have  them  right  above  their 
importing  houses. 

Mr.  HILL.  Then  they  are  right  there  on  Broadway? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  On  Broadway.  He  will  have  his  store  on  the  ground 
floor,  and  his  factory  on  the  three  floors  above. 

Mr.  HILL.  Who  is  the  largest  manufacturer  in  this  line  in  the 
United  States? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  I  should  say  of  the  better  grade,  Mr.  George  Legg, 
of  New  York  City.  And,  by  the  way,  he  personally  stated  to  me  that 
he  did  not  want  any  increase  in  this  duty,  and  looking  at  it  from  the 
broadest  point  of  view,  he  did  not  ask  for  a  decrease,  because  there 
were  so  much  goods  on  han<J. 

Mr.  HILL.  Is  he  an  importer  as  well  as  a  manufacturer? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  An  importer  and  a  manufacturer;  in  fact,  the  ma- 
jority of  these  people  are.  The  people  who  have  the  largest  amount 
of  capital  invested  in  this  business  are  both  importers  and  manu- 
facturers. 

Mr.  HILL.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  import,  and  if  the  style  catches 
on  they  go  to  work  and  duplicate  it  here. 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  That  is  all  they  do.  They  can  not  originate  it;  they 
do  not  dare  to  do  that;  they  do  not  know  what  will  be  in  vogue 
next  season. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  remedy  is  to  originate  the  style  here? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  This  is  what  we  would  like  to  do,  but  can  not  do. 
The  reason  that  that  trade  has  increased  is  because  of  the  prosperity ; 
the  women  buy  more  hats  than  they  did  before,  that  is  all. 

Mr.  FORDNEY.  They  have  more  money  with  which  to  buy  them? 

Mr.  ZUCKER.  Yes ;  and  they  want  better  hats. 


ADDITIONAL  STATEMENT  MADE  BY  JULES  A.  COLLET,  NEW  YORK 
CITY,  RELATIVE  TO  ARTIFICIAL  FLOWERS. 

SATURDAY,  December  12,  1908. 

(The  witness  was  previously  sworn.) 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  wish  to  contradict  my  friend,  politely,  who  has  just 
sat  down;  but  when  he  speaks  to  you  as  representing  the  importers 
and  manufacturers,  gentlemen,  that  is  not  true.  That  is  plain  Eng- 
lish, but  I  can  prove  it.  He  represents  simply  the  .importers.  Mr. 
George  Legg,  who  he  just  mentioned,  is  the  largest  importer  in  the 


6698  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

United  States  and  has  been  for  years.  Mr.  Zncker,  this  gentleman's 
cousin,  has  been  one  of  my  biggest  customers  for  years,  a  man  that  I 
have  done  a  great  deal  of  business  with  on  the  basis  of  $1.00  to 
dollar  goods  on  the  other  side.  Now,  as  to  the  entering  of  goods  in 
undervaluation:  I  would  not  like  to  commit  myself  criminally,  but 
I  can  assure  you  that  I  did  know  of  it.  I  had  been  in  Europe 
with  a  friend  of  mine  and  my  wife  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  ago, 
and  we  purchased  five  or  six  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  goods  to 
bring  home  of  the  small  manufacturers,  and  it  was  offered  to  us 
right  away  as  to  how  much  it  could  be  undervalued.  That  was  a 
plain,  common,  everyday  thing  at  that  time.  There  was  a  charge 
made  to  the  custom-house  by  two  importers  a  few  years  ago — you 
gentlemen  can  get  hold  of  it,  and  I  do  not  want  to  mention  any 
names  here,  because  I  have  it  from  hearsay  and  therefore  I  do  not 
want  to  commit  myself.  But  when  this  man  says  that  I  represent 
the  poorest  manufacturers,  the  cheapest  labor,  it  is  not  true.  The 
class  of  manufacturers  that  he  has  described  to  you  does  not  amount 
to  2  per  cent  of  the  manufacturers,  very  little  people,  who  work  in 
their  homes  and  make  little  specialties  of  fruit  or  grain  that  this 
schedule  covers.  I  will  give  you  some  names  here.  Who  is  Mr. 
Lavanoux  ?  Mr.  A.  W.  Mass  &  Co.,  one  of  the  best  manufacturers,  a 
man  who  can  copy  anything  that  is  imported.  I  will  give  you  some 
names:  Max  Herman,  of  Broadway;  Guerin  &  Lavanoux,  51  West 
Third  street;  New  York  Flower  and  Feather  Company,  of  Wooster 
•street;  A.  T.  Williams,  Washington  place;  Lehman  Brothers,  Broad- 
^way  and  Third  street;  A.  W.  Mass  &  Co.,  3  Bond  street,  New  York; 
^Vleuer,  on  Great  James  street;  Mr.  Fletcher;  and  David  Silva,  625 
Broadway. 

I  do  represent  the  manufacturers.  I  represent  a  class  of  manufac- 
turers that  will  produce  $100.000  worth  of  goods,  and  who  do  import 
$5.000  to  $15,000  worth  of 'goods 

The  CHAIRMAN.  So  you  stated  at  the  outset. 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  want  to  say  to  you  gentlemen  that  the  reason  why 
the  importer  only  produces  what  he  has  to  is  because  once  a  month 
he  runs  short  of  color  that  he  uses  in  his  factory  and  he  can  not  get 
the  imports  quick  enough.  Now,  as  to  the  style.  My  own  styles, 
created  in  this  country,  and  other  manufacturers'  styles,  have  been 
taken  by  his  cousin  and  by  other  importers.  We  can  create  here  just 
as  well,  and  the  class  of  goods  he  says  we  can  not  make  is  the  class  of 
goods  that  we  make  the  most  of,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  average-sell- 
ing, popular  goods.  When  he  says  we  only  make  the  cheapest  goods 
in  this  country,  when  roses  sell  from  $1.50  a  gross  up  to  $9  a  dozen — • — 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  may  have  three  minutes  more,  Mr.  Collet. 

Mr.  COLLET.  I  do  not  want  to  touch  anything  more,  particularly. 
In  conclusion,  I  want  to  say  it  is  a  very  important  matter,  and  I  trust 
you  will  consider  it,  regardless  of  the  $18.000,000  worth  of  business 
here.  It  is  more  vital  than  many  other  of  the  largest  schedules,  be- 
cause this  has  a  labor-giving  capacity.  Take  belts,  for  instance.  Our 
million  dollars'  worth  of  goods  may  take  four  times  as  much  labor  as 
a  million  dollars'  worth  of  belts.  I  invite  any  of  you  gentlemen  to 
prove  any  of  my  statements  in  two  hours'  time  in  New  York  City. 


FEATHEKS    AND    FLOWERS.  6699 

SUPPLEMENTAL  BRIEF  OF  J.  A.  COLLET,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  RELA- 
TIVE TO  IMPORTATION  OF  FLOWERS  AND  FEATHERS. 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  December  12,  1908. 
To  the  WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Either  as  part  of  my  address  or  as  a  supplement  as 
of  December  12,  1908,  I  desire  the  following  statement  to  be  printed 
as  being  part  thereof.  I  also  want  to  make  this  statement  under 
oath,  to  wit: 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  December  12, 1908. 
Hon.   SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  At  a 'meeting  held  yesterday  afternoon  of  the  tariff 
committee  of  the  Flower  and  Fancy  Feather  Manufacturers'  Associa- 
tion, for  which  I  speak  now,  I,  myself,  put  this  question  to  the  mem- 
bers present  of  that  committee :  I  request  each  of  you  gentlemen  to  feel 
as  if  each  of  you  were  under  oath  before  a  supreme  court  justice,  and 
tell  me  what,  in  }^our  opinion,  will  the  present  imports  be  reduced  to  if 
70  per  cent  duty  is  fixed  on  flowers  and  fancy  feathers?  Answer: 
Edward  Lavanoux,  30  per  cent;  Mr.  De  Jong,  flowers  30  per  cent, 
feathers  20  per  cent;  Mr.  Rascover,  20  per  cent;  Joseph  Frey,  15  per 
cent;  A.  T.  Williams,  15  per  cent;  Mr.  Meuer,  15  per  cent;  Mr. 
Pletscher,  20  per  cent. 

J.  A.  COLLET. 


JACOB  DE  JONG,  FOR  ASSOCIATED  FLOWER  AND  FANCY  FEATHER 
MANUFACTURERS,  FILES  SUPPLEMENTAL  BRIEF  RELATIVE  TO 
ARTIFICIAL  FLOWERS  AND  FEATHERS. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  December  19,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  Supplementary  to  the  few  remarks  made  by  me 
before  your  committee  on  November  28  upon  the  subject  of  artificial 
flowers  and  fancy  feathers,  covering  section  425  of  the  present  tariff 
act,  I  beg  to  submit  the  following  memorandum: 

Personally,  as  one  of  the  leading  manufacturers  in  this  line  and  by 
authority  of  the  Associated  Manufacturers  of  America  of  flowers 
and  fancy  feathers,  you  are  respectfully  requested  to  increase  the 
duty  on  artificial  flowers  and  fancy  feathers  to  such  an  extent  as  you 
may  deem  wise  and  proper. 

The  present  duty  is  50  per  cent,  and  an  increase  of  duty  to  either 
60  or  70  per  cent  would  greatly  benefit  the  domestic  indust^.  It  is 
possible  that  under  a  duty  of  70  per  cent  importations  may  be  de- 
creased to  such  an  extent  that  might  possibly  reduce  the  revenue 
to  the  Government  from  this  source,  and  believing,  as  I  do,  that  the 
present  tariff  reform  movement  has  for  its  object  the  reduction  of 
duty  on  raw  materials,  which  would  naturally  greatly  reduce  the 
country's  revenues,  it  may  be  essential  to  only  increase  the  tariff 
on  articles  of  luxury  such  as  ours  only  to  such  an  extent  as  \vould 
tend  to  produce  greater  revenue,  in  order  to  offset  the  losses  caused 
by  articles  being  placed  upon  the  free  list,  due  consideration  being 


6700  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

given  to  the  fact  that  the  Government  at  the  present  time  is  facing 
a  large  deficit. 

If  my  reasoning  in  this  respect  is  right  and  coincides  with  the 
opinions  entertained  by  your  committee,  it  is  but  natural  and  dutiful 
that  any  action  taken  must  be  in  accordance  with  these  facts. 

-The  present  importations  in  round  figures  amount  to  about 
$6,300,000  per  annum,  providing  a  revenue  of  about  $3,150,000. 
Being  thoroughly  familiar  with  this  subject,  I  am  firmly  convinced, 
as  the  future  no  doubt  will  prove,  that  a  duty  of  60  per  cent  may  have 
the  effect  of  checking  the  steady  increase  of  importations  in  the  future, 
but  at  the  same  time  maintaining  importations  on  the  present  basis, 
this  would  cause  an  increase  in  revenue  of  at  least  $600,000  per  year, 
and  I  believe  that  under  a  duty  of  70  per  cent  there  may  possibly  be  a 
slight  increase  in  revenue,  but  I  am  not  sure  about  this  point,  there- 
fore if  one  of  the  objects  of  your  committee  in  framing  the  new  tariff 
law  is  to  increase  the  duty  on  articles  of  luxury,  in  order  to  bring  a  greater 
revenue  to  the  Government,  and  at  the  same  time  give  ample  protec- 
tion to  the  home  industry,  I  must  confess  that  60  per  cent  is  the 
proper  tariff  on  this  class  of  goods,  from  every  sensible,  patriotic,  and 
business  view. 

It  may  be  stated  right  here  that  artificial  flowers  and  fancy  feathers 
should  have  been  classified  under  a  60  per  cent  tariff  in  the  present 
Dingley  bill.  Why  this  class  of  goods  was  placed  at  50  per  cent,  when 
all  other  articles  of  this  character,  such  as  laces,  braids,  trimmings  of 
every  description,  flounces,  etc.,  are  60  per  cent  I  can  not  understand, 
particularly  as  everything  used  in  the  trimming  of  a  lady's  hat,  with 
the  exception  of  artificial  flowers  and  fancy  feathers,  pays  60  per  cent 
at  present;  this,  although  your  committee  may  not  be  experienced  in 
the  millinery  line,  must  surely  appear  to  you  as  an  inconsistency, 
especially  so  when  you  bear  in  mind  that  had  flowers  and  feathers 
been  placed  under  a  60  per  cent  duty  in  the  Dingley  bill,  it  would  have 
greatly  helped  the  development  of  our  home  production,  and  at  the 
same  time  provided  an  additional  $4,000,000  to  the  revenue. 

A  duty  of  60  per  cent  on  artificial  flowers  and  fancy  feathers  would 
give  a  wonderful  impetus  to  our  home  industry.  The  manufacturers 
are  satisfied  to  supply  the  gradual  increased  demand  in  this  line.  It  is 
undeniable  that  this  class  of  goods  will  always  be  imported  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  at  least  so  long  as  American  women  insist  upon  getting 
the  imported  article,  even  though  the  domestic  product  may  be  superior. 
If  they  are  willing  to  pay  higher  prices,  simply  because  the  article  is 
imported,  then  by  all  means  let  the  Government  have  the  benefit. 

The  domestic  manufacturers  are  gradually  developing  the  home 
production,  and  have  already  made  the  domestic  industry  important 
enough  to  compete  with  foreign  manufacturers  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  keep  down  arbitrary  prices,  formerly  dictated  by  foreign  producers. 

Were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  domestic  manufacturer  is  obliged 
to  pay  an  average  duty  of  nearly  50  per  cent  on  most  of  the  material 
he  uses,  and  for  the  further  fact  that  labor  in  this  line  here  receives 
more  than  double  the  same  labor  in  Europe,  and  also  the  greater 
expenses  of  rent  and  other  fixed  charges,  the  American  manufacturer 
would  need  no  protection  whatever.  Bearing  in  mind  the  differen- 
tiation between  cost  of  materials,  labor,  rents,  etc.,  a  duty  of  60 
per  cent  only  partly  equalizes  the  cost  of  manufacture  here  with 
abroad.  Were  we  to  endeavor  to  fix  a  perfect  equalization,  it  appears 


FEATHEES    AND    FLOWERS.  6701 

that  a  duty  of  not  less  than  80  per  cent  would  be  necessary.  There 
are  other  numerous  reasons  which  appeal  to  your  committee  for 
advancing  the  duty  on  this  class  of  goods,  but  they  are  somewhat 
intricate  and  technical,  requiring  the  production  of  statistics  and  a 
more  lengthy  and  complicated  argument;  for  instance,  the  fact  that 
the  proportion  of  cost  for  landing  this  class  of  goods  under  a  duty 
of  70-60-50  per  cent  would  be  as  follows: 

The  article  which  would  cost  17  cents  to  lay  down  here  under 
a  50  per  cent  duty  would  cost  18  cents  under  a  60  per  cent  duty  and 
21  cents  under  a  70  per  cent  duty.  You  will  thus  notice  that  the 
increased  cost  of  landing,  between  50  per  cent  and  60  per  cent,  is  not 
large  enough  to  cause  any  great  disturbance  in  importations  but 
would  still  prove  of  great  benefit  to  the  domestic  producer.  While 
it  is  but  natural  that  a  duty  of  70  per  cent  would  be  of  immense 
benefit  to  the  domestic  manufacturers,  we  as  manufacturers  do  not 
wish  to  appear  before  your  committee  as  suppliants,  asking  Govern- 
ment aid  for  the  boosting  of  our  industry,  but  are  quite  willing  to 
leave  this  matter  open  to  your  best  judgment. 

In  conclusion,  permit  me  to  thank  your  committee  and  its  secre- 
tary for  the  many  courtesies  and  kindnesses  shown  to  me.  Knowing 
that  your  committee  is  endeavoring  to  conscientiously  perform  a 
great  and  difficult  task,  I  trust  your  efforts  will  be  crowned  with 
success,  and  that  the  new  tariff  measure  will  meet  with  the  approval 
of  the  country  at  large. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

JACOB  DE  JONG, 
Representing  ike  Associated  Flower  and  Fancy 

Feather  Manufacturers  of  America. 


THE  NEW  YORK  IMPORTERS  AND  MANUFACTURERS  OF  ARTI- 
FICIAL FLOWERS  AND  FEATHERS  FILE  BRIEF. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  December  26,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  New  York  importers  and  manufacturers  of  arti- 
ficial flowers  and  fancy  feathers  petition  the  Ways  and  Means  Com- 
mittee to  make  no  change  in  paragraph  425,  relating  to  the  duty  on 
artificial  flowers,  which  is  now  50  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

There  is  no  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  trade  either  to  have 
the  duty  reduced  or  increased.  It  deems  it  advisable,  under  present 
conditions,  to  let  well  enough  alone.  These  importers  are  likewise 
manufacturers,  some  of  them  being  the  largest  manufacturers  of 
American  artificial  flowers  in  this  country,  in  which  more  capital  is 
invested  than  in  very  many  of  the  smaller  plants  combined,  and, 
therefore,  are  equally,  if  not  more  desirous  for  the  protection  of 
their  industry  as  are  all  the  other  manufacturers  who  are  appealing 
for  an  increase  of  duty  on  this  commodity.  These  importers  and 
manufacturers  whose  sales  rooms  are  on  the  ground  floor  of  the 
expensive  buildings  located  on  Broadway,  from  Houston  street  north 
to  Astor  place,  and  on  Fifth  avenue,  from  Fourteenth  street  to 
Twenty-third  street,  and  in  the  new  palatial  business  buildings  on 


6702  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

the  side  streets  adjacent  to  Fifth  avenue,  employ  thousands  of  men, 
women,  and  giris.  Their  factories  are  in  the  best  sanitary  condi- 
tion and  are  located  above  the  stores  in  which  the  goods  are  shown 
and  offered  for  sale.  They  comply  with  every  requirement  of  the 
factory  law  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  expend  a  great  amount 
of  money  for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  their  employees. 
Hence  no  class  of  manufacturers  can  be  more  deeply  interested  in 
protection  than  these  importers  and  manufacturers  of  flowers  and 
feathers. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  stated  for  the  information  of  the 
committee,  that  it  is  an  impossibility  for  the  American  manufacturer 
to  produce  the  cheaper  lines  of  goods  that  are  classed  as  artificial 
flowers  and  fancy  feathers.  Especially  is  this  true  of  what  are 
termed  "  small  flowers,"  because  foreign  manufacturers  have  trained 
help  making  these  goods  from  childhood.  Their  factories  are  under 
the  strictest  discipline,  and  produce  great  quantities  all  the  year 
round,  and  they  have  the  markets  of  the  world  to  supply.  Con- 
sequently, there  is  no  dull  season  with  them,  and  they  are  always 
ready  to '  sell  the  merchandise  which  can  not  be  produced  in  the 
American  market,  let  the  effort  to  do  so  be  ever  so  strenuous.  These 
goods  are  made  by  hand,  produced  cheaper,  sold  in  larger  quantities 
to  American  importers,  and  when  in  demand  it  would  be  impossible 
to  produce  enough  merchandise  of  this  character  to  supply  such 
demand;  hence  the  importation.  When  the  goods  are  wanted, 
they  must  be  delivered  quickly;  there  will  be  no  time  to  order  them 
from  the  other  side  or  to  produce  them  in  this  market. 

Again,  the  styles  or  patterns  of  these  various  flowers  and  fancy 
feathers  originate  in  Paris,  which  is  the  center  of  fashion  for  the 
world,  and  afler  large  quantities  are  imported,  if  any  one  or  more 
articles  or  items  become  popular  and  are  sold  out,  then,  if  it  is  pos- 
sible so  to  do,  the  American  manufacturers  copy  these  articles, 
giving  employment,  as  above  stated,  to  thousands  of  hands.  This 
particularly  refers  to  the  finer  grade  of  merchandise. 

There  is  no  amount  of  protection  that  would  interfere  with  the  im- 
portation of  the  finer  grade  of  goods.  They  must  be  had  when  wanted, 
and  let  the  price  be  ever  so  high,  the  people  will  buy  them.  It  is  the 
consumer  tnat  pays  the  price,  and  the  consumer  in  this  instance  is 
made  up  of  the  great  middle  class  of  this  country;  and  here  may  we  be 
permitted  to  state  that  this  merchandise  is  utilized  in  the  trimming  of 
the  popular  grades  of  women's  and  misses'  hats?  The  cheaper  im- 
ported articles  and  the  cheaper  manufactured  article  is  used  in  trim- 
ming what  are  termed  the  " cheap"  grade  of  hats;  but  the  women  of 
this  country,  if  they  are  in  a  position  financially  to  buy  good  dress  hats, 
will  want  them  trimmed  with  the  best  of  the  imported  articles.  What- 
ever fashion  dictates  in  this  particular,  women  will  have,  let  the  price 
be  what  it  may  and  let  their  circumstances  be  what  they  may. 

In  regard  to  the  growth  of  the  number  of  manufacturers,  we  beg 
leave  to  state  that  before  the  adoption  of  the  Dingley  bill  there  were 
few  manufacturers,  not  over  25  or  30,  in  the  United  States.  Under  a 
protective  tariff  of  50  per  cent  this  industry  has  increased  to  over  200, 
naif  of  that  number  or  more  being  located  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
All  have  thrived  under  a  50  per  cent  duty,  many  of  them  owning 
houses  and*lands  and  considered  wealthy.  Before  the  adoption  of  the 
factory  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York  many  of  these  manufacturers 


FEATHERS    AND    FLOWERS MILLINERY    ORNAMENTS.       6703 

produced  their  merchandise  in  tenement  houses,  not  only  on  the  east 
and  west  sides  of  New  York,  but  in  Brooklyn,  Jersey  City,  and  Hobo- 
ken.  Since  the  adoption  of  the  factory  laws,  however,  these  manufac- 
turers have  been  enabled  to  locate  their  plants  in  the  cheaper  factory 
buildings.  Some  of  them  employ  many  hands.  Wages,  however,  are 
not  equal  to  that  paid  by  the  manufacturers  and  importers,  whose  bus- 
iness locations  are  on  Broadway  and  Fifth  aveneue  and  on  the  side 
streets,  as  above  referred  to,  and  who  employ  a  higher  grade  of  help. 

This  question  of  duty  on  artificial  flowers  has  practically  nothing 
to  do  with  the  duty  on  hats,  braids,  or  other  millinery  trimmings. 
It  is  an  item  in  itself,  dealt  with  exclusively  by  paragraph  425.  It 
is  satisfactory  to  the  great  bulk  of  importers  and  manufacturers  of 
flowers  and  feathers,  as  well  as  to  the  jobbers  or  wholesale  dealers, 
which  are  classed  as  middlemen,  selling  to  the  retail  dealers.  These 
people  likewise  are  in  accord  with  the  importer  and  manufacturer  in 
having  the  duty  remain  at  50  per  cent. 

There  has  been  no  one  driven  out  of  business  by  the  importers,  as 
stated  by  a  manufacturer  who  claims  to  have  made  $50,000  in  his 
business  since  the  adoption  of  the  Dingley  bill  because  of  this  tariff 
of  50  per  cent.  On  the  contrary,  the  trade  has  grown  marvelously 
since  this  man  has  been  out  of  business.  Failures  have  been  few  and 
far  between,  proving  that  this  branch  of  the  trade  is  in  a  prosperous 
condition  and  needs  no  further  protection  than  it  is  receiving  now  at 
the  hands  of  the  Government.  The  increase  of  this  duty  above  50 
per  cent  ad  valorem  will  naturally  fall  upon  the  consumer,  without 
at  all  proving  beneficial  to  the  domestic  manufacturer. 

The  development  of  this  business  has  been  mainly  due  to  the  pres- 
ent tariff  system,  and  to  increase  it  now  will  not  only  cause  distress 
among  the  consumers,  but  will  hamper  and  interfere  with  conditions 
in  importing  and  manufacturing  lines  that  will  prove  distressing. 
If  the  duty  is  lowered,  the  large  stock  on  hand  will  necessarily  be 
forced  to  oe  marked  down  anct  sold  at  a  great  sacrifice  during  the 
coming  months.  If  there  is  any  interference  with  the  present  duty 
on  the  article  referred  to  it  will  upset  business  conditions,  especially 
in  this  branch  of  commerce. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

PETER  ZTJCKER,  Counsel, 
For  New  York  Importers  and  Manufacturers  of 

Artificial  Flowers  and  Feathers. 


MILLINERY  ORNAMENTS. 

BRIEF  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  MILLINERY  JOBBERS'  ASSOCIATION  OF 
THE  UNITED  STATES  RELATIVE  TO  CLASSIFICATION  OF  MIL- 
LINERY ORNAMENTS. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  December  26,  1908. 

We  desire  that  a  paragraph  should  be  added  to  the  sundries  sched- 
ule, which  paragraph  we  desire  should  read  as  follows: 

Hat  pins  and  millinery  ornaments  of  base  metal,  glass,  paste,  shell,  collodion,  wood, 
stone,  or  earthenware,  or  of  which  these  substances,  or  either  of  them,  is  the  com- 
ponent material  of  chief  value,  whether  plated,  polished,  decorated,  or  otherwise 
ornamented,  forty-five  per  centum  ad  valorem. 


G704  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

The  purpose  of  this  paragraph  is  to  avoid  the  inconsistencies  of 
the  present  administration  of  paragraphs  100  and  434,  as  related  to 
hat  pins  and  millinery  ornaments.  It  would  be  useless  to  attempt 
to  amend  paragraphs  100  and  434  so  as  to  obtain  uniformity  of 
classification  and  give  assurance  as  to  rates  of  duty  which  would 
apply  to  all  hat  pins  and  millinery  ornaments. 

Paragraph  100  reads  as  follows: 

Glass  bottles,  decanters,  or  other  vessels  or  articles  of  glass,  cut,  engraved,  painted, 
colored,  stained,  silvered,  gilded,  etched,  frosted,  printed  in  any  manner  or  otherwise 
ornamented,  decorated,  or  ground  (except  such  grinding  as  is  necessary  for  filling 
stoppers),  and  any  articles  of  which  such  glass  is  the  component  material  of  chief  value, 
and  porcelain,  opal,  and  other  blown  glassware;  all  the  foregoing,  filled  or  unfilled, 
and  whether  their  contents  be  dutiable  or  free,  sixty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

Paragraph  434  reads  as  follows: 

Articles  commonly  known  as  "jewelry,"  and  parts  thereof,  finished  or  unfinished, 
not  specially  provid;  d  for  in  this  act,  including  precious  stones  set,  pearls  set  or  strung, 
and  cameos  in  frames,  sixty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

Paragraph  100  is  frequently  invoked  to  cover  millinery  ornaments 
made  of  glass  or  paste  in  imitation  of  jet  which  have  been  polished  so 
little  that  a  magnifying  glass  is  necessary  to  determine  that  it  has 
been  even  touched  to  the  polishing  wheel. 

Under  paragraph  434  hat  pins  of  various  kinds  have  been  assessed 
with  dues  at  60  per  cent  ad  valorem.  There  is  no  assurance 
that  the  same  hat  pins  will  be  considered  jewelry  twice  in  succession, 
or  at  two  different  ports  at  the  same  time;  in  other  words,  the  dis- 
tinction between  hat  pins  which  are  jewlery  and  those  which  are  not 
jewelry  is  so  indefinite  that  it  is  wholly  dependent  upon  the  ideas  of 
the  different  examiners  at  the  different  ports,  and  does  not  depend 
upon  absolute  facts. 

Bearing  in  mind  that  millinery  ornaments  are  of  flimsy  construc- 
tion, and  that  no  precious  metals  or  stones  are  used  in  them  or  in 
the  class  of  hat  pins  handled  by  milliners,  and  that  they  are  not 
made  nor  sold  by  jewelers,  it  seems  unjust  to  class  them  with  the 
highest  examples  of  the  jeweler's  art. 

It  is  believed  that  the  inclusion  of  the  above  proposed  paragraph 
will  eliminate  a  large  percentage  of  the  uncertainty  which  works 
more  hardship  to  the  importer  than  a  high  rate  of  duty  impartially 
administered. 

Second.  We  desire  that  a  new  paragraph  shall  be  inserted  in  the 
tariff  schedule,  to  immediately  precede  paragraph  409,  and  request 
that  said  paragraph  shall  read  as  follows : 

Braids,  plaits,  laces,  and  plateaux,  composed  wholly  or  in  chief  value  of  flax,  cot- 
ton, hemp,  ramie,  or  other  vegetable  fiber,  suitable  for  making  or  ornamenting  hats, 
bonnets,  or  hoods,  thirty-five  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

Our  reasons  therefor  are  the  following:  Paragraph  409  reads  as 
follows : 

Braids,  plaits,  laces  and  willow  sheets  or  squares,  composed  wholly  of  straw,  chip, 
grass,  palm  leaf,  willow,  osier,  or  rattan,  suitable  for  making  or  ornamenting  hats, 
bonnets  or  hoods,  not  bleached,  dyed,  colored  or  etained,  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valo- 
rem; if  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained,  twenty  per  centum  ad  valorem;  hats, 
bonnets,  and  hoods  composed  of  straw,  chip,  grass,  palm  leaf,  willow,  osier,  or  rattan, 
whether  wholly  or  partly  manufactured,  but  not  trimmed,  thirty-five  per  centum 
ad  valorem;  if  trimmed,  fifty  per  centum  ad  valorem.  But  the  terms  "grass"  and 
"straw"  shall  be  understood  to  mean  these  substances  in  their  natural  form  and 
structure,  and  not  the  separated  fiber  thereof. 


MILLINERY    ORNAMENTS PETER    ZUCKEB.  6705 

Paragraph  339,  which  reads  as  follows: 

Laces,  lace  window  curtains,  tidies,  pillow  shams,  bed  sets,  insertings,  flouncings, 
and  other  lace  articles:  handkerchiefs,  napkins,  wearing  apparel,  and  other  articles 
made  wholly  or  in  part  of  lace,  or  in  imitation  of  lace;  nets  or  nettings,  veils  and 
veilings,  etamines,  vitrages,  neck  rufflings,  ruchings,  tuckings,  flutings,  and  quillings; 
embroideries  and  all  trimmings,  including  braids,  edgings,  insertings,  flouncings, 
galloons,  gorings,  and  bands;  wearing  apparel,  handkerchiefs,  and  other  articles  or 
fabrics  embroidered  in  any  manner  by  hand  or  machinery,  whether  with  a  letter, 
monogram,  or  otherwise;  tamboured  or  appliqueed  articles,  fabrics  or  wearing  apparel; 
hemstitched  or  tucked  flouncings  or  skirtings,  and  articles  made  wholly  or  in 
part  of  rufflings,  tuckings  or  ruchings;  all  of  the  foregoing,  composed  wholly  or  in 
chief  value  of  flax,  cotton,  or  other  vegetable  fiber,  and  not  elsewhere  specially  pro- 
vided for  in  this  act,  whether  composed  in  part  of  India  rubber  or  otherwise,  sixty 
per  centum  ad  valorem:  Provided,  That  no  wearing  apparel  or  other  article  or  textile 
fabric,  when  embroidered  by  hand  or  machinery,  shall  pay  duty  at  a  less  rate  than 
that  imposed  in  any  schedule  of  this  act  upon  any  embroideries  of  the  materials  of 
which  such  embroidery  is  composed — 

covers  all  braids  made  of  cotton  or  other  vegetable  fiber,  but  the 
braids  in  that  paragraph  are  included  under  the  heading  "Trim- 
mings," while  the  braids  which  are  covered  by  the  above  proposed 
paragraph  are  used  chiefly  in  the  manufacture  of  hats,  and  are  simi- 
lar in  no  respects  to  straw  braids,  and  are  in  that  sense  a  raw  mate- 
rial. It  would,  therefore,  seem  that  the  rate  of  duty  thereon  should 
not  be  the  same  as  that  provided  for  trimmings  and  laces. 

It  would  be  impracticable  to  so  amend  paragraph  339  as  to  accom- 
plish tfye  object  desired,  and,  as  these  braids  are  closely  associated 
in  use  and  appearance  to  the  straw  braids  subject  of  paragraph  409, 
the  above  new  paragraph  is  suggested  as  being  the  best  means  for 
accomplishing  the  object. 

Third.  We  desire  a  slight  amendment  to  paragraph  251,  which  said 
paragraph  now  reads  as  follows: 

Orchids,  palms,  dracaenas,  crotons  and  azaleas,  tulips,  hyacinths,  narcissi,  jonquils, 
lilies,  lilies  of  the  valley,  and  all  other  bulbs,  bulbous  roots,  or  corms,  which  are  cul- 
tivated for  their  flowers,  and  natural  flowers  of  all  kinds,  preserved  or  fresh,  suitable 
for  decorative  purposes,  twenty-five  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

We  desire  that  the  paragraph  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows 
after  amendment: 

Orchids,  palms,  dracaenas,  crotons  and  azaleas,  tulips,  hyacinths,  narcissi,  jonquils, 
lilies,  lilies  of  the  valley,  and  all  other  bulbs,  bulbous  roots,  or  conns,  which  are  cul- 
tivated for  their  flowers,  twenty -five  per  centum  ad  valorem;  and  natural  grasses, 
grains,  leaves,  and  flowers,  when  colored  or  in  any  manner  treated  for  preservation, 
fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

This  amendment  covers  natural  flowers,  leaves,  etc.,  which  have 
undergone  simple  processes  only  of  preservation  and  its  incidental 
coloring.  The  uses  so  far  as  the  millinery  trade  is  concerned  to  which 
these  articles  are  put  assimilate  closely  to  those  to  which  crude 
feathers  are  put,  and  it  therefore  follows  that  a  low  rate  of  duty  only 
should  be  provided  for. 

Fourth.  We  desire  an  amendment  to  paragraph  386.  Paragraph 
386  now  reads  as  follows : 

Velvets,  velvet  or  plush  ribbons,  chenilles,  or  other  pile  fabrics,  cut  or  uncut,  com- 
posed of  silk,  or  of  which  silk  is  the  component  material  of  chief  value,  not  specially 
provided  for  in  this  act,  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  pound  and  fifteen  per  centum 
ad  valorem;  plushes,  composed  of  silk,  or  of  which  silk  is  the  component  material  of 
chief  value,  one  dollar  per  pound  and  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem;  but  in  no  case 
shall  the  foregoing  articles  pay  a  leas  rate  of  duty  than  fifty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 


6706  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

As  amended,  we  desire  that  said  paragraph  shall  read  as  follows: 

Velvets,  plushes,  velvet  or  plush  ribbons,  chenilles,  or  other  pile  fabrics,  cut  or 
uncut,  composed  of  silk,  or  of  which  silk  is  the  component  material  of  chief  value,  not 
specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  fifty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

And  our  reasons  therefor  are  as  follows : 

The  compound  rate  of  a  dollar  and  a  half  per  pound  and  15  per  cent 
ad  valorem  was  undoubtedly  originally  based  upon  a  cost  to  produce 
in  existence  prior  to  1897,  and  therefore  does  not  at  the  present 
time  represent  a  proper  equivalent  ad  valorem  rate  of  duty.  A  rate 
per  pound  assessed  on  goods  bought  and  sold  per  yard  is  never 
equitable,  and  causes  small  differences,  dependent  upon  the  color, 
sometimes  conditions  of  atmosphere  when  weighed,  etc.,  which  are 
more  annoying  to  the  importer  and  more  expensive  to  the  Govern- 
ment to  collect  than  hiirh  ad  valorem  rates  of  duty. 

The  elimination  of  this  compound  charge  of  SI. 50  per  pound  and 
15  per  cent  would  make  very  little  difference  in  the  amount  collected 
by  the  Government  and  make  it  possible  for  an  importer  to  figure 
prospective  costs  with  reasonable  accuracy.  Velvets  and  silks  vary 
in  weight  according  to  the  color  dyed,  some  colors  weighing  more  than 
others.  An  entry  is  made  on  a  large  shipment  of  the  same  grade  of 
velvet  at,  say,  50  per  cent,  the  rate  apparently  highest  on  each 
case.  On  liquidating  the  importer  finds  that  the  liquidator  has 
changed  the  rate  to  $1.50  and  15  per  cent  on  certain  pieces  which 
are  shown  to  be  extra  heavy.  An  unexpected  advance  is  thereby 
made  in  the  cost  of  the  shipment,  which  must  be  met  by  advance  in 
price  on  the  whole  lot,  as  the  particular  lot  on  which  the  rate  is 
advanced  is- no  more  valuable  than  the  others. 

We  think  that  what  has  been  said  will  show  the  justice  of  the 
amendment  that  we  are  asking  for. 

Fifth.  We  desire  an  amendment  to  paragraph  409.  Paragraph  409, 
as  it  stands,  reads  as  follows: 

Braids,  plaits,  laces,  and  willow  sheets  or  squares,  composed  wholly  of  straw,  chip, 
grass,  palm  leaf,  willow,  osier,  or  rattan,  suitable  for  making  or  ornamenting  hats,  bon- 
nets, or  hoods,  not  bleached,  dyed,  colored,  or  stained,  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem; 
if  bleached,  dyed,  colored  or  stained,  twenty  per  centum  ad  valorem;  hats,  bonnets, 
and  hoods,  composed  of  straw,  chip,  grass,  palm  leaf,  willow,  osier,  or  rattan,  whether 
wholly  or  partly  manufactured,  but  not  trimmed,  thirty-five  per  centum  ad  valorem; 
if  trimmed,  fifty  per  centum  ad  valorem.  But  the  terms  "grass"  and  "straw"  shall 
be  understood  to  mean  these  substances  in  their  natural  form  and  structure,  and  not 
the  separated  fiber  thereof. 

We  desire  an  amendment  which  will  make  the  paragraph  read  as 
follows : 

Braids,  plaits,  laces,  plateaux,  and  sheets  or  squares,  composed  wholly  or  in  chief 
value  of  straw,  chip,  grass,  palm  leaf,  willow,  osier,  or  rattan,  or  either  of  them,  suitable 
for  making  or  ornamenting  hats,  bonnets,  or  hoods,  not  bleached,  dyed,  colored  or 
stained,  fifteen  per  centum  ad  valorem;  if  bleached,  dyed,  colored  or  stained,  twenty 

Eer  centum  ad  valorem;  hats,  bonnets,  and  hoods  composed  of  straw,  chip,  grass,  palm 
;af,  willow,  osier,  or  rattan,  whether  wholly  or  partly  manufactured,  but  not  trimmed, 
thirty-five  per  centum  ad  valorem;  if  trimmed,  fifty  per  centum  ad  valorem.     But  the 
terms  "grass"  and  "straw"  shall  be  understood  to  mean  these  substances  in  their 
natural  form  and  structure,  and  not  the  separated  fiber  thereof. 

The  principal  objection  to  paragraph  409  as  it  now  stands  is  the 
fact  that  it  contains  the  word  "wholly"  in  the  first  paragraph  and 
thereby  eliminates  the  only  kind  of  willow  squares  known  to  the 
millinery  trade  from  being  dutiable  thereunder,  because  the  com- 
mercial willow  square  has  a  backing  of  cotton  which  forms  an  almost 
imperceptible  per  cent  of  the  cost;  and,  further,  a  straw  braid  in  fan- 


MILLINERY   ORNAMENTS PETER   ZUCKER.  6707 

ciful  design  is  not  included  within  the  provisions  of  this  paragraph 
because  of  the  presence  of  a  few  cotton  threads  for  use  merely  to  hold 
together  the  straw,  which  cotton  threads  form  an  insignificant  pro- 
portion of  the  value.  It  is  therefore  suggested  that  the  insertion 
of  the  words  "or  in  chief  value"  after  the  word  "wholly"  would  per- 
mit the  importation  of  all  hat  braids  in  chief  value  of  any  of  the  mate- 
rials named  in  paragraph  409  at  the  same  rate  of  duty,  and  would 
relieve  the  uncertainty  in  determining  component  materials  of  chief 
value  in  braids  for  making  hats. 

The  word  "plateaux"  should  be  inserted,  as  these  articles  when 
made  of  any  of  the  materials  mentioned  in  the  paragraph  are  used 
for  the  same  purposes  as  braids,  plaits,  laces,  and  sheets.  The  word 
"willow"  before  the  words  "sheets  or  squares"  has  been  cut  out  of 
the  proposed  paragraph,  as  its  presence  amounts  to  an  absurdity  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  the  subsequent  language  amply  covers  it. 

Sixth.  We  desire  paragraph  425  amended.  This  paragraph  now 
reads  as  follows: 

Feathers  and  downs  of  all  kinds,  including  bird  skins,  or  parts  thereof,  with  the 
feathers  on,  crude  or  not  dressed,  colored,  or  otherwise  advanced  or  manufactured  in 
any  manner,  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  fiftee/i  per  centum  ad  valorem; 
when  dressed,  colored,  or  otherwise  advanced  or  manufactured  in  any  manner,  includ- 
ing quilts  of  down  and  other  manufactures  of  down,  and  also  dressed  and  finished 
birds  suitable  for  millinery  ornaments,  and  artificial  or  ornamental  feathers,  fruits, 
grains,  leaves,  flowers,  and  stems,  or  parts  thereof,  of  whatever  material  composed,  not 
specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  fifty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

We  desire  the  paragraph  to  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows : 

Feathers  and  downs  of  all  kinds,  including  bird  skins  or  parts  thereof  with  the 
feathers  on,  crude  or  cleaned,  but  not  dressed,  colored,  or  otherwise  advanced  or 
manufactured  in  any  manner,  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  fifteen  per 
centum  ad  valorem;  when  dressed,  colored,  or  otherwise  advanced  or  manufactured 
in  any  manner,  including  quilts  of  down  and  other  manufactures  of  down,  and  also 
dressed  and  finished  birds  suitable  for  millinery  ornaments,  and  artificial  fruits,  grains, 
leaves,  flowers,  and  stems,  or  parts  thereof ,  of  whatever  material  composed,  and  arti- 
cles composed  wholly  or  in  chief  value  of  the  foregoing  or  either  of  them,  not  specially 
provided  for  in  this  act,  fifty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

The  first  change  in  this  paragraph  is  in  the  addition  of  the  word 
"cleaned"  after  the  word  "crude"  in  the  first  part  of  the  paragraph. 
This  provision  will  permit  the  importation  of  feathers  which  are  in 
their  natural  state  but  which  have  had  the  foreign  matter  adhering 
to  them  removed  by  washing,  and  it  will  relieve  some  such  an  absurd- 
ity as  actually  occurred  in  the  importation  of  feathers  which  had 
not  been  changed  in  condition  by  any  process.  Some  feathers  were 
imported  into  the  port  of  Chicago;  part  of  them  apparently  had 
been  cleaned  and  another  part  had  not.  The  apparently  cleaned 
portion  were  assessed  for  duty  at  50  per  cent  as  feathers  advanced, 
while  the  uncleaned  portion  were  assessed  at  15  per  cent  as  crude 
feathers.  It  was  later  established  that  all  the  feathers  were  in  a 
crude  condition  and  had  never  been  cleaned  by  artificial  means,  but, 
as  it  was  alleged,  came  from  the  clean  parts  of  the  bird.  There  are 
some  inequalities  in  the  administration  of  this  paragraph  which  would 
be  done  away  with  by  the  above-proposed  change. 

The  other  changes  in  phraseology  would  serve  to  eliminate  ques- 
tions which  have  arisen  and  are  still  unsettled  and  are  now  pending 
in  the  United  States  court. 

Respectfully  submitted.  PETER  ZUCKER, 

Counsel  for  the  Millinery  Jobbers'  Association 

of  the  United  States. 


6708  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

FURS. 

[Paragraphs  426,  450,  561,  and  562.] 

THE  FUR  SKIN  DRESSERS'  UNION,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  FAVORS  A 
HIGHER  TARIFF  ON  FTJRS  MADE  INTO  PLATES. 

NEW  YORK,  November  £5,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  We,  the  undersigned,  represent  the  Fur  Skin  Dress- 
ers' Union,  an  organization  of  workingmen  employed  in  the  trade  of 
dressing  fur  skins. 

The  said  organization  favors  a  higher  tariff  on  all  furs  dressed 
on  the  skin,  manufactured,  and  made  into  so-called  plates. 

The  present  duty  on  manufactured  goods  is  35  per  cent  ad  valorem 
and  on  dressed  furs  20  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

From  the  table  prepared  by  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  we  find 
that  the  wages  of  furriers  in  the  five-year  period  of  1885  to  1889 
were  $3.39  per  day;  between  1891  and  1893  the  average  wages  fell 
to  $2.02 ;  in  1895  to  1896  they  were  $2.06,  and  between  1897  and  1901 
they  averaged  $2.19  per  day. 

From  the  statistics  obtainable  and  from  our  knowledge  of  the 
trade  we  estimate  the  wages  of  1901  to  1908  at  about  $2  per  day. 

We  ascribe  the  fall  of  wages  in  our  trade  largely  to  the  effects  of 
the  present  tariff. 

Under  the.  present  tariff  we  are  placed  in  direct  competition  with 
the  cheaper  labpr  of  European  fur  workers,  and,  furthermore,  we  do 
not  get  enough  work. 

The  dressed  furs  imported  from  Europe  are,  in  a  number  of  cases, 
practically  manufactured  and  sewn  into  linings,  or  "  plates  "  as  they 
are  termed,  and  are  sent  into  our  market  under  the  schedule  of  skins 
with  a  duty  of  20  per  cent  ad  valorem  under  the  present  law,  instead 
of  35  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

We  also  find  that  the  importation  into  this  country  has  grown  in 
thirteen  years  from  $7,620,084  to  $21,883,667,  while  our  exports 
have,  during  the  same  period  of  time,  increased  from  $4,238,690 
to  $7,139,221,  thus  plainly  showing  a  balance  of  trade  in  favor  of 
the  European  market. 

The  work  of  dressing  furs  in  this  country  is  in  the  hands  of  skilled 
mechanics,  who  find  it  absolutely  impossible  to  compete  with  the 
cheaper  European  labor,  and  especially  with  labor  employed  on  the 
cheaper  grades  of  furs. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  not  enough  work  in  the  fur  trade  in 
this  country  at  present  to  warrant  any  experiments  with  more  eco- 
nomical methods  of  production. 

Therefore,  we  ask  you  to  commend  in  behalf  of  the  fur  workers  of 
this  country  an  increase  in  the  tariff  on  dressed  furs  from  20  per  cent 
to  40  per  cent,  which  would  naturally  cause  the  importation  of  low- 
priced  goods  from  Europe  to  become  less  profitable,  and  this  would 
result  in  the  development  of  a  fur  industry  in  this  country  which 
would  excel  that  of  the  European  countries. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted.          EDW.  J.  ANDERSON. 

ALBERT  L.  HETZE. 
CONRAD  KOTHE. 


FURS.  6709 

REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE  FUR  DRESSERS  AND  FUR  DYERS  ASK 
AN  INCREASE  OF  DUTY  ON  THEIR  PRODUCTS. 

NEW  YORK,  November  26, 1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  undersigned  represent  the  fur  dressers  and  the 
fur  dyers  of  the  United  States.  This  interest  is  not  a  trust.  It  is 
not  a  monopoly.  We  are  not  manufacturers.  We  are  not  importers. 
We  are  not  dealers.  We  are  simply  laborers,  workingmen.  Some  of 
us  are  contractors,  that  is  to  say,  we  employ  numbers  of  men  to  do 
our  work  for  us  in  factories  appointed  and  arranged  for  that  pur- 
pose. But  we  are  all  laborers,  nevertheless. 

A  very  brief  statement  of  the  method  in  which  the  business  is  at 
present  conducted  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

Your  honorable  committee  will  find  upon  investigation  that  a  very 
large  percentage,  perhaps  90  per  cent,  of  the  furs  which  are  the  sub- 
ject of  this  brief  are  caught  or  trapped  in  this  country,  that  is  to  say 
in  America,  in  various  parts  of  this  country.  When  so  caught  and 
trapped  they  are  thereafter  handled  by  the  trapper  or  hunter  and  sent 
in  quantities  to  the  New  York  commission  merchants  in  their  rough, 
original,  natural  state. 

These  New  York  commission  merchants  in  turn  send  these  various 
skins  (furs),  a  detailed  list  of  which  your  honorable  committee  will 
find  specifically  mentioned  hereafter,  to  the  London  auction  rooms; 
some  also  to  Leipzig,  in  Germany,  and  there  these  raw  skins  (furs) 
are  sold,  and  thus  the  price  on  these  skins  (furs)  is  established. 

Now,  up  to  this  time  we  have  no  fault  to  find,  no  objection  to  make. 

Now,  our  plaint  is  as  follows:  After  these  skins  (furs)  are  sold 
at  London  or  Leipzig,  as  the  case  may  be,  then  the  trouble  begins. 

That  is  where  this  honorable  committee  must  come  to  the  relief  of 
the  American  laborer. 

Now,  how  does  it  work  to-day? 

The  result  of  the  auction  sales  at  London  and  Leipzig  is  that  these 
skins  (furs)  of  the  various  kinds  mentioned  hereafter  are  distributed 
to  buyers  resident  in  various  parts  of  the  world.  Having  bought 
and  gotten  possession  of  and  title  to  them,  they  immediately  arrange 
with  the  dresser  and  dyer  of  London  and  Leipzig  for  the  dyeing  and 
for  the  dressing  of  these  skins  (furs)  which,  on  account  of  the  ridicu- 
lously low  price  of  labor  as  compared  with  our  price  here,  as  your 
honorable  committee  will  readily  see,  means  that  more  than  5()  per 
cent  of  the  labor  is  done  in  foreign  countries,  to  the  exclusion  of  our 
American  workmen. 

After  the  London  and  Leipzig  dyer  and  dresser  has  dressed  and 
dyed  these  skins  (furs)  he  puts  them  in  what  we  call  "  plates  " — that 
is  to  say,  a  number  of  skins  (furs)  all  stitched  or  fastened  together 
and  forming  a  "  plate  "  of  about  36  by  40  inches,  and  by  this  simple 
trick  and  device  they  come  in  as  dressed  and  dyed  skins  (furs)  "  not 
manufactured  "  and  pass  through  our  custom-house  at  a  20  per  cent 
tariff. 

Now,  what  is  the  remedy? 


6710  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

As  stated  above,  we  have  no  objection  to  the  raw  skins  (furs) 
being  sent  to  London  and  Leipzig  for  sale  and  there  distributed  at 
whatever  price  they  may  be  sold  at. 

What  we  object  to  is  the  work  and  labor  on  these  skins  (furs)  be- 
ing done  on  the  other  side  at  prices  with  which  our  American  labor 
can  not  compete. 

And  what  is  the  result  ? 

Our  American  labor  has  work  distributed  over  a  period  of  twelve 
months  which  should  be  done  in  about  six  months.  In  other  words, 
our  people  are  working  half  time;  idle  the  rest  of  the  time.  Fancy 
the  condition  of  affairs  where  our  working  people,  willing  and 
anxious  to  work,  their  employers  and  contractors  willing  and  anxious 
to  give  them  work,  are  prevented  simply  by  this  unjust  and  unright- 
eous tariff  on  these  articles. 

What  is  the  remedy  ? 

Put  a  40  per  cent  tariff  instead  of  a  20  per  cent  tariff  on  these 
skins  (furs)  and  the  trick  is  done  at  once. 

Let  this  honorable  committee  not  forget  that  90  per  cent  of  these 
skins  (furs)  (hereinafter  mentioned)  are  raised  in  America  and  by 
the  trick  and  device  mentioned  and  described  above  our  own  people 
are  prevented  from  dressing  and  dyeing,  deodorizing,  and  preparing 
for  market  these  various  skins  (furs)  of  animals  born  and  raised  on 
this  soil. 

It  is  as  though  our  Congress  deliberately  acted  in  the  interests  of 
foreigners,  and  with  the  design  to  keep  work  away  from  our  own 
American  people. 

But,  of  course,  we  know  that  such  is  not  the  case. 

We  know  that  the  Congress  is  placed  in  a  false  position  by  this 
wrongful  tariff  on  these  articles. 

Let  us  repeat  again:  We  are  not  importers,  we  are  not  exporters, 
we  are  not  manufacturers,  we  are  not  dealers,  we  have  nothing  to  buy, 
we  have  nothing  to  sell ;  we  are  laborers  pure  and  simple,  asking  sim- 
ply that  work  which  we  are  able  to  do,  with  an  abundance  of  men 
and  plants  sufficient  for  every  purpose,  shall  not  be  taken  away  from 
us,  and  that  we  shall  not  be  deprived  of  that  work  which  rightfully 
belongs  to  us. 

We  ask  you  to  respectfully  consider  the  propositions  we  make  to 
you,  feeling  sure  that  you  are  actuated  by  the  highest,  the  purest,  and 
the  best  motives,  and  that  the  powers  of  your  honorable  committee 
will  always  be  exercised  in  favor  of  the  citizens  of  this  country  and 
of  American  labor,  even  though  it  may  be  to  the  exclusion  and  dis- 
advantage of  residents  of  other  countries  and  the  subjects  of  other 
governments. 

The  skins  (furs)  that  we  refer  to  herein  are:  Muskrat,  squirrel, 
marmote,  susliki,  Persian  lamb,  astrakhan. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

A.  C.  SCHUTZ, 
THEODORE  SCHIFF, 

Representing  the  Dyers  and  Dressers 
of  Furs  and  Skins. in  the  United  States. 


FURS CHARLES    S.    PORTER.  6711 

STATEMENT  OF  CHAELES  S.  PORTER,  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY,  WHO 
OBJECTS  TO  ANY  INCREASE  OF  DUTY  ON  FURS. 

SATURDAY,  November  %8,  1908. 

Mr.  PORTER.  I  am  called  down  here  hastily,  gentlemen,  because  we 
have  learned  that  there  is  a  committee  here  to  ask  for  an  advance  in 
the  duty  on  dressed  furs  and  peltry  not  manufactured.  I  have 
learned  that  they  are  going  to  ask  you  to  advance  the  duty  from  20 
to  40  per  cent,  on  the  ground  that  if  they  do  not  ask  for  an  advance 
you  may  reduce  it,  and  they  do  not  want  it  reduced.  Neither  do  the 

fentlemen  whom  I  represent.  We  are  the  fur  merchants  and  manu- 
ficturers  of  New  York — about  83  firms — and  they  have  sent  me 
down  here  to  tell  you  that  they  are  satisfied  under  the  present  condi- 
tions, and  do  not  want  an  advance  made  in  this  duty.  The  gentlemen 
who  will  ask  you  to  advance  the  duty  represent  about  2,500  people  in 
that  industry. 

During  the  past  ten  years  under  the  present  rate  of  duty  this  has 
become  quite  a  successful  business.  The  majority  of  the  men  engaged 
in  this  business  have  made  money.  The  present  rate  of  wages  of  the 
mechanics  emploj^ed  in  it  are  higher  now  than  they  ever  have  been 
in  the  history  of  the  fur  business.  I  have  letters  here  from  four  of 
the  most  successful  dressers  and  dyers  in  New  York  connected  with 
this  association,  who  are  here  to  ask  for  an  advance,  sajring  that  they 
are  satisfied  and  do  not  want  an  advance;  that  they  are  making 
enough  money,  and  that  the  20  per  cent  is  ample  and  sufficient  pro- 
tection to  their  work.  And,  further,  as  Mr.  Littauer  has  told  you, 
in  dyeing  furs  some  of  the  Europeans  have  been  more  successful  than 
any  Americans,  and  we  are  compelled  to  import  furs  dressed  and 
dyed.  But  we  are  importing  less  of  such  goods  than  in  previous 
years  because  the  American  or  Xew  York  dressers  and  dyers  are 
becoming  more  successful  in  this  work,  and  all  the  people  engaged 
in  this  business  prefer  to  have  the  work  done  here  when  it  can  be  done 
properly,  and  they  are  encouraging  the  dressers  and  dyers  by  giving 
them  the  work  in  large  quantities  so  long  as  they  do  it  well.  For  in- 
stance, take  a  lynx  skin,  which  is  probably  the  most  fashionable  skin 
used  this  winter.  It  is  used  dyed  black.  If  it  is  not  properly  dyed, 
after  a  few  weeks  it  turns  red  and  the  skin  has  lost  its  commercial 
value  almost  altogether.  For  that  reason  we  are  compelled  to  have 
them  done  abroad,  just  as  Mr.  Littauer  told  you  that  he  had  to  have 
his  kid  skins  and  goatskins  dressed  abroad.  They  are  more  expert 
at  doing  that  work. 

The  American  dressers  and  dyers  are  making  progress,  and  under 
this  20  per  cent  schedule  the  good  workers  are  making  money,  and  the 
mechanics  so  employed  are  getting  a  higher  scale  of  wages  than  they 
have  gotten  in  previous  years,  and  one  of  the  dressers  told  me  that 
the  mechanics  earn,  according  to  their  ability,  from  $12  to  $38  a  week.. 
So  I  think  that  it  will  appeal  to  you  gentlemen  as  a  good  scale  of 
wages  for  mechanics. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  volume  of  the  fur  business  in  this 
country? 

Mr.  PORTER.  I  could  not  tell  you  that.  I  have  not  those  dat#.  I 
only  got  this  news  yesterday  to  come  down  here. 

7:>;>41— II.  Doc.  ].r,or,.  i5tM>— Vol  6 (50 


6712  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  UNDERWOOD.  What  is  the  value  of  the  importations  ? 

Mr.  PORTER.  That  I  could  not  tell  you.  We  have  no  data  on  file, 
either  our  association  or  its  members.  We  are  rather  new  at  it;  we 
have  only  gotten  together  in  the  last  few  years,  and  those  details  we 
have  not  got. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  One  question.  Would  the  reduction  or  the  with- 
drawal of  the  tariff  on  furs  reduce  the  price  in  this  country  to  the 
purchaser? 

Mr.  PORTER.  It  would ;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  RANDELL.  I  am  in  favor  of  it,  then. 


EXHIBIT  A. 

NEW  YORK,  November  27,  1908. 
Mr.  CHARLES  S.  PORTER, 

President  Fur  Merchants*  Credit  Association 

of  the  City  of  New  York,  N.  T. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Learning  that  there  is  a  movement  on  foot  to  make  ap- 
plication to  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  for  a  change  in  the 
present  rate  of  duty  on  dressed  and  dyed  furs,  we  herewith  desire 
to  protest  against  such  action,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  present 
rate  of  duty  affords  ample  and  full  protection  to  our  industry. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

SEFTER  &  SON. 


EXHIBIT  B. 

NEW  YORK,  November  27,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  At  a  meeting  of  the  Fur  Merchants'  Credit  Associa- 
tion, held  November  27,  1908,  upon  motion  duly  made  and  seconded, 
it  was  unanimously  resolved  that  the  president,  Mr.  Charles  S.  Por- 
ter, be,  and  herewith  is,  instructed  to  proceed  to  Washington  for  the 
purpose  of  appearing  before  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  for  .a 
hearing;  for  the  purpose  of  urging  on  behalf  of  the  Fur  Merchants' 
Credit  Association,  which  is  composed  of  all  of  the  leading  fur  mer- 
chants of  the  city  of  New  York,  that  no  action  be  taken  with  ref- 
erence to  an  increase  in  the  present  rates  of  duty  as  assessed  on  furs 
dressed  on  the  pelt.  • 

That  he  present  the  facts  that  the  fur  dressing  and  dyeing  enter- 
. prises  in  the  United  States  have  been  and  are  in  a  prosperous 
state,  and  that  the  present  rates  of  duty  as  assessed  have  afforded  and 
do  afford  full  and  ample  protection  to  those  engaged  in  the  dressing 
and  dyeing  of  furs  in  the  United  States. 

FUR  MERCHANTS'  CREDIT  ASSOCIATION, 
HARRY  EISENBACH,  Secretary. 


FURS CHARLES   S.    PORTER.  6713 

EXHIBIT  C. 

NEW  YORK,  November  27,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 
GENTLEMEN  :  In  pursuance  of  an  order  of  the  executive  committee 
of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Fur  Manufacturers'  Associations  of 
New  York  City,  the  bearer,  Mr.  C.  S.  Porter,  is  hereby  authorized  to 
appear  before  your  honorable  body  in  behalf  of  this  association  at 
the  hearing  to  be  given  upon  the  tariff  schedules  relating  to  furs. 
Eespectfully,  yours, 

FUR  MANUFACTURERS'  ASSOCIATION  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY, 
ALEX  HEILBREUR,  President. 
[SEAL.]     DAVID  C.  MILLS,  Secretary. 


EXHIBIT  D. 

37-47  BOGART  STREET, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  November  27,  1908. 
Mr.  CHAS.  S.  PORTER,  Esq., 

President  Fur  Merchants'*  Credit  Association,  New  York  City. 
DEAR  SIR  :  Being  informed  that  an  attempt  is  to  be  made  to  have  a 
change  in  the  present  existing  tariff  on  dressed  fur  skins,  I  desire  to 
state  that  I  am  one  of  the  largest  dressers  of  fur  skins  and  to  go  on 
record  as  opposed  to  any  change  in  the  present  tariff  rate,  inasmuch 
as  they  now  exist,  as  the  same  affords  the  protection  necessary  to  our 
industry. 

JULIUS  MESERITZ  SONS. 


EXHIBIT  E. 

NEW  YORK,  November  27, 1908. 
Mr.  CHARLES  S.  PORTER, 

President  Fur  Merchants'1  Credit  Association 

of  the  City  of  New  York,  N.  Y. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Learning  that  there  is  a  movement  on  foot  to  make  ap- 
plication to  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  for  a  change  in  the 
present  rate  of  duty  on  dressed  and  dyed  furs,  herewith  desire  to 
protest  against  such  action,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  present 
rate  of  duty  affords  ample  and  full  protection  to  our  industry. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

HERMAN  BASCH  &  Co. 


EXHIBIT  F. 

BOROUGH  OF  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  November  27,  1908. 
Mr.  CHARLES  S.  PORTER, 

President  Fur  Merchants'1  Credit  Association, 

of  the  City  of  New  York,  N.  Y. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Learning  that  there  is  a  movement  on  foot  to  make  ap- 
plication to  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  for  a  change  in  the  pres- 


6714  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

ent  rate  of  duty  on  dressed  and  dyed  furs,  herewith  desire  to  pro- 
test against  such  action  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  present  rate  of 
duty  affords  ample  and  full  protection  to  our  industry. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

WM.  BEYER. 


STATEMENT  OF  A.  C.  SCHUTZ,  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY,  RELATIVE  TO 
THE  DRESSING  OF  FURS  AND  THE  DUTY  REQUIRED. 

SATURDAY,  November  28.  1908. 

Mr.  SCHUTZ.  I  represent  the  board  of  trade  and  fur  dressers  and 
dyers.  You  have  heard  the  argument  of  the  previous  gentleman 
referring  to  the  excellence  and  efficiency  and  ability  of  the  workers. 
In  the  dyeing  part  of  the  fur  business  it  is  correct,  but  so  far  as  the 
dressing  of  the  skins  goes,  I  can  tell  you  it  is  purely  labor,  and,  of 
course,  if  this  country  can  not  furnish  as  good  a  supply  of  this  ma- 
terial as  Europe,  necessarily  the  market  goes  to  Europe.  But  in  the 
dressing  of  furs  it  is  pure  labor,  and  there  are  a  number  of  skins  that 
are  cut  in  this  country  and  sent  over  to  Europe  and  then  dyed  there 
and  sewed  into  plates  and  sent  back  to  this  country.  Chiefly  I  would 
call  your  attention  above  all  to  the  muskrat.  There  is  no  muskrat 
imported  here.  Why  not  ?  Because  it  is  cheaper  to  have  them  dressed 
and  dyed  abroad  and  come  in  under  the  20  per  cent  duty.  That  is  to 
say,  they  are  imported  in  plates  and  not  in  skins.  They  are  partly 
manufactured,  which  was  on  the  25  per  cent  duty,  and  it  was  reduced 
then  to  20  per  cent  duty,  and  we  claim  that  it  ought  to  belong  to  the 
25  per  cent  duty.  That  is  about  the  chief  of  our  contention. 


STATEMENT  OF  CONRAD  KOTHE,  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY,  REPRE- 
SENTING THE  FUR  SKIN  DRESSERS'  UNION. 

SATURDAY,  November  28,  1908. 

Mr.  KOTHE.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee,  you  have  heard  the  facts  stated  by  both  my  predecessors 
here.  I  am  representing  the  Fur  Skin  Dressers'  Union,  an  organiza- 
tion consisting  of  workingmen  who  are  depending  solely  upon  the 
fur  trade  of  this  country  for  their  livelihood  and  maintenance  of 
their  families.  I  will  give  you  a  few  facts,  which  I  have  developed 
and  put  together,  which  will  contradict  the  argument  of  Mr.  Porter 
representing  the  importers  of  the  fur  trade  in  this  country.  We 
have  religiously  held  to  the  theory  of  protection,  inasmuch  as  com- 
petition in  our  business  tends  to  keep  the  prices  low  to  the  public. 
The  importation  has  grown  within  the  last  thirteen  years  from 
$7,000,000  to  $21,000,000,  while  our  exports  remained  about  the  same 
in  that  length  of  time,  thereby,  as  you  can  plainly  see,  giving  the 
advantage  of  the  balance  of  trade  to  the  European  market. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  How  much  were  the  exports? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  The  exports  were  about  $7,000,000. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  made  furs  go  up  in  the  last  six  or  eight  years? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  That  I  will  get  to.  These  articles  are  sent  to  this  coun- 
try combined  in  plates  and  come  in  as  dressed  furs.  They  are  not 


FURS CONRAD  KOTHE.  6715 

dressed  skins.  They  are  the  manufactured  lining.  This  enables  the 
importer  to  get  his  lining  in  his  possession  by  cheap  production,  pro- 
duced by  cheap  labor  in  Europe,  and  which  command  just  such  price 
as  he  may  demand  from  the  consumer.  Has  the  consumer  derived  one 
benefit  in  the  last  thirteen  years  from  the  duty  on  fur  skins  ?  Not  one 
iota.  He  pays  the  same  as  he  did  thirteen  years  ago,  although  the 
importer  is  receiving  the  furs  far  cheaper  than  we  can  afford  to  do 
them  for  in  this  country. 

The  gentleman  said  our  average  wages  were  $12  to  $38.  I  will  beg 
to  contradict  him  in  that  matter.  We  have  a  statement,  certified  to, 
of  our  wages,  and  we  only  work  six  months  in  the  year  and  do  not 
average  $2  per  day.  This  six  months  takes  up  in  a  spreading  sort  of 
a  manner  our  whole  year's  time.  If  these  conditions  that  exist  at 
present  are  allowed  to  continue  under  the  present  tariff,  will  not  this 
be  an  awful  condition  for  our  workingmen  in  this  country  ? 

Now,  I  would  like  to  bring  before  you  a  charge,  if  it  is  permissible, 
which  I  know  to  be  a  positive  fact.  It  was  drawn  through  a  con- 
spiracy within  the  nineteenth  hour  of  this  event  by  an  importer 
against  the  men  who  employ  us.  One  man  in  particular,  my  employer, 
who  advocated  my  coming  here,  was  forced  by  the  man  that  he  done 
business  with  to  sign  a  letter  stating  that  he  was  in  favor  of  the  pres- 
ent tariff.  If  he  did  not  sign  that  letter,  gentlemen,  he  wras  told  he 
would  get  no  more  work.  Is  not  that  a  sad  event  of  affairs  for  the 
American  mechanic  to  depend  upon  ?  Is  not  that  a  terrible  condition 
to  have,  that  we  must  look  back  and  our  children  will  be  deprived  of 
the  necessaries  we  feel  that  they  must  acquire  in  the  future?  Is  not 
that  terrible  ?  We  spent  our  time  for  three  years  and  a  half  of  service 
as  mechanics  in  order  to  learn  our  trade,  and  now  we  find  that  through 
a  certain  class  we  are  to  be  thrown  aside;  after  developing  ourselves 
and  after  making  up  our  minds  that  we  would  have  something  to 
depend  upon  for  our  livelihood,  now  we  must  take  a  side  issue  through 
the  cheap  European  production,  and  thereby  the  importer  only  de- 
riving the  benefit  from  it.  The  consumer  gets  no  benefit  whatsoever. 
The  consumer  pays  the  same  price  to-day  for  furs  as  he  did  twenty 
years  ago. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Pays  more. 

Mr.  KOTHE.  In  fact,  he  pays  more. 

Mr.  CLARK.  He  pays  twice  as  much  as  he  did  five  years  ago. 

Mr.  KOTHE.  I  do  not  know  as  I  would  like  to  take  any  more  of  your 
time  on  this  matter,  owing  to  the  fact  that  there  are  others  to  be  heard 
here,  only  I  would  like  to  state  that  we  advocate  a  40  per  cent  duty. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  You  said  a  moment  ago  that  the  wages  in  your  busi- 
ness, paid  to  your  workmen  whom  you  represent,  were  $2  a  day,  but 
that  they  worked  only  half  the  year? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  Yes. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  According  to  that  they  must  work  for  about  three 
hundred  days  a  year? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  Well,  I  averaged  it  that  the  $2  a  day  is  for  that  half 
a  year  only. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  What  do  you  mean  ?  Do  you  mean  that  they  work 
at  the  rate  of  $2  a  day  for  half  the  year  ? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  That  would  be  about  $300  a  year? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  Yes. 


6716  SCHEDULE    X — SUNDRIES. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Do  you  not  think  that  anything  that  would  change 
your  occupation  would  be  an  advantage  to  you,  at  that  rate  ? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  I  think  it  would. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  An  ordinary  day  laborer  out  in  the  street  will  make 
from  $2  to  $2.60  a  day,  and  work  almost  every  day  in  the  year. 

Mr.  KOTHE.  Still,  we  have  to  work  three  and  a  half  j-ears  at  it  to 
learn  our  trade,  which  we  depend  upon  for  our  livelihood. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Would  it  not  be  to  your  advantage  to  change  your 
occupation,  no  matter  what  else  you  went  at ;  because  you  can  obtain 
as  a  common  laborer  twice  that  much  ? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  Compulsion  will  finally  compel  us  to,  unless  we  can 
get  the  work  so  that  we  can  be  busy  the  whole  year. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  That  will  be  compelling  you  to  double  your  labor. 

Mr.  KOTHE.  We  will  be  glad  to  be  compelled  to  do  that.  But  is 
it  not,  under  the  present  conditions,  unreasonable  to  think  that  we 
are  able  to  earn  only  that  much? 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  But  the  increase  of  the  tariff  would  only  double 
your  pay. 

Mr.  KOTHE.  What  we  are  looking  for  is  work. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  You  are  looking  for  wages,  are  you  not?  Now, 
what  I  want  to  point  out  to  you  is,  are  you  not  mistaken  about  this, 
and  would  it  not  be  la  distinct  advantage  to  you  to  change  your  occu- 
pation, however  it  was  done,  when  the  most  ordinary  laborer,  the 
most  unskilled  laborer,  can  earn  from  $2  to  $2.GO  a  dav  ? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  That  would  drive  this  industry  out  of  this  country. 
We  are  endeavoring  to  build  up  an  industry  in  this  country. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  But  you  would  be  gaining  by  the  change  ? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  We  as  individuals  would;  but  is  it  that  we  must  allow 
our  whole  industry  to  go  out  of  the  country  and  leave  the  country 
on  account  of  the  fact  that  our  European  competitors  can  drive  us  out 
of  the  market? 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Yes;  but  I  want  to  consider  precisely  the  attitude 
you  take.  If  your  attitude  is  that  of  defending  the  wages,  I  want  to 
point  out  to  you  that  the  wages  you  are  defending  are  so  ridiculously 
small  that  it  would  be  to  your  advantage  to  get  into  some  other 
occupation. 

Mr.  KOTHE.  But  if  we  get  the  work  our  wages  would  be  higher. 
Our  work  is  done  by  piecework  and  by  skilled  mechanics. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Do  I  understand  that  your  contention  is  that  if  the 
duty  were  increased  as  you  say,  your  wages  would  be  increased  how 
much  ? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  Our  wages  would  be  increased.  If  we  got  ten  months' 
work  in  the  year  we  would  be  satisfied. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Would  you  get  that? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  We  figure  we  would. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  How  do  you  figure;  that  is  what  I  would  like  to 
know  ?  I  would  like  you  to  show  us  if  you  can. 

Mr.  KOTHE.  At  present  these  skins  are  shipped  in  in  these  plates. 
Of  course  I  could  not  give  you  the  exact  figures  as  to  the  skins  in  each 
plate.  They  vary.  We  figure  that  the  amount  of  skins  deprives  us  of 
just  that  amount  of  work.  From  the  statistics  we  have  drawn 
together  we  conclude  that  the  plates  that  were  imported  each  year,  if 
they  were  not  imported  into  this  country,  would  be  -enough  to  give 
us  the  balance  of  three  months'  work  a  year,  which  would  bring  our 
wages  up  to  about  $4  a  day,  thereby  employing  us  ten  hours  a  day. 


FURS.  6717 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  I  do  not  quite  follow  your  arithmetic  or  see  how  in- 
creasing the  period  of  the  employment  by  three  months  would  double 
your  pay  to  the  amount  of  $4  a  day. 

Mr.  KOTHE.  The  fact  of  the  matter  is  now  that  we  are  working  so 
little  time  that  our  average  is  only  $2  a  day.  We  average  it  at  $2  a 
day  the  year  around. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  I  understood  you  to  say  for  half  the  year. 

Mr.  KOTHE.  We  are  only  employed  for  half  the  year. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Perhaps  I  have  misunderstood  you. 

Mr.  KOTHE.  So  we  have  got  to  base  our  average  yearly.  It  is  not 
the  time  we  figure  on,  it  is  the  average  we  make  in  the  year  that  we 
figure. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  gentleman's  time  has  expired. . 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Do  I  understand  you  to  say  that  you  will  average  $2 
a  day  and  work  for  half  the  year,  or  that  you  are  paid  at  the  rate 
of  $4  a  day  and  work  half  the  year,  and  therefore  average  $2  a  day 
for  the  whole  year  ?  Which  do  you  mean  ? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  I  mean  that  if  we  worked  the  whole  year  we  would 
average  $4  a  day ;  that  is,  if  we  had  the  work. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Then  you  will  average  $4  a  day  and  work  only  half 
the  year? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  Yes. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  That  is  what  you  mean? 

Mr.  KOTHE.  Yes. 


ADDITIONAL  STATEMENT  MADE  BY  CHARLES  S.  POSTER,  OF  NEW 
YORK  CITY,  RELATIVE  TO  DRESSED  SKINS. 

SATURDAY,  November  28,  1908. 

Mr.  PORTER.  Just  a  word,  Mr.  Chairman.  This  young  man  has 
made  a  very  serious  charge  about  these  gentlemen  who  signed  this 
letter  yesterday.  May  I  explain  that  ? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  can  have  two  minutes. 

Mr.  PORTER.  When  I  learned  there  was  to  be  a  committee  to  be  sent 
down  here  to  ask  for  an  increase  of  the  duty  I  sent  for  these  dressers, 
and  they  came  to  my  office,  and  I  asked  them  why  they  did  so,  and  they 
said:  "We  are  afraid  they  are  going  to  take  the  duty  off  of  dressed 
skins,  and  if  we  do  not  ask  for  a  large  increase  we  will  not  get  the 
20  per  cent."  I  said:  "Are  you  satisfied  with  the  20  per  cent?" 
"  We  are  satisfied."  "  Will  you  put  that  over  your  signature?"  They 
said :  "  We  will."  That  is  where  these  letters  came  from  that  I  have 
filed  here  with  you. 


STATEMENT   OF   THEODORE   SCHIFF,   PRESIDENT    OF   THE  FUR 
DRESSERS  AND  DYERS'  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

SATURDAY,  November  28,  1908. 

Mr.  SCHIFF.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  president  of  this  Dressers  and 
Dyers'  Board  of  Trade. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  hearing  is  closed  on  that  subject. 

Mr.  SCHIFF.  I  only  ask  two  minutes,  because  I  have  been  placed  in 
a  very  compromising  position. 


6718  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  is  your  name  ? 

Mr.  SCHIFF.  Theodore  Schiff.  I  am  president  of  the  Fur  Dressers 
and  Dyers'  Board  of  Trade. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  many  gentlemen  are  there  that  are  compro- 
mised here?  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  SCHIFF.  That  is  all.  This  is  a  very  small  industry,  as  you 
gentlemen  know. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  will  hear  you  for  two  minutes. 

Mr.  SCHIFF.  All  right,  I  have  been  placed  in  a  very  compromis- 
ing position  through  these  three  or  four  letters,  which.  Mr.  Porter 
claims  he  had  signed.  These  men  are  among  the  instigators  of  my 
appearing  before  you,  members  of  my  association,  through  which  two 
of  them 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Now  do  not  say  anything  unkind  about  anybody 
whereby  three  or  four  others  will  want  to  be  heard. 

Mr.  SCHIFF.  No;  I  only  want  to  say  it  is  very  foolish  of  me  to 
appear  before  you  as  president  of  the  organization,  whereas  all  four 
gentlemen  sent  me  down  here,  and  within  twenty-four  hours  put  their 
names  onto  a  paper  where  they  are  satisfied.  Now,  why  they  were 
satisfied  within  that  twenty-four  hours  I  do  not  know. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Join  them.     Join  their  satisfaction.     [Laughter.] 

Mr.  SCHIFF.  Yes ;  I  will  not  say  anything  more.  I  will  file  my 
brief  with  the  reporter. 


BRIEF  FILED  BY  THEODORE  SCHIFF,  REPRESENTING  THE  DYERS 
AND  DRESSERS  OF  FURS  AND  SKINS. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  November  26,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  undersigned  represent  the  fur  dressers  and  the 
fur  dyers  of  the  United  States.  This  interest  is  not  a  trust.  It  is  not 
a  monopoly.  We  are  not  manufacturers.  We  are  not  importers.  We 
are  not  dealers.  We  are  simply  laborers — working-men. 

Some  of  us  are  contractors — that  is  to  say.  we  employ  numbers  of 
men  to  do  our  work  for  us  in  factories  appointed  and  arranged  for 
that  purpose. 

But  we  are  all  laborers,  nevertheless. 

A  very  brief  statement  of  the  method  in  which  the  business  is  at 
present  conducted  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

Your  honorable  committee  will  find  upon  investigation  that  a  very 
large  percentage,  perhaps  90  per  cent,  of  the  furs  which  are  the  sub- 
ject of  this  brief  are  caught  or  trapped  in  this  country — that  is  to  say, 
in  America,  in  various  parts  of  this  country.  When  so  caught  and 
trapped  they  are  thereafter  handled  by  the  trapper  or  hunter  and 
sent  in  quantities  to  the  New  York  and  other  city  commission  mer- 
chants in  their  rough,  original,  natural  state. 

These  commission  merchants  in  turn  send  these  various  skins  [furs] , 
a  detailed  list  of  which  your  honorable  committee  will  find  specific- 
ally mentioned  hereafter,  to  the  London  auction  rooms;  some,  also, 
to  Leipzig,  in  Germany,  and  there  these  raw  skins  [furs]  are  sold, 
and  thus  the  price  on  these  skins  [furs]  is  established. 

Now,  up  to  this  time  we  have  no  fault  to  find,  no  objection  to  make. 


FURS — THEODORE   SCH1FF.  6719 

Now,  our  plaint  is  as  follows :  After  these  skins  [furs]  are  sold  at 
London  or  Leipzig,  as  the  case  may  be,  then  the  trouble  begins. 

That  is  where  this  honorable  committee  must  come  to  the  relief  of 
the  American  laborer. 

Now,  hov  does  it  work  to-day? 

The  result  of  the  auction  sales  at  London  and  Leipzig  is  that  these 
skins  [furs]  of  the  various  kinds  mentioned  hereafter  are  distributed 
to  buyers  resident  in  various  parts  of  the  world.  Having  bought  and 
gotten  possession  of  and  title  to  them,  they  immediately  arrange  with 
the  dresser  and  dyer  of  London  and  Leipzig  for  the  dyeing  and  for 
the  dressing  of  these  skins  [furs],  which,  on  account  of  the  ridicu- 
lously low  price  of  labor,  as  compared  with  our  price  here,  as  your 
honorable  committee  will  readily  see,  means  that  more  than  50  per 
cent  of  the  labor  is  done  in  foreign  countries,  to  the  exclusion  of  our 
American  workmen. 

After  the  London  and  Leipzig  dyer  and  dresser  has  dressed  and 
dyed  these  skins  [furs]  he  puts  them  in  what  we  call  "  plates  " — that 
is  to  say,  a  number  of  skins  [furs]  all  stitched  or  fastened  together 
and  forming  a  "  plate  "  of  about  36  inches  by  40  inches,  and,  by  this 
simple  trick  and  device,  they  come  in  as  dressed  and  dyed  skins 
[furs]  "  not  manufactured,"  and  pass  through  our  custom-house  at 
a  20  per  cent  tariff. 

Now,  what  is  the  remedy? 

As  stated  above,  we  have  no  objection  to  the  raw  skins  [furs] 
being  sent  to  London  and  Leipzig  for  sale  and  there  distributed  at 
whatever  price  they  may  be  sold  at. 

What  we  object  to  is  the  work  and  labor  on  these  skins  [furs] 
being  done  on  the  other  side  at  prices  with  which  our  American  labor 
can  not  compete. 
•    And  what  is  the  result? 

Our  American  labor  has  work  distributed  over  a  period  of  twelve 
months  which  should  be  done  in  about  six  months.  In  other  words, 
our  people  are  working  half  time ;  idle  the  rest  of  the  time.  Fancy 
the  condition  of  affairs  where  our  working  people,  willing  and  anx- 
ious to  work,  their  employers  and  contractors  willing  and  anxious  to 
give  them  work,  are  prevented  simply  by  this  unjust  and  unrighteous 
tariff  on  these  articles. 

What  is  the  remedy? 

Put  a  40  per  cent  tariff  instead  of  a  20  per  cent  tariff  on  these 
skins  [furs]  and  the  trick  is  done  at  once. 

Let  this  honorable  committee  not  forget  that  90  per  cent  of  these 
ekins  [furs]  hereinafter  mentioned  are  raised  in  America,  and  by 
the  trick  and  device  mentioned  and  described  above  our  own  people 
are  prevented  from  dressing  and  cVyeing,  deodorizing,  and  preparing 
for  market  these  various  skins  [furs]  of  animals  born  and  raised  on 
this  soil. 

It  is  as  though  our  Congress  deliberately  acted  in  the  interests  of 
foreigners,  and  with  the  design  to  keep  work  away  from  our  own 
American  people. 

But  of  course  we  know  that  such  is  not  the  case.  We  know  that 
the  Congress  is  placed  in  a  false  position  by  this  wrongful  tariff  on 
these  articles. 

Let  us  repeat  again:  We  are  not  importers;  we  are  not  exporters; 
we  are  not  manufacturers;  we  are  not  dealers;  we  have  nothing  to 


6720  SCHEDULE    X SUNDRIES. 

buy ;  we  have  nothing  to  sell ;  we  are  laborers  pure  and  simple,  asking 
simply  that  work  which  we  are  able  to  do,  with  an  abundance  of 
men  and  plants  sufficient  for  every  purpose,  shall  not  be  taken  away 
from  us,  and  that  we  shall  not  be  deprived  of  that  work  which 
rightfully  belongs  to  us. 

Our  representatives  who  will  appear  before  your  honorable  com- 
mittee are  provided  with  statistics,  and  ask  for  an  opportunity  to 
state  to  your  honorable  committee  the  grievances  under  which  they 
labor,  and  they  ask  you  to  respectfully  consider  the  propositions 
which  they  will  make  to  you,  feeling  sure  that  you  are  actuated  by 
the  highest,  the  purest,  and  the  best  motives,  and  that  the  powers 
of  your  honorable  committee  will  always  be  exercised  in  favor  of 
the  citizens  of  this  country,  and  of  American  labor,  even  though  it 
may  be  to  the  exclusion  and  disadvantage  of  residents  of  other  coun- 
tries and  the  subjects  of  other  governments. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

THEODORE  SCHJFF, 
Representing  the  Dyers  and  Dressers  of 

Furs  and  Skins  in  the  United  States. 

Schedule  referred  to  in  this  brief.  The  skins  [furs]  that  we  refer 
to  herein  are:  (A)  Muskrat,  (B)  squirrel,  (C)  marmots,  (D)  susliki, 
(E)  Persian  lamb,  (F)  Astrakhan. 


REPRESENTATIVES   OF  THE  HATTERS'   FUR  INDUSTRY   ASK   A 
SEPARATE  CLASSIFICATION  FOR  THEIR  PRODUCT. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  December  3,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  This  memorial  is  presented  in  behalf  of  the  entire 
hatters'  fur  industry  of  the  United  States,  composed  of  Jonas  & 
Naumburg,  New  York  City;  H.  &  A.  Chapal  Freres  &  Co.,  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y. ;  Bloch  &  Hirsch  Fur  Company,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  Hitch- 
cock, Dermody  &  Co.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  Pellissier,  Jeunes  £  Rivet, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.;  H.  Picard  &  Co.,  Newark,  N.  J.;  Dormer  &  Co., 
Newark,  N.  J. ;  Martin  Bates,  Jr.,  &  Co.,  South  Norwalk,  Conn.; 
American  Hatters  and  Furriers'  Company,  Danbury,  Conn.;  J.  W. 
Katz,  Newark,  N.  J. ;  John  B.  Stetson  Company,  Philadelphia,  Pa.; 
New  England  Fur  Company,  Fall  Eiver,  Mass. ;  Waring  Hat  Manu- 
facturing Company,  Yonkers,  N.  Y. 

Its  purpose  is  to  convey,  in  a  brief  and  concise  statement,  informa- 
tion for  the  benefit  of  the  committee,  in  order  that  intelligent  con- 
sideration may  be  given  to  those  paragraphs  of  the  existing  tariff 
act  affecting  our  industry. 

The  industry  is  mainly  centralized  within  a  radius  of  100  miles 
of  New  York  City,  employs  over  3,000  persons  in  the  various  fac- 
tories, and  consists  solely  of  removing  the  hair  or  fur  from  the  skin 
of  the  rabbit,  hare,  nutria,  and  beaver,  after  opening,  carding,  clean- 
ing, and  other  processes,  and  chemically  treating  it  Avith  a  solution 
of  nitric  acid  and  quicksilver  (or  mercury),  called  "  carrotting,"  pro- 
ducing a  product  commonly  known  as  "  hatters'  furs."  This  prod- 
uct is  sold  to  felt-hat  manufacturers  and  is  manufactured  into  felt 
hats  by  a  separate  and  distinct  industry. 


FURS AARON    N  A  I'M  BURG    ET    AL. 


6721 


The  industry  is  affected  under  the  act  of  July  24,  1897,  by  the  fol- 
lowing paragraphs  : 

Paragraph  426.  Furs,  dressed  on  the  skin,  but  not  made  up  into 
articles,  and  furs  not  on  the  skin,  prepared  for  hatters'  use,  including 
fur  skins,  carrotted,  twenty  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

Paragraph  5651.  Furs,  undressed  (free). 

Paragraph  562.  Fur  skins  of  all  kinds  not  dressed  in  any  manner, 
and  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act  (free). 

From  the  statement  heretofore  made  it  wrill  be  observed  that  this 
industry  consists  of  various  incidental  treatments,  including  car- 
rotting,  of  the  fur  of  various  small  animals,  and  it  therefore  is  appar- 
ent that  it  is  the  skins  with  the  fur  thereon  of  these  various  animals 
which  forms  the  raw  material  and  is  the  basic  property  of  our  prod- 
uct. All  of  this  raw  material  is  imported  from  other  countries,  prin- 
cipally the  cold  regions  of  Europe  and  Australia.  The  fur  used 
comes  almost  exclusively  from  animals  not  indigenous  to  North 
American  climates. 

The  industry  of  manufacturing  hatters'  furs  is  largely  a  creation 
of  a  moderate  tariff  protection,  and  its  status  as  a  recognized  active 
industry  is  practically  coexistent  with  the  tariff  act  of  1862,  when  an 
ad  valorem  duty  of  20  per  cent  was  enacted.  This  rate  has  remained 
inviolate  through  all  tariff  legislation  since  that  time,  and  irrespective 
of  the  increase  or  decrease  in  the  tariff  on  other  manufactured  prod- 
ucts, the  duty  on  hatters'  fur  has  remained  unchanged. 

It  has  been  this  feeling  of  security  that  has  permitted  the  industry 
to  make  progress,  and  jet  we  have  at  all  times  felt  the  keen  competi- 
tion of  European  manufacturers,  and  this  competition  has  resulted 
in  a  fair  consumption  of  imported. hatters'  furs  by  the  hat  manufac- 
turers of  this  country. 

All  of  our  product  goes  into  the  manufacture  of  felt  hats,  and  is 
purchased  by  hat  manufacturers.  The  home  consumption  of  hat- 
ters' fur  during  the  past  fifteen  years  has  not  had  a  decidedly  wide 
range,  only  increasing  in  slight  proportions  as  the  increase  in  the 
manufacture  of  felt  hats  became  stimulated  by  the  demand  of  an 
ever-growing  population;  and  yet  the  annual  value  of  our  produc- 
tion has  undergone  marked  changes,  due  entirely  to  the  wide  fluctua- 
tions in  the  values  of  the  skins  in  the  foreign  markets.  This  value 
has  been  regulated  by  the  law  of  supply  and  demand,  and  the  high- 
est values  have  doubled  the  lower  values  as  the  markets  changed,  so 
wide  has  been  the  range. 

The  entire  domestic  consumption  of  hatters'  furs  in  the  United 
States  has  averaged  during  the  past  fifteen  years  from  $7,000,000  to 
$9,000,000  annually,  and  we  quote  herein,  for  comparison,  the  table 
of  imports  of  "  furs  not  on  the  skin,  prepared  for  hatters'  use,"  this 
being  the  technical  description  of  our  product. 


Year. 

Value. 

Year. 

Value. 

1894 

$767,535 

1901 

$1  199  958 

1895  

1,074,519 

1902-  . 

1,063  897 

189C-  

711,267 

1903 

1  230  766 

1897  

721  ,218 

1904 

1  063  874 

1898  .. 

1,181  177 

1905 

1  137  991 

1899  

1,388,691 

1906  

1,112,326 

1900  

935,813 

1907 

897  401 

6722  SCHEDULE    N — SUNDRIES. 

There  has  been  no  appreciable  difference  in  the  quantity  of  hatters' 
furs  imported  into  the  United  States  during  the  past  fifteen  years, 
and  the  table  in  this  respect  is  misleading  and  would  seem  not  to  sup- 
port this  statement,  but  admits  of  a  ready  explanation  when  the 
fluctuation  in  values  is  taken  into  consideration. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  consumption  of  domestic  hatters'  fur 
is  between  four  and  five  times  the  consumption  of  imported  hatters 
fur,  so  that  it  can  not  be  maintained  that  there  is  any  control  of  the 
market  by  the  domestic  manufacturers.  Indeed,  were  it  not  for  the 
liberal  lines  of  credit  extended  by  the  domestic  manufacturer  and 
the  ability  to  make  quick  deliveries,  the  European  market  would  pro- 
duce a  decidedly  larger  percentage  of  our  home  consumption. 

The  duty  of  20  per  cent,  standing  by  itself,  is  not  sufficient  to  pro- 
tect American  labor  against  its  foreign  competitor.  We  are  pre- 
pared to  furnish  the  committee  with  the  real  facts  respecting  the 
cost  of  production  in  European  factories,  and  our  investigation 
proves  that  the  labor  cost  in  Europe  is  from  45  to  52  per  cent  less 
than  the  labor  cost  in  the  United  States,  which  may  be  confirmed  by 
data  in  your  possession  from  consular  reports. 

The  European  manufacturer  has  this  additional  advantage :  Their 
factories  are  located  in  close  proximity  to  where  the  fur  skins  are 
collected,  substantially  all  the  chemicals  with  which  the  fur  is  treated 
are  purchasable  cheaper  abroad,  and  they  have  a  recognized  decrease 
in  the  cost  of  production  (rent,  office  expense,  etc.).  The  duty  of  20 
per  cent  is  one  of  the  lowest  rates  in  the  present  schedule  on  manu- 
factured products,  and  is  a  tariff  for  revenue  only. 

In  order  that  the  committee  may  have  before  it  accurate  informa- 
tion from  which  they  may  intelligently  estimate  what  benefit  the 
consumer  would  receive  in  the  event  that  the  entire  tariff  wall  should 
be  removed  from  our  home  products  and  hatters'  fur  admitted  abso- 
lutely free  of  duty,  we  beg  to  state  that  the  hatters'  fur  in  the  finished 
hat  represents  from  7  to  10  per  cent  of  its  selling  price  in  the  retail 
store,  varying  according  to  quality,  and  if  the  duty  on  hatters'  fur 
were  entirely  removed,  it  would  mean  a  saving  of  less  than  the  20 
per  cent  duty  on  the  cost  price  of  this  hatters'  fur,  equal  to  from 
3  to  5  cents  on  every  hat  purchased  at  retail  by  the  consuming  public. 
We  arrive  at  this  conclusion  from  the  knowledge  in  our  possession 
that  the  cost  of  the  fur  in  a  hat  sold  at  retail  at  $2  (the  popular  price 
in  this  country)  is  from  $1.84  to  $2.06  per  dozen. 

It  therefore  appears  that  a  hat  which  is  sold  to  the  consumer  at 
$2  contains  a  little  over  16  cents'  worth  of  fur,  and  that  if  the 
duty  were  entirely  removed  the  reduction  to  the  consumer,  assuming 
that  the  consumer  would  be  the  sole  beneficiary,  would  be  20  per  cent 
of  the  fur  value,  or  about  3  cents.  This  condition  would  result  if 
the  tariff  would  be  entirely  removed ;  if  the  rate  is  only  reduced,  then 
the  difference  would  be  fractional.  The  immediate  beneficiaries  of 
any  reduction  in  the  duties  would  apparently  be  the  manufacturers 
of  hats.  The  benefits  of  home  manufacture,  which  would  be  de- 
stroyed by  a  reduction  of  tariff,  are  so  apparent  to  the  manufacturers 
of  hats  in  this  country  that  they  are  a  unit  in  opposing  any  such 
reduction. 

Imported  hatter's  fur  before  it  reaches  the  hands  of  the  consumer 
in  the  shape  of  a  finished  hat  is  handled  by  five  industries,  all  pre- 
sumably making  some  profit — (1)  the  importer  of  the  hatters'  fur, 


FURS AARON    NAUAIBURG    ET    AL.  6723 

(2)  the  manufacturer  of  the  hat  body  or  cone  (in  many  instances  an 
independent  industry),  (3)  the  finisher  of  the  hat  body  or  cone  (who 
shapes,  blocks,  and  trims),  (4)  the  jobber,  and  finally  (5)  the  retailer. 

Is  there  any  possible  chance  of  the  consumer  receiving  the  benefit 
of  any  change  in  the  present  tariff  rate  on  this  commodity  and  is 
there  any  member  of  this  committee  who  is  not  impressed  with  the 
glaring  fact  that  this  benefit  will  in  no  manner  accrue  to  the  con- 
sumer ? 

We  believe  that  the  table  of  importations  shown  herein  clearly  indi- 
cates that  the  European  manufacturer  may  be  considered  a  fair  com- 
petitor of  this  market  and  one  who  must  always  be  counted  upon  as  a 
factor  in  the  industry.  Certainly  the  present  tariff  is  not  prohibitory, 
and  at  its  best  is  but  a  partial  protection  to  an  industry  which  has 
been  fostered  under  an  intact  tariff  for  nearly  fifty  years,  a  tariff 
which  h»s  almost  crystallized  into  a  compact  between  the  Federal 
Government  and  the  manufacturers  of  hatters'  furs. 

"We  believe  that  we  have  fairly  illustrated  that  the  consuming  public 
can  receive  no  possible  benefit  by  any  change  in  the  present  rate  on 
our  product,  and  it  follows  that  if  the  consuming  public  can  receive 
no  benefit  from  a  lowering  of  the  rate,  and  as  there  is  no  prohibitive 
tariff  resulting  in  a  consumption  of  the  home  product  to  the  exclusion 
of  any  imported  product,  no  reason  exists  which  recommends  a 
change. 

There  is  no  combination,  agreement,  or  understanding  between  the 
manufacturers  of  hatters'  furs  in  the  United  States;  no  fixed  price; 
no  set  standards.  The  closest  of  competition  prevails  at  all  times, 
and  the  fluctuating  market  of  our  raw  material  prevents  any  possible 
understanding  or  agreement  to  maintain  a  set  price.  Indeed,  Euro- 
pean competition  makes  this  impossible. 

It  has  been  brought  to  our  attention  that  the  preliminary  notes  on 
the  tariff  revision  make  the  suggestion  that  the  provision  for  "  man- 
ufactures of  fur"  be  transferred  from  paragraph  450  of  the  act  of 
July  24,  1897,  and  annexed  to  paragraph  426  of  the  said  act.  In  the 
event  that  this  change  is  made,  it  may  cause  unnecessary  confusion. 
The  subject-matter  "manufactures  of  fur,"  as  we  have  endeavored  to 
show,  bears  no  analogy  to  paragraph  426  of  the  present  act,  as  now 
constructed,  but  covers  an  entire,  separate,  and  distinct  class  of  man- 
ufacture, and  one  in  no  way  related  to  hatters'  fur. 

Indeed,  "hatters'  fur,"  in  its  plain  interpretation  signifies' the  fur 
or  hair  removed  from  the  skins  of  such  animals  as  the  rabbit,  hare, 
nutria,  and  in  some  few  instances  the  beaver,  prepared  and  chemicalty 
treated  into  a  product  called  "  hatters'  fur,"  because  its  sole  and  exclu- 
sive use  is  for  the  manufacture  of  the  felt  hat,  and  is  the  component 
part  of  felt  hats  commonly  called  "  derbys,"  and  "  soft  hats." 

We  present  for  illustration  two  exhibits  marked  Exhibit  A  (fur 
from  haras)  and  Exhibit  B  (fur  from  conies),  prepared  and  chem- 
ically treated  and  thus  becoming  hatters'  fur.  An  examination  of 
this  so-called  "fur"  will  show  that  it  bears  no  resemblance  to  furs  as 
generally  recognized.  Indeed,  through  the  process  of  manufacture, 
it  loses  its  entire  identity  as  a  fur,  being  separated  from  the  skin  and 
becomes  a  fibrous  substance. 

These  exhibits  of  hatters'  furs  exemplify  the  furs  used  for  hats, 
and  this  classification  has  always  been  separate  and  distinct  in  trade 
usage  as  well  as  tariff  legislation,  the  result  of  a  thorough  knowledge 


6724  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

of  the  difference  between  "  hatters'  furs "  and  other  u  manufactures 
of  furs."  The  rulings  of  the  General  Board  of  Appraisers  and  the 
United  States  courts 'show  conclusively  that  there  should  be  a  sep- 
arate classification,  and  any  action  of  this  committee  combining  these 
two  classes  will  be  a  step  backward. 

We  find  it  pertinent  to  express  our  opinion  concerning  a  maximum 
and  minimum  tariff,  in  the  event  that  it  should  be  determined  by  the 
Congress  to  enact  a  law  upon  such  a  basis.  The  rate  upon  our  prod- 
uct is  to-day  what  substantially  amounts  to  a  minimum  rate,  and  any 
minimum  tariff  below  the  present  rate  of  duty  would  practically 
transfer  our  product  to  the  free  list,  destroying  the  industry. 

We  therefore  must  respectfully  ask  that  paragraph  426  be  not 
changed  in  any  manner  as  to  form,  classification,  or  rate,  and  that  it 
be  maintained  as  at  present  provided. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

AARON  NAUMBURG, 
Representing  the  Hatters^  Fur  Industry  of  the  United  States. 


THE  FUE  SKIN  DRESSERS'  UNION  FILES  SUPPLEMENTAL  BRIEF 
RELATIVE  TO  FURS  DRESSED  ON  THE  SKIN. 

246  STEUBEN  STREET, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  January  8,  1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  the  tariff  hearings  you  have  a  statement  by  Mr. 
Kothe,  representing  the  Fur  Skin  Dressers'  Union,  regarding  the 
necessity  of  an  increased  duty  on  furs  dressed  on  the  skin,  manufac- 
tured and  made  into  so-called  "  plates."  In  our  statement,  printed, 
we  failed  to  point  out  the  evident  misapplication  of  the  law  of  1897. 
Bearing  upon  this  point,  I  beg  to  quote  the  following  letter  to  a 
member  of  our  tariff  committee,  Mr.  A.  L.  Hetzel,  as  follows : 

OFFICE  OF  THE  COUNSEL  FOB  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT. 
BEFORE  BOARD  OF  UNITED  STATES  GENERAL  APPRAISERS, 
6^1  Washington  St.,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  November  23,  1908. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  HETZEL  :  In  answer  to  your  inquiry  as  to  how  the  Board  of 
United  States  General  Appraisers  and  the  courts  of  the  United  States  have 
decided  in  the  classification  of  plates  (i.  e.,  pieces  of  skins,  squirrels,  and  the 
like),  cut,  trimmed,  and  sewed  together,  but  not  completed  into  any  finished 
article,  I  beg  to  mention  the  case  of  Brandenstein  &  Co.,  decided  in  1899  by  the 
Board  of  United  States  General  Appraisers,  reported  as  Treasury  Decision 
21805.  The  case  arose  under  the  present  tariff  law,  act  of  July  24,  1897,  and 
the  board  held  that  "  several  skins  cut,  matched,  and  sewed  together,  ready 
for  sale  and  use,"  were  properly  assessable  as  manufactures  of  fur  under  the 
provisions  of  paragraph  450,  which  provides: 

"450.  Manufactures  of  leather,  finished  or  unfinished ;  manufactures  of  fur, 
gelatin,  gutta-percha,  human  hair,  ivory,  vegetable  ivory,  mother-of-pearl  and 
shell,  plaster  of  paris,  papier  mache,  and  vulcanized  india-rubber,  known  as 
'  hard  rubber,'  or  of  which  these  substances,  or  either  of  them,  is  the  component 
material  of  chief  value,  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  and  shells  engraved, 
cut,  ornamented,  or  otherwise  manufactured,  thirty-five  per  centum  ad  valorem." 

This  decision  would  be  very  satisfactory  to  yon,  as  it  would  to  us,  had  it  stood. 
An  appeal,  however,  was  taken,  and  on  October  31,  1900,  the  United  States 
circuit  court,  sitting  in  Chicago,  Judge  Kohlsaat  presiding,  overturned  this 
decision  and  held  the  goods  dutiable  at  20  per  cent  as  skins,  dressed,  under 
paragraph  438  "  as  dyed  and  finished  goat  skins."  Had  it  been  squirrels  skins, 
it  would  have  made  no  difference  in  rate,  paragraph  426  being  then  applicable. 


FURS FUR  SKIN   DRESSERS '   UNION.  6725 

"426.  Furs,  dressed  on  the  skin  but  not  made  up  into  articles,  and  furs  not 
on  the  skin,  prepared  for  hatters'  use,  including  fur  skins  carroted,  twenty  per 
centum  ad  valorem." 

It  does  not  aid  your  contention  even  when  dyeing  has  been  applied,  as  the 
courts  have  held  that  "  dyeing  "  is  part  of  dressing  and  is  included  in  dressing. 

You  are  absolutely  right  in  the  belief  that  the  law  as  now  construed  makes 
no  fur  article  a  manufacture  unless  it  is  a  completed  article  in  readiness  for 
permanent  use. 

Yours,  very  respectfully,  N.  B.  SPALDING. 

Mr.  A.  L.  HETZEL, 

New  York  City. 

It  seems  to  us  that  Congress  intended  that  manufactured  articles 
of  furs  dressed  on  the  skin  should  pay  a  duty  of  35  per  cent,  but  they 
do  not,  as  you  will  notice  by  the  letter  above  quoted.  As  a  result, 
floods  of  muskrats,  squirrels,  rabbits,  possum,  etc.,  made  up  for  lin- 
ings and  garments,  are  imported  into  this  country  at  20  per  cent  ad 
valorem.  As  a  result  of  this  manifest  error  on  the  part  of  the  Board 
of  General  Appraisers,  G.  A.  4897,  last  year  over  75  per  cent  of  the 
American  skins  used  in  linings,  etc.,  were  exported,  made  up  and 
returned  here,  and  paid  the  duty  of  20  per  cent.  Second  result :  Sev- 
eral thousand  people  have  been  thrown  out  of  employment. 

We  earnestly  ask  that  our  recommendation  of  November  28  may 
prevail,  and  that  a  duty  of  40  per  cent  may  prevail  upon  these  manu- 
factured goods,  also  furs  dressed  on  the  skin. 

The  importation  of  this  manufactured,  product  comes  within  the 
decision  referred  to,  G.  A.  4897,  and  is  described  in  the  Compilation 
of  Customs  Laws  and  Digest  of  Decisions  Thereunder,  1908,  as 
follows : 

(i)  Partly  manufactured  rugs  made  bjj,  cutting  and  matching  together  pieces 
of  fur  and  sewing  them  temporarily  are  dutiable  as  furs  dressed  on  the  skin 
and  not  under  paragraph  438  as  dressed  leather  or  goatskins,  paragraph  450 
as  manufactures  of  fur,  nor  section  G  as  nouenumerated  articles. 

The  important  point  is,  "  sewing  them  temporarily."  If  the  mer- 
chandise of  any  kind,  of  muskrat,  squirrel,  rabbits,  etc.,  were  merely 
attached  together  or  sewed  together  temporarily,  it  wrould  be  one 
thing,  but  they  are  brought  in  here  in  complete  "  plates  "  ready  for 
linings  or  for  any  purpose  for  which  they  can  be  used,  consequently 
your  law  of  1897,  we  think,  has  been  violated  by  administrative 
decisions. 

Now  how  can  you  tell  whether  we  are  right  or  wrong?  We  know 
we  are  right  because  the  employment  of  labor  in  this  line  has  been 
transferred  abroad  and  we  know  that  we  are  right  because  of  the 
samples  of  the  merchandise  which  have  been  exhibited  to  us.  But 
how  can  you  know  this?  I  am  unable  to  purchase  a  plate  made  up 
as  hereinbefore  described.  Won't  you  have  the  goodness,  in  the  in- 
terest of  our  working  people,  to  ask  the  honorable  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  to  request  the  United  States  appraiser  at  New  York  to 
send  to  you  from  the  next  importation  of  this  class  of  merchandise, 
the  following  described  merchandise,  for  examination  and  return : 

Plates  of  muskrat  backs  and  muskrat  bellies  and  plates  of  squirrel 
backs  and  squirrel  bellies. 

If  you  will  do  this  you  will  have  a  practical  demonstration  of  our 
contention.  When  you  receive  the  samples,  which  the  honorable  ap- 
praiser at  New  York  assures  me  he  will  be  glad  to  forward  upon  your 


6726  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

request,  won't  you  wire  me,  so  that  I  can  call  upon  you  and  answer 
any  questions  which  have  not  been  covered  in  our  original  brief  or 
this  letter? 

Sincerely,  yours, 

EDW.  J.  ANDERSON, 
Chairman,  Tariff  Committee,  Fur  Skin  Dressers'1  Union. 


HUMAN  HAIR. 

[Paragraphs  429,  450,  and  .~>71.| 

NEW  YORK,  J<t/i  >«>/•//  <;\  I !)<)!>. 
WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

Washington. 

DEAR  SIRS:  We  beg  to  point  out  that  paragraph  571  has  been 
misapplied  by  the  custom-house.  Human  hair  drawn  to  sizes  and 
cleaned  has  been  passed  under  the  free  list,  and  the  20  per  cent  duty 
for  hair  in  paragraph  429,  which  reads,  "Human  hair,  cleaned  and 
drawn,  but  not  manufactured,"  has  only  been  applied  when  the 
hair  was  (besides  being  cleaned  and  drawn  to  size)  also  turned. 

We  think  the  wording  of  the  tariff  should  be  made  so  that  no  mis- 
application would  be  possible.  We  understand  that  the  object  of 
the  tariff  was  to  protect  American  labor. 

We  suggest  that  the  new  tariff  provide  as  follows:  Human  hair, 
raw,  uncleaned,  free;  human  hair,  drawn,  cleaned,  and  turned,  25 
per  cent;  and^then  to  insert  a  new  paragraph  as  follows:  "Human 
nair,  cleaned,  clrawn,  but  not  turned,  15  per  cent." 
Yours,  truly, 

E.  &  H.  LEVY,  Importers. 
E.  LEVY,  President. 


FUR-FELT  HATS. 

[Paragraph  431.'.] 

STATEMENT  MADE  BY  JAMES  MARSHALL,  FALL  RIVER,  MASS., 
REPRESENTING  FUR-HAT  MANUFACTURERS. 

SATURDAY,  No-member  28, 1908. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  If  the  chairman  please,  I  am  here  to  represent  the 
manufacturers  of  fur  hats,  and  my  name  is  James  Marshall. 

I  have  here  a  brief  which  I  should  like  to  file,  and  then  I  desire 
to  make  a  few  remarks,  if  the  committee  please. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  may  proceed,  Mr.  Marshall. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  I  represent  practically  all  the  fur-hat  manufac- 
turers of  the  United  States.  Our  industry  does  not  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  haying  the  raw  material  close  at  hand.  On  the  contrary, 
about  everything  we  use  originates  abroad,  and  the  foreigner  has  the 
advantage  of  having  it  close  at  hand,  and  he  also  has  the  advantage 


FUR-FELT    HATS JAMES    MARSHALL.  6727 

of  cheaper  labor.  So  deeply  were  the  manufacturers  of  hats  im- 
pressed, that  for  the  first  time  in  many  years  they  came  together  and 
with  one  accord  desired  to  be  heard  before  you  and  to  show  you  the 
necessity  for  increasing  the  duty. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Are  you  a  manufacturer  of  furs? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Fur  hats. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Fur  hats  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Yes,  sir.  What  alarms  us  most  is  the  steady  in- 
crease of  importations  under  the  present  tariff.  During  the  years  it 
has  been  in  force  there  has  been  a  gradual  increase,  just  like  a  pair  of 
stairs.  During  this  last  year  of  depression  we  have  had  in  this  coun- 
try there  have  come  into  this  country  in  imported  hats  four  times  the 
number  that  did  come  in  under  the  first  year  of  the  tariff  and  more 
than  any  other  year.  Our  factories  have  been  closed,  a  great  many 
of  them,  awaiting  work. 

We  felt  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  present  to  you  gentle- 
men the  facts,  and  we  went  to  the  expense  of  sending  a  representative 
abroad,  and  he  is  abroad  now,  but  he  has  sent  back  to  me  the  facts 
and  figures  he  has  gathered  so  far. 

There  is  no  trust,  no  combination,  or  anything  of  that  sort  in  our 
business,  but  the  fiercest  sort  of  competition  exists.  Outside  of  a  few 
notable  exceptions,  working  under  a  well-advertised  trade-mark,  a 
fair  return  of  profit  has  been  made,  but  the  profits  have  been  small 
and  do  not  afford  a  proper  return  on  the  investment. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Do  you  manufacture  fur  caps  or  hats  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Derby  hats  and  soft  hats,  such  as  you  are  wear- 
ing, probably. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  wear  felt. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  That  is  the  same  thing.  They  are  made  of  rabbit 
fur  and  hare  fur. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Do  you  want  an  increased  duty  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Yes,  sir;  such  increase  as  we  can  show,  by  the 
facts  at  hand,  we  deserve.  In  the  last  ten  years  there  has  been 
going  on  in  Europe  a  gradual  decrease  in  cost,  just  as  you  have  heard 
from  other  industries  here.  They  have  gotten  our  machinery  and  our 
methods,  and  have  gradually  decreased  their  manufacturing  cost  in 
the  last  ten  years. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Does  not  that  go  to  prove  that  a  protective  tariff  long 
continued  tends  to  inefficient  workmanship  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Not  at  all. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Why  is  it  they  are  surpassing  us,  then  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Because  in  those  days  we  were  having  to  do  some- 
thing, to  bring  our  cost  down,  and  used  our  ingenuity  and  invented 
machines  for  doing  that  work,  and  now  they  have  copied  those 
machines. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Can  you  not  use  your  ingenuity  and  invent  more 
machines  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  We  are  going  to  try  to  do  so,  but  there  comes  a 
limit,  understand  me,  as  you  go  on. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Let  me  suggest  this:  A  great  argument  which  has 
been  used  here  befor'e  this  committee  has  been  that  the  people  of  Bel- 
gium for  generations,  back  as  far  as  the  great-great-great-great-great- 
grandfathers, have  made  certain  things,  and  therefore  the  experience 

75941— H.  Doc.  1505,  00-2— Vol  6 61 


6728  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

of  those  ages  in  making  those  things  makes  Belgium  workmen  so 
much  more  efficient  than  ours  in  that  particular  line.  Now  you  say 
that  those  people  are  coming  over  here  and  copying  our  methods  and 
beating  us  in  that  line? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Beating  us  because  they  have  cheaper  labor.  What 
has  been  going  on  in  the  United  States  while  they  have  been  doing 
that  is  this :  There  has  been  a  gradual  increase  in  the  price  of  labor — 
and  that  ought  to  be  the  fact.  Workmen  have  gradually  gone  on  so 
there  has  been  an  increase  of  30  per  cent  almost,  and  having  edu- 
cated our  workmen  up  to  that  plane  of  living  and  to  that  amount  of 
wages,  I  do  not  think  it  is  wise  to  batter  them  down  at  this  late  day. 
On  the  other  hand,  just  what  you  said  about  Belgium  has  been  going 
on  there,  and  they  have  not  received  any  more  wages,  and  do  not  ex- 
pect any  more,  and  when  you  combine  that  with  our  machinery  you 
have  an  advantage  that  is  too  great  for  us  to  overcome  if  we  are  going 
to  maintain  our  standard  of  wages  here. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  We  ought  to  stop  the  sale  of  machinery  abroad  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Not  at  all ;  not  at  all.  We  have  built  up  these  in- 
dustries under  the  idea  of  protection  to  what?  To  American  labor. 
We  have  gone  on  increasing  wages,  believing  now  you  are  going  to 
look  forward  and  not  backward.  For  instance,  anything  you  estab- 
lish now  we  have  to  look  forward  to  for  years  and  years. 

The  duty  varies  according  to  grade.  It  is  divided  into  $5  and 
under,  $2  a  dozen  and  20  per  cent  ad  valorem,  and  so  on  up  the  scale. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  That  is  $5  per  hat? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  No ;  hats  of  $5  a  dozen  and  under,  and  it  varies  all 
the  way  up  the  scale. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  You  know  everybody  wears  a  hat. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  I  hope  so.     I  sometimes  have  thought  they  did  not. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Well,  they  do. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Perhaps  you  think  they  wear  them  too  long  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  I  think  they  do.x 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  You  tell  us  we  are  to  look  forward.  The  thing  we 
are  to  look  forward  to  is  the  constant  increasing  of  the  rate  of  duty, 
is  it  not  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Not  at  all,  because  the  increase  you  make  will  be 
unchanged  for  a  few  years. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  When  you  make  another  machine  that  is  better  than 
that  you  have  always  sold  to  the  foreigner,  he  will  come  and  copy  it? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  We  are  pretty  nearly  at  our  limit  on  machinery. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  You  say  the  foreigner  is  reducing  the  cost  all  the 
time,  and  therefore  the  only  alternative  you  offer  us  is  steadily 
increasing  the  rates  of  duty? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  No,  sir;  but  increasing  them  enough  whenever 
you  find  occasion  to  give  protection  to  American  labor.  If  we  can 
not  make  out  a  case  and  can  not  show  you  the  actual  figures  which 
indicate  the  need  for  it,  then  certainly  we  do  not  deserve  it. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  You  told  us  that  at  one  time  your  ingenuity 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  I  did  not  say  my  ingenuity. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Well,  I  will  say  our  ingenuity,  as  a  national  inge- 
nuity. You  said  that  our  ingenuity  has  been  able  to  keep  the  cost 
of  production  down  in  this  country  so  you  were  able  to  compete  at 
the  very  liberal  rates  of  taxation  which  are  now  imposed.  Do  you 


FUR-FELT    HATS JAMES    MARSHALL.  6729 

not  think  you  do  yourself  faint  justice  when  you  come  to  us  and  give 
us  to  understand  that  ingenuity  is  exhausted  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  I  do  not  say  it  is  exhausted. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  If  you  have  the  ingenuity  to  bank  on— 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  There  is  a  limit  to  human  ingenuity. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Do  you  think  so  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  I  rather  think  so. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Not  as  to  hatters? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Well,  I  hope  not. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  You  have  two  means  of  carrying  on  your  industry. 
One  is  to  improve  your  production  and  the  other  increase  the  tax- 
ation. In  one  case  the  community  has  to  pay  tribute.  If  you  tax 
them  by  increasing  the  rate  of  duty,  they  have  to  do  that. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  The  amount  we  ask  would  not  be  such  as  would  be 
felt  by  the  average  purchaser  who  wears  a  hat. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  It  is  something  that  would  do  a  great  deal  of  good 
to  you? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  It  would  do  us  a  great  deal  of  good  in  this  way: 
What  we  feel  most  is  not  the  importation  as  it  exists  to-day,  but  the 
constantly  increasing  importation  that  is  going  on.  For  instance, 
under  the  first  year  of  the  present  tariff  5,000  dozens  were  imported, 
and  there  has  been  a  gradual  increase  until  in  the  last  year  21,000 
dozens  were  imported — enough  to  run  a  good-sized  hat  factory. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  One  factory? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Yes,  sir.  If  that  increase  continues  to  go  on  that 
is  what  we  fear. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Looking  at  how  your  product  has  increased  in  the 
meantime,  it  has  increased  out  of  all  proportion  to  that. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  I  do  not  think  so.  No,  sir;  I  do  not  think  it  has 
increased  four  times. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  The  total  increase  of  the  foreigner  is  just  the  prod- 
uct of  one  factory? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  To-day? 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  In  ten  years,  and  it  is  252,000  hats. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  It  is  about  21.000  dozen. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Gentlemen,  there  are  42  names  on  this  list.  Is  it 
worth  while  to  go  into  all  these  details? 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  I  think  it  is. 

Mr.  HILL.  Have  you  some  samples  there  that  you  desire  to  show 
to  the  committee? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HILL.  I  suggest  you  show  them  to  the  committee  and  perhaps 
it  will  illustrate  what  you  mean. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  What  we  fear  now  is  new  competition  starting  up 
in  the  last  year. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  As  matters  stand,  you  are  able  to  figure  for  your- 
selves, but  you  are  afraid  competition  may  grow  in  the  future? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  We  know  it  will  grow. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  As  to  the  future,  it  is  difficult  to  speak  with  knowl- 
edge. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  We  can  only  judge  that  by  the  past,  and  the  past 
has  shown  this  in  what  we  call  the  popular-price  hat.  Previous  to 


6730  SCHEDULE    X SUNDRIES. 

that  time,  it  was  only  these  hats  that  style  make,  that  always  come  in 
anyway,  but  now  the  popular-price  hat  is  commencing  to  come  in. 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  I  am  quite  correct  in  saying  at  this  moment  you 
are  able  to  maintain  your  industry,  am  I  not  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  No,  sir;  we  are  not  in  on  this  popular-price  hat 
at  all.  \ 

Mr.  COCKRAN.  Are  you  losing  now  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  We  will  lose.  We  have  lost  this  past  season.  We 
have  lost  because  the  Englishmen  can  offer  a  thousand  dozen  hats 
of  this  one  style  alone,  which  sells  for  $2.  That  hat  sells  at  $2,  and 
that  is  a  popular-price  hat.  Now,  they  have  commenced  to  put  this 
in,  not  by  the  few  dozen,  but  by  the  thousand  dozen. 

Mr.  CLARK.  What  is  the  money  output  of  fur  hats  in  the  United 
States? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  The  last  I  knew  it  was  about  $36,000,000. 

Mr.  CLARK.  And  the  imports  in  1907  amounted  to  about  $225,000  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Yes,  sir.     With  reference  to  this  line  of  popular- 

Erice  hats,  they  have  commenced  in  the  last  six  months  to  rush  in 
undreds  of  dozens  of  those  at  once.  What  will  they  do  if  we  do 
not  check  them  ? 

Mr.  CLARK.  You  do  not  have  enough  to  supply  the  market  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  We  have  been  closed  down,  ours  being  an  industry 
which  does  not  give  steady  employment. 

Mr.  CLARK.  If  the  Government  can  only  get  $232,000  of  revenue 
out  of  the  hat  business,  with  the  rates  ranging  from  45  to  55  or  60 
per  cent,  how  is  the  Government  ever  going  to  get  sufficient  revenue 
to  run  itself  1 

Mr.  MARSHAL.  Because  we  pay  on  our  raw  material  anywhere 
from  20  to  50  per  cent. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Suppose  we  cut  off  all  the  tariff  on  raw  material. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  That  would  not  enable  us  to  better  conditions. 
The  difference  in  favor  of  that  hat  against  what  we  can  make  here 
is  $6.20,  and  if  you  cut  it  off  it  would  only  be  $1.97. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  The  difference  in  cost  of  making  them  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Yes,  sir.  This  hat  which  I  now  hold  in  my  hand 
was  made  in  Danbury,  to  match  this  other  one  which  I  exhibit  to 
the  committee,  which  was  made  abroad.  If  you  take  the  whole  duty 
off  raw  material,  we  would  still  be  that  much  in  the  hole. 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  would  you  be  in  the  hole  more  than  you  are 
now  if  we  take  the  tariff  off  raw  material  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  The  difference  is  $6.20  in  favor  of  the  foreign  hat, 
and  the  duty  on  raw  material  is  $1.97. 

Mr.  Pou.  How  much  does  that  hat  retail  for  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Two  dollars.  I  bought  it  for  $2.  It  was  not 
made  up  for  this  occasion.  Last  season  up  and  down  Broadway 
these  hat  specialists,  as  we  call  them,  had  their  windows  full  of  these 
foreign  hats.  They  had  just  caught  on  to  how  to  get  them  over  here, 
and  the  European  manufacturers  had  just  got  on  to  how  to  reach 
them. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  out  of  every  1,000 
Americans  do  not  care  a  straw  whether  they  are  wearing  a  foreign 
hat  or  an  American  hat.  If  they  had  any  preference,  at  the  same 
price,  they  would  rather  wear  an  American  hat. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  I  should  think  so. 


FUR-FELT   HATS JAMES    MARSHALL.  6731 

Mr.  CLARK.  How  can  this  infinitesimal  competition  interfere  with 
it? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  In  the  past  they  have  not  interfered  with  it  but 
if  this  thing  continues  they  will  interfere  with  it. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Why  have  they  not  been  rushing  them  in  all  the  time  in 
that  way  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Because  the  English  manufacturer  has  not  got  wise 
as  to  how  to  reach  the  retail  trade  and  the  retailers  have  not  got  wise 
as  to  how  to  get  them. 

There  is  another  thing.  A  few  years  ago  we  had  a  better  protec- 
tion than  the  duty  itself,  and  that  is  the  protection  that  style  gives, 
which  condition  existed  as  late  as  two  years  ago.  Dunlap,  Knox, 
and  others  brought  out  a  hat  of  a  certain  style  at  a  certain  time 
of  year,  and  they  keep  that  just  as  close  as  they  can  until  about  the 
day  of  the  opening.  The  retailers  and  jobbers  throughout  the  country 
keep  in  touch  with  these,  and  the  manufacturers  would  have  orders 
for  three  months  previous  to  the  coming  out  of  that  hat  for  thousands 
of  dozens  that  must  be  delivered  within  a  short  time.  The  foreigner 
could  not  get  that  hat  over  -to  Europe  and  back  quick  enough  to 
copy  and  supply  the  demand.  By  the  time  he  got  them  here  the  de- 
mand for  that  particular  hat  would  be  gone.  These  hat  specialists 
since  then  have  come  in  who  run  chains  of  retail  stores — sometimes  as 
many  as  25  of  them — and  they  make  a  hat  of  their  own  choosing. 
They  ignore  all  these  styles,  and  they  can  take  three  months'  time  and 
go  over  there  and  prepare  their  hat  in  England  and  bring  it  over 
here  on  their  opening  day  and  have  it  all  ready  to  supply  the  market 
demand. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Knox  charges  about  two  prices  for  every  hat  he  sells, 
does  he  not  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  I  do  not  think  so. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  do,  because  he  charged  me  two  and  a  half  times  as 
much  for  a  hat  as  I  would  have  had  to  pay  somewhere  else. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  There  were  252,000  hats  imported  last  year,  and  there 
are  25,666,666f  men  and  boys,  all  of  whom  wear  hats. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  I  do  not  think  so.  Some  of  them  wear  caps  and 
things  of  that  sort. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Well,  they  wear  some  head  covering. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  We  can  see  the  increase  in  this  competition  abroad, 
brought  about  by  these  hat  specialists  who  will  soon  have  the  cream 
of  the  hat  business,  and  we  know  that  this  thing,  unless  it  is  stopped 
right  now,  somehow,  is  going  to  prove  to  be  very  disastrous  to  us. 
It  is  not  a  question  of  what  has  been ;  it  is  a  question  of  what  will  be. 

Mr.  Pou.  If  you  cut  them  out  of  this  market  by  a  high  protective 
tariff,  what  will  protect  the  American  people  against  you  ? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Competition  among  ourselves.  Here,  for  instance, 
I  exhibit  to  you  a  hat  that  sells  for  $2,  and  that  is  plenty  good  enough 
for  anybody. 

Mr.  HILL.  I  understand  that  the  trade  has  united  together  and 
sent  an  expert  to  Europe  to  ascertain  the  exact  figures,  and  that  you 
have  the  exact  figures  and  facts,  with  the  cost  of  labor  and  the  gen- 
eral cost  of  manufacture,  and  the  comparative  cost  of  making  hats, 
which  are  identically  like  each  other  in  Europe  and  here? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  I  have  here  all  the  data  that  was  sent  over  by  this 
man. 


6732  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Well,  file  that.  We  can  not  spend  the  time  to 
have  it  read  here. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Just  one  brief  statement  I  should  like  to  make  in 
regard  to  it. 

Mr.  HILL.  I  should  like  to  hear  that  statement.  We  spent  six 
hours  on  one  industry,  and  here  is  an  industry  that  employs  20,000 
people  and  pays  wages  of  $11,000,000,  and  we  have  a  right  to  hear 
them  for  thirty  minutes,  it  seems  to  me. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  There  are  8  or  10  or  12  other  people  on  this  same 
schedule.  There  are  some  40  people  on  the  list  for  to-day  who  want 
to  be  heard  from.  If  you  can  just  as  well  file  that  statement,  the 
committee  can  read  it  and  give  it  some  attention,  but  now  it  will  sim- 
ply pass  in  one  ear  and  out  the  other.  If  you  and  Mr.  Hill  insist, 
of  course  he  may  go  on  with  it. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  No;  I  do  not  insist.  I  will  just  file  this  and  let  it 
go  at  that. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  would  like  to  hear  it. 

Mr.  HILL.  I  do  not  insist,  only  it  seems  to  me  as  large  an  industry 
as  this  should  be  given  a  full  hearing. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  do  not  want  to  cut  anybody  off  too  short,  but  I 
do  think  we  should  hasten  this  matter  to  a  close. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  This  little  booklet,  or  data,  which  I  desire  to  file 
with  the  committee  is  an  agreement  entered  into  by  the  Manufac- 
turers' Federation  and  Amalgamated  Society  of  Journeymen  Felt 
Hatters  and  Trimmers  and  Wool  Formers'  Association  of  England, 
together  with  their  list  of  prices  as  agreed  upon  between  the  employ- 
ers and  the  employed.  This  shows  the  minimum  price  of  labor  there, 
on  which  they^base  the  earning  power  of  all  piecework,  varying  from 
33  to  35  shillings  a  week. 

The  minimum  prices  of  the  United  Hatters  of  America  is  $18  per 
week — $18  per  week  as  against  $8.40  abroad.  This  agreement  is  in 
force  to-day. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  Will  you  allow  that  to  be  published  in  the  record,  Mr. 
Chairman? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  have  asked  him  to  do  that.  I  have  no  power 
to  compel  it. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  file  it.  I  also  desire  to 
leave  these  sample  hats  with  the  committee. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  am  afraid  they  will  not  fit  me. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  If  the  committee  will  give  us  what  we  ask,  we  will 
make  halos  for  all  of  them. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  use  alcohol  in  making  these  hats? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Do  you  use  the  denatured  alcohol? 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  Yes,  sir.  The  wood  alcohol  is  worth  70  cents  a 
gallon.  Our  denatured  alcohol  is  now  bought  for  46  cents  a  gallon, 
and  if  you  gave  us  alcohol  free,  it  would  make  a  difference  of  21 
cents  a  dozen.  That  is  all  the  total  alcohol  cost  is,  21  cents  a  dozen 
hats,  in  making  a  dozen  stiff  hats  like  these  samples.  In  the  manu- 
facture of  soft  hats  we  do  not  use  any  alcohol. 

Mr.  GRIGGS.  I  want  to  suggest,  to  you  that  I  desire  to  postpone  my 
halo  as  long  as  possible. 

Mr.  CLARK.  I  want  to  suggest  to  the  witness  that  he  never  yet  has 
stated  what  he  wants. 


FUR-FELT    HATS JAMES    MARSHALL.  6733 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  It  is  stated  in  this  brief  which  I  shall  file,  but 
which  I  did  not  desire  to  read. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Go  on  and  file  your  brief  then. 

Mr.  MARSHALL.  We  want  a  rearrangement  of  the  duty.  For  in- 
stance, there  is  no  such  thing  as  $5,  $10,  or  $20  hats.  They  run  in 
multiples  of  twelve — six,  nine,  eighteen,  and  up.  It  ought  to  be  re- 
arranged on  that  basis.  We  ought  to  have  just  enough  increase  of 
tariff  to  compensate  us  for  the  difference  between  labor  and  the  duty 
on  materials  we  use — that  is,  the  advantage  the  foreigner  has  over  us. 
As  I  have  stated  roughly,  this  amounts  to  about  $1  a  dozen  advance, 
and  10  per  cent  ad  valorem  advance  over  what  we  have. 


JAMES  MARSHALL,  FALL  RIVER,  MASS.,  REPRESENTING  VARIOUS 
FUR-HAT  MANUFACTURERS,  FILES  BRIEF  ASKING  FOR  AN 
INCREASED  DUTY  ON  FUR  HATS. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  28,  1908. 
HONORABLE  WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Despite  the  fact  that  there  seems  to  be  a  general 
opinion  that  most  of  the  industries  of  the  United  States  can  get  along 
with  less  protection  than  they  have  been  having,  and  while  it  may  be 
more  or  less  unpopular  to  ask  for  an  increase  over  the  present  rate 
of  duty,  yet  it  is  of  such  vital  importance  that  we  should  ask  for  an 
increase,  that  for  the  first  time  in  many  years  practically  all  of  the 
fur-hat  manufacturers  have  come  together  and  with  one  accord  ask 
that  they  be  given  such  increase  as  they  may  be  able  to  show,  by  the 
actual  facts  presented,  that  they  need. 

When  the  tariff  bill  of  1897  was  under  consideration,  those  having 
it  in  charge  placed  the  duty  so  as  to  give  protection  such  as  they 
found  was  then  needed,  but  there  was  one  other  protection  that 
existed  then  that  evidently  no  account  was  taken  of,  and  that  was 
the  inability  of  the  foreigner  to  get  American  styles  to  this  market 
quickly  enough  to  be  of  use,  and  I  will  touch  upon  this  at  more 
length  later. 

The  principal  change,  however,  that  has  taken  place  in  the  last  ten 
years  has  been  the  gradual  and  steady  advance  in  the  cost  of  labor  in 
this  country  (and  it  certainly  is  not  desirable  to  lower  the  standard 
of  wages  that  has  been  thus  established). 

It  is  equally  a  fact  that  the  cost  of  labor  in  Europe  is  less  by  con- 
siderable to-day  than  it  was  ten  years  ago,  mainly  because  of  the  in- 
troduction of  American  machiner}^  American  methods,  into  their  fac- 
tories, which,  together  with  the  cheaper  labor,  has  enabled  them  to 
more  than  successfully  compete  under  the  present  tariff. 

Right  here  I  would  like  to  illustrate  by  just  one  example  the  differ- 
ence that  actually  exists  in  labor.  The  United  Hatters  of  North 
America  establish  a  minimum  of  $18  per  week  at  which  a  man  may 
be  hired,  and  upon  which  all  piecework  prices  are  based  as  to  earning 
power.  In  England  (that  has  the  highest  priced  labor  in  the  hatting 
industry  of  any  country  with  which  we  compete)  the  Amalgamated 
Society  of  Journeymen  Felt  Hatters  have  established  a  minimum  of 
33  shillings  to  36  shillings  per  week — about  $8.40 — more  than  one-half 
less  than  the  price  established  here.  Therefore  it  is  very  desirable 
that  the  protection  that  you  afford  now  be  enough  to  thoroughly 


6734  SCHEDULE   N SUNDEIES. 

protect  the  labor  interests,  for  any  reduction  (or  even  if  the  present 
rate  of  tariff  is  maintained)  would  mean  that  we  sooner  or  later  would 
have  to  meet  European  competition.,  and  that  even  though  we  get  our 
materials  at  a  lower  price  this  in  itself  would  make  but  little  differ- 
ence— the  manufacturers  would  be  forced  to  lower  the"  only  flexible 
item  they  have  in  their  costs,  and  that  is  their  labor  costs,  and  it 
would  have  to  be  lowered  enough  to  meet  such  competition.  Conse- 
quently labor  needs  the  protection  perhaps  more  than  manufacturers. 

Taking  up  the  question  of  the  protection  that  was  afforded  by 
American  styles  ten  years  ago,  for  instance: 

In  those  days  it  was  the  general  practice  of  retailers  and  jobbers 
throughout  the  country  to  copy  the  styles  of  the  leading  hatters  each 
season.  That  is,  the  Dunlap,  Knox,  Young,  Youman,  Miller,  and 
sundry  other  leaders  of  fashion  would  then  and  do  now  bring  out  a 
certain  style  on  a  certain  date,  it  being  their  hat  for  the  season,  and 
jobbers  and  retailers  would  place  their  orders  for  these  styles  months 
in  advance,  with  the  understanding  that  they  be  delivered  within  a 
very  short  time  of  the  date  of  the  coming  out  of  said  style.  Under 
these  circumstances  it  was  almost  impossible  for  a  foreign-made  hat 
to  be  rushed  into  the  market  quickly  enough  to  fill  the  demand  and, 
as  a  result,  manufacturers  and  labor  were  protected  by  this  to  a  much 
greater  extent  than  by  the  duty  itself. 

The  day  of  this  has  passed,  however,  and  there  has  come  into  the 
hatting  business  a  new  class  that  is  catering  to  the  public  for  patron- 
age, known  as  "  hat  specialists."  They  run  chains  of  retail  stores, 
some  of  them  having  as  many  as  twenty-five  or  more  in  various  cities, 
and  this  way  of  reaching  the  public  is  increasing.  It  has  been  de- 
veloped more  perfectly  in  the  last  two  years,  perhaps,  than  in  the 
whole  previous  ten,  and  the  result  of  this  is  that  these  specialists  bring 
out  a  hat  of  their  own  choosing  as  their  hat ;  therefore,  it  is  within 
their  power  (-and  they  do  it)  to  start  months  in  advance  to  get  out  the 
hat,  to  have  it  ready  for  instant  delivery  at  the  date  of  opening.  These 
specialists,  sharp,  bright  business  men,  were  not  slow  to  discover  that 
foreign-made  hats  were  better  at  the  price  than  they  could  obtain  a 
domestic-made  article  for.  They  also  were  not  slow  to  know  that  there 
was,  and  is,  a  certain  amount  of  prestige  that  goes  with  an  imported 
hat,  and,  as  a  result,  they  started  in  to  work  this  thing,  and  in  the 
end  will  work  it  to  the  verv  limit.  Several  of  these  hat  specialists 
this  last  season  were  displaying  foreign-made  hats  almost  entirely  in 
their  windows.  The  importations  of  one  alone  in  New  York  City  has 
gone  into  the  hundreds  of  dozens  this  season,  and  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  those  who  have  not  done  so  as  yet  will  not  allow  their 
competitors  to  enjoy  this  advantage  alone  very  long. 

It  is  also  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  larger  of  the  foreign  manu- 
facturers (and,  by  the  way,  at  the  heads  of  these  establishments  abroad 
are  brainy,  bright,  industrious  men,  ready  to  seize  any  opportunity 
to  increase  their  business) ,  therefore,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  see- 
ing what  one  or  more  of  their  competitors  are  doing,  will  not  be  slow 
to  press  the  sale  of  their  own  hats,  so  if  nothing  is  done  to  advance 
the  present  rate  of  duty,  you  may  be  sure  we  will  find  a  repetition  of 
what  has  been  going  on  the  last  ten  years. 

For  instance:  Nearly  each  year  under  the  present  tariff  has  seen  an 
increase  in  the  importations  of  hats,  so  that  a  comparison  of  the  figures 
looks  like  a  flight  of  steps,  each  year  going  one  step  higher  in  the 
number  of  dozens  imported,  and  remember,  gentlemen,  every  hat 


FUK-FELT    HATS JAMES    MARSHALL.  6735 

covers  a  head,  and  it  is  the  dozens  that  count.  If  this  same  increase 
goes  on,  as  it  surely  will,  the  results  are  sure  to  be  disastrous.  Even 
this  year,  when  there  existed  the  depression  in  domestic  affairs,  many 
of  our  factories  closing  down  for  lack  of  orders,  there  were  imported 
into  this  country  more  than  three  times  the  number  of  dozens  that 
were  imported  under  the  first  year  of  the  present  tariff,  and  this  year 
of  depression  represents  the  highest  number  of  dozens  imported  into 
the  country  in  a  great  many  years. 

There  is  no  trust  or  combination  of  any  sort  in  the  hat  business.- 
Conditions  do  not,  nor  will  they,  admit  of  it.    The  interests  are  so 
diversified,  the  competition  is  so  keen,  that  the  public  is  bound  to  get 
in  the  future,  as  it  has  in  the  past,  the  benefit  of  this  by  obtaining  the 
product  of  these  factories  at  the  lowest  possible  price. 

The  profits  of  the  business  as  a  whole  are  very  small.  True,  there 
are  some  notable  exceptions  where  under  a  well-advertised  trade-mark 
a  reputation  has  been  built  up.  so  that  the  manufacturer  can  ask, 
and  does  get,  a  good,  fair  margin  of  profit  because  of  his  reputation, 
but  as  a  rule  the  business  is  conducted  on  a  very  close,  narrow  margin, 
and  the  hat  industry  at  its  best  does  not  give  steady  employment  to 
those  now  engaged  in  it. 

There  is  also  another  disadvantage  that  we  labor  under,  and  a  very 
serious  one  when  we  compare  ourselves  with  foreign  manufacturers,, 
and  perhaps  it  illustrates  more  than  anything  else  that  there  is  no 
industry  in  this  country  that  better  shows  that  labor  is  getting  its 
share  of  profits. 

For  instance,  it  has  been  mentioned  that  the  minimum  price  per 
week  is  set  as  a  basis  of  the  earning  power.  This,  however,  is  only  for 
the  lowest-priced  hat  that  is  sold.  If  a  dozen  hats  are  sold  at  $12, 
then  labor  gets  so  much  per  dozen  for  the  work  on  this  particular 
grade,  and  although  it  is  practically  no  more  work  in  any  way,  as 
far  as  labor  goes,  to  produce  a  hat  that  is  sold  at  $15  a  dozen,  yet  labor 
gets  just  so  much  more  in  proportion  to  the  selling  price,  and  'so  on 
all  the  way  up  the  scale. 

In  other  words,  a  scale  of  labor  prices  is  fixed — so  much  for  a  hat 
selling  at  $12,  so  much  more  for  one  selling  at  $15,  so  much  more  for 
one  selling  at  $18,  so  much  more  for  one  selling  at  $24,  etc.;  always- 
increasing  in  amount,  as  the  selling  price  of  the  article  increases. 

It  is  not  so  with  foreign  manufacturers;  practically  all  hats  look 
alike  to  the  laboring  man,  no  matter  what  price  they  are  sold  at,  and 
as  the  amount  for  labor  is  based  on  the  actual  amount  of  labor  ex- 
pended on  the  hat,  irrespective  of  what  it  is  sold  at,  this  enables  the 
foreign  manufacturer  to  use  very  fine  material  in  almost  any  grade, 
and  his  labor  cost  being  practically  the  same,  enables  him  to  produce 
a  more  sightly  article  than  it  is  possible  for  manufacturers  to  produce 
in  this  country  at  the  same  price. 

Believing  that  the  boy  with  his  fact  is  mightier  than  the  philoso- 
pher with  his  theory,  we  submit  for  your  inspection  an  object  lesson. 
We  have  bought  at  retail  (and  any  of  you  can  do  the  same)  a  popular- 
priced  hat,  marked  "  Exhibit  A."  We  paid  for  this  $2^  This  is  a 
foreign-made  hat.  This  hat  cost  the  retailer,  after  paying  all  dutyr 
.freight,  and  other  charges,  $15.80  per  dozen.  This  hat  is  very  much 
more  sightly  than  anything  that  can  be  produced  in  this  country  at 
this  price,  but  to  illustrate  what  can  be  done  we  have  shown  "  Ex- 
hibit B,"  a  hat  made  in  Danburv,  that  would  be  sold  to  the  retailer 
at  this  same  price  at  wholesale.  Then,  again,  we  have  made  a  hat  in 


6736  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

Brooklyn  that,  in  our  judgment,  is  as  good  in  quality,  in  every  way, 
as  the  foreign-made  hat,  and  which  would  sell  at  retail  at  not  less 
than  $3,  and  we  have  marked  this  "  Exhibit  C."  We  also  give  you  a 
table  illustrating  what  it  cost  to  make  these  three  hats,  and,  gentle- 
men, these  prices  are  not  made  up  for  the  occasion.  So  deeply  were 
the  hat  manufacturers  of  this  country  impressed  with  the  necessity 
of  bringing  this  matter  very  forcibly  to  your  attention;  so  deeply 
were  they  impressed  with  the  idea  that  you  must  have  facts  and  not 
guesswork  upon  which  to  build  a  tariff,  that  they  have  gone  to  the 
expense  of  sending  the  very  best  man  they  could  think  of  to  Europe 
to  investigate  conditions  as  they  exist  and  report  back  nothing  but 
the  actual  facts  he  found.  Mr.  Dammann  presents  these. 

For  while  we  already  knew  from  personal  investigation  of  some 
time  ago  just  what  were  the  conditions  then  (one  of  our  manufacturers 
having  made  it  his  special  business  ten  years  ago  to  find  out  exactly 
what  was  going  on  by  personal  observation,  visiting  all  the  larger  hat 
factories  in  Engjand  and  on  the  Continent),  we  did  not  think  it  fair 
to  give  these  figures  as  facts  now  without  further  confirmation  on 
our  part.  Therefore  the  figures  that  we  present  to  you  are  the  results 
of  these  investigations,  both  then  and  now,  and  are  the  plain,  unvar- 
nished facts. 

Perhaps  we  can  best  illustrate  how  great  a  part  the  adoption  of 
machinery,  together  with  the  cheaper  labor,  plays  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  hats,  by  quoting  from  a  letter  from  our  representative  sent 
from  Manchester,  England,  within  the  last  few  weeks : 

There  is  one  thing  I  can  not  help  remarking  now,  and  that  is,  as  far  as  the 
use  of  machinery  is  concerned,  am  afraid  we  are  so  far  behind  that  we  will 
never  catch  up.  vOne  firm  (and  this  is  the  firm  that  furnished  the  hat  that  we 
are  exhibiting)  stiffens  on  an  average  2,200  dozen  hats  a  week,  with  the  labor 
of  5  boys,  at  a  total  cost  of  not  more  than,  say,  $15  to  $20  a  week. 

What  does  this  one  item  mean  ?  It  means  that  this  one  firm  there 
has  gotten  its  costs  down  on  stiffening  to  practically  1  cent  per  dozen, 
whereas  the  cost  in  this  country  averages  from  12  cents  to  18  cents 
a  dozen.  This  is  an  extreme  illustration,  but  is  not  the  only  extreme 
illustration  of  the  difference  in  costs  that  can  be  given  to  you. 

Another  thing,  gentlemen,  I  desire  to  call  your  attention  to — the 
advantage  of  having  raw  material  close  at  hand,  thus  avoiding 
freight  and  various  other  advantages  that  some  industries  enjoy  in 
this  country  is  almost  exactly  reversed  with  us.  The  foreigner  enjoys 
this  advantage,  and  rest  assured  he  uses  it  to  the  very  limit. 

Another  thing  our  representative  was  instructed  to  do  was  to  verify 
the  price  of  thir  particular  hat  we  exhibit,  for  so  much  were  we 
stirred  with  the  incoming  of  this  fresh  competition  that  we  believed 
there  must  be  an  undervaluation. 

So  far  from  proving  this  to  be  a  fact,  our  representative  finds,  as 
he  writes: 

Not  only  can  and  does  the  manufacturer  make  the  hat  at  the  price  he 
invoices  it,  but  there  is  absolutely  no  question,  with  the  stunts  he  can  do  with 
his  labor  and  machinery,  of  his  being  able  to  continue. 

You  will  note  that  in  all  of  the  above  and  in  our  comparisons 
nothing  has  been  said  about  the  competition  that  comes  from  Belgium, 
Austria,  France,  and  Italy,  all  of  which  ten  years  ago  showed  that 
they  had  their  labor  costs  at  considerably  less  than  those  in  England, 
and  no  doubt  all  of  them  to-day  will  show  very  much  lower  costs,  but 
our  representative  has  not  had  time  to  arrive  back  with  all  of  this 


FUR-FELT    HATS JAMES    MARSHALL. 


6737 


data,  and  it  being  our  desire  to  present  only  such  as  we  knew  to  be 
absolute  facts,  we  have  refrained  from  stating  any  comparisons  along 
these  lines. 

Another  thing,  we  also  have  refrained  from  saying  anything  about 
the  free  employment  of  boys,  youths,  and  so  forth,  all  of  which  is  prac- 
tically unrestricted  abroad,  and  nothing  has  been  said  about  their 
allowing  (as  they  do)  double  the  number  of  apprentices  in  union  fac- 
tories that  they  do  here.  We  feel  that  our  case  is  strong  enough 
without  going  into  all  this  detail. 

Gentlemen,  the  crisis  is  so  great  in  the  hat  business  to-day  we  feel 
it  is  our  absolute  duty  to  ask  in  all  fairness  that  the  tariff  be  in- 
creased and  increased  sufficiently  to  give  protection  to  American 
capital  and  to  American  labor. 

We  therefore  ask,  first,  that  the  division  that  was  made  into  the 
various  grades  in  1897  be  changed.  For  instance,  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  a  $10  hat — although  our  tariff  reads  $5,  $10,  $20 — there  are 
no  such  grades  of  hats.  For  instance,  hats  run  $4.50,  $9,  $12,  $13.50, 
$16.50,  $18,  $24,  and  so  forth,  in  multiples  of  12  and  not  multiples  of 
10.  It  is  our  desire  that  the  division  be  $4.50  and  under,  and  that 
the  next  be  $9  and  under,  and  that  the  next  be  $18  and  under,  and 
then  all  above  $18.  We  ask  this  because  the  very  hat  we  fear  the 
most  is  now  coming  in  slightly  under  the  $10  mark,  so  as  to  save  the 
extra  $2  of  duty. 

It  is  very  difficult  for  us  to  prove  an  undervaluation  of  1  shilling  or 
2  shillings.  It  is  not  very  difficult  for  us  to  prove  a  difference  of  a 
whole  grade.  In  other  words,  a  man  might  wiggle  his  $10.50  hat  in 
under  the  $10  clause,  but  he  could  not  wiggle  it  in  if  we  established 
the  division  at  $9.  The  difference  would  be  plainly  apparent,  and 
the  same  is  equally  true  of  the  other  grades  we  ask  for. 

Finally,  we  ask  the  committee  that  Schedule  N,  section  432,  be 
amended  as  follows: 

Per  dozen  and 
30  per  cent. 

Valued  at  not  more  than  $4.50  per  dozen,  rate  of  duty $2. 00 

Valued  at  more  than  $4.50  per  dozen  and  not  more  than  $9  per  dozen 5.  00 

Valued  at  more  than  $9  per  dozen  and  not  more  than  $18  per  dozen 6.  00 

Valued  at  more  than  $18  per  dozen 8.00 


Foreign  hat 
(made  in  Den- 
ton,  England). 

American  hat, 
same  whole- 
sale price  as 
foreign  hat 
(made  in  Dan- 
bury)  . 

American  hat, 
same  quality 
as  foreign  hat 
(made  in 
Brooklyn). 

Labor- 

Per  dozen. 
|2.51 

Per  dozen. 
$6.84 

Per  dozen. 
$9.86 

Material: 
Fur  .. 

$1.81 

$1.96 

$2.37 

Leather 

33 

.86 

1.00 

Band  and  binding 

.88 

1.32 

1.34 

Satin  

.67 

1.00 

1.20 

Shellac  

.50 

54 

54 

Alcohol  

.18 

.21 

.21 

DyestufL-    

.07 

.10 

.12 

Chemicals  

.03 

.04 

.04 

Wire  

.06 

.OS 

.08 

Boxes  and  eases  .  _ 

.50 

.70 

.70 

Miscellaneous-  -    „-    

.30 

.39 

.54 

Overhead  charges.      .  ..    . 

5.63 
.35 

7.20 

.65 

8.14 
1.10 

Difference  in  favor  of  foreign  hat  

8.49 

14.69 
6.20 

19.10 
10.61 

Present  duty  on  foreign  hat 

5  00 

5.00 

6738  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

% 

[The  Felt  Hat  Manufacturers  Federation  and  Amalgamated  Society  of  Journeymen  Felt 
Hatters  and  Trimmers  and  Wool  Formers'  Associations.] 

LIST    OF   PRICES   FOB    WOOL    AND   FTJR    HATS. 

Wool  hat  body  making. 
Wool  forming : 

Up  to  and  including —  per  dozen. 

2  ounces : pence—  1$ 

2i  ounces do ij 

3  ounces do 2 

3J  ounces do 2$ 

4i  ounces do 3 

5  ounces do 3i 

To  rise  one-half  penny  per  dozen  for  each  ounce  over  5  ounces.  One-fourth 
penny  per  dozen  to  be  deducted  from  above  prices  to  pay  to  the  feeders. 

Wool  hardening  (cup  and  cone)  : 

Up  to  and  including —  Per  dozen. 

2f  ounces pence—  2f 

3&  ounces do 3 

3|  ounces do 3} 

3f  ounces do 3$ 

35  ounces I — do 3| 

4&  ounces do 4 

To  rise  one-half  penny  for  each  additional  one-half  ounce.  Dyed  wools,  one- 
half  penny  per  dozen  extra. 

Wool  hardening  (flat)  :  One-fourth  penny  per  dozen  over  the  price  for  cup  and 
cone.  Fine  wools,  one-half  penny  per  dozen  extra.  Dyed  wools,  one-half  penny 
per  dozen  extra.  Straight  shapes,  either  level  or  brimmed  hats,  one-fourth 
penny  per  dozen  extra.  The  term  "  straight  shape  "  to  mean  where  the  depth 
of  the  hat  exceeds  two-thirds  of  the  width  when  hardened. 

Twisting  and  stretching:  Piece  price  to  be  arranged  between  employer  and 
employed. 

Wool  hand  plunking:  Up  to  and  including  2J  ounces,  1  shilling  7  pence  per 
dozen.  Two  pence  per  dozen  extra  for  each  additional  one-fourth  ounce  or 
part  thereof.  If  settled  and  carbonized,  1?  pence  per  dozen  less.  Minimum 
weekly  wage,  hand  or  machine,  33  shillings  for  fifty-six  hours.  All  wool  hats 
planked  outside  to  be  paid  1  penny  per  dozen  extra  to  inside  price. 

Youths  up  to  16  years  of  age  are  not  counted  as  apprentices  upon  settling 
machines.  Free  labor  allowed  upon  bumpers. 

Fur  hat  body  making. 
Fur  forming : 

Up  to  and  including—  Per  dozen. 

2i  ounces pence__     2} 

3  ounces do_l__     2* 

3i  ounces __do__        2| 

4  ounces -!.___ __do — 

One-fourth  extra  spray  brink  forming.  To  rise  one-fourth  penny  for  each 
additional  one-half  ounce.  One-fourth  penny  extra  if  one-half  wool  and  one- 
half  fur.  One-half  penny  extra  if  two-thirds  wool  and  one-third  fur.  Or  by 
weekly  wage  at  not  less  than  35  shillings  for  fifty-six  hours. 

The  above  weights  to  include  compo. 

Fur  hardening :  Up  to  and  including  2£  ounces,  4  pence  per  dozen. 

To  rise  one-fourth  pence  for  each  additional  one-half  ounce.  One-half  pence 
extra  for  one-half  wool  and  one-half  fur.  One  pence  extra  for  two-thirds  wool 
and  one-third  fur.  Shells,  6  pence.  Pullovers,  7  pence.  Or  by  weekly  wage 
at  not  less  than  35  shillings  for  fifty-six  hours. 

The  above  weights  to  include  compo. 

Hand  planking:  Up  to  and  including  2£  ounces  (per  dozen),  for  lowest  quali- 
ties, 2  shillings  8  pence ;  next  quality,  2  shillings  9  pence. 

Then  to  rise  3  pence  per  one-fourth  ounce  and  3  pence  per  quality.  Three 
pence  per  dozen  to  be  deducted  from  above  prices  for  hats  that  are  to  be  second 
sized. 

Staining :  Drabs,  4  pence  per  dozen ;  other  shades,  6  pence  per  dozen. 

All  fur  hats  planked  outside  to  be  paid  2  pence  per  dozen  extra  to  the  price 
paid  for  the  same  work  when  done  inside. 


FUR-FELT    HATS— JAMES    MARSHALL. 


6739 


Stumping  by  hand,  not  exceeding  1  inch,  1  shilling  per  dozen.  Second  sizing 
after  sandpapering,  not  exceeding  one-half  inch,  1  shilling  per  dozen.  Second 
sizing  after  knife  shaving,  not  exceeding  three-fourths  inch,  1  shilling  per  dozen. 

Settling :  Piece  price  to  be  arranged  between  employer  and  employed. 

Second  sizing  outside,  1  pence  per  dozen  extra  to  inside  price. 

Hand  stumping  outside  (after  machine  planking),  1  pence  per  dozen  extra  to 
inside  price. 

Minimum  weekly  wage,  hand  or  machine  planking,  stumping,  etc.,  33  shillings 
for  fifty-six  hours. 

Youths  up  to  16  years  of  age  not  counted  as  apprentices  upon  settling  ma- 
chines. Free  labor  allowed  upon  bumpers. 

Blocking — wool,  veneered,  and  fur  hats  (per  dozen). 
(Pulled  out  by  hand.) 


Low 
common 
wools. 

Other 
wools  and 
veneers. 

Furs. 

Two  low- 
est quali- 
ties. 

Other 
qualities. 

Pence.          Pence. 
7                    8 
8                    9 

Pence. 
91 
Hi 

8.    d. 

0    101 
1       1 

Square  crowns                                              _  -    -- 

(Pulled  out  by  machine.) 


5J 

6 

7} 

0      Si 

Square  crowns                                              -      -  - 

Oj 

7 

4 

0    10J 

Reblocking :  Round  crowns,  wools,  5  pence  per  dozen ;  furs,  6*  pence  per 
dozen.  .  Square  crowns,  wools,  6  pence  per  dozen ;  furs,  7i  pence  per  dozen.  All 
furs  over  3J-iuch  brim,  1  penny  per  dozen  extra. 

Soft  hats :  Up  to  and  including  5  inches  deep,  wools,  9  pence  per  dozen ;  furs, 
10^  pence  per  dozen.  Over  5  inches  deep,  wools,  10  pence  per  dozen ;  furs,  1 
shilling  half  penny  per  dozen.  Two  pence  per  dozen  less  if  pulled  out  by  ma- 
chine. All  furs  over  4-inch  brim,  1  penny  per  dozen  extra. 

Framed  hats:  Pull-downs  (pulled  out  by  hand),  wools,  4  pence  per  dozen; 
furs,  6  pence  per  dozen. 

Tennis  hats:  Blocked  with  flat  brims  (pulled  out  by  hand),  wools,  6  pence 
per  dozen ;  furs,  8  pence  per  dozen. 

Extras:  Whizzing  (if  done  by  journeymen),  1  penny  per  dozen;  blocking  on 
arched  frames,  1  penny  per  dozen.  Odds  less  than  one-fourth  dozen,  at  rate  of 
1  shilling  per  dozen. 

Pressing. 

Wools  or  furs :  Round  crowns,  li  pence  per  dozen ;  square  crowns,  If  pence 
per"  dozen;  bell  squares,  2  pence  per  dozen.  Repressing,  one-fourth  pence  per 
dozen  less  than  first  time.  Turned  hats,  one-half  pence  per  dozen  extra.  Soft 
hats,  2  pence  per  dozen  each  time.  Odds  up  to  and  including  one-fourth  dozen,  one- 
half  pence  per  dozen  extra.  If  plates  are  used  to  increase  depth  of  shape,  one- 
fourth  pence  per  dozen  extra.  Or  by  weekly  wage  at  not  less  than  32  shillings 
for  fifty-six  hours. 

Hard-hat  finishing. 
(Per  dozen.) 


tow  com- 
mon wools. 

Common 

wools. 

Medium 

wools. 

Best 
wools  and 
veneers. 

Round  crowns  

(I. 

7 

s.  >1. 

10 

s.    d. 

11 

s.  d. 

I    0 

Square  crowns  ... 

9 

.  1      0 

1      i 

1    2 

Wools  un<l  veneers. 


The  low  common  wools  to  be  singed  before  pressing. 


6740 


SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 


Turned  hats,  round  crowns,  8  pence  per  dozen ;  turned  hats,  square  crowns, 
10  pence  per  dozen. 

Extras  per  dozen. 

s.  d. 

Fancy    colors - 1 

Washing  drabs   or  slates,   outside 6 

Washing  drabs  or  slates,  in  and  out 9 

Velouring  after  repressing 2 

Clearing 1  Q 

Capping  1 

Brushing  (if  done  by  journeymen) 1 

Steaming  flexible  or  hard,  round  or  square 8 

Steaming  odds,  less  than  one-fourth  dozen 1  0 

Carded  hats  to  be  3  pence  per  dozen  over  above  prices  for  black  hats. 

Furs  per  dozen. 

Lowest  quality,  round  crowns 1  3 

Lowest  quality,  square  crowns 1  5 

Other  common  qualities,  round  crowns 1  4 

Other  common  qualities,  square  crowns 1  6 

Other  qualities  to  rise  as  per  lists  issued. 

Turned  hats,  round  crowns 10 

Turned  hats,  square  crowns 1  0 

Extras  per  dozen. 

s.  d. 

Washing  drabs  or  slates,  outside 6 

Washing  drabs  or  slates,  in  and  out 9 

Steaming  flexible  or  hard,  round  or  square  crowns 9 

Steaming  flexible  or  hard,  round  or  square  crowns,  less  than  one-fourth 

dozen per  hat 1 

Velouring  after  repressing 3 

Clearing , 1  0 

Capping 1 

Brushing  (if  done  by  journeymen) 1 

Lounge  or  tennis  finishing. 
(Per  dozen.) 


Wools. 


Furs. 


Steaming  and  cutting 

If  finished 

Turban-shaped  brims  up  to  and  including1 
crown- 


inches  broad  and  5  inches  deep  in 


*.  d. 

1  0 

2  0 


Mat-shaped  brims  up  to  and  including  2J  inches  broad  and  5  inches  deep. 


2    6 

2    6 


To  rise  6  pence  per  dozen  for  each  additional  one-half  inch  in  brim  or  one-half  inch 
in  crown  or  part  thereof ;  this  to  operate  singly  or  jointly  respecting  width  or  depth. 

All  hoods  must  be  tennis  strength  and  the  hats  without  curl,  with  the  exception  of  the 
drawband  mark. 

Machine  curling  and  ironing,  wools  or  furs. 


Wools.        Furs. 


Pence  per  Pence  per 


Curling  on  flat,  anglesey  or  rolls 

Curling,  ironing,  and  flattening  anglesey  by  machine- 
Curling,  ironing,  and  lifting  anglesey  curls 

Curling  and  ironing  rolls 

Curling  pagets 

Curling  and  ironing  pagets 

Curling  set  hats 

Curling  bevel  brims  or  turn  backs,  set  hats 


dozen. 


dozen. 


Or  by  weekly  wage,  at  not  less  than  32  shillings  for  fifty-six  hours. 


FUR-FELT    HATS- — JAMES    MARSHALL. 


6741 


Soft  and  framed  liat  finishing. 
(The  term  "soft  hats"  to  mean  any  hats  not  to  be  framed  either  by  hand  or  machine.) 

Soft  hats,  up  to  and  including  4£  inches  deep  and  3i  inches  broad.     Wools: 

1  shilling  9  pence  per  dozen.     Furs:  First  quality,   2  shillings  6  pence  per 
dozen ;  second  quality,  2  shillings  9  pence  per  dozen ;  third  quality,  3  shillings 
3  pence  per  dozen.    To  rise  3  pence  for  each  additional  inch  in  depth  or  half 
inch  in  breadth. 

Prices  of  other  better  qualities  of  furs  to  be  arranged  between  employers  and 
employed.  Above  prices  include  dry  ironing  in  furs. 

Water-ironing  crowns,  3  pence  per  dozen  extra ;  water-ironing  crowns  and 
brims,  6  pence  per  dozen  extra ;  arched  blocks,  2  pence  per  dozen  extra. 

Boys'  sailors,  up  to  3i-inch  brim.  Wools:  First  quality,  2  shillings  3  pence 
per  dozen ;  furs,  3  shillings  3  pence  per  dozen.  Boys'  sailors,  over  3i-mch  brim. 
Wools:  First  quality,  2  shillings  6  pence  per  dozen;  furs,  3  shillings  6  pence 
per  dozen.  Boys'  alpines.  Wools :  First  quality,  2  shillings  3  pence  per  dozen ; 
furs,  3  shillings  3  pence  per  dozen.  Girls'  and  ladies'.  Wools :  First  quality, 

2  shillings  6  pence  per  dozen ;  furs,  3  shillings  6  pence  per  dozen.    Other  prices 
and    qualities    to    be    arranged    between    employer    and    employed.      Infants'. 
Wools :  2  shillings  per  dozen. .    Infants'   large   shapes.     Wools :  2  shillings  3 
pence  per*  dozen.    All  beaver  or  napped  edges,  ordinary  shapes,  4  shillings  per 
dozen.    Other  shapes  to  be  arranged  between  employers  and  employed.    Velour- 
ing  after  trimming  in  any  of  above  branches  (if  done  by  journeymen),  3  pence 
per  dozen. 

Men's  frames,  single  curls.  Wools:  First  quality,  2  shillings  9  pence  per 
dozen ;  furs,  3  shillings  6  pence  per  dozen.  Double  curls,  turned  outside,  6  pence 
per  dozen  extra.  Double  curls,  turned  inside,  1  shilling  per  dozen  extra.  Furs 
to  rise  6  pence  per  quality.  Carded  hats  same  price  as  sandpapered.  Sand- 
papering inside,  6  pence  per  dozen.  Water-ironing  crowns,  6  pence  per  dozen. 
Velouring  after  trimming  (if  done  by  journeymen),  3  pence  per  dozen.  Velour- 
ing  on  frame  (if  done  by  journeymen),  4  pence  per  dozen. 

Shaping,  etc. 


Low 
common 
wools. 

Wools 
and 
veneers. 

Furs. 

Ironing  and  paring 

Pence. 
9 

Pence, 
g 

*.    d. 
10 

Paring  after  ironing  machine    -    

3 

4 

5 

Ironing  and  paring  set  hats       -      _      

11 

1      0 

Paring  set  hats              -  

5 

5 

5 

Ironing  and  paring  pagets   roll  or  anglesey 

10 

1      0 

Paring  pagets   roll  or  anglesey- 

4 

5 

g 

Ironing  fronts  and  backs  after  setting    

1 

1 

Machine  setting0           ;  

4 

4 

5 

11 

2 

2 

Damp  velouring1  or  papering  and  velouring 

3 

3 

"  Setting  by  weekly  wage,  not  less  than  35  shillings  for  fifty-six  hours. 
Or  by  weekly  wage  as  can  be  agreed  between  employer  and  employed. 

Extras :  Ironing  and  paring  curls  over  five-eighths  of  an  inch,  2  pence ;  mak- 
ing rolls  or  semirolls  from  anglesey,  3  pence;  patching  broken  curls,  6  pence. 


Wool  and 
veneers. 


Furs. 


Plain  shapes: 

Curling 

Curling  (with  brim  heaters) .. 
Hand  shaping: 

Curling,  ironing,  and  paring- 
Setting 

Velouring 


*.    d. 

8 
5 

2  2 
9 
3 


s.    d. 


Five-eighths  of  an   inch  curls  and  upward,  6  pence  extra, 
dozen,  3  pence  per  hat. 


Odds  less  than   one-fourth 


6742 


SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Trimming,  flexible  or  hard  hats. 


Wools  and 
veneers 
(per 
dozen)  . 

Furs  (per 
dozen)  . 

Low  com- 
mon wools 
(per 
dozen). 

Binding  and  bracher  leathers 

s.  d. 

s.  d. 

s.  d. 
1    9 

11  banded  by  trimmers 

1  10 

Binding,  half  and  hall 

1    3 

1    4 

Binding  graduated  t>r  twice  bound 

1    7 

1    9 

Bracher  leathers      _    _. 

0    6 

0    6 

•Lashed  leathers  -           .    

0    9 

0    9 

Cotton  linings 

0    6 

Silk  or  satin  linings  (plain,  pleated,  or  cane) 

0    9 

0    9 

Diamond 

1    0 

1    0 

Machine-  whipped  leathers 

0    7 

0    7 

Extras. 


Pence  per  doz. 
1 

___„ 6 

1 


Wires  sewn  inside  curls 

Wires  sewn  outside  curls 1 «*._ 

Ferreting 

Banding 2 

Elastic  and  buttons 1 

Fixing  eyelets  in  linings 2 

Sewing  felt  pads  under  leathers ,_  2 

Sewing  in  cork  fronts 3 

Lashing  Cape  or  Persian  leathers 2 

Lashing  calf  or  Russian  leathers 4 

Drawing  leathers  (if  done  by  trimmers) 2 

Net  fastened  on  vents 2 

Web  and  net  tips 3 

All  hats  requiring  over  1-inch  binding 3 

(This  to  cover  either  plain  or  graduated  bindings.) 

Trimming  soft  and  framed  hats. 


Wools. 

TUTS. 

Banding,  up  to  and  including  2-inch  band  

s.  d. 
3 

s.  d. 
3 

Banding,  over  2-inch  band                                         _                            . 

4 

4 

Binding,  hall  and  half  _                               .  _      -  

1     3 

1    4 

Binding  (graduated  or  twice  bound)  

1    9 

1    9 

Bracher  leathers         -  -    -               -                 

7 

7 

Machine-whipped  leathers  — 

8 

8 

Hand-lashed                                                                                  -       - 

9 

9 

Linings  -               -              -  

9 

9 

Lashing  common  tennis  hats                                                                                

6 

Lashing  in  satin  pads  -  

9 

9 

Fancy  bows  extra.     Other  extras  same  as  hard-hat  list. 

Machine  binding,  etc. 

Pence. 

Slinging 2 

Binding,  soft  or  frame  (first  row) 2 

Binding,  soft  or  frame  (other  rows) 3i 

Turnover  bindings  same  price. 

Sewing  on  bands,  per  row,  top  or  bottom 1* 

Running  sides,  machines  steam  driven 1 

Running  sides,  machines  foot  driven li 

Running  sides,  sewn  at  home li 

The  price  for  binding  girls  and  ladies'  hats  to  be  arranged  between  employers 
and  employed.. 

James  Marshall,  representing  the  following  manufacturers  of  fur 
hats : 


FUK-FELT    HATS.  6743 

Dunlap  Hat  Company,  Knox  Manufacturing  Company,  J.  B.  Stet- 
son Company,  Lamson  &  Hubbard,  Crofut  &  Knapp,  The  Rough 
Hat  Company,  E.  V.  Connett  &  Co.,  Thorn  &  Bailey,  James  Marshall  & 
Bros.,  J.  H.  Wolthausen  &  Co.,  F.  Berg  &  Co.,  The  Guyer  Hat  Company, 
J.  Hummel  &  Co.,  Thomas  Smith  Company,  M.  Metz  Company, 
Longley,  Low  &  Alexander,  Samuel  Mundheim  Company,  Ayer, 
Houston  &  Co.,  The  Trimble  Hat  Company,  C.  B.  Rutan  &  Co.,  James 
L.  Carr  &  Co.,  Crowe,  Quinlan  &  Moore,  Federal  Hat  Company,  No 
Name  Hat  Company,  Frank  Schoble  &  Co.,  Sigler  Hat  Company, 
Hawes,  Von  Gal  Company,  E.  A.  Mallory  &  Sons,  Danbury  Hat 
Company,  John  W.  Green  &  Sons,  Price  &  Vogt,  Green  Soft  Hat 
Company,  F.  D.  Tweedy  Company,  G.  W.  Alexander  &  Co.,  Meeker 
Brothers,  D.  E.  Loewe  &  Co.,  Millard  Hat  Company,  Simon  &  Keane, 
A.  Shelton  Davenport,  A.  A.  Hodshon  &  Co.,  Fay,  Gorman  Hat 
Company,  Judd  &  Co.,  Edwin  Short  Hat  Company,  Hoyt.  Messinger 
Corporation,  Ellor  Brothers  &  Hall,  The  Union  Hat  Company, 
Maxim  Hat  Works,  Norwalk  Hat  Company,  L.  Shafarman,  Napier 
&  Mitchell,  Ferry,  Weber  &  Co.,  Waring  Hat  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, A.  Fishman  Hat  Company,  A.  M.  Rosenberg,  M.  S.  Cornell 
&  Co.,  Peekskill  Hat  Manufacturing  Company,  Leon  R.  Reizenstein 
&vCo.,  Beltaire  Brothers  &  Co.,  H.  D.  Parmlee  &  Co.,  Henry  H.  Roe- 
lofs  &  Co.,  C.  M.  Hedden  &  Co.,  John  Hendel's  Sons,  Austin,  Drew 
Company,  Delohery  Hat  Company,  National  Hat  Company,  S.  C. 
Holly  &  Co.,  C.  W.  Hendel  &  Sons,  Silberstein,  Flexner  &  Gottlieb. 


STATEMENT  OF  MILTON  DAMMANN,  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY,  REP- 
RESENTING THE  FUR-FELT  HAT  MAKERS. 

SATURDAY,  November  28,  1908. 

Mr.  DAMMANN.  I  am  here  representing  the  Association  of  Hat 
Manufacturers  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Marshall,  representing  prac- 
tically every  manufacturer  in  the  United  States.  I  desire  to  offer  a 
brief  in  conjunction  with  the  exhibits  which  have  been  offered  in 
connection  with  Mr.  Marshall's  remarks,  and  ask  the  careful  and 
considerate  indulgence  of  the  committee  in  examining  the  exhibits 
in  connection  with  the  table  therein  that  they  may  acquire  there- 
from a  definite  idea  of  the  true  comparative  values  of  materials  plus 
duties  and  the  difference  between  the  wages  in  Europe  and  in  this 
country. 

My  brief,  which  I  desire  to  file,  is  as  follows : 

141  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK  CITY, 

November  28,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  desire  to  present  to  this  honorable  committee 
facts  from  which  an  intelligent  revision  of  the  tariff  law  now  in  force 
can  be  made,  in  so  far  as  it  affects  fur-felt  hats,  properly  classified 
under  Schedule  N,  section  432,  and  this  presentation  is  made  in  be- 
half of  substantially  every  manufacturer  of  fur-felt  hats,  all  of 
whom  are  part  of  an  association  banded  together  for  the  sole  purpose 
of  presenting  in  an  orderly  way  the  true  conditions  of  the  fur-felt 
hatting  industry  as  it  exists  to-day. 

75941— IT.  Doc.  1505,  GO-2— Vol  6 G2 


6744  SCHEDULE    X SUNDRIES. 

We  are  not  unmindful  of  the  miscellaneous  and  indiscriminate 
statements  which  have  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  the  public  press 
regarding  the  tendency  of  new  legislation  to  decrease  the  tariff,  as 
well  as  the  tendency  of  manufacturers  to  urge  an  increase  in  the  duty 
in  the  hope  of  maintaining  the  present  rate.  We  have  prepared  this 
statement  in  the  full  belief  that  if  this  honorable  committee  is  of  the 
impression  that  we  are  entitled  to  the  relief  requested  we  will  re- 
ceive it. 

There  has  been  no  act  of  legislation  of  importance  affecting  the  fur- 
felt  hatting  industry  since  1897.  The  duty  on  fur-felt  hats  has  re- 
mained intact,  and  it  is  a  fair  assumption  that  unless  there  is  a 
marked  change  in  the  political  complexion  of  the  United  States  there 
will  be  no  further  change  in  the  tariff  on  the  finished  product  of  our 
industry  for  a  long  time  to  come,  and  we  therefore  take  into  consider- 
ation the  conditions  of  our  industry  as  it  exists  to-day  and  the  con- 
dition that  must  inevitably  occur  if  the  same  industrial  situation 
now  existent  remains  unchanged. 

We  therefore  urge  upon  this  committee  two  separate  and  distinct 
propositions  that  will  relieve  what,  in  our  judgment,  is  a  serious 
menace  to  a  prosperous  condition  of  our  industry.  First,  the  pres- 
ent duty  on  fur  felt  hats  is  not  sufficient  to  protect  the  industry 
against  foreign  competition.  Second,  the  classification  under  Sched- 
ule N,  section  432,  of  the  act  of  July  24,  1897,  is  unscientific,  and  does 
not  meet  the  requirements  of  the  industry. 

In  order  that  we  may  present  an  accurate  statement  of  the  true 
industrial  conditions  wjhich  surround  the  making  of  fur  felt  hats 
we  will  subdivide  our  argument  in  the  support  of  our  belief  that  the 
present  duty  on  fur  felt  hats  is  insufficient,  and  we  do  this  because 
we  are  firmly  impressed  that  no  intelligent  revision  of  the  tariff 
law  can  be  made  without  all  of  the  facts  pertinent  to  the  industry 
being  before  the  legislative  body. 

We  therefore  point  out  in  detail,  under  the  following  headings, 
the  conditions  as  they  now  exist  and  as  they  existed  at  the  time  of 
the  passage  of  the  act  of  1897 : 

(1)  Comparative  labor  conditions  in  the  United   States  and  in 
Europe  in  1897  and  in  1908. 

(2)  The  comparative  trade  conditions  in  the  United  States  and  in 
Europe  in  1897  and  in  1908. 

(3)  The  importations  of  material  out  of  which  a  finished  fur  felt 
hat  is  made. 

Comparative  labor  conditions  in  the  United  States  and  in  Europe  in 

1897  and  in  1908. 

Prior  to  the  passage  of  the  act  of  Congress  commonly  known  as  the 
"  Wilson  bill,"  the  duty  on  fur-felt  hats  was  an  ad  valorem  rate  of 
55  per  cent,  and,  under  the  industrial  trade  and  labor  conditions  then 
existent  throughout  the  United  States,  was  ample  and  sufficient  to 
protect  the  industry  against  foreign  competition. 

Finished  fur-felt  hats  made  in  this  country  are  divided  into  sev- 
eral grades,  representing  the  selling  price  at  the  factory,  and  these 
several  grades  are  recognized  and  maintained  throughout  the  trade, 
not  by  any  agreement  or  understanding,  but  as  the  result  of  a  cus- 
tom produced  by  manufacturers  as  a  basis  of  comparative  values  of 
their  respective  products.  This  classification  is  generally  based  upon 


FUR-FELT   HATS MILTON   DAMMANN.  6745 

the  following  grades— $4.50,  $6,  $7.50,  $9,  $10.50,  $12,  $13.50,  $15, 
$16.50,  $18,  $24,  $30  per  dozen. 

For  the  purpose  of  the  main  argument  throughout  this  statement 
we  shall  adopt  the  grade  generally  known  as  the  $16.50  grade,  inas- 
much as  it  approximates  the  middle  value,  being  about  halfway  be- 
tween the  lowest  grade  and  the  highest  grade  of  hats  manufactured 
in  the  United  States. 

At  a  time  immediately  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  Wilson  bill 
the  labor  cost  in  the  United  States  on  this  grade  of  hats  was  $5.10 
per  dozen,  all  of  which  was  paid  to  skilled  labor,  no  less  than  20 
persons  individually  contributing  some  part  of  the  labor  to  the  fin- 
ished hat.  The  same  hat,  manufactured  in  Europe  at  that  time,  cost 
$2.71  to  produce. 

At  the  hearings  before  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  prepara- 
tory to  the  amendment  of  the  tariff  act  then  in  force  and  effect,  and 
which  resulted  in  the  passage  of  the  act  of  1894,  facts  and  statistics 
were  presented  to  the  committee  in  favor  of  a  retention  of  the  then 
existing  duty  on  fur-felt  hats  of  55  per  cent.  It  was  not  believed  at 
that  time  that  am^  serious  reduction  would  be  made  in  the  tariff  on 
fur-felt  hats,  and  no  elaborate  preparation  was  made  to  present  to  the 
Ways  and  Means  Committee  all  of  the  facts  at  the  command  of  the 
manufacturers,  and  the  bill,  as  reported  to  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, showed  a  decrease  in  the  ad  valorem  duty  from  55  per  cent  to 
30  per  cent,  a  decrease,  if  it  had  been  permitted  to  become  a  law, 
would,  even  with  the  industrial  conditions  then  existing,  have  been  a 
deathblow  to  the  hatting  industry  in  the  United  States. 

Immediately  upon  the  reporting  of  the  bill  a  diligent  and  earnest 
effort  was  made  to  present  to  both  Houses  of  Congress  the  true  condi- 
tion of  the  industry,  and  as  a  result  of  placing  before  both  branches 
of  the  Congress  the  real  facts,  the  bill  finally  was  amended,  reducing 
the  duty  to  40  per  cent,  a  reduction  of  15  per  cent,  notwithstanding 
that  the  duty  on  other  manufactured  textile  products  was  cut  from  20 
per  cent  to  55  per  cent,  indicating  that  even  the  political  party  then  in 
power  recognized  that  this  particular  industry  was  in  need  of  a  large 
protection. 

The  act  of  1897  restored  the  duty  to  an  average  of  55  per  cent,  but 
changed  it  into  a  compound  duty  instead  of  an  ad  valorem  one,  a 
duty  which  at  that  time  was  sufficient  protection,  because  the  duty 
represented  the  real  difference  at  that  time  in  labor  conditions  in  the 
United  States  and  in  Europe  (they  remaining  practically  unchanged 
in  the  three  years  which  intervened  between  the  passage  of  the  acts  of 
1894  and  1897). 

The  labor  conditions  existing  at  present  in  the  industry  in  Europe 
and  in  the  United  States  have  undergone  a  decided  and  marked 
change.  There  has  been  a  reduction  in  the  price  paid  to  European 
labor  and  an  increase  in  the  use  of  improved  machinery,  and  on  the 
other  hand  the  price  paid  to  labor  in  the  United  States  has  materially 
increased  from  year  to  year,  so  that  we  are  now  paying  higher  wages 
than  at  any  other  period  in  the  history  of  the  industry. 

There  have  been  large  importations  of  hats  sold  in  the  United 
States  recently  in  the  retail  stores  at  $2  apiece,  a  hat  sold  at  whole- 
sale in  England  at  about  $9.75  per  dozen.  This  hat  can  be  landed 
in  the  United  States,  duty  and  transportation  charges  paid,  at  less 
than  $16  per  dozen,  and  therefore  is  a  competitor  of  the  $16.50  grade 
manufactured  here.  Using  this  grade  as  a  fair  standard  of  compara- 


6746 


SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 


tive  values,  we  authoritatively  state  that  the  labor  cost  of  producing 
this  grade  of  hat  in  Europe  averages  from  $2.40  to  $2.80  per  dozen, 
and  the  same  hat  can  not  be  produced  in  the  United  States  for  less 
than  from  $9.35  to  $9.86  per  dozen,  or  nearly  four  times  the  labor 
cost. 

The  pronounced  increase  in  the  price  of  labor  paid  in  this  country 
has  not  been  entirely  voluntary,  but  has  been  the  result  of  a  united 
effort  of  all  skilled  workmen  employed  in  the  making  of  a  hat. 
Their  labor  organization,  known  as  "  The  United  Hatters  of  North 
America,"  composed  of  practically  every  skilled  workman  who  makes 
any  part  of  a  hat,  is  a  labor  organization  of  unusual  strength.  Offi- 
cered by  brainy  and  resourceful  men,  they  have  from  time  to  time  so 
increased  the  price  paid  to  skilled  workmen  that  the  margin  of  profit 
on  the  finished  product  is  so  small  that  any  further  inroad  into  this 
profit  can  not  be  made.  This  standard  has  been  set  by  the  labor 
organizations,  and  there  is  no  desire  on  the  part  of  the  manufacturers 
to  decrease  the  rate  of  wages.  The  work  is  most  all  piecework,  and 
is  paid  under  a  regular  schedule  of  prices  scaled  upward  as  the 
value  of  the  grades  advance. 

In  order  that  the  committee  may  have  a  proper  comparison  of  the 
American  and  foreign  product  we  have  incorporated  a  table  of  the 
cost  price  of  three  hats  built  around  this  same  $16.50  grade. 

Column  No.  1  is  the  cost  price  of  a  hat  made  in  Denton,  England, 
and  sold  at  retail  in  large  quantities  during  the  past  season  for  $2 
each,  and  which  can  be  landed  at  the  retailer's  door  for  less  than  $16 
per  dozen. 

Column  No.  2  is  the  cost  price  of  the  best  grade  of  hat  made  in  the 
United  States  that  can  be  sold  for  $2  with  a  small  margin  of  profit 
to  the  manufacturer,  the  hat  being  sold  at  $16.50  per  dozen  by  the 
manufacturer. 

Column  No.  3  is  the  cost  price  of  a  hat  containing  the  same  quality 
of  material  as  the  hat  in  column  No.  1,  and  sold  to  the  retailer  at  $21 
per  dozen. 


Foreign  hat 
made  in  Den- 
ton,  England, 
and  delivered 
in  the  United 
States,  duty, 
etc. ,  paid,  at 

*16  a  dozen. 


American  hat 

sold  at  $16.50 

per  dozen. 


American  hat 
same  quality 
as  foreign  hat 
and  sold  at 
$21  per  dozen. 


Labor               -  --    - 

.                  $2.51 

$6.84                       $9.86 

Material: 
Fur 

.    „          $1.81 

$1.96                       $2.37    - 

Leather 

.                    .63 

.86                         1.00 

Band  and  binding 

.88 

1.32                         1.34 

Satin                                  -      

.     .     .67 

1.00                         1.20 

Shellac       -                 .                 _  -  . 

..              .50 

.54                           .54 

.18 

.21                           .21 

Dyestuff 

-     -                        .07 

.10                           .12 

Chemicals 

.03 

.04                           .04 

Wire 

.     ...     .06 

.08                           .08 

Boxes  and  cases                        

.     .50 

.70                           .70 

Miscellaneous 

.30 

.39                           .54 

Overhead  charees-- 

.35 

.65                         1.10 

Factory  cost 

Difference  in  lavor  of  foreign  hat- 
Present  duty 


14.e 


19.10 


Advantage  in  cost  of  foreign  hat  delivered 
in  United  States 


6.20 
5.00 


10.61 
5.00 


1.20 


FUR-FELT   HATS MILTON    DAMMANN.  6747 

It  will  therefore  be  seen  that  to  produce  the  same  hat  as  the  hat 
manufactured  in  Denton,  England,  and  sold  in  the  retail  stores  in 
the  United  States  at  $2  per  piece,  will  cost  the  American  manu- 
facturer $10.61  per  dozen  more  to  manufacture,  and  that  with  the 
protection  of  the  duty  at  $5  per  dozen  (the  rate  upon  this  grade 
under  the  Dingley  Act),  there  still  remains  an  "advantage  in  favor 
of  the  foreign  manufacturer  of  $5.61  per  dozen. 

In  comparing  column  No.  1  and  column  No.  3,  it  will  be  observed 
that  the  cost  of  the  material  is  nearly  the  same  in  both  tables,  differ- 
ing only  in  that  in  column  No.  3  is  added  the  duty  and  transporta- 
tion charges  on  the  imported  material,  and  the  small  additional  cost 
between  the  cost  of  the  domestic  materials  in  Europe  and  in  the 
United  States. 

A  comparison  of  column  No.  1  and  column  No.  2  will  indicate  that 
the  hat  made  in  England  and  sold  at  retail  in  this  country  for  $2, 
costs  less  to  produce  than  the  American  manufactured  hat  sold  at 
$2,  and  the  difference  in  quality  is  so  apparent  that  the  consumer  will 
have  no  hesitancy  in  making  his  selection,  for  all  of  the  material  is 
clearly  inferior. 

It  may  be  observed  by  an  examination  of  column  No.  2  and  column 
No.  3  that  it  costs  decidedly  more  to  manufacture  the  better  grade 
of  hat  than  the  cheaper  grade.  This  is  accounted  for  by  the  sliding 
scale  of  wages  paid — each  grade  costing  more  to  produce,  irrespective 
of  the  quantity  of  labor.  That  the  committee  may  not  think  that 
there  is  a  large  amount  of  profit  on  these  particular  grades,  we  call 
your  attention  to  the  fact  that  none  of  the  tables  take  into  considera- 
tion the  selling^ and  office  expenses  of  the  hat,  nor  the  usual  discounts 
allowed. 

We  have  not  made  comparisons  in  other  grades  because  we  desire 
to  be  as  brief  as  possible,  but  we  state  with  positive  assurance  that 
the  same  relative  difference  exists  in  all  grades  of  hats  that  can  be 
sold  in  Europe  at  $9  a  dozen  and  over.  We  are  possessed  of  the 
prices  paid  to  labor,  and  we  are  expert  judges  enough  to  recognize 
the  value  when  we  see  it. 

Before  closing  this  branch  of  the  argument  we  beg  to  call  atten- 
tion that  to  manufacture  the  grade  of  hats  in  column  No.  3  in  1897 
cost  $6.58  as  against  $9.86  at  this  time,  showing  that  there  has  been 
an  advance  in  American  labor  on  this  grade  of  $3.28  per  dozen,  while 
there  has  been  no  increase  whatever  in  the  price  paid  to  European 
labor,  they  maintaining  the  same  wages  irrespective  of  grades. 
Indeed,  at  the  very  time  that  this  statement  is  being  prepared  we 
are  in  receipt  of  a  cablegram  from  our  representative,  now  abroad, 
indicating  that  the  labor  in  Italy  and  in  Austria  is  considerably 
less  than  paid  ten  years  ago. 

We  incorporate  herein  two  letters  received  from  this  representa- 
tive (now  in  Europe).  We  had  hoped  that  this  hearing  would 
not  take  place  until  he  had  an  opportunity  of  appearing  before  you 
personally,  but  as  this  could  not  be  done  we  give  you  the  benefit  of 
his  communications. 

MANCHESTER,  October  27,  1908. 

SIB:  Following  your  instructions  I  have  thoroughly  investigated  the  condi- 
tions in  Denton  and  Stockport,  which  is  the  center  of  the  industry  in  England. 

Under  separate  cover  I  am  sending  you  a  printed  schedule  of  the  prices 
which,  though  dated  some  years  ago,  with  a  few  minor  exceptions,  and  those 
being  of  a  slightly  lower  tendency,  are  still  in  force  at  the  present  time.  How- 
ever, many  of  the  items  of  labor  that  are  provided  for  in  the  schedule  as  cover- 


6748  SCHEDULE    X SUNDRIES. 

Ing  hand  labor  are  now  being  done  with  machinery  by  unregistered  boys,  at  a 
wage  ranging  from  8  shillings  to  12  shillings  per  week.  This  difference  applies 
principally  to  the  making  department,  whereir.  they  employ  what  is  known  as 
the  multiroller  machine,  of  which  there  is  not  a  single  one  in  America.  These 
machines  have  the  enormous  capacity  of  about  50  dozen  per  day,  and  only 
require  the  attention  of  four  of  the  boys  mentioned  above.  In  one  of  the  fac- 
tories visited  five  boys»of  the  same  class  proof  an  average  of  over  2,200  dozen 
per  week. 

I  find  that  the  average  wage  of  those  working  by  the  week  for  the  most 
skilled  workman  ranges  from  32  shillings  to  36  shillings,  and  pieceworkers 
average  slightly  less  than  the  amount  paid  weeklies. 

Outside  of  the  large  number  of  free  boys  which  each  factory  has,  they  are 
allowed  one  apprentice  to  every  five  journeymen,  who  is  apprenticed  for  five 
years,  and  during  that  time  only  receives  two-thirds  of  his  earnings,  if  he  is 
placed  on  piecework,  and  on  weekly  work  he  starts  then  at  8s.  3d.,  and  finally 
reaches  £1.  The  same  labor  cost  enters  into  most  of  the  items  used,  such  as 
leathers,  boxes,  printing,  etc. 

The  use  of  machinery  is  absolutely  unrestricted,  and  all  the  factories  employ 
automatic  tip  and  brim  stretchers,  paring  machines,  crown  and  brim  pouncers, 
for  use  on  both  soft  and  stiff  hats.  In  the  largest  soft-hat  factory  I  visited  I 
found  that  the  average  soft-hat  finisher  finishes  an  average  of  IS  dozen  per  day. 

The  working  hours  are  from  6.30  to  8.30,  then  a  half  hour  for  breakfast,  9  to 
1,  with  one  hour  for  lunch,  2  to  6 ;  or,  in  other  words,  ten  hours  per  day,  and 
from  personal  observation  it  absolutely  means  ten  hours,  as  all  employees  must 
be  in  the  factory  and  ready  to  go  to  work  when  the  machinery  starts,  and  they 
do  not  stop  until  the  machinery  stops. 

I  also  am  forwarding  other  interesting  documents  which  explain  themselves. 

Expect  to  leave  for  the  Continent  on  Thursday,  and  will  advise  you  from 
time  to  time  as  to  the  result  of  my  investigations. 


PABIS,  November  5,  1908. 

SIR  :  Have  thoroughly  investigated  conditions  in  Paris  and  the  factories  situ- 
ated in  neighboring  cities,  and  find  as  follows : 

When  they  have  full  work,  they  are  required  to  put  in  ten  hours  a  day,  but 
it  is  very  unusual  to  have  full  employment  more  than  sevea  months  in  any 
year ;  the  balance  of  the  time  they  do  not  have  over  half  work.  The  earnings 
of  skilled  mechanics  in  Paris  range  from  5  francs  to  7  francs  a  day  for  full 
time,  while  in  the  smaller  cities,  where  the  larger  factories  are,  the  earnings 
are  somewhat  less.  The  women  employed,  of  whom  there  are  a  great  many, 
when  working  full  time,  do  not  earn  over  2.50  francs  per  day,  which  they  con- 
sider extraordinary  wages  for  female  operatives  in  our  line.  Innumerable  boys 
and  young  girls  are  employed,  as  there  are  no  unions  whatsoever  in  any  of  the 
factories  or  in  the  trade  at  large,  and  their  earnings  range  from  1  franc  to  2 
francs  per  day.  Of  course,  the  use  of  machinery  is  unrestricted,  and  the  pro- 
duction secured  is  very  great. 

While  I  could  not  get  any  established  figures  of  profits,  I  do  find  that  the 
custom  is  to  draw  6  per  cent  interest  on  their  entire  investments,  as  well  as 
very  liberal  salaries,  and  even  then  they  make  an  extraordinary  percentage  of 
profit  on  their  total  sales,  in  some  cases  being  as  high  as  30  per  cent. 

Could  not  get  hold  of  any  schedules  of  prices  paid,  as  they  do  not  seem  to 
have  any.  In  most  of  the  factories  whole  families  are  employed,  and  have  been 
so  for  many  years,  and  advances  in  wages  seem  never  to  be  asked  for  or 
expected. 

Also  find,  compared  with  prices  in  America,  for  all  incidentals,  such  as  trim- 
mings, leathers,  etc.,  they  bear  but  a  slightly  higher  proportion  than  the  com- 
parative earnings,  the  same  low  rate  of  wages  being  paid  in  the  production  of 
all  the  items  enumerated  above. 

Will  advise  you  as  to  conditions  in  Austria  at  the  earliest  possible  time  after 
my  arrival  there. 

The  comparative  trade  conditions  in  the  United  States  and  in  Europe 

in  1897  and  in  1908. 

At  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  Dingley  Act  trade  conditions  in 
Europe  and  in  the  United  States  were  independent  of  each  other, 
so  far  as  our  industry  was  concerned.  The  European  manufacturers 


FUR-FELT    HATS MILTON    DAMMAXX. 


6749 


could  not  compete  in  this  market  because  of  the  radical  styles  which 
prevailed  at  that  particular  time  and  of  the  manner  in  which  those 
styles  were  introduced.  Established  houses  in  the  trade,  such  as 
Knox,  Dunlap,  Miller,  etc.,  were  the  leaders  of  fashion,  and  until 
their  particular  styles  were  set  upon  the  counters  of  the  retail  stores, 
it  was  impossible  to  tell  what  particular  style  would  be  in  fashion 
for  the  season,  and  immediately  after  those  styles  were  introduced, 
retailers  would  give  to  manufacturers  their  orders,  patterned  after 
these  prevailing  styles.  Of  course  we  do  not  desire  to  go  on  record  as 
saying  these  were  the  only  styles  adopted  or  that  no  hats  were  ever 
manufactured  until  after  these  leaders  of  fashion  had  introduced 
their  styles;  but  it  was  a  serious  condition  and  one  that  largely 
entered  into  the  output  of  factories  and  was  sufficient  protection 
against  foreign  competition,  irrespective  of  any  duty. 

It  is  obvious  that  to  meet  the  styles  of  Knox  and  Dunlap,  etc.,  the 
retailer  needed  a  quick  delivery  of  his  order,  and  therefore  the  Euro- 
pean manufacturer  could  not  successfully  duplicate  these  styles  in 
time  to  place  the  goods  upon  the  retail  counter  for  the  season,  and 
therefore  could  not  enter  this  market. 

This  condition  of  the  retail  hat  market  grew  less  and  less  every 
year,  until  to-day  it  is  positively  extinct  and  each  manufacturer 
introduces  his  own  styles,  and  the  retailer  is  satisfied  to  take  them 
and  has  no  leaning  toward  styles  which  ape  or  follow  any  particular 
brand.  And  yet,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  this  very  changed  condi- 
tion which  has  brought  about  the  serious  European  competition,  so 
that  we  are  to-day  face  to  face  with  the  proposition  that  the  Euro- 
pean manufacturer  is  not  alone  a  feared  competitor  for  this  market, 
but  can  undersell  us  and  deliver  the  goods  in  as  short  a  time  as  we 
possibly  can  do. 

Indeed,  an  examination  of  the  table  of  importations  since  1894 
will  conclusively  prove  that  the  reduction  of  the  tariff  on  hats  from 
55  to  40  per  cent  in  1894  did  not  stimulate  the  importation,  but  that 
they  remained  practically  unchanged,  and  proving  that  the  rate  of 
duty  did  not  enter  into  the  situation,  and  that  even  a  reduction  of  15 
per  cent  did  not  operate  as  an  inducement  to  bring  the  European 
product  in  this  market,  and  yet  to-day,  with  an  increased  duty  scaling 
up  to  60  per  cent,  the  importations  are  increasing  to  an  alarming 
extent. 

There  can  be  no  stronger  argument  presented  to  this  committee  of 
the  great  danger  our  industry  is  facing  than  an  examination  of  the 
steady  yearly  increase  in  hat  importations  as  shown  by  the  following 
table : 


Fiscal  year. 

Value. 

Dozen  . 

1894.. 

$137  '98 

1895  

133,141 

1896  

117  662 

1897  

92  710 

1898  .     

93  915 

7,636 

1899  

80  250 

5,734 

1900  

116  340 

8  814 

1901  

103  830 

7  054 

1902    

106  064 

7,819 

1903  

130  403 

9  034 

1904  

119  883 

8  817 

1905  

119  323 

8,143 

1906    

179  856 

14  536 

1907  

233  497 

19,194 

1908  

279  563 

21,892 

6750  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

It  will  be  seen  that  there  has  been  a  gradual  increase  since  1899, 
and  this  increase  reached  a  climax  in  1908,  when  the  importation  in 
dollars  and  dozens  was  over  four  times  greater  than  in  the  first  year 
of  the  present  act. 

Unless  we  receive  immediate  relief  by  a  raise  in  the  duty,  European 
manufacturers  will  fill  the  market  with  their  commodities  and  raise 
a  standard  of  competition  that  it  is  impossible  to  meet.  Indeed,  that 
condition  now  exists,  for  it  is  a  well-known  commercial  axiom  that 
the  standard  of  a  few  is  the  standard  of  many.  If  only  50  dozen 
hats  were  imported  into  this  country  at  a  price  below  American  com- 
petition, American  manufacturers  must  perforce  meet  this  competi- 
tion or  lose  the  business,  and  it  is  the  meeting  of  this  competition  that 
has  forced  them  to  place  their  output  frequently  in  the  American 
market  at  less  than  factory  cost.  The  European  competition  has 
already  set  the  pace,  and  it  is  the  measure  of  this  hat  and  the  values 
it  contains  that  forces  us  to  meet  it  at  this  great  sacrifice. 

The  fur  felt  hat  industry  represents  no  small  item  in  the  industrial 
and  labor  situation  of  this  country.  We  quote  from  the  report  of  the 
Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  published  in  1905.  This  report 
indicates  that  hats  are  manufactured  in  17  separate  States  of  the 
Union,  and  that  the  industry  represents  a  combined  capital  of  up- 
ward of  $23,000,000,  divided  into  216  firms  and  establishments,  and 
that  these  factories  employ  over  22,000  wage-earners,  over  16,000  be- 
ing men  and  over  6,000  women,  and  most  of  whom  come  under  the 
head  denominated  skilled  labor.  This  report  is  misleading.  There 
are  not  216  hat  factories,  but  less  than  90  in  the  United  States.  The 
difference  is  accounted  for  by  the  number  of  so-called  "  buckeyes,"  a 
trade  synonym  dor  small  shops  connected  with  retail  stores,  where  a 
few  dozen  hats  are  finished  every  year.  They  call  themselves  manu- 
facturers, although  they  sell  their  product  in  their  own  stores. 
Again,  in  this  report,  the  total  product  is  partially  counted  twice  in 
many  instances,  because  one  factory  manufactures  the  body  of  the  hat 
and  sells  it  to  the  finishing  factory ;  therefore,  the  same  body  is  fig- 
ured in  the  production  of  two  factories. 

Surely  it  can  not  be  successfully  maintained  that  our  industry  is 
one  in  which  large  profits  can  result,  for  capital  to  produce  big  profits 
must  be  turned  from  two  and  one-half  to  three  times  each  year. 
There  is  no  trust  or  combination  of  any  kind  in  the  hatting  industry, 
and  the  trade  is  to-day,  as  it  always  has  been,  enthralled  in  the  closest 
of  competition.  The  margin  of  profit  is  astonishingly  small,  varying 
from  5£  to  9  per  cent,  surely  not  a  return  on  an  investment  that  can 
afford  to  be  reduced  or  wiped  out  by  foreign  competition. 

The  importations  of  material  out  of  which  a  finished  fur  felt  hat  is 

made. 

The  felt-hat  industry  is  peculiarly  a  creature  of  tariff  changes,  for 
every  single  item  which  enters  into  the  manufacture  of  a  hat  is  im- 
ported, and  upon  that  importation  the  manufacturer  must  pay  the 
duty  imposed  by  the  tariff,  and  that  duty  is  tabulated  as  follows: 

Per  cent. 

Cut  fur :___' 20 

Silk  bands  and  bindings : 50 

Satins 1 50 

Cut  leathers 35 

Skins  for  hat  sweats 20 

Dyestuffs 30 


FUB-FELT    HATS MILTON    DAMMANN.  6751 

The  present  tariff  rate,  if  reduced  to  an  ad  valorem,  would  average 
to  about  55  per  cent,  and  it  therefore  is  an  easy  mathematical  calcula- 
tion that  if  the  cost  of  our  material  averages  from  20  per  cent  to  50 
per  cent  above  the  cost  of  the  same  material  laid  at  the  factory  door 
of  European  manufacture,  the  difference  between  the  duty  on  the 
material  and  the  duty  on  the  manufactured  product  is  not  sufficient 
to  protect  American  labor  against  its  foreign  competitor.  We  do  not 
ask  for  a  reduction  in  the  cost  of  material.  The  fur  out  of  which  a 
hat  is  made  is  all  imported,  the  United  States  not  producing  any 
animal  whose  fur  can  successfully  be  used  to  make  a  hat. 

The  felt-hat  industry  feels  that  it  does  contribute  a  substantial 
amount  in  tariff  now  by  paying  a  duty  on  bands,  bindings,  cut  furs, 
etc.,  that  they  use.  We  also  recognize  that  the  foreign  manufacturers 
of  these  articles  have  a  distinct  advantage  over  the  domestic  manu- 
facturers, inasmuch  as  the  raw  material,  such  as  rabbit  and  hare 
skins,  silk,  etc.,  all  originate  on  the  other  side,  and  having  them  right 
at  their  hand  they  can,  with  their  cheaper  labor,  manufacture  them 
up  to  the  point  where  the  hatter  uses  them  at  a  much  less  price  than 
they  can  be  manufactured  for  in  this  country,  and  we  do  not  think 
it  fair  to  ask  for  protection  ourselves  without  being  equally  willing 
to  grant  it  to  others. 

Relief  desired. 

We  believe  we  have  presented  to  this  committee  sufficient  reasons 
to  clearly  show  that  it  is  possible  to  deliver  foreign-made  hats  at  the 
retailer's  door  in  the  United  States  from  15  per  cent  to  25  per  cent 
cheaper  than  to  deliver  American-made  hats.  And  while  it  may  be 
true  that  the  records  of  importation  do  not  show  that  the  amount 
of  hats  coming  into  this  country  has  formed  a  large  percentage  of 
the  home  consumption,  we  have  read  the  handwriting  on  the  wall. 
The  agitation  for  a  revision  of  the  tariff  and  the  decided  turn  in  the 
hatting  industry  arrived  at  the  same  time.  Every  manufacturer  is 
awake  to  the  importance  of  the  situation,  and  the  retailers  realize 
that  with  the  present  rate  of  duty  they  can  buy  the  European  product 
at  a  decided  advantage  over  the  American  product. 

The  opportunity  presents  itself  to  the  Congress  to  preserve  an 
industry  which  has  reached  the  ebb  tide  of  its  career,  not  through 
lack  of  energy,  thrift,  or  ability,  but  solely  because  of  commercial 
conditions  existing  abroad  over  which  we  have  no  control,  and  it  is 
almost  providential  that  we  have  the  opportunity  of  presenting  the 
facts  at  this  time  to  a  committee  whose  public  duty  is  to  inquire  into 
the  true  economic  conditions  and  to  give  relief  where  relief  is  due, 
not  alone  to  the  consumer,  but  to  the  manufacturer,  whose  years  of 
application  and  toil  and  whose  capital  is  threatened  by  the  ruinous 
competition  of  a  foreign  market. 

We  therefore  ask  that  the  classification  in  the  present  schedule  be 
changed  so  as  to  conform  with  the  trade  conditions  and  recognized 
grades  in  this  country,  and  submit  the  following  amendment  to  the 
act  of  July  18,  1897 : 

Hats,  bonnets,  or  hoods,  for  men's,  women's,  boys',  or  children's  wear,  trimmed 
or  untrimmed,  including  bodies,  composed  wholly  or  in  chief  value  of  fur  of  the 
rabbit,  beaver,  or  other  animal,  valued  at  not  more  than  $4.50  per  dozen,  $2  per 
dozen ;  valued  at  more  than  $4.50  and  not  more  than  $9  per  dozen,  $5  per  dozen  ; 


6752  SCHEDULE    1ST SUNDRIES. 

valued  at  more  than  $9  and  not  more  than  $18  per  dozen,  $6  per  dozen ;  valued 
.at  more  than  $18  per  dozen,  $8  per  dozen ;  and  in  addition  thereto,  30  per  cent 
.ad  valorem. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

MILTON  DAMMANN. 


JAMES  MARSHALL  &  BROS.,  FALL  RIVER,  MASS.,  WRITE  RELA- 
TIVE TO  MENACE  OF  FOREIGN  COMPETITION  IN  THE  HAT 
MANUFACTURING  INDUSTRY. 

FALL  RIVER,  MASS.,  December  18,  1908. 
•COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

GENTLEMEN:  Supplementing  the  brief  filed  in  the  interest  of  the 
fur  felt  hat  manufacturers,  would  like  to  add  as  further  proof  that 
we  are  right  on  the  threshold  of  importations  of  popular-priced 
hats  copies  of  a  leading  trade  journal,  showing  advertisements  of 
foreign  hat  manufacturers. 

In  1898  (ten  years  ago)  there  were  but  two,  and  both  of  these 
cater  to  the  better  class  of  trade,  some  of  whom  do  and  always  will 
buy  foreign-made  hats.  Five  years  ago  but  four,  and  still  those  who 
cater  to  the  better  class  of  trade.  Finally,  the  last  issue,  showing  12 
foreign  hat  manufacturers  advertising,  and  the  majority  of  these  are 
catering  to  the  popular-priced  hat,  similar  to  the  one  I  exhibited 
before  the  committee. 

Copies  of  thev trade  journal  of  the  above  dates,  showing  the  adver- 
tisements, and  with  the  index  marked,  are  forwarded  to  the  Ways 
and  Means  Committee  in  care  of  the  Hon.  E.  J.  Hill. 

A  careful  study  of  the  importations  in  these  years  will  also  bear 
out  this  contention,  and  it  should  be  a  very  significant  fact  that 
the  last  year,  when  the  importations  of  almost  every  other  kind 
of  merchandise  fell  below  normal,  that  hats  increased  to  the  largest 
number  of  dozens  in  any  one  year  of  our  history. 

Will  say,  further,  that  we  will  have  further  facts  concerning  the 
costs  of  labor  abroad  and  the  costs  of  labor  here,  and  will  forward 
them  if  the  committee  so  desire. 
Yours,  respectfully, 

JAMES  MARSHALL  &  BROS. 
JAMES  MARSHALL,  Chairman. 


THE  UNITED  HATTERS  OF  NORTH  AMERICA  ASK  FOR  INCREASE 
OF  PROTECTIVE  DUTY  ON  FUR-FELT  HATS. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  December  31, 1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 
DEAR  SIR  :     Supplementary  to  briefs  already  filed  in  the  interests 
of  those  concerned  in  the  fur-felt  hat  manufacturing,  we  desire  to  state 
that  80  per  cent  of  the  fur-felt  hat  factories  of  the  United  States 


FUR-FELT   HATS INDURATED   FIBER JEWELRY.  6753 

employ  members  of  our  organization  exclusively,  and  the  minimum 
wage  of  our  members  is  $20  per  week  of  fifty-five  hours.  (See  p.  26  of 
our  constitution  and  by-laws.)  And  this  is  the  minimum  basis  used 
to  compute  all  piecework  prices. 

In"  the  more  skilled  departments  the  wages  are  a  great  deal  in 
excess  of  the  minimum  scale. 

We  earnestly  request  that  the  increased  duty  asked  for  by  the 
manufacturers  be  granted  as  a  protection  to  our  membership. 
Sincerely,  yours, 

MARTIN  LAWLOK, 
Secretary  United  Hatters  of  North  America. 


ENDTJRATED  FIBER. 

[Paragraph   433.] 

LOCKPORT,  N.  Y.,  November  21,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  PAYNE, 

Tariff  Commission,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  write  this  to  advise  you  that  this  company  is  already 
protected  by  a  revenue  tariff  of  35  per  cent,  which  is  satisfactory, 
and  we  do  not  wish  to  have  it  changed  in  any  particular.  We  would 
thank  you  to  advise  us  if  anything  occurs  that  would  cause  it  to  be 
disturbed. 

Yours,  truly, 

UNITED  INDURATED  FIBER  Co., 
By  JESSE  PETERSON, 

President  and  General  Manager. 


JEWELRY. 

[Paragraph  434.] 

GEORGE  R.  HOWE,  OF  NEWARK,  N.  J.,  PRESENTS  BRIEF  IN  THE 
INTEREST  OF  CERTAIN  MANUFACTURING  JEWELERS. 

;  NEWARK,  N.  J.,  November  28, 1908. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  statement  for  1905,  as  per  Bulletin  No.  54,  census 
of  manufacturers  of  New  Jersey,  is  not  a  fair  average  statement  and 
is  misleading,  from  the  fact  that  the  year  1905  was  phenomenal. 
The  volume  of  business  was  larger  than  was  ever  known  before,  and 
larger  than  it  can  remain. 

There  are  also  important  omissions  in  these  tabulated  figures,  viz, 
depreciation  on  machinery  and  plant  and  failure  to  deduct  allowances 
for  salaries  to  members  of  firms. 

Carter,  Howe  &  Co.  are  a  firm,  not  a  corporation.  In  making  our 
returns  for  1905  no  allowance  was  made  for  salaries  or  compensation 
for  services  to  members  of  our  firm,  as  would  have  been  the  case  were 


6754  SCHEDULE    X SUNDRIES. 

we  incorporated.  As  a  very  large  number  of  Newark  and  New  York 
City  manufacturers  are  also  firms,  this  statement  doubtless  applies  to 
their  returns  as  well. 

Ten  per  cent  is  the  usual  allowance  for  depreciation  of  manufactur- 
ing plants,  including  buildings,  machinery,  patterns,  etc.,  but  depreci-x 
ation  on  machinery,  tools,  and  patterns,  as  given  in  Bulletin  No.  54 
for  Newark,  should  be  at  least  15  per  cent.  Adding  to  this  a  reason- 
able allowance  for  salaries,  as  above  stated,  the  general  profits  as  im- 
plied from  data  given  in  Bulletin  No.  54  would  be  reduced  by  about 
one-third. 

After  deducting  legal  interest  (6  per  cent)  on  capital  invested  and 
reasonable  salaries  for  members  of  the  firm,  each  of  whom  devotes 
his  entire  time  and  attention  to  the  business,  the  average  net  profit 
for  the  past  twelve  years  in  our  own  business  has  amounted  to  6  per 
cent  scant,  on  the  capital,  which  I  believe  to  be  a  fair  average  in  the 
manufacture  of  fine  jewelry. 

There  is  no  trust  in  the  manufacture  of  fine  gold  jewelry — anyone 
who  has  the  necessary  artistic  feeling  and  capital  can  take  it  up,  as 
has  always  been  done.  Every  year  a  number  of  new  establishments 
are  opened,  and  usually  run  in  the  manufacture  of  a  special  line,  with 
some  degree  of  success  for  a  few  years,  when  changes  of  style  or  the 
artistic  temperament  of  the  manufacturer  prevents  the  making  of 
profit,  and  causes 'a  reorganization  or  discontinuance  of  the  business. 
This  insures  persistent  and  ever-changing  competition,  and  holds 
prices  of  product  on  a  close  margin  of  profit. 

Notwithstanding  the  increased  cost  of  labor  entering  into  the  cost 
of  staple  articles,  the  competition  above  referred  to  is  so  strong  that 
no  advance  in  selling  price  has  been  possible.  Hence  such  goods  have 
paid  a  steadily  decreasing  profit,  and  are  to-day  sold  on  a  very  close 
margin. 

Kadical  changes  of  style  without  warning  constitute  a  great  men- 
ace to  the  financial  success  of  the  manufacturing  jewelry  business. 
Because  of  an  unavoidable  accumulation  of  old  stock,  jewelry  out  of 
style  is  worth  only  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  gold  and  the  value  of 
precious  stones  mounted  therein.  The  entire  cost  of  labor  is  a  loss. 

As  jewelry  is  a  luxury,  it  is  seriously  affected  by  changes  of  fash- 
ion, and  the  consumption  therefore  varies  greatly  from  this  cause  as 
well  as  from  financial  conditions. 

Years  ago  the  majority  of  women  of  the  country  wore  earrings. 
Fashion  ruled  them  out,  and  the  loss  on  this  item  turned  the  profits 
of  many  manufacturers  into  loss,  for  no  other  ornament  came  in  to 
take  their  place  for  years. 

For  three  or  four  years  past  our  women  have  been  wearing  short 
or  elbow  sleeves,  which  fashion  has  created  a  great  demand  for  brace- 
lets, and  has  been  most  important  in  giving  at  least  partial  work  to  a 
large  number  of  journeymen  during  the  past  year.  If  it  is  true  that 
fashion  will  decree  long  sleeves  hereafter,  the  demand  for  bracelets 
will  largely  cease,,  and  numbers  of  jewelers  will  be  out  of  work  until 
something  can  be  substituted. 

It  is  these  continuous  changes  of  style  that  cause  so  much  uncer- 
tainty in  returns  from  the  manufacture  of  fine  jewelry. 

Foreign  jewelry  is  imported  in  small  quantities  only,  from  the  fact 
that  the  styles  do  not  suit  the  American  markets,  and  such  articles  can 
be  sold  only  to  a  limited  extent  in  the  large  cities. 


JEWELRY.  6755 

Our  danger  consists  in  German  competition.  Ever  since  the  Franco- 
German  war  Germany  has  given  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  technical 
training,  in  which  it  leads  the  world.  They  are  almost  as  expert  copy- 
ists as  are  the  Japanese.  Large  jewelry  factories  have  been  built  at 
Hanau  and  Pforzheim.  They  manufacture  exclusive  lines  for  Mexico 
and  the  various  countries  of  Central  and  South  America,  where  they 
have  captured  the  greater  part  of  the  trade,  and  are  now  reaching  out 
for  our  market  by  sending  experts  here  to  work  in  our  factories  as 
ordinary  workmen. 

Within  a  week  our  firm  has  learned  that  an  expert  who  speaks 
several  languages,  from  one  of  the  large  German  factories,  has  come 
to  this  country  to  work  as  a  journeyman  in  American  factories,  with 
special  instructions  to  get  into  the  tool  room  of  our  own  factory,  if 
possible,  and  work  there  for  a  term  at  any  sort  of  .wages.  This  is 
doubtless  done  in  order  to  qualify  him  to  return  to  Germany,  to  copy 
American  jewelry  and  offer  it  in  our  own  market  in  competition  with 
American  manufacturers. 

The  Germans  have  splendidly  equipped  factories  \vith  much  Amer- 
ican machinery,  and  with  the  highest  type  of  skilled  labor,  at  one-half 
what  we  pay  for  such  skill,  could  embarass  us  if  present  tariff  rates 
were  lowered. 

Fine  gold  jewelry  where  there  is  hand  work  involved  costs  about 
one-third  for  gold  and  two-thirds  for  labor.  Thus,  if  an  article  costs 
$15  in  our  factory,  $5  would  be  for  gold  and  $10  for  labor.  This  same 
article  could  be  produced  in  Germany  for  competition  in  our  market 
at  $5  for  gold  and  $5  for  labor,  making  a  cost  of  $10,  which  is  brought 
up  to  $16  by  the  addition  of  60  per  cent  duty.  Thus  it  is  evident  that 
our  present  rate  of  duty  is  not  excessive,  and  any  reduction  must  result 
in  a  corresponding  reduction  in  the  cost  of  labor,  with  its  attending 
ills. 

In  consideration  of  the  above  facts,  as  the  representative  of  the 
manufacturers  of  fine  jewelry  in  Newark,  N.  J. — the  center  of  pro- 
duction of  fine  jewrelry  in  this  country — and  of  the  manufacturers  of 
fine  jewelry,  members  of  the  New  York  Jewelers'  Board  of  Trade,  I 
would,  in  their  behalf,  most  respectfully  request  that  no  changes  be 
made  in  the  present  tariff  in  so  far  as  solid  or  fine  jewelry  is  con- 
cerned. 

Respectfully  submitted.  GEORGE  R.  HOWE. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  MANUFACTURING  JEWELERS'  AND  SILVER- 
SMITHS' ASSOCIATION  ASKS  FOR  A  DEFINITE  INTERPRETA- 
TION OF  THE  WORD  "JEWELRY." 

PROVIDENCE,  R.  I.,  December  1, 1908. 
Hon.  S.  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  We  respectfully  suggest  that  paragraph  434  of  the 
present  tariff  be  so  amended  that  it  will  contain  a  comprehensive 
interpretation  of  the  word  "jewelry."  All  existing  erroneous  classi- 
fications of  this  commodity — whether  made  of  precious  or  base 
metals — will  thereby  be  precluded,  to  the  effect  that  the  Government 
in  the  future  may  not  be  defeated  in  collecting  the  proper  ad  valorem 


6756  SCHEDULE  x — srxnuiES. 

duty,  as  intended,  by  whatever  measure  adopted,  and  that  the  domes- 
tic manufacturer  may  receive  fair  protection,  commensurate  with  the 
difference  between  the  cheap  labor  of  Europe  and  the  proper  wage 
of  the  American  artisan. 

A  brief,  setting  forth  concisely  the  contentions  of  the  members  of 
this  industry,  is  being  prepared,  and  will  be  submitted  to  your  honor- 
able body  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

New  England  Manufacturing  Jewelers'  and  Silversmiths* 
Association :  Henry  G.  Thresher,  chairman ;  Harry 
Cutler,  Chas.  T.  Page,  Edward  A.  Sweeney,  Samuel 
M.  Einstein,  Theodore  W.  Foster,  William  A.  Cope- 
land,  Committee  on  Tariff  Revision. 


STATEMENT  FILED  BY  THE  NEW  ENGLAND  MANUFACTURING 
JEWELERS  AND  SILVERSMITHS'  ASSOCIATION,  PROVIDENCE, 
R.  I,  RELATIVE  TO  JEWELRY. 

PROVIDENCE,  R.  I.,  January  2,  1909. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  The  jewelry  and  silverware  industry,  as  represented  by 
the  New  England  Manufacturing  Jewelers  and  Silversmiths'  Asso- 
ciation, was  first  started  in  this  country  in  Providence  about  1794, 
and  to-day,  in  the  city  of  Providence,  which  is  noted  as  a  manufac- 
turing center,  it  stands  third  in  importance.  About  the  year  1800 
the  industry  spread  to  Attleboro,  North  Attleboro,  and  small  near-by 
towns.  In  the  Attleboros  the  manufacturing  of  jewelry  is  practically 
the  only  industry.  This  section  of  the  country  is  to-day,  and  has  been 
for  over  a  century,  the  headquarters  for  medium  and  low-priced 

jewelry. 

The  association  above  referred  to  is  chartered  under  the  laws  of 
the  State  of  Rhode  Island  "  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  the  busi- 
ness of  fostering,  encouraging,  and  promoting  closer  social  and  busi- 
ness relations  among  its  members,  and  to  assist  and  cooperate  with  its 
members  in  any  and  all  business  matters  wherein  such  assistance  and 
cooperation  may  be  beneficial  or  expedient."  The  association  ap- 
pointed a  so-called  "  tariff  committee,"  made  up  of  manufacturing 
jewelers  from  Providence  and  the  Attleboros,  whether  members  of 
the  association  or  not,  representing  all  the  different  grades  of  goods 
manufactured,  as  well  as  the  different  locations  in  which  the  factories 
are  situated,  thus  forming  a  committee  that  thoroughly  represents  the 
manufacturing  jewelers  of  this  locality. 

There  are  no  millionaires  in  our  business;  neither  have  we  any 
trade  agreements  to  limit  our  output  or  to  regulate  our  prices.  The 
capital  invested  is  estimated  at  $28,500,000 ;  the  number  of  establish- 
ments is  about  450 ;  number  of  employees  estimated  at  19,000 ;  wages 
paid  annually,  $11,138,000,  an  average  per  employee  of  about  $586, 
and  our  annual  sales  are  $51,500,000.  We  estimate  that  within  a 
radius  of  15  miles  there  are  upward  of  60,000  people  dependent 
upon  this  industry.  With  two  exceptions,  there  are  no  large  con- 


JEWELRY HENRY   G.    THRESHER  ET   AL.  6757 

cerns,  the  average  number  of  employees  in  each  shop  being  about  42. 
The  manufacturers  situated  in  this  congested  district  sell -to  the  same 
customers,  whether  in  Boston  or  in  San  Francisco.  This  makes  the 
home  competition  exceedingly  sharp.  The  result  is  that  the  price  of 
our  product  is  rarely,  if  ever,  raised,  but  it  is  an  every  day  occurrence 
to  have  the  prices  reduced  by  this  sharp  home  competition. 

Our  product,  whether  of  precious  or  semiprecious  metal,  whether 
designed  for  purposes  of  utility  or  ornamentation,  and  regardless  of 
its  intrinsic  value,  depends  largely  for  its  patronage  on  the  general 
good  condition  of  the  commercial  interests  of  the  country,  and  on  the 
cupidity  of  human  nature;  consequently  keener  competition  obtains 
in  the  jewelry  industry  than  in  any  other. 

In  fine,  to  produce  this  luxury  we  are  keenly  and  constantly  com- 
peting for  ideas,  methods,  systems,  and  intelligent  labor  before  we 
can  enter  the  market,  and  in  no  other  industry  is  the  "  survival  of  the 
fittest,"  and  not  "  capital,"  so  great  a  factor  for  success.  Conserva- 
tively estimated,  over  85  per  cent  of  jewelry  manufacturers  to-day 
have,  by  slow  and  arduous  labor,  risen  from  the  bench.  Those  who 
have  failed  in  the  attempt  are  more  numerous  than  in  other  indus- 
tries where  "capital"  is"" the  predominant  basis  for  success. 

The  constitution,  by-laws,  and  membership  annexed  to  this  brief, 
coupled  with  the  above  contention,  will  'at  a  glance  demonstrate 
the  fact  that  we  have  neither  trust  nor  combination,  but  that  each 
firm  is  sovereign  in  an  endeavor  to  shape  its  own  destiny.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  list,  and  by  virtue  of  authority  given,  our  committee 
represents  every  firm  in  jewelry  and  allied  trade  in  this  section  of 
New  England. 

The  intent  of  tariff  bills  of  1890,  1894,  and  1897  was  to  bring  jew- 
elry and  parts  thereof,  finished  or  unfinished,  into  this  country  under 
one  rate  and  under  one  paragraph,  but  of  late  it  has  been  brought  in 
under  several  rates  and  many  different  paragraphs,  causing  litigation 
at  the  custom-house  and  loss  of  revenue  by  the  Government,  To 
avoid  this  trouble,  to  increase  the  revenue  of  the  Government,  and  to 
bring  all  jewelry  in  under  paragraph  434  we  suggest  the  following 
changes : 

Paragraph  1 88.  Strike  out  the  words  "  hat,"  "  bonnet,"  following 
the  word  "  safety,"  as  these  are  jewelry  and  belong  in  paragraph  434. 

Paragraph  193.  Strike  out  the  words  "  gold,"  "  silver,"  and  "plati- 
num," following  the  word  "  zinc,"  as  large  quantities  of  unfinished 
jewelry,  such  as  sterling  silver  mesh  bags,  rolled  plated  rope,  and 
curb  chain,  are  brought  in  under  this  paragraph,  whereas  they  should 
come  under  paragraph  434. 

Paragraph  414.  Strike  out  the  words  "  or  metal  "  following  the 
word  "  glass,"  on  the  ninth  line ;  also  strike  out  the  words  "  and  all 
collar  and  cuff  buttons  and  studs."  on  the  sixteenth  and  seventeeth 
lines,  that  it  may  not  conflict  with  paragraph  434. 

Caption  over  paragraph  434,  "Jewelry  and  precious  stones,"  be 
amended  to  read :  "Jewelry,  precious  stones,  and  manufactures  of 
gold,  silver,  and  other  precious  metals." 

Paragraph  434.  Amended  to  read  as  follows : 

Articles  commercially  or  commonly  known  as  jewelry  and  parts  thereof, 
including  small  articles  of  silverware  commonly  or  commercially  known  as 
silver  novelties  and  toilet  articles,  finished  or  unfinished.  sr»  per  cent  ad  valorem, 
and  the  term  jewelry,  as  used  in  this  act.  squill  be  held  to  include  all  articles 
made  of  gold,  of  whatever  karat  or  fineness;  silver,  of  whatever  alloy  or  fine- 


6758  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

ness;  or  platinum  or  any  base  metals,  or  any  articles  of  which  these  metals  or 
either  of  them  form  a  component  part,  whether  of  chief  value  or  otherwise. 

All  articles  commercially  or  commonly  known  as  millinery  and  mrlitary  orna- 
ments and  composed  wholly  or  in  part  of  either  a  precious  or  base  metal ;  hat 
pins,  of  whatever  material  composed,  and  all  other  articles  not  specially  pro- 
vided for  in  this  act,  composed  wholly  or  in  part  of  either  of  the  precious  or 
base  metals,  designed  or  adapted  for  use  as  ornaments  for  the  person  or  carried 
in  the  hand  for  purpose  of  adornment  or  utility,  85  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

In  regard  to  articles  made  of  silver,  silver  plate,  or  imitations 
thereof,  known  as  hollow  ware  and  flat  ware,  no  doubt  you  will  hear 
from  the  manufacturers  of  the  same. 

Exhibit  A  consists  of  samples  of  chains,  foreign  and  domestic. 

No.  6  is  a  rolled  gold  plated  curb  neck  chain  made  in  Pforzheim, 
Germany,  and  imported  into  this  country  in  coils,  hanks,  or  on  reels, 
unfinished,  as  metal  paying  45  per  cent  duty,  then  polished,  colored, 
and  trimmed  in  this  country  and  sold  by  the  German  manufacturer's 
agent  at  $3.40  per  dozen. 

No.  6282  is  a  similar  chain  made  in  the  factory  of  A.  H.  Bliss  Com- 
pany, at  North  Attleboro,  Mass.,  and  cost  at  the  factory  $7.28  per 
dozen;  differential,  $3.88,  less  than  one-half  the  cost  of  the  domestic 
chain. 

No.  12  is  also  an  imported  rolled-gold  plated  neck  chain,  costing 
laid  down  in  this  country  $4.30  per  dozen. 

No.  6906  is  a  domestic  chain  made  in  the  factory  of  A.  H.  Bliss 
Company,  of  same  quality,  and  costing  at  the  factory  $5.12  per  dozen. 

The  apparent  difference  between  these  two  chains  is  82  cents  per 
dozen,  but  the  imported  chain  has  in  it  780  more  links  per  dozen, 
which  calls  for  the  additional  labor  of  780  solderings  and  linkings 
not  in  the  domestic  chain. 

Exhibit  B  consists  of  two  rolled-gold  plated  vest  chains,  also  made 
in  Pforzheim,  Germany,  numbered,  respectively,  2534  and  2500,  which 
were  sold  by  the  wholesale  dealer  in  this  country  for  $1.83  and  $1.70, 
respectively.  These  goods  can  not  be  manufactured  in  this  country 
and  sold  to  the  jobber  for  less  than  $3  each ;  differential,  $1.17. 

We  desire  to  call  the  committee's  attention  particularly  to  the  fact 
that  while  the  prices  of  the  American  articles  are  the  net  cost  with- 
out any  profit,  the  prices  of  the  imported  articles  include,  besides  the 
duty,  profits  to  the  manufacturer  and  wholesale  dealer;  and  to  the 
still  further  important  fact  that  these  chains  were  brought  into  this 
country  unfinished,  in  coils,  hanks,  or  reels,  and  under  erroneous 
classification  as  metals,  paragraph  193,  at  45  per  cent  duty,  instead  of 
finished  jewelry,  paragraph  434. 

Exhibit  C  consists  of  a  card  of  imported  German  brass  swivels, 
showing  jobbers'  prices  sold  in  New  York.  This  is  marked  "  No.  1." 
Also  a  card  of  brass  swivels  manufactured  by  Robinson  Brothers, 
Plainville,  Mass.,  showing  the  manufacturer's  prices  at  the  factory. 
This,  is  marked  "  No.  6."  Examination  of  prices  placed  on  the  cards 
beside  each  article  shows  that  the  cost  of  manufacture  of  the  domes- 
tic article  is  double  the  selling  price  of  the  imported. 

Exhibit  E  consists  of  samples  of  rolled  gold  plate  curbed  block 
chain. 

No.  1  is  an  imported  chain,  cost  laid  down  in  this  country  21  cents 
per  foot. 

No.  2  is  a  similar  chain,  made  by  Whiting  &  Davis  Company,  at 
Plainville,  Mass.,  and  cost  23  cents  per  foot  for  labor  alone.  The 
total  factory  cost  of  this  chain  is  43  cents  per  foot. 


JEWELRY HENKV    <;.    THRESHEB    ET   AL. 


6759 


The  committee  will  please  note  that  the  cost  per  foot  for  labor 
alone  on  this  chain  in  this  country  is  2  cents  more  than  the  cost  of 
the  complete  chain  imported,  and  that  the  total  factory  cost  of  this 
chain  at  the  American  factory  is  22  cents  per  foot  more  than  the 
complete  imported  chain,  and  this  without  any  profit  to  the  manu- 
facturer. 

This  example  of  the  importations  of  chain  in  its  unfinished  state,  in 
coils,  hanks,  or  reels,  as  metal  under  paragraph  193,  when  it  should 
be  imported  under  paragraph  434,  is  similar  to  Exhibit  A,  but  shows 
the  cost  of  the  chain  alone  and  not  the  finished  neck  chain. 

Exhibit  G  consists  of  six  brooches  from  Gablonz,  Austria,  num- 
bered respectively  on  the  back  with  (1)  the  price  in  Austria  in 
kronens,  (2)  the  price  laid- down  in  this  country,  and  (3)  the  manu- 
facturer's number.  The  prices  given  in  this  exhibit  are  by  the  gross. 
Price  for  imported  articles  are  laid  down  in  New  York;  price  for 
domestic  articles  are  factory  cost,  no  profit  whatever  being  added. 


Imported. 

Domestic. 

Differ- 
ential. 

No.  7327  

$4.05 

812.  95 

$8.90 

No  7335            

6.30 

10.30 

4.00 

No.  7157  

5.60 

8.42 

2.82 

No  7565                        

11.90 

17.15 

5  25 

No  7373  

4.80 

10.00 

6.20 

No  7407 

6  30 

11  63 

5  33 

Consider  the  amount  of  labor  and  material  in  brooch  marked  X  on 
the  front  of  the  card. 

There  are  in  1  gross  brooches  144  joints;  144  catches,  144  pin  stems, 
144  bases,  3,312  settings,  and  3,312  stones;  total,  7,200  pieces. 

In  addition  there  is  the  labor  of  setting  3,312  stones  in  the  same 
number  of  settings;  also  the  144  brooches  must  be  colored  or  dipped. 
The  finished  article  is  sold  (we  suppose  with  a  profit)  by  the  manu- 
facturers in  Europe  for  $3.60  per  gross,  or  2£  cents  for  each  brooch. 
A  duty  of  325  per  cent  would  square  our  factory  cost. 

Exhibit  H,  No.  1,  consists  of  a  card  showing  imported  enameled 
metal  buttons  from  France,  brought  into  this  country  under  para- 
graph 414  at  a  duty  of  14  per  cent  ad  valorem  and  a  specific  duty, 
making  total  duty  of  about  16  per  cent. 

Nos.  2  and  3  show  similar  buttons  with  the  eyes  cut  off  and  the 
tops  soldered  to  a  stem  for  use  as  hat  pins,  thus  made  into  jewelry; 
therefore,  as  unfininshed  jewelry  they  should  come  under  paragraph 
434  and  pay  duty  as  jewelry.  The  making  of  dress  buttons  used 
to  be  quite  a  feature  of  our  business,  but  on  account  of  the  low 
duty  above  referred  to  and  improper  classification,  we  have  lost 
this  branch  of  the  industry. 

Exhibit  I  consists  of  one  card  of  findings  and  one  of  brooches. 

No.  1  is  a  card  of  imported  findings,  suitable  and  used  for  brooches, 
hat  pins,  buckles,  millinery  ornaments,  etc.,  the  average  cost  of  which, 
laid  down  in  this  country,  including  45  per  cent  duty  and  all  other 
expenditures,  is  $25.10  per  gross.  Domestic  cost,  $33.  Differen- 
tial, $7.90. 


— n.  DOC.  ir,o.-,,  c,o- 2— Voi  <;- 


i;:; 


6760  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

Card  No.  2  shows  five  imported  brooches  from  Gablonz,  which 
cost  laid  down  in  this  country  under  paragraph  434  an  average  of 
$10.18  per  gross. 

Mr.  Max  Duetz,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  who  makes  similar  goods, 
states  that  these  brooches  can  not  be  produced  in  his  factory  for 
$20.50  per  gross.  Differential,  $10.32. 

Card  No.  3  shows  five  imported  brooches,  laid  down  in  this  country 
at  an  average  cost  of  $12.81  per  gross.  Compare  this  card  with  card 
No.  4,  which  consists  of  five  domestic  brooches,  made  from  im- 
ported findings  similar  to  card  No.  3.  The  average  factory  cost 
is  $29.66  per  gross.  Differential,  $16.85. 

Card  No.  5  consists  of  five  imported  brooches,  laid  down  in  this 
country  at  an  average  cost  of  $24.14  per  gross.  Compare  this  card 
with  card  No.  6,  which  consists  of  five  domestic  brooches  made  from 
imported  findings  at  an  average  cost  to  manufacture  of  $40.80  per 
gross.  Differential,  $16.66. 

Brooches  on  cards  No.  3  and  No.  5  pay  60  per  cent  duty,  and  yet 
similar  brooches  (see  cards  4  and  6)  made  here  of  imported  findings 
cost  90  per  cent  more  than  the  imported  ones  are  laid  down  in  New 
York  for. 

Now,  this  wide  difference  is  wholly  a  question  of  labor,  as  the  base 
material  (brass)  costs  practically  the  same  in  this  country  as  in 
Gablonz.  On  this  class  of  goods  our  workers  receive  from  $1.50  to 
$2.50  per  day.  In  Gablonz  these  goods  are  made  in  the  homes.  The 
families  are  large,  composed  of  from  five  to  ten  children.  It  is  a 
very  young  child  that  can  not  do  some  part  of  the  work.  Conse- 
quently, mother,  father,  and  the  children  make  jewelry.  They  earn 
25  to  30  cents  per  day.  To  make  these  findings  requires  skilled  tool 
makers,  which  in  this  country  are  paid  from  $3  to  $6  per  day.  In 
Gablonz  they  receive  $1  to  $1.50  per  day.  There  are  no  child-labor 
laws  to  contend  with ;  there  is  no  limit  to  the  hours  of  labor  per  day 
or  per  week;  no  expense  for  foreman,  superintendent,  bookkeeper, 
rent  of  factory,  or  depreciation  of  plant.  The  one  room  where  the 
family  lives  answers  the  purpose  of  dining  room  and  kitchen,  parlor 
and  bedroom,  office  and  factory. 

Our  state  laws  limit  the  hours  of  labor  per  week ;  also  prohibit  the 
employment  of  children  under  16  years  of  age,  except  under  certain 
restrictions.  Census  for  State  of  Rhode  Island  for  1905  shows  total 
number  of  children  under  16  years  of  age  employed  in  the  jewelry 
industry  to  be  141.  With  only  141  children  employed,  with  the  hours 
of  labor  restricted,  how  can  we  compete  with  Gablonz  except  by  an 
increased  duty?  We  ask  protection  for  the  American  worker,  and 
with  a  higher  rate  of  duty  and  paragraph  434  amended  so  as  to  bring 
in  under  it  all  articles  of  jewelry,  finished  or  unfinished,  we  can  put 
hundreds  of  jewelers  at  work.  Jewelry  is  a  luxury  and  should  pro- 
vide revenue  for  the  Government  by  paying  a  high  duty. 

Exhibit  M  consists  of  one  knife,  one  pencil,  one  mirror  and  comb 
set  in  leather  case.  These  are  called  silver  novelties,  but  we  consider 
them  jewelry,  as  they  are  made  by  our  manufacturing  jewelers. 
Knife  in  sterling  silver  laid  down  in  this  country  costs  29  cents; 
factory  cost  of  domestic  article  is  48  cents;  differential,  19  cents. 
Pencil  in  sterling  silver  is  laid  down  in  New  York  for  21  cents;  do- 
mestic article  costs  30  cents;  differential.  9  cents.  Mirror  and  comb 
set,  in  leather  case,  comb  with  sterling  silver  mounting,  laid  down  for 
21  cents;  domestic  article,  33  cents;  differential,  12  cents. 


JEWELRY HENRY   G.    THRESHER  ET   AL.  6761 

Webster  defines  jewelry  as  "  jewels  or  trinkets  in  general."  These 
and  many  similar  trinkets,  called  by  the  trade  "  silver  novelties,"  are 
made  by  jewelers  in  our  jewelry  factories,  and  should  come  in  under 
paragraph  434  as  jewelry,  not  as  silver  or  silverware  under  para- 
graph 193. 

If  the  manufacturers  of  silver  and  silver-plated  ware,  commonly 
known  as  "  flat  ware  "  and  "  hollow  ware,"  are  satisfied  with  the 
present  tariff,  and  as  we  have  recommended  that  the  words  "  gold," 
"  silver,"  and  "  platinum  "  be  stricken  from  paragraph  193,  would  it 
not  be  well  to  have  a  paragraph  434A,  to  read  somewhat  as  follows: 

"  Silverware,  of  whatever  degree  of  fineness,  known  as  '  flat  ware ' 
and  '  hollow  ware,'  also  silver-plated  ware  or  imitations  thereof 
known  as  '  hollow  ware '  and  '  flat  ware,' ad  valorem." 

We  suggest  this  not  to  interfere  in  any  way  with  the  manufac- 
turers of  hollow  ware  and  flat  ware  made  of  silver  or  of  silver  plate, 
as  without  doubt  they  know  the  conditions  under  which  they  labor 
much  better  than  we  do,  but  simply  to  clear  paragraph  434  so  that  it 
will  apply  wholly  to  articles  of  jewelry. 

Exhibit  N  consists  of  four  imported  rolled  gold-plated  neck  chains. 

No.  1.  The  importers'  price  is  $9.70  per  dozen.  The  selling  price 
of  the  A.  A.  Greene  Company,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  is  $18  per  dozen. 
Differential,  $8.30. 

No.  2.  The  importers'  price  for  18-inch  chain  is  $5.40  per  dozen. 
A.  A.  Greene  Companv's  price  for  18-inch  chain  is  $9.90  per  dozen. 
Differential,  $4.50. 

No.  2  in  13  inch,  the  importers'  price  is  $4  per  dozen,  and  A.  A. 
Greene  Company's  price  is  $7.20  per  dozen.  Differential,  $3.20. 

No.  4.  Importers'  price  is  $5  per  dozen,  and  A.  A.  Greene  Com- 
pany's price  is  $9  per  dozen.  Differential,  $4. 

The  importers'  prices  are  subject  to  2^  per  cent  for  cash.  A.  A. 
Greene  Company's  are  less  than  6  per  cent  for  cash  in  ten  days. 

In  other  chain  exhibits  the  domestic  prices  quoted  have  been  the 
manufacturer's  cost  price.  In  this  exhibit  we  are  obliged  to  quote 
the  manufacturers  selling  price-  of  the  domestic  goods  with  the  im- 
porters' selling  price  of  the  imported  articles.  As  the  importer  and 
the  domestic  manufacturer  both  sell  to  the  wholesale  or  jobbing 
jeweler,  the  above  comparisons  are  fair. 

Exhibit  P.  This  exhibit  consists  of  two  samples  of  imported  and 
two  samples  of  domestic  rope  chain  of  corresponding  sizes. 

No.  500,  imported,  cost  complete  laid  down  in  this  country  38  cents 
per  foot. 

This  same  chain  made  by  Chapin  &  Hollister  Company,  Providence, 
R.  I.  (see  Exhibit  P,  marked  "  No.  500,  domestic  "),  cost  50  cents  per 
foot.  Labor  alone  on  this  chain  is  42  cents  per  foot.  Labor  alone  on 
this  chain  in  Pforzheim  is  16  cents  per  foot.  Differential,  in  labor 
alone,  26  cents  per  foot. 

No.  74,  imported,  cost  complete  laid  down  in  this  country  42  cents 
per  foot. 

The  same  chain  made  by  Chapin  &  Hollister  Company  (see  Ex- 
hibit P,  marked  "  No.  74,  domestic  ")  cost  60  cents  per  foot.  Labor 
alone  on  this  chain  is  47  cents  per  foot.  Labor  on  same  chain  in 
Pforzheim  is  18f  cents  per  foot.  Differential,  on  labor  alone,  28^ 
cents  per  foot. 

Exhibit  Q.  No.  1  consists  of  two  cards  of  nickel  fobs  showing  a 
large  amount  of  hand  work  on  the  charms.  These  fobs  were  formerly 


6762  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

made  in  this  country  and  gave  employment  to  a  large  number  of 
workers,  but  owing  to  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  labor,  as  referred  to 
under  Exhibit  I,  our  manufacturers  are  obliged  to  give  up  this  branch 
of  their  business. 

No.  2  consists  of  a  pad  showing  nickel  vest  chains,  put  up  as  they 
are  sold  by  the  manufacturer,  the  Fontneau  &  Cook  Company,  of 
Attleboro,  Mass.  These  were  formerly  sold  for  $36  per  gross,  but  by 
German  competition  they  have  been  reduced  to  the  present  price  of 
$24  per  gross,  less  10  per  cent  cash  in  ten  days.  This  is  below  actual 
cost  to  manufacture  in  this  country,  but  the  German  chains  are  im- 
ported and  sold  for  less  money.  Consequently  the  American  manu- 
facturer must  soon  give  up  this  branch  of  his  business  also. 

The  O.  M.  Draper  Company,  of  North  Attleboro,  Mass.,  have 
made  nickel  chains  similar  to  those  submitted  in  this  exhibit  for 
nearly  fifty  years,  and  were  at  one  time  the  largest  manufacturers 
of  this  line  of  goods  in  this  country,  doing  quite  an  export  business, 
but  they  have  been  compelled  to  give  up  this  line  owing  to  German 
competition,  as  stated  above.  This  staple  branch  of  the  jewelry 
business  has  been  lost  to  the  American  manufacturer. 

Exhibit  T.  No.  1  consists  of  an  imported  brooch,  which  costs  laid 
down  in  this  country  4  cents  each. 

No.  2  is  a  similar  brooch,  manufactured  in  Providence,  R.  I.,  at  a 
cost  for  labor  alone  of  11  cents  each.  Total  finished  brooch  costs  20 
cents;  differential,  16  cents. 

Exhibit  W.  Consists  of  a  mesh  bag.  It  is  a  sterling  silver  mesh 
bag,  TVoSTr  fine,  purchased  from  Robert  Friederich,  Pforzheim,  Ger- 
many, whose  bill  and  invoice  is  annexed  to  this  statement.  It  was 
imported  undervthe  metal  clause  and  paid  45  per  cent  duty.  This 
mesh  bag  is  composed  of  13,804  links.  It  represents,  therefore,  the 
winding  up  or  making  of  13,804  links,  the  linking  together  of  13,804 
links,  and  the  soldering  of  13,804  links.  This  mesh,  with  its  large 
amount  of  hand  labor,  the  sterling  silver  and  manufacturers'  profit, 
is  laid  down  in  New  York,  including  45  per  cent  duty,  the  United 
States  broker's  fee,  5  per  cent  commissions,  postage  and  cost  of  in- 
surance, and  draft  on  Germany,  for  $8.53.  The  same  bag  made  at 
North  Attleboro,  Mass.,  fully  itemized,  as  per  statement  hereto  an- 
nexed (see  confidential  Exhibit  A),  cost  $13.98,  without  any  factory 
expense  added  and  without  any  profit,  making  a  difference  of  $5.45  in 
favor  of  the  imported  bag.  ^  The  manufacturers'  selling  price  of 
this  sterling  silver  mesh  bag  m  Pforzheim  is  $5.59.  The  percentage 
of  duty  which  would  be  necessary  to  make  the  imported  bag  equal  the 
factory  cost  of  the  one  manufactured  in  America  without  any  profit 
would  be  141  per  cent. 

We  have  attached  to  this  statement  the  exporters'  invoice  and 
duplicate  consular  invoice  and  United  States  broker's  receipt  and 
manufacturers'  figures,  making  comparison  on  the  cost  of  this  bag 
laid  down  in  this  country  as  compared  with  the  same  meshes  of 
American  manufacture,  because  it  is  a  most  conspicuous  example  of 
two  factors -that  largely  affect  the  jewelry  industry  of  this  country, 
namely,  first,  the  erroneous  classification  where  such  an  article  as 
this  sterling  silver  mesh  bag  is  brought  in  under  paragraph  193  as 
metal,  instead  of  paragraph  434  as  unfinished  jewelry;  second,  the 
wide  difference  in  the  cost  of  labor  here,  and  in  Germany,  as  in  the 
case  of  this  bag  the  item  of  American  labor  alone  exceeds  by  more 
than  100  per  cent  the  total  cost  of  the  imported  bag  laid  down  in 


.IKU'ELRY — -HENRY    G.    THRESHER    ET    AL.  6763 

New  York.  Help  in  this  country  capable  of  making  soldered  mesh 
bags  earn  from  $1.50  to  $2  per  day.  It  requires  several  months  to 
learn  to  solder  well  and  quickly,  and  to-day  our  manufacturers  are 
selling  more  mesh  bags  than  ever,  and  employ  only  about  one-tenth 
as  many  mesh  bag  makers  as  formerly  because  they  are  compelled  to 
use  the  imported  mesh. 

We  show  a  finished  bag  from  this  same  imported  mesh  with  domes- 
tic frame  and  chain  which  is  the  product  of  our  jewelry  factories 
and  which  is  considered  by  our  manufacturers  and  dealers  as.  jewelry, 
and  should  come  in  under  paragraph  434.  The  large  amount  of  labor 
required  to  solder  this  mesh  containing  13.804  links  is  an  important 
feature  of  the  jewelry  industry,  and  when  the  mesh  is  imported  is  a 
serious  loss  to  our  workers,  as  it  throws  hundreds  of  American  help 
out  of  work. 

In  this  connection  we  wish  to  state  that  the  soldered  mesh-bag 
industry  is  lost  to  our  manufacturers  on  account  of  the  imported 
article,  and  that  hundreds  of  our  mesh-bag  workers  are  idle.  To  cite 
a  single  instance:  Mr.  Whiting,  of  Whiting  &  Davis  Company,  of 
Plainville,  Mass.,  states  that  his  firm  formerly  employed  from  35  to 
40  people  soldering  mesh  bags  in  his  factory,  and  now  employs'  but 
3,  and  those  simply  to  take  care  of  repairs,  as  they  import  mesh  bags,, 
including  the  silver,  less  than  the  labor  alone  costs  in  his  own 
factory.  This  illustration  applies  to  all  our  soldered  mesh-bag" 
makers,  and  unless  you  give  us  relief  the  soldered  mesh-bag  business 
will  go  where  the  nickel  fob  and  vest  chain  have  gone — to  Germany. 

Exhibit  X  consists  of  3  German  silver  silver-plated  mesh  bags, 
•narked  No.  1,  No.  2,  and  No.  3. 

No.  1  and  No.  3  are  imported  from  Pforzheim,  Germany.  No.  2  is 
made  at  North  Attleboro,  Mass.  No.  1  and  No.  3  are  called  fine  mesh. 
No.  2  is  coarse  mesh.  These  meshes  are  made  by  hand,  each  ring 
being  handled  separately.  The  finer  the  mesh  the  larger  the  number 
of  rings  used,  consequently  an  increased  amount  of  labor. 

Foreign  bag  No.  1  costs,  duty  paid,  fine  mesh,  $3.45.  Domestic 
bag  No.  2  costs,  fine  mesh,  $4.57.  Differential,  $1.12.  Foreign  bag 
No.  1  costs,  duty  paid,  coarse  mesh,  $2.70.  Domestic  bag  No.  2  costs, 
coarse  mesh,  $3.97.  Differential,  $1.27.  Foreign  bag  No.  3  costs,  duty 
paid,  $5.51.  Domestic  bag  No.  3  costs  $7.77.  Differential,  $2.26. 

Bag  No.  3  has  a  hand-sawed,  hand-engraved  frame,  and  is  a  beauti- 
ful example  of  bag,  with  a  large  amount  of  hand  labor  in  the  frames. 
Practically  90  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  this  bag  is  labor. 

The  lining  in  our  bag  No.  2  is  not  a  feature  of  additional  expense, 
but  rather  one  of  less  expense,  whicji  enables  us  to  use  coarser  links 
and  cut  down  the  labor  of  joining  mesh  to  the  frame.  Please  note 
that  domestic  bag  No.  2,  with  3,720  links,  costs  more  than  imported 
bag  No.  1,  with  6,312  links,  which  is  accounted  for  by  the  difference 
in  wages  between  the  two  countries. 

The  name  of  the  firm  manufacturing  the  above  domestic  bags  will 
be  found  in  confidential  Exhibit  B. 

Exhibit  Y  consists  of  a  small  reel  of  imported  rolled-gold-plated 
rope  chain  and  a  hank  of  rolled-gold-plated  curb  chain,  showing  the 
form  in  which  they  come  to  this  country.  They  are  brought  in  under 
paragraph  193  as  metal,  paying  45  per  cent  duty.  "\Yhen  finished 
they  are  used  only  for  jewelry.  In  fact,  it  is  in  its  present  condition 


6764  SCHEDULE    N — SUNDRIES. 

nothing  but  unfinished  jewelry,  and  should  pay  duty  under  para- 
graph 434.  See  Exhibit  N  for  finished  curb,  rope,  and  cable  chain 
similar  to  this  exhibit.  There  is  quite  a  variety  of  sizes  of  curb  and 
rope  chain  like  these  samples;  also  cable  chain  (so  called)  imported 
in  this  condition  and  polished  and  trimmed  in  this  country  as  neck 
chain,  guard  chain,  etc. 

Joseph  Lawrence,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  is  a  maker  of  rope  chain, 
and  formerly  employed  60  hands;  to-day  has  only  12,  as  he  can  not 
compete  with  the  imported  rope  chain.  A  similar  condition  prevails 
with  all  our  rope-chain  manufacturers.  As  rope  chain  is  a  staple 
article,  some  of  our  manufacturers  have  established  factories  in  Ger- 
many and  are  making  rope  chain,  as  they  can  not  do  so  at  a  profit 
at  home.  It  takes  a  girl  from  six  months  to  a  year  to  learn  to  make 
rope  chain,  and  good  rope  makers  here  earn  $2  per  day.  A  large 
wholesale  jeweler  in  Boston  said  to  me  the  other  day :  "You  are  surely 
up  against  it  on  the  chain  business.  I  buy  the  imported  neck  chains 
and  lorgnette  chain  not  10  per  cent  cheaper,  but  40  to  50  per  cent 
cheaper  than  the  domestic  chain,  and  I  have  tested  the  chain  and 
know  they  are  just  as  good  in  every  respect  as  the  domestic  chain." 

Conditions  have  changed  since  the  enactment  of  the  Dingley  bill. 
Up  to,  say,  three  years  ago  the  foreign  rope  chain  was  inferior  to 
ours,  but  to-day  it  is  much  better  made  and  is  nearly  as  good  as  the 
American  chain.  In  addition  to  better  workmanship,  they  have 
learned  to  make  a  better  quality  of  rolled-gold-plated  wire  for  their 
chain,  and  in  addition  reduced  price  about  10  per  cent.  During  this 
period  wages  in  Rhode  Island  have  advanced  29.8  per  cent.  You 
will  notice  the  increase  in  duty  which  we  ask  for  is  more  than  offset 
by  the  improvement  made  by  the  foreign  manufacturer  in  the  quality 
of  his  goods,  in  the  reduction  he  has  made  in  his  price,  and  the  ad- 
vance paid  in  wages  in  this  country. 

As  mesh  bags  and  rope,  cable,  and  curb  chain  come  from  Pforzheim, 
we  submit  list  of  wages  paid  there  and  in  Providence,  R.  I. : 


Providence, 
R.  I. 

Pforzheim. 

Differential. 

Per  day. 
Jewelers  .-  S2.  50  to  83.  50 

Per  day. 
M4.  04  toM4.  40 

81.25  to  82  40 

Stampers  2.  00  to   3.  50 

4.  04  to   4.40 

1.00  to   2.40 

Stone  setters  3.  00  to   5.  00 
Engravers  3.  00  to   3.  50 
Tool  makers.                    ...            3.  00  to   6.  00 

5.02  to    5.50 
5.  42  to    6.00 
4.87  to    5  '20 

1.75  to   3.65 
1.62  to    2.00 
1.80  to    4  60 

Helpers  1.00  to    1.66 

3.  18  to    3.40 

.  20  to      .  80 

Polishers                                                   2.  00  to   3.00 

2.  48  to    2  68 

1  38  to    2  30 

Chain  makers   1.1  6  to   2.00 

2.  49  to    2.70 

.55  to    1.30 

Foreman                             .        4.  16  to   5.  00 

8.00  to  12.  00 

2  20  to    2  00 

We  have  not  the  cost  of  labor  in  detail  as  above  for  Gablonz,  where 
Exhibits  G  and  I  came  from,  but  we  are  told  that  labor  is  very  much 
cheaper  in  Gablonz  than  in  Pforzheim. 

Exhibit  Z  consists  of  14  samples  of  rolled-gold-plated  cable  chain 
soldered  by  an  expert  gold  and  silver  smith  of  Japan.  Domestic 
prices  quoted  are  from  a  manufacturing  company  of  Providence,  R.  I, 
It  is  exactly  what  they  pay  their  chain  makers  without  any  overhead 
charges  (which  are  33-J  per  cent)  or  allowance  for  solder  used,  or 
profit  in  any  form. 


JEWELRY HENRY   G.   THRESHER  ET  AL. 

The  foreign  prices  are  f.  o.  b.  Yokohama, 


6765 


Number. 

Domestic 
soldering 
per  foot. 

Japanese 
soldering 
per  foot. 

Differen- 
tial. 

9              

Cents. 
8 

Yen. 
0.07 

Cents. 
4J 

12                                

4 

.03 

2i 

12  A                  

4 

.04 

2 

13              

5 

.07 

Is 

14                          

4 

.04 

2 

16A         

3s 

.04 

H 

17  

2* 

.04 

17A                      

3j 

.03 

2 

21        

2» 

.02 

H 

'>!  A.                                

3 

.03 

li 

21B         .           

2 

.02 

21R  

4 

.03 

24 

24                   

3 

.03 

U 

25  

2i 

.02 

1A 

With  this  unfair  comparison,  the  Japanese  prices  are  on  the 
average  just  one-half  the  domestic  prices.  I  wish  to  quote  part  of 
the  Japan  Manufacturing  Company's  letter  of  November  5,  1908,  as 
follows :  "  Our  present  capacity  in  soldering  is  about  5,000  feet  per 
day.  It  will,  however,  be  very  easily  increased  if  necessary  to  any 
more,  and  when  your  order  be  a  large  one  we  will  make  special  quota- 
tions at  a  lower  figure  and  sincerely  ask  your  patronage."  In  this 
quotation  from  this  letter  you  will  notice  that  the  Japan  manufac- 
turers of  their  own  accord  plainly  state  their  willingness  and  ability 
to  quote  lower  prices  if  they  can  have  the  business.  For  the  names 
of  the  foreign  and  domestic  chain  makers  see  Confidential  Ex- 
hibits C  and  D. 

The  plated  wire  used  in  this  chain  is  made  in  this  country,  and 
by  special  machinery  is  wound,  sawed,  and  linked  ready  to  solder. 
This  is  the  way  the  importation  of  rolled  gold-plated  rope  chain 
began  in  this  country ;  that  is,  wire  was  made  here,  sent  to  Germany, 
and  returned  in  the  shape  of  rope  chain.  Soon  the  Germans  bought 
a  chain  machine  here,  and  made  themselves  as  many  more  as  they 
needed.  They  also  improved  the  quality  of  their  rolled  gold-plated 
wire  so  that  to-day  we  have  practically  lost  the  exportation  of  plated 
wire  to  Germany  to  be  made  into  chain. 

The  Japanese  are  bright  people,  good  at  copying,  and  in  a  very 
short  time  will  have  chain  machines  of  their  own,  will  also  make  the 
plated  wire,  and  all  that  has  been  done  to  us  by  the  Germans  will 
soon  be  duplicated  by  the  Japanese. 

When  the  Dingley  bill  was  passed  we  feared  England  and  France 
on  certain  lines.  To-day  Germany  has  taken  the  place  of  both  of 
these  countries  and  in  the  near  future,  from  present  indications,  we 
shall  witness  an  industrial  battle  for  the  jewelry  business  of  this 
country  between  Japan  and  Germany.  « 

The  Germans  already  have  us  at  a  great  disadvantage  on  account 
of  the  difference  in  labor.  What  will  happen  when  the  Japanese 
get  into  this  market  in  earnest  no  one  can  foretell. 

In  this  connection  I  wish  to  state  that  from  cable  chain  like  this 
exhibit  we  make  curb  chain.  See  exhibits  Y  and  A. 

Exhibit  AA. — Catalogues.  To  substantiate  pur  claim  that  mesh 
bags,  silver  novelties,  toilet  articles,  and  other  silver  goods  should  be 


6766  SCHEDULE    X SUNDRIES. 

classed  as  jewelry,  we  submit  two  catalogues  of  Paye  &  Baker  Com- 
pany, manufacturing  jewelers  and  silversmiths  of  North  Attleboro, 
and  one  of  Theodore  W.  Foster  &  Bro.  Company,  of  Providence, 
showing  that  these  articles  are  made  by  our  jewelry  factories,  in 
connection  with  a  general  line  of  jewelry,  and  sold  to  the  trade  as 
jewelry. 

We  also  submit  finely  illustrated  and  extensive  catalogue  of  Franz 
Spiedel,  a  large  manufacturer  of  chain  in  Pforzheim,  Germany,  who, 
it  is  said,  is  importing  large  quantities  of  chain  into  this  country ;  also 
Japanese  catalogue  of  Messrs.  Shimizen  &  Co.  (read  from  the  back) 
illustrating  a  large  variety  of  jewelry  consisting  of  scarf  pins,  charms, 
rings,  chain,  pencils,  spectacles,  toilet  articles,  etc.,  showing  the  Japs 
are  willing  to  supply  ns  with  jewelry  as  well  as  chain.  (See  Ex- 
hibit Z.)_ 

There  is  a  large  volume  of  business  done  all  the  year  round  on  mil- 
linery ornaments.  They  are  practically  all  imported  at  the  present 
time.  Our  manufacturers  who  make  the  cheaper  grade  of  goods 
have  the  facilities,  the  tool  makers,  the  bench  hands,  the  colorers, 
the  stone  setters,  and  the  shops  to  make  these  ornaments.  They  are 
anxious  to  get  this  business,  but  can  not  do  so  on  account  of  the  low 
wages  abroad  and  the  low  duty  at  home.  Put  millinery  ornaments 
in  paragraph  434,  and  we  can  get  a  share  of  this  business,  and  the 
Government  get  an  increased  revenue,  as  lots  of  goods  are  bound  to 
be  imported  anyway. 

We  have  seen  a  copy  of  the  brief  submitted  by  Doctor  Kunz,  gem 
expert  (for  several  years  connected  with  the  house  of  Tiffany  &  Co., 
New  York),  in  which  he  states  that  the  duty  of  60  per  cent  on  jewelry 
is  prohibitive,  and  30  to  40  per  cent  would  produce  more  revenue  to 
the  Government,  and  we  answer  that  statement  by  saying  that  un- 
doubtedly Mr.  Kunz  had  in  mind  jewelry  of  the  more  expensive  char- 
acter, jewelry  made  by  the  single  piece,  a  special  design  of  which  is 
made  for  that  particular  piece,  and  is  not  duplicated  for  another  sim- 
ilar piece,  such  as  the  finest  specimens  of  the  jewelers'  art  that  can  be 
produced  in  Paris,  Berlin,  St.  Petersburg,  and  other  high-art  centers, 
jewelry  set  with  many  high-cost  precious  stones. 

It  is  very  evident  that  Doctor  Kunz  did  not  have  in  mind,  and 
barely  possible  that  he  does  not  know  about,  the  jewelry  that  is  made 
in  Providence  and  the  Attleboros,  to  be  sold  by  the  dozen  and  by  the 
gross,  the  kind  of  jewelry  made  in  large  quantities  in  our  factories  in 
which  the  labor  cost  exceeds  by  far  that  of  the  material  used  therein. 

Please  note  in  our  exhibits  the  item  of  labor  exceeds  many  times 
the  cost  of  the  material  used.  By  comparing  our  exhibits  with  our 
statements  of  costs  here  and  abroad,  you  will  see  that  Doctor  Kunz's 
statement  of  30  to  40  per  cent  duty  does  not  fit  our  industry  on 
the  top,  side,  or  bottom. 

An  importer  ia  New  York  has  samples  of  gold  brooches  set  with 
pearls  and  corals  brought  in  under  paragraph  434.  If  this  can  be 
done  to-day,  wouldn't  the  jewelry  factories  of  Pforzheim  get  busy  if 
you  followed  Doctor  Kunz's  suggestion  and  made  the  duty  on  jewelry 
30  to  40  per  cent,  and  wouldn't  it  close  a  like  number  of  factories  in 
Providence  and  the  Attleboros?  We  surely  know  it  would. 

Furthermore,  you  can  readily  see  the  duty  asked  for,  85  per  cent, 
is  nowhere  near  equal  to  the  difference  between  the  labor  abroad  and 
the  labor  here  on  the  same  article.  Consequently,  duty  recommended 


JEWELRY PRECIOUS    STONES.  6767 

by  us,  not  being  prohibitive  or  anywhere  near  it,  will  protect  the 
industry  somewhat  and  produce  a  greater  revenue  than  the  present 
rate  of  duty. 

As  a  remedy  for  existing  evils  as  shown  by  our  exhibits  we  urge 
that  our  recommendations  in  regard  to  correcting  wrong  classification 
be  adopted. 

Also,  that  paragraph  434  be  amended  so  that  jewelry  finished  or 
unfinished  will  come  to  this  country  as  jewelry  and  pay  duty  as  jew- 
elry rather  than  as  metal. 

Our  exhibits  show  that  pur  product  is  75  to  95  per  cent  labor,  and 
in  consideration  of  the  price  paid  labor  here  and  abroad  the  present 
duty  does  not  give  us  adequate  protection — that  we  need  a  duty  com- 
mensurate with  the  difference  between  labor  here  and  abroad. 

Our  request  for  a  duty  of  85  per  cent  ad  valorem  is  not  prohibitive. 
The  foreign  manufacturer,  as  represented  by  agents  in  this  country,, 
boasts  that  if  we  double  the  duty  he  can  still  bring  his  goods  in,  and 
we  firmly  believe  that  with  the  rate  we  ask  for  with  his  cheap  labor 
he  will  be  able  to  export  jewelry  to  this  country  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  be  a  formidable  competitor  of  the  home  product,  but  with  the  ad- 
vanced rate  of  duty,  proper  classification,  and  the  doing  away  with 
the  so-called  "  German  agreement "  the  Government  could  reasonably 
expect  an  increased  revenue,  as  heretofore  it  has  been  a  great  loser  by 
wrong  or  improperly  interpreted  classification. 

TARIFF  COMMITTEE  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  MANUFACTURING 

JEWELERS  AND  SILVERSMITHS'  ASSOCIATION. 
HENRY  G.  THRESHER.  Chairman. 


STATE  OF  RHODE  ISLAND,  County  of  Providence: 

In  the  city  of  Providence,  on  this  9th  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1909r 
personally  appeared  Henry  G.  Thresher,  to  me  known,  and  he  sub- 
scribed the  foregoing  brief  in  my  presence  and  made  oath  that  all  in- 
formation and  statements  contained  therein  are  true  and  correct,  to- 
the  best  of  his  knowledge  and  belief. 

Before  me : 

[SEAL.]  ROBERT  S.  EMERSON,  Notary  Public. 


PRECIOUS   STONES. 

(  I'ani.itniph  4Mr>. ) 

WILLIAM  C.  WULFF,  CHICAGO,  ILL.,  ASKS  THAT  CUT  AND  UNCUT 
STONES  BE  ADMITTED  FKEE  OF  DUTY. 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  November  8L  1908. 
Hon.  H.  S.  BOUTELLE,  M.  C., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR:  The  revision  of  the  tariff,  in  my  estimation,  should  in- 
clude our  industry.  Cut  and  uncut  stones  are  raw  material.  The  great 
cry  of  protection  to  infant  industry  of  diamond  cutting  has  been  a 
farce  the  past  year  or  eighteen  months.  I  had  conversation  with  cut- 
ters of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  where  most  cutting  is  done  in  Amer- 
ica, and  the  little  employment  they  had  and  the  product  they  made 


6768  SCHEDULE    X— SUNDRIES. 

(commercial  cutting)  was  of  so  small  an  amount  compared  to  the 
importation  that  the  cry  of  supporting  an  infant  industry  is  absurd, 
when  you  realize  that  if  we  had  the  tariff  on  diamonds  on  and  unset 
admitted  free  of  duty,  the  greatest  incentive  for  smuggling  is  re- 
moved; the  same  applies  to  cheap  imitation  sets,  corals  and  cameos, 
mostly  imported.  These  are  raw  material,  figuratively  speaking,  in 
my  estimation,  in  our  industry.  The  set  article,  or  mounted  as  some 
call  it,  and  the  finished  jewelry  can  well  be  protected,  but  why  the 
raw  material  ?  The  middle  class  want  the  genuine  article. 

Visit  the  city  of  Providence  and  Attleboro,  where  ten-hour  day  pre- 
vails, and  see  the  result  of  tariff  legislation,  and  they  are  its  main  ad- 
herents; so  am  I  on  the  finished  product,  but  not  on  raw  material. 
Every  other  city  in  United  States  has  a  nine-hour  day.  Let  them  intro- 
duce American  ideals  in  those  cities  and  ask  for  cheaper  raw  material 
if  it  is  so  difficult  to  inaugurate  the  shorter  workday  and  abolish  child 
labor  there. 

Let  Providence,  R.  I.,  and  the  two  Attleboros,  Mass.,  get  a  prod  and 
you  can  serve  one  of  your  constituents  by  so  doing  and  oblige, 
Yours,  for  American  ideals  in  our  industry, 

AYM.  C.  WULFF, 
Editor  and  Publisher  Je^oelry  Worker. 


STATEMENT  OF  L.  M.  VAN  MOPPES,  REPRESENTING  VAN  MOPPES  & 
SON,  87  NASSAU  STREET,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  RELATIVE  TO  BORTZ 
AND  ROUGH  DIAMONDS. 

SATURDAY,  Xorcmltcf  2'<i,  1908. 

Mr.  VAN  MOPPES.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee,  I  have  come  here  to  talk  to  you  in  regards  to  hav- 
ing a  protective  tariff  placed  on  bortz  and  carbon  rough  diamonds 
that  are  imported  into  this  country  and  used  for  mechanical,  scientific, 
and  experimental  purposes. 

I  desire  to  state  that  I  am  and  have  always  been  an  importer  of 
bort  and  carbon  rough  diamonds  for  about  twenty  years  past,  and 
during  all  those  years  I  have  never  before  complained  to  our  Govern- 
ment about  the  cutthroat  European  competition  that  I  have  been 
contending  with  in  my  business.  During  the  past  five  years  I  have 
continually  foreseen  and  known  that  the  time  would  soon  come  when 
I  would  find  it  to  be  absolutely  necessary  to  ask  our  Government 
for  a  protective  tariff,  and  in  my  two  letters  of  September  19  and 
November  5  to  your  honorable  committee  I  have  already  explained 
some  of  the  unfair  conditions  in  my  business  about  which  I  have 
reason  to  complain. 

Now,  I  have  a  few  other  facts  to  talk  to  you  about,  and  these  facts 
are  that  I  believe  it  would  be  very  wise  and  just  to  all  American  im- 
porters of  bort  and  carbon  rough  diamonds,  and  also  at  the  same 
time  profitable  to  our  Government,  to  put  a  tariff  on  all  kinds  of 
bort  and  carbon  rough  diamonds.  I  stated  that  I  believe  it  would 
be  wise  and  just  to  all  American  importers,  etc.  By  that  I  mean 
the  competition  of  European  dealers  who  are  sending  bort  and  car- 
bon rough  diamonds  on  approval  to  American  users  or  consumers 
would  no  doubt  soon  be  terminated  by  having  a  protective  duty  on 
such  goods,  as  European  dealers  would  not  be  willing  then  to  send 
their  goods  here  subject  to  approval  and  selection  to  anybody  if  they 
(the  European  dealers')  had  to  pay  a  duty  and  then  had  to  stand  a 


PKKCIors    STOXE.S.  6769 


chance  of  getting  their  goods  sent  back  to  them  again  as  being  un- 
suitable. 

For  instance,  there  is  a  firm  in  Scotland  that  recently  established 
a  branch  in  this  country  to  manufacture  and  sell  diamond-set  stone 
saws  in  this  country.  The  American  branch  of  this  firm  now  receives 
every  week  or  two  'weeks  from  their  Scotland  people  packages  of 
unset  bort  rough  diamonds. 

From  these  packages  of  bort  they  select  what  they  need  for  their 
own  business  and  then  sell  the  balance  to  American  users,  or  if  they 
can  not  sell  the  balance,  they  reship  them  back  to  Scotland.  This 
Scotch  firm  has  been  doing  a  very  good  business  in  this  country, 
making  and  selling  diamond-set  stone  saws  to  American  stone  works, 
but  still  absolutely  refuses  to  buy  any  rough  diamonds  from  any 
American  importer. 

Xow  gentlemen,  I  ask  you  are  such  conditions  fair  or  unfair  to 
our  American  importers,  and  would  it  not  only  be  just  and  right 
that  our  American  importers  should  be  protected  by  our  Government 
against  such  conditions  ?  Also,  gentlemen,  is  it  fair  or  unfair  to  our 
American  importers  that  any  individual  or  firm  in  London,  Paris, 
Amsterdam,  or  Antwerp  who  desires  to  become  a  cutthroat  com- 
petitor of  American  importers  should  be  so  easily  able  to  accomplish 
their  puropse  in  our  f  ree-of-duty  American  market  ? 

In  conclusion,  I  also  wish  to  again  call  your  attention  to  the  facts 
"which  I  have  written  you  previously  regarding  drilled,  ground,  or 
shaped  bort  and  carbon  diamonds  that  are  -at  present  admitted  free 
of  duty  into  this  country. 

Owing  to  these  conditions  two  French  firms  have  lately  come  to 
New  York  and  started  each  a  small  shop,  having  two  or  three  men 
working,  setting  the  drilled,  ground,  and.  shaped  stones  into  brass 
drawplates  and  other  kinds  of  settings.  The  drilling,  grinding,  and 
shaping  of  rough  diamonds  has  been  done  here  in  this  country  very 
largely  for  many  years,  but  this  industry  in  this  country  is  now  being 
ruined  entirely,  and  good  American  firms  to  whom  we  have  formerly 
sold  many  thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of  rough  diamonds  annually 
are  now  also  commencing  to  import  drilled  diamonds  from  Europe 
direct,  in  order  to  try  to  compete  with  the  Frenchmen  who  have  come 
here,  owing  to  the  free-of-duty  law  on  drilled,  ground,  and  shaped 
diamonds. 

I  desire  to  thank  you,  gentlemen,  for  your  kind  attention,  and  hope 
mv  arguments  will  meet  with  vour  favorable  consideration. 


GEORGE  F.  KUNZ,  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY.  SUGGESTS  SCHEDULE  OF 
RATES  AND  CLASSIFICATION  FOR  PRECIOUS  STONES. 

NEW  YORK,  December  1,  1908. 
Hon.  SERENO  E.  PAYNE, 

Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  Sin:  For  twenty-five  years  I  have  l>een  on  familiar  terms  not 
only  with  the  leading  as  well  as  the  smaller  dealers  in  jewelry,  but 
also  with  lapidaries,  gem  engraver^,  and  gem  cutters,  and  find  that  as 
a  general  rule  they  are  only  intended  in  the  duty  which  immediately 
concerns  them  personally,  without  the  lea^t  regard  to  what  may  affect 
the  lesser  or  greater  numbers  of  the  same  profession.  For  this  reason 


6770  SCHEDULE    X SUNDRIES. 

it  occasionally  happens  that  a  number  of  the  forms  of  precious,  semi- 
precious, and  gem  stones  are  overlooked,  because  those  men  who  deal 
in  them  have  not  the  means  to  represent  themselves  properly  at 
investigations  carried  on  at  a  distance.  The  brief  herewith  submitted 
is  presented  with  a  view  to  doing  justice  to  all  concerned  and  to 
simplifying  the  complexities  of  the  present  tariff. 

If  provisions  similar  to  those  herein  proposed  be  embodied  in  the 
tariff,  much  of  the  needless  litigation  over  technicalities,  which  con- 
stantly presents  itself  to  the  New  York  customs  officials,  will  be  done 
away  Avith,  and,  at  the  same  time,  if  the  precious-stone  duty  only  is 
enforced  in  the  case  of  pearl  necklaces  and  of  valuable  precious 
stones  contained  in  jewels,  a  larger  revenue  will  be  collected.  In 
this  way  the  country  need  not  humiliate  itself  by  keeping  a  staff  of 
detectives  in  the  larger  European  hotels,  sometimes  producing  re- 
sults not  entirely  satisfactory,  but  scarcely  surprising,  in  view  of  the 
great  bounty  offered  to  the  officers  of  the  law,  whose  zeal  is  some- 
times unduly  stimulated  thereby. 

Under  present  conditions  many  heirlooms,  old  pieces  of  jewelry, 
and  gifts  of  precious  stones  in  their  original  settings  are  probably 
not  declared  at  present,  although  they  would  be  declared  if  a  pre- 
cious-stone duty  of  10  per  cent  were  imposed.  At  present,  if  through 
some  error  such  articles  are  brought  over,  the  60  per  cent  duty  is 
generally  paid  under  strenuous  protest,  and  it  causes  much  personal 
hardship  to  the  innocent  importer,  generally  a  private  party  only 
and  not  a  dealer. 

Precious  stones  in  their  natural  state,  uncut,  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

PROPOSED    TARIFF^  FOR    PRECIOUS    AND    SEMIPRECIOUS    STONES    AND    GEM 

STONES. 

That  all  precious,  semiprecious,  gem,  and  ornamental  stones,  such 
as  diamonds,  rubies,  sapphires,  emeralds,  chrysoberyls,  cat's-eyes,  alex- 
andrites,  tourmalines,  aquamarines,  zircons,  garnets,  and  other  stone 
materials,  when  natural  and  not  artificial,  to  be  used  in  jewelry,  or 
for  art  objects  or  bric-a-brac,  or  in  mechanical  processes,  whether  cut, 
polished,  or  engraved,  and  whether  loose  or  strung  as  spheres,  slabs, 
cubes,  or  in  any  other  form,  shall  be  dutiable  at  the  rate  of  10  per  cent 
ad  valorem.  In  this  class  shall  be  included  rock  crystals,  agates,  and 
all  varieties  of  the  quartz  group,  as  well  as  jade,  malachite,  lapis 
lazuli,  crocidolite,  amber,  coral,  satin  spar,  etc.,  whether  natural,  col- 
ored, dyed,  stained,  or  treated  in  any  other  way,  but  it  shall  not 
include  marble,  either  carbonate  of  lime  or  carbonate  of  lime  and 
magnesia. 

PROPOSED  TARIFF  ON  ARTIFICIAL  AND  IMITATION  STONES. 

Artificial  and  imitation  stones  of  all  kinds  shall  be  assessed  at  a 
duty  of  20  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

That  pearls  of  every  form  and  variety,  when  of  natural  origin, 
whether  round,  drilled,  split,  half  pearls  or  seed  pearls,  and  whether 
loose,  assorted,  or  strung,  shall  be  dutiable  at  the  rate  of  10  per  cent. 
When  any  such  pearls  are  held  together  by  a  clasp  or  snap,  this  shall 
be  dutiable  at  the  rate  of  30  per  cent  as  jewelry,  unless  the  stones 
in  the  clasp  or  snap  should  have  a  greater  value  than  the  setting,  in 
which  case  the  stones  shall  be  subject  to  a  duty  of  10  per  cent,  while 
the  setting  shall  be  dutiable  at  the  rate  of  30  per  cent  as  jewelry,  and 


INSTRUMENT    JEWELS JOHN    WENNSTROM^S    SONS    CO.       6771 

the  same  conditions  and  rates  shall  apply  to  any  bars  or  other  orna- 
ments connected  with  a  pearl  necklace. 

PROPOSED  TARIFF  FOR  CULTURE  PEARLS  OR  PEARLETTES. 

That  the  pearl-like  objects  produced  by  introducing  pellets  of  wax, 
bone,  ivory,  or  any  other  substance  into  pearl  shells  while  in  growth 
and  which,  when  removed  from  the  shell,  have  only  a  slight  coating  of 
the  pearly  nacre  and  are  known  as  culture  pearls  or  pearlettes,  shall 
be  subject  to  a  duty  of  20  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

JEWELRY. 

The  term  "  jewelry  "  shall  be  used  to  designate  all  ornamental  ob- 
jects composed  of  gold,  platinum,  silver,  iron,  or  other  material  used 
for  adornment  if  under  $50  in  value.  If  of  greater  value  than  $50, 
and  if  more  than  one-third  of  this  value  consists  in  diamonds,  pearls, 
or  precious  or  semiprecious  stones  of  any  kind  these  objects  shall  be 
called  "  jewels,"  and  the  value  of  the  setting  shall  be  dutiable  as  jew- 
elry, but  the  content,  as  precious  stones,  shall  only  be  subject  to  the 
duty  levied  on  diamonds  and  precious  stones.  The  setting  itself, 
however,  is  to  be  dutiable  at  from  30  to  60  per  cent,  as  may  eventually 
be  decided.  In  other  words,  if  an  ornamental  object  as  a  whole  be 
appraised  at  $1,000,  and  contained  precious  stones  at  $900,  there  shall 
be  a  jewelry  duty  on  $100  as  the  value  of  the  setting,  and  a  precious- 
stone  duty  on  $900  as  the  value  of  the  precious-stone  material;  or 
if  the  object  as  a  whole  be  worth  $1,000,  the  setting  alone  being  $10, 
and  the  precious-stone  material  $990,  there  shall  be  a  precious-stone 
duty  of  10  per  cent  on  the  content  and  a  jewelry  duty  upon  the 
setting. 

A  duty  of  60  per  cent  upon  jewelry  is  excessive  and  prohibitory. 
If  the  duty  were  30  or  40  per  cent,  the  United  States  Government 
would  collect  a  much  larger  sum  in  customs,  as  there  would  be  more 
purchasers  to  pay  duty  and  less  jewelry  could  be  brought  in  without 
having  been  declared. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

GEORGE  F.  Kuxz. 

D.  Sc.,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D., 

(Special  agent  United  States  Geological  Survey  1882  to  date;  the 
only  honorary  member  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Precious  Stones  of 
France.)  

INSTRUMENT  JEWELS. 

[Paragraph  435.] 

JOHN   WENNSTROM'S    SONS    CO.,    STJFFERN,   N.    Y.,    WISHES   AN 
INCREASE  OF  DITTY  ON  THESE  ARTICLES. 

SUFFER*.  X.  Y.,  December  30,  1908. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  <  . 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  note  that  your  committee  has  been  called  upon 
to  investigate  the  tariff  conditions  and  to  recommend  changes  and  re- 
forms where  needed,  and  we  therefore  wish  to  call  your  attention  to 
the  condition  of  affairs  in  our  particular  line  of  business  and  trust  you 
will  be  able  to  give  some  relief. 


6772  SCHEDULE    N SUNDRIES. 

We  manufacture  jewels  and  jewel  bearings  for  all  kinds  of 
instruments. 

Our  grievance  is  the  extremely  low  tariff  on  watch  jewels,  electrical 
jewels,  and  other  instrument  jewels,  being  only  10  per  cent,  while  the 
watch  companies  are  protected  by  a  25  per  cent  tariff  on  all  watch 
movements,  in  addition  to  a  flat  rate  per  movement  according  to  the 
number  of  jewels  contained  therein.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  tjiat  the 
watch  companies,  who  are  the  only  ones  benefited  by  the  present 
tariff,  sell  their  product  in  foreign  countries  at  about  20  per  cent  less 
than  they  sell  the  same  article  at  in  this  country. 

We  approximately  estimate  that  60,000  watch  jewels,  at  an  average 
cost  of  5  cents  each  are  used  daily  in  the  manufacture  of  watches 
in  this  country,  and  about  20.000  instrument  jewels  of  various  kinds 
at  an  average  cost  of  18  cents  each  are  used  daily  in  the  manufacture 
of  instruments  of  all  kinds. 

The  jewels  are  made  of  various  materials,  mostly  ruby,  agate, 
sapphire,  and  garnet. 

Most  of  these  jewels  are  made  in  Switzerland,  France,  and  Italy, 
all  by  hand  labor,  and  with  only  10  per  cent  duty  on  them,  American 
workmen  could  not  compete,  so  that  now  the  jewel  business  here  is 
practically  dead,  and  while  this  low  duty  benefits  a  few  large  con- 
sumers, it  deprives  nearly  3,000  American  workmen  of  employment. 

We  have  occasion  at  times  to  import  agate  in  a  semicrude  state  for 
the  manufacture  of  electrical-instrument  jewels  and  on  which  the 
duty  is  50  per  cent,  and  it  is  a  serious  handicap  to  us  to  have  to  pay 
50  per  cent  duty  on  what  is  to  us  raw  material,  and  yet  we  are  only 
protected  by  a  10  per  cent  tariff  on  finished  jewels.  We  would  there- 
fore advocate  the  same  duty  on  jewels  of  all  kinds  as  on  the  agate. 

We  therefore  request  a  duty  of  50  per  cent  ad  valorem  on  finished 
jewels  such  as  electrical,  nautical,  horological,  and  all  mathematical 
instrument  jewels  in  order  to  protect  our  business,  and  we  also  ask 
that  these  have  a  separate  paragraph  in  the  revised  schedule. 

There  is  also  an  industry  of  no  small  magnitude  sprung  up  these 
late  years  in  the  manufacture  of  diamond  dies  for  drawing  wire,  and 
which  is  not  classified  in  the  tariff  schedule,  and  although  they  are 
a  finished  article  and  are  imported  ready  for  immediate  use,  they 
are  brought  in  under  the  classification  of  diamond  bortz  and  pay  no 
duty  whatever.  There  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  worth 
of  these  dies  used  in  the  wire  industry  in  this  country.  Then,  again, 
we  call  your  attention  to  diamonds  that  are  flattened  and  cupped 
for  use  as  bearings  in  electrical  and  other  instruments  which  are 
not  classified,  but  as  far  as  we  learn  can  only  be  entered  as  cut 
diamonds  at  10  per  cent,  which  is  no  protection  whatever  to  Ameri- 
can manufacturers. 

We  also  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  about  90  per  cent  of 
the  output  of  the  Montana  sapphire  mines  is  exported  to  Switzer- 
land, France,  and  Italy,  made  up  into  jewels,  and  in  turn  imported 
here  in  the  finished  state. 

We  have  dealings  with  a  large  western  mining  company  who  now 
have  their  gem  cutting  factories  in  different  parts  of  Europe  and  for 
whom  we  have  done  considerable  experimental  work.  This  company 
desires  to  go  into  the  watch  jewel  line  on  a  large  scale  when  the  tariff 
is  definitely  settled,  and  they  will  undoubtedly  locate  in  this  country 
if  the  conditions  warrant  manufacturing  in  this  country  at  all. 


DIAMONDS    AND    PEARLS E.   N.   FOWLER.  6773 

We  therefore  ask  a  separate  paragraph  for  these  articles,  namely, 
diamond  dies,  for  drawing  wire,  fiber,  and  filaments,  and  ask  a  duty 
of  50  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

There  are  also  diamonds  imported  in  considerable  quantities  that 
are  flattened,  or  flattened  and  cupped  for  use  as  bearings  in  electrical 
and  other  instruments  which  are  not  classified,  but  as  far  as  we  learn 
there  can  only  be  entered  as  cut  diamonds  under  paragraphs  191  or 
435  at  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

We  would  ask  that  a  separate  paragraph  be  provided  for  these 
namely,  diamond  jewels,  or  be  included  in  the  paragraph  pertaining 
to  watch  jewels  and  other  instrument  jewels  at  50  per  cent  ad  valorem. 
We  sincerely  trust  that  you  will  give  this  matter  careful  consid- 
eration, and  that  you  will  recommend  a  duty  on  this  class  of  material 
at  least  high  enough  to  protect  American  business  if  not  the  same  as 
is  now  imposed  on  agate. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

JOHN  WENNSTROM'S  SONS  Co., 
Manufacturers  of  Jewels  for  Electrical,  Mathematical, 

Horological,  and  Nautical  Instruments. 
By  JOHN  WENNSTROM. 


PRECIOUS   STOKES  AND   PEARLS. 

[Paragraphs  435  and  436.] 

E.  N.  FOWLER,  COLLECTOR  OF  CUSTOMS,  NEW  YORK  CITY, 
THINKS  ANY  INCREASE  OF  DUTY  ON  DIAMONDS  AND  PEARLS 
WOULD  ENCOURAGE  SMUGGLING. 

NEW  YORK,  February  15,  1909. 
Hon.  J.  H.  GAINES,  M.  C., 

House  of  Representatives, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

My  DEAR  CONGRESSMAN  :  Referring  to  your  letter  of  February  8, 
1909,  asking  me  for  my  opinion  of  a  change  in  the  schedule,  putting 
a  duty  of  2|  per  cent  on  uncut  diamonds  and  12^  per  cent  on  cut 
diamonds,  and  also  whether  a  slight  increase  in  the  duty  on  pearls 
would  result  in  their  being  smuggled,  I  have  to  say : 

With  regard  to  cut  diamonds,  in  my  opinion,  the  slightest  advance 
over  the  present  rate  of  duty  of  10  per  cent  would  prove  to  be  a  great 
incentive  to  smuggling.  The  value  of  cut  diamonds  being  so  great, 
the  slightest  advance  in  the  rate  of  duty  would  result  in  great  dis- 
advantage to  the  honest  importer. 

It  is  my  judgment,  and  I  state  without  hesitation,  that  the  same 
argument  applies  with  equal  force  to  an  increase  in  the  rate  of  duty 
on  pearls. 

I  believe  that  we  are  able  to  collect  considerable  duty  as  the  law 
now  stands  in  regard  to  precious  stones,  and  experience  under  pre- 
vious tariff  laws  leads  me  to  the  conclusion  that  the  present  rate  of 
duty  is  the  wisest  and  best  to  be  obtained. 

Regarding  the  collection  of  duty  on  uncut  diamonds,  commercially 
known  as  "  rough,"  I  believe  that  it  would  be  not  only  impracticable, 
but  impossible.  There  is  not  a  man  available  to  the  Treasury  Depart- 


6774  SCHEDULE    N: — SUNDRIES. 

ment  qualified  to  judge  the  value  of  uncut  stones:  and,  if  my  informa- 
tion is  correct,  there  are  but  several  such  men  in  the  whole  country. 
Their  services  could  not  be  made  available  for  the  paltry  salaries 
which  the  Government  pays  to  its  employees.  A  man  qualified  to 
determine  the  value  of  '*  rough  "  diamonds  correctly  can  command  a 
remuneration  in  the  trade  of  at  least  $10,000  a  year.  Consequently, 
with  the  available  experts  which  the  Government  can  procure,  there 
would  be,  in  my  judgment,  no  check  whatever  on  undervaluation. ' 

Has  it  occurred  to  you  that  were  the  duty  collectible  it  would  result 
in  injury  to  the  industry  here  by  driving  the  cutters  back  to  the  other 
side,  as  it  would  be  impossible  to  cut  profitably  with  such  a  handicap? 
I  am  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  ends  of  commercial  enterprise  will 
best  be  met  by  not  disturbing  the  present  rates  of  duty,  and  that  if 
necessary  they  be  reenacted  in  the  new  tariff  for  the  reasons  herein 
stated. 

If  I  can  be  of  any  further  service  to  you,  please  command  me. 
Respectfully, 

E.  K  FOWLER, 
Collector  of  Customs. 


STATEMENT    OF    MEYER   D.    ROTHSCHILD,    REPRESENTING    IM- 
PORTERS   AND    RETAILERS    OF    PRECIOUS    STONES. 

i 

SATURDAY,  November  28,  1908. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  this,  of  course,  is  simply  a  revenue 
proposition. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Are  you  going  to  read  a  brief  ? 

Mr.  ROTHSCHILD.  No ;  I  am  not.  I  am  simply  going  to  look  at  my 
notes,  and  go  right  ahead.  I  am  not  going  to  read  a  brief. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Go  ahead,  then;  because  if  you  have  a  brief,  it 
might  just  as  well  be  filed. 

Mr.  ROTHSCHILD.  I  have  no  brief.     We  will  file  a  brief  later. 

The  importers  do  not  desire  radical  or  important  changes.  We 
recognize,  of  course,  that  luxuries  should  pay  as  high  a  duty  as 
possible.  The  tariff  of  1883  provided  that  all  precious  stones  and 
imitations  thereof  should  pay  10  per  cent.  That  of  1890  was  the 
same — 10  per  cent.  The  tariff  of  1894  (the  Wilson  tariff)  provided 
that  precious  stones  cut  should  pay  25  per  cent,  and  rough,  10  per 
cent.  The  present  tariff,  as  you  know,  is  10  per  cent  on  cut  stones 
and  20  per  cent  generally  on  rough  ones. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Yes;  we  know  all  that. 

Mr.  ROTHSCHILD.  What  we  want  to  call  your  attention  to,  gen- 
tlemen, is  that  we  want  no  change  in  the  tariff,  with  one  exception, 
and  that  is  on  the  question  of  unstrung  pearls,  and  I  will  read  Mr. 
Nissen's  statement  for  a  few  minutes.  We  do,  however,  desire  that 
the  paragraphs  as  they  are  written  in  the  act  shall  be  so  changed 
that  they  will  be  perfectly  clear.  As  it  is  now,  when  the  importers 
import  some  little  imitation  things  that  are  suitable  only  for  jew- 
elry purposes,  and  there  is  no  provision  in  the  tariff  for  them,  they 
have  to  find  a  place  among  china  (60  per  cent),  or  among  marble 


PRECIOUS   STONES  AND   PEARLS.  6775 

or  slate  mantels  (35  or  40  per  cent),  or  some  other  outlandish  sched- 
ule which  has  nothing  to  dp  with  our  business.  In  other  words, 
we  should  like  the  tariff  rewritten  in  such  a  way  that  the  little  things 
which  the  importers  bring  in,  suitable  only  for  jewelry  purposes, 
shall  be  brought  in  at  a  reasonable  rate. 

I  want  to  say,  gentlemen,  that  in  1894,  under  the  Wilson  tariff,  an 
effort  was  made  to  get  a  larger  revenue  from  pearls  and  precious 
stones,  on  the  theory  that  these  were  articles  of  extreme  luxury  that 
could  well  bear  the  burden  of  such  a  tariff.  We  agree  with  the 
framers  of  that  tariff  that  if  it  were  possible  to  collect  a  duty  of  that 
kind  it  would  be  a  good  thing  and  we  would  not  object. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  do  not  think  we  will  try  any  experiment  of  that 
kind.  It  has  been  so  thoroughly  tested  that  I  do  not  think  this  com- 
mittee will  go  into  it. 

Mr.  ROTHSCHILD.  If  this  committee  feels  that  way,  I  have  nothing 
further  to  say  on  that  point.  I  wanted  to  give  you  a  few  facts. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  If  you  present  any  arguments,  we  may  do  it;  but 
I  do  not  think  it  probable. 

Mr.  ROTHSCHILD.  Very  well.  I  will  simply  file  a  brief,  then,  within 
a  few  days. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Why  not? 

Mr.  ROTHSCHILD.  Why  not  what,  sir? 

Mr.  CLARK.  Why  not  do  the  very  thing  that  you  suggested — 
change  it? 

Mr.  ROTHSCHILD.  For  this  reason:  Two  years  before  the  Wilson 
bill  the  importations  of  diamonds  and  precious  stones  were  about 
$14.500,000.  Two  years  after  the  Wilson  bill  they  were  less  than 
$5,000,000.  Two  years  after  the  Dingley  bill  they  were  $19,000,000. 
That  was  for  the  reason  that  smugglers  did  the  business  and  honest 
men  were  put  out  of  business,  and  the  Government  did  not  get  the 
revenue.  That  was  the  reason,  sir. 

Mr.  CLARK.  Why  did  they  not  "  jug  "  the  smugglers? 

Mr.  ROTHSCHILD.  They  tried  to  "  ]  ug  "  the  smugglers,  but  when 
you  can  put  $100,000  worth  of  stuff  in  a  pocketbook  or  in  a  small 
package,  with  our  immense  border  line  and  with  our  immense  sea- 
coast  line,  it  is  a  physical  impossibility.  We  would  like  it,  gentle- 
men. We  were  practically  out  of  this  business  for  three  years. 


STATEMENT  SUBMITTED  BY  LUDWIG  NISSEN,   REPRESENTING 
IMPORTERS  AND  RETAILERS  OF  PRECIOUS  STONES. 

SATURDAY,  November  88.  1903. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  this  committee  appears  before  you 
representing,  as  it  believes,  practically  the  united  opinions  and  wishes 
of  the  manufacturing,  importing,  jobbing,  and  retail  interests  of  the 
jewelry  and  kindred  trades  of  the  United  States.  It  is  not  here  ask- 
ing for  an  increase  of  protective  duties ;  neither  is  it  here  to  advocate 
the  lowering  of  these  duties,  though  in  some  instances  they  are  im- 
posed for  revenue  only,  there  being  no  protective  feature  in  them, 
because  of  the  fact  that  the  articles  upon  which  they  are  imposed  are 

7.V.)41— II.  Doc.  ir.or>.  r>0-2— -Vol  0 C,4 


6776-  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

neither  found,  mined,  or  manufactured  in  this  country.  But  it  is  here 
for  the  purpose  of  trying  to  aid  you  in  putting  upon  the  statute  books 
a  law  that,  so  far  as  the  paragraphs  relating  to  our  particular  busi- 
ness is  concerned,  shall  be  simple,  concise,  and  unmistakable  in  its 
terms,  so  as  to  leave  no  possible  room  for  misinterpretation  or  whim- 
sical construction.  I  personally  am  particularly  deputized  to  speak 
for  the  pearl-importing  interests.  We  ask  you  to  substitute  for  the 
clause  relating  to  pearls,  now  reading  as  follows :  "  Pearls  in  their 
natural  state,  not  strung  or  set,  ten  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  "  a 
clause  reading  like  this :  "  Pearls,  whether  whole,  split,  drilled,  or 
strung,  but  not  mounted  or  set,  ten  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  all  imita- 
tions of  pearls  not  mounted  or  set,  twenty  per  centum  ad  valorem." 
This  leaves  out  the  present  term  employed  "  in  their  natural  state." 

No  one  wants  to  import  pearls  further  manipulated  than  drilled, 
and  drilled  pearls  we  should  consider  to  be  pearls  in  their  natural 
state.  Pearls  are  among  the  few  things  that  nature  produces  with- 
out requiring  the  aid  of  artisans  or  mechanics  to  make  them  useful 
and  marketable  as  a  complete  and  finished  article.  That  particular 
language  seems  to  have  been  responsible  for  the  varying  chaotic  con- 
structions placed  upon  the  intent  of  the  law.  Some  small  shipments 
of  pearls,  though  imported  loose,  in  packages  of  various  sizes  and 
values,  have  been  construed  to  be  necklaces  dutiable  at  60  per  cent 
ad  valorem.  This  construction,  with  a  stretch  of  the  imagination, 
might  almost  be  made  to  apply  to  all  drilled  pearls,  for  at  least  90 
per  cent  of  them  are  finally  used  in  that  way.  But  if  it  was  applied 
it  would  drive  the  price  of  pearl  necklaces  so  high  that  nobody  could 
afford  to  buy  them  in  this  country,  thereby  not  only  depriving  the 
Government  of  ihe  duties  now  collected  on  same  but  also  depriving 
the  legitimate  American  importer  and  dealer  of  the  business  he  is 
rightfully  entitled  to.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  no  one  has  ever  paid 
60  per  cent  duty  on  necklaces,  or  drilled  pearls  attempted  to  be  con- 
strued as  necklaces,  imported,  except  in  two  instances  which  are 
now  in  litigation.  In  answer  to  the  arguments  that  will  undoubtedly 
be  made  that  these  articles  of  luxury  should  be  made  to  bear  a  higher 
rate  of  duty,  we  respectfully  submit  that  experience  has  shown  that 
more  than  10  per  cent  can  not  be  collected,  that  is,  that  a  higher 
duty,  considering  the  small  bulk  of  precious  stones  and  pearls,  en- 
courages smuggling  and  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  during  the  exist- 
ence of  the  25  per  cent  duty  under  the  Wilson  tariff  act  the  Govern- 
ment collected  less  duty  than  at  any  time  before  or  since  under  a 
10  per  cent  duty,  and  that  during  that  period  it  was  practically 
impossible  for  the  honest  merchant  to  import  precious  stones  and 
pearls. 

BRIEF  SUBMITTED  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  IMPORTERS  OF  AND 
WHOLESALE  AND  RETAIL  DEALERS  IN  PRECIOUS  STONES  AND 
PEARLS,  WITH  SUGGESTED  SCHEDULE. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 

February  1, 1909. 
COMMITTEE  ON  WATS  AND  MEANS, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  undersigned,  representing  practically  all  of  the 
importers  of  and  wholesale  and  retail  dealers  in  precious  and  imita- 


PEECIOUS   STONES  AND   PEARLS ALFRED   KROWER   ET   AL.      6777 

tion  stones  and  pearls,  respectfully  call  the  attention  of  your  com- 
mittee to  some  desired  changes  in  the  wording  of  the  schedules  affect- 
ing their  business. 

These  changes  can  not  materially  affect  the  revenue  which  the 
Government  derives  from  the  goods  covered  by  the  schedules  referred 
to,  and  if  adopted  they  will  make  for  simplicity  and  certainty,  and 
so  will  greatly  reduce  the  chances  of  litigation. 

At  the  outset  we  wish  to  emphasize  the  point  that  we  have  separated 
all  genuine  stones  from  imitation  stones  or  material.  The  first  group 
consists  of  genuine  precious  stones,  pearls,  corals,  shell,  ivory,  porce- 
lain, paintings,  and  mosaics,  for  which  we  ask  a  uniform  duty  of  10 
per  centum  ad  valorem,  and  the  second  group,  of  imitations  of  the 
above  articles,  including  also  scientific,  synthetic,  and  reconstructed 
stones  and  doublets,  for  which  we  ask  a  uniform  duty  of  20  per 
centum  ad  valorem. 

We  take  the  liberty  of  presenting  herewith  a  draft  of  the  proposed 
schedules,  showing  also  the  present  schedules  and  all  eleminations 
and  additions,  excepting  the  rate  of  duty  on  jewelry  and  parts 
thereof.  New  matter  is  italic ;  old  matter  to  be  left  out  is  in  brackets. 

Par.  434.  Articles  commonly  known  as  jewelry,  and  parts  thereof, 
finished  or  unfinished,  not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act  [includ- 
ing precious  stones  set,  pearls  set  or  strung,  and  cameos  in  frames]. 
******* 

Par.  435.  Diamonds  and  other  precious  stones  advanced  in  condi- 
tion or  value  from  their  natural  state  by  cleaving,  splitting,  cutting, 
drilling,  engraving,  ornamenting,  decorating,  or  other  process  and 
not  set,  10  per  centum  ad  valorem;  imitations  of  diamonds  or  other 
precious  stones  and  compositions  of  glass  or  paste  [not  exceeding 
an  inch  in  dimensions],  whether  or  not  engraved,  painted,  or  other- 
wise ornamented  or  decorated,  if  suitable  for  jewelry  purposes,  scien- 
tific, synthetic,  and  reconstructed  stones  and  doublets,  whether  com- 
posed wholly  of  precious  stones  or  in  part  of  paste  or  glass  and  not 
mounted  or  set,  20  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

Par.  436.  Pearls  [in  their  natural  state,  not  strung  or  set],  whether 
whole,  split,  drilled,  matched,  or  strung,  but  not  clasped,  mounted, 
or  set,  10  per  centum  ad  valorem;  all  imitations  of  pearls  not  mounted 
or  set,  %0  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

Par.  436b.  Articles  made  of  coral,  shell,  or  ivory;  porcelain  paint- 
ings, and  mosaics,  if  suitable  for  jewelry  purposes  and  not  set 
or  mounted,  10  per  centum  ad  valorem;  all  imitations  of  coral,  shell, 
or  ivory,  porcelain  paintings,  and  mosaics,  if  suitable  for  jewelry 
purposes  and  not  set  or  mounted,  20  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

Par.  115.  Manufactures  of  agate,  alabaster,  chalcedony,  chrysolite, 
coral,  carnelian,  garnet,  jasper,  jet,  malachite,  marble,  onyx,  rock 
crystal  or  spar,  designed  for  industrial  purposes  and  not  suitable  for 
jewelry  purposes,  including  clock  cases  with  or  without  movements, 
not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act,  50  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

Free  list. 

Par.  545.  Diamonds  and  other  precious  stones,  rough  or  uncut,  and 
not  advanced  in  condition  or  value  [from  their  natural  state]  by  cleav- 
ing, splitting,  cutting,  or  other  process,  including  miners',  glaziers', 
and  engravers'  diamonds  not  set,  and  diamond  dust  or  bort. 


6778  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Taking  this  draft  up  by  paragraphs,  we  submit  the  following : 

Par.  434.  Changes  in  this  paragraph  affecting  jewelry  will  be  sug- 
gested to  your  committee  by  the  manufacturers  of  jewelry;  we  are 
interested  in  the  elimination  of  the  words  "  including  precious  stones 
set,  pearls  set  or  strung,  and  cameos  in  frames." 

"  Precious  stones  set  "  has  been  held  to  include  only  precious  stones 
Bet  as  jewelry. 

In  re  John  Hope  &  Sons  Engraving  and  Manufacturing  Company, 
100  Fed.  Rep.,  286  (1900). 

This  is  in  line  with  the  settled  view  of  the  jewelry  trade,  and  of 
course  includes  pearls  set  and  corals  set  as  well. 

These  last  two  precious  substances  are  not  "  stones  "  in  the  narrow 
meaning  of  the  word,  but  they  have  been  included  in  the  term  "  pre- 
cious stones "  by  all  writers  on  this  subject,  and  the  courts  have 
always  construed  the  law  to  so  include  them  under  the  comprehen- 
sive term  "  precious  stones." 

"  Precious  stones  "  was  deemed  to  be  a  trade  term  which  included 
not  only  the  diamond,  sapphire,  emerald,  pearl,  opal,  and  turquoise, 
but  also  the  garnet,  beryl,  *  *  *  . 

Hahn  v.  United  States,  100  Fed.  Rep.,  635 :  "  All  varieties  of  coral, 
without  regard  to  value,  suitable  for  use  in  the  construction  of  jew- 
elry, *  *  *  were  held  dutiable  at  10  per  cent  as  precious  stones 

*  *     *     .»__ (G.  A.,  6584;  T.  D.,  28131.)     , 

See  also  T.  D.,  29184,  No.  19466,  July,  1908 :"  Imitation  whole 
and  half  pearls,  *  *  *  are  dutiable  as  imitation  precious  stones 

*  *     *."    United  States  v.  Weinberg,  139  Fed.  Rep.,  1006:  "Imita- 
tion coral  designed  for  use  in  the  manufacture  of  cheap  jewelry  held 
to  be  dutiable  vas  imitation  precious  stones." — (G.  A.,  6236;  T.  D., 
26922.) 

"  Pearls  set "  therefore  fall  into  the  same  class  as  "  precious  stones 
set,"  and  if  they  be  "  strung  "  with  a  clasp,  making  a  complete  article 
of  personal  ornamentation,  they  also  come  within  the  term  "  jewelry  " 
and  would  pay  duty  assessed  under  the  jewelry  paragraph. 

"  Cameos  in  frames  "  has  been  carried  along  from  the  act  of  1890, 
but  the  trade  is  at  a  loss  to  know  what  article  is  referred  to  under  this 
designation,  as  there  are  no  "  cameos  in  frames  "  imported. 

If  the  paragraph  refers  to  cameos  of  any  kind  mounted  or  set  as 
jewelry — that  is,  mounted  or  set  in  such  a  way  that  they  can  be  worn 
as  personal  adornment — we  submit  that  they  are  included  in  the 
word  "  jewelry;  "  if  the  act  of  1897  refers  to  some  other  article,  it 
has  no  place  in  the  jewelry  or  precious-stone  paragraph. 

We  shall  take  up  the  words  "  or  strung  "  in  discussing  the  pearl 
schedule. 

It  is  suggested  in  the  information  prepared  for  your  committee 
that  these  references  to  precious  stones,  pearls,  and  cameos  be  sup- 
plemented by  the  addition  of  "  corals  set  "  in  the  jewelry  paragraph. 

"  Corals  set "  is  "  jewelry,"  and  the  singling  out  of  certain  pre- 
cious stones  "  set,"  in  the  proposed  new  schedule  is  a  mistake. 

Any  stones  set  as  "  jewelry  "  are  included  in  the  term  jewelry,  be 
they  precious  or  imitation  or  simply  some  substance  like  shell,  ivory, 
mosaic,  porcelain,  or  glass  or  paste  composition  which  does  not  imi- 
tate a  precious  stone. 

The  Board  of  General  Appraisers  in  a  recent  decision  (G.  A., 
6819,  T.  D.,  29304,  October  16,  1908),  following  United  States  v. 


PRECIOUS  STONES  AND   PEARLS ALFRED   KROWER  ET   AL.      6779 

Knoedler  (154  Fed.  Kep.,  928),  held:  "That  umbrella  and  cane 
handles  composed  of  precious  metal  set  with  genuine  diamonds, 
pearls,  etc.,  the  precious  stones  being  the  element  of  chief  value 
therein,  are  not  dutiable  as  precious  stones  set,  that  phrase  being  re- 
stricted to  precious  stones  set  as  jewelry" 

It  is  therefore  clear  that  all  stones,  pearls,  corals,  etc.,  set  as  jewelry 
would  be  covered  by  the  word  jewelry,  and  the  retention  of  the  words 
"  precious  stones  set,  pearls,  set  or  strung,  and  cameos  in  frames,"  is 
surplusage,  confusing,  and  likely  to  breed  litigation. 

Par.  435.  We  respectfully  ask  that  this  paragraph  be  rewritten  as 
follows :  "  Diamonds  and  other  precious  stones  advanced  in  condition 
or  value  from  their  natural  state  by  cleaving,  splitting,  cutting, 
drilling,  engraving,  ornamenting,  decorating,  or  other  process, 
and  not  set,  10  per  centum  ad  valorem;  imitations  of  diamonds  or 
other  precious  stones,  and  compositions  of  glass  or  paste  [not  exceed- 
ing an  inch  in  dimensions],  whether  or  not  engraved,  painted,  or 
otherwise  ornamented  or  decorated,  if  suitable  for  jewelry  purposes, 
scientific,  synthetic,  and  reconstructed  stones,  and  doublets,  whether 
composed  wholly  of  precious  stones  or  in  part  of  paste  or  glass,  and 
not  mounted  or  set,  20  per  centum  ad  valorem." 

The  term  "  Diamonds  and  other  precious  stones "  is  a  very  com- 
prehensive one,  as  the  courts  have  pointed  out.  (Hahn  v.  United 
States,  100  Fed.  Rep.,  6-35,  1900.  United  States  v.  Benedict,  145  Fed. 
Rep.,  914,  1906.  United  States  v.  American  Gem  &  Pearl  Company, 
142  Fed.  Rep.,  283,  1905.) 

"Precious  stones"  embraces  a  very  long  list  of  precious  minerals 
suitable  for  use  in  jewelry — sometimes  these  stones  are  known  under 
two  or  more  names,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  there  are  upward  of 
125  different  names  for  probably  100  varieties  of  precious  stones. 
(See  Exhibit  A.) 

In  the  case  of  Hahn  v.  United  States,  100  Fed.  Rep.,  635,  the  phrase 
"precious  stones  "  was  deemed  to  be  a  trade  name  which  included 
"  not  only  the  diamond,  sapphire,  emerald,  pearl,  opal,  and  tur- 
quoise, but  also  the  garnet,  beryl,  topaz,  rock  crystal,  lapis  lazuli, 
agate,  onyx,  jade,  amethyst,  tiger-eye,  chalcedony,  bloodstone,  moon- 
stone, tourmaline,  chrysoprase,  etc.  *  *  *." 

Some  of  these  stones  are  facetted,  some  are  ground  with  a  convex 
or  cabochon  cut,  some  are  carved  in  relief  producing  the  cameo,  or 
reversely  the  intaglio,  some  are  partly  drilled,  others  drilled  all  the 
way  through,  some  are  carved  intaglio  and  painted  in  colors,  while 
others  have  been  decorated  or  incrusted  with  designs. 

These  processes  are  applied  to  the  different  stones  as  the  fashion  or 
trade  demand  dictates — emeralds,  rubies,  and  opals  are  drilled,  as  well 
as  the  humbler  amethyst  or  onyx ;  in  fact,  no  matter  what  the  proc- 
ess, excepting  always  mounting  or  setting,  there  is  no  reason  why 
any  particular  precious  stone  should  be  removed  from  the  general 
classification. 

Under  the  act  of  1897  the  courts  have  held  that  "drilling,  engrav- 
ing, ornamenting,  and  decorating,"  which  we  ask  to  be  inserted  in 
paragraph  435,  are  covered  by  the  words  "  or  other  process."  United 
States  v.  American  Gem  and  Pearl  Company,  142  Fed.  Rep.,-  283 ; 
United  States  v.  Benedict,  145  Fed.  Rep.,  914.) 

In  the  same  paragraph  we  have  added  the  words  "  and  composi- 
tion "  in  order  to  cover  compositions  of  glass  or  paste  which  are  used 


6780  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

as  imitations  of  precious  stones,  but  which  do  not  actually  imitate  any 
known  genuine  stone. 

"  Multicolored  stones  not  in  imitation  of  any  known  precious  stone  " 
were  held  to  be  dutiable  as  "  imitations  of  precious  stones." — (G.  A., 
6155,  T.  D.,  26T23,  1905.) 

We  insert  the  words  "  whether  or  "  before  "  not  engraved,  painted, 
or  otherwise  ornamented  or  decorated,"  thus  reversing  the  present 
provisions. 

We  do  this  because  we  fail  to  see  the  reason  for  excepting  imitations 
of  precious  stones  and  compositions  of  glass  or  paste  because  they  are 
"  engraved,  painted,  or  otherwise  ornamented  or  decorated  "  as  long 
as  they  are  of  the  same  general  type  and  class  as  the  other  imitations 
covered  by  this  schedule. 

The  only  possible  reason  for  these  restrictions  in  the  present  act,  as 
well  as  the  words  "  not  exceeding  an  inch  in  dimensions,"  which  we 
also  ask  the  committee  to  eliminate,  may  be  the  fear  that  some  articles 
properly  taxable  under  some  other  schedule  might  be  construed  to  be 
dutiable  at  a  lower  rate  under  paragraph  435. 

We  think  we  have  fully  met  any  such  objection  by  the  proposed 
insertions  of  the  qualifying  words  "  if  suitable  for  jewelry  purposes" 

Under  the  present  act  an  imitation  precious  stone  25  millimeters 
[1  inch]  in  two  dimensions  pays  20  per  cent  as  an  imitation  of  a  pre- 
cious stone ;  if  its  dimensions  are  26  millimeters  or  a  hairbreadth  over 
an  inch  it  goes  into  the  glass  and  glassware  schedule  at  45  per  cent. 

We  submit  herewith  samples  of  imitation  stones  both  under  and 
over  one  inch  in  two  dimensions,  both  unmounted  and  mounted. 

These  stones  are  used  for  identically  the  same  purposes,  viz,  pins, 
brooches,  hat  pins,  buckles,  pendants,  etc. 

The  American  jewelry  manufacturer  with  the  duty  rate  of  20 
per  centum  ad  valorem  on  all  sizes  of  these  stones  will  be  able  to  com- 
pete with  the  foreign  jewelry  imported  at  a  proper  rate  of  duty,  as 
the  stones  set  in  the  imported  jewelry  must  also  pay  the  higher 
jewelry  rate,  and  this  partly  offsets  the  cheaper  cost  of  making 
jewelry  in  Europe;  but  45  per  cent  duty  on  these  imitation  stones 
absolutely  prevents  the  American  jewelry  manufacturer  from  so 
competing. 

The  arbitrary  limitation  of  "  one  inch  in  dimensions  "  was  probably 
put  in  the  acts  of  1890,  1894,  and  1897  to  prevent  such  importations 
of  colored  glass  under  the  imitation  stone  schedule  which  ought 
properly  be  entered  under  the  glass  and  glassware  schedule. 

There  is  a  demand  for  imitation  precious  stones  for  jewelry  pur- 
poses exceeding  1  inch  in  two  dimensions,  while  at  the  same  time  it 
has  been  possible  to  import  glass  or  composition  of  paste  under  the 
precious  stone  schedule  which  is  not  suitable  for  jewelry  purposes, 
although  less  than  1  inch  in  dimensions. 

In  Or.  A.,  5687,  T.  D.,  25329,  it  was  held  that  imitations  of  precious 
stones  used  as  stove  ornaments  or  in  lamps,  if  within  the  limitation 
of  "  one  inch  in  dimensions,"  were  dutiable  under  paragraph  435 
and  not  under  paragraph  112. 

See  also  G.  A.,  3408,  T.  D.,  16980. 

The  courts  and  the  Board  of  General  Appraisers  have  used  the 
expression  "  suitable  for  jewelry  purposes  "  and  similar  expressions 
to  distinguish  such  purposes  from  others  which  might  exclude  impor- 
tations from  paragraph  435  as  follows: 


PRECIOUS   STONES  AND   PEARLS- — ALFRED   KROWER   ET   AL.      6781 

"Agates  cut  into  form  usually  employed  for  jewelry  purposes" — 
(G.  A.,  5T68,  T.  D.,  25525.) 

"  Corals  *  *  *  suitable  for  use  in  the  construction  of  jewelry •."-— 
(G.  A.,  6584,  T.  D.,  28131.) 

""Garnets  *  *  *  suitable  for  jewelry  purposes" — (G.  A.,  5091, 
T.  D.,  23559.) 

"  Keystones  *  *  *  intended  to  be  mounted  for  jewelry  pur- 
pose8."—(G.  A.,  5915,  T.  D.,  26014.) 

"  Rock  crystal  balls  *  *  on  the  ground  that  they  were  suitable 
for  jewelry  purposes."—  (G.  A.,  6301,  T.  D.,  27160.) 

"Tiger-eye  cut  in  forms  suitable  for  use  in  manufacturing 
jewelry."—  (G.  A.,  5768,  T.  D.,  25525.) 

"  So-called  incrusted  stones  and  other  imitations  of  precious  and 
semiprecious  stones  composed  of  glass  and  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  cheap  jewelry  are  dutiable  as  imitations  of  precious  stones." — 
(Lorsch  v.  United  States,  119  Fed.  Rep.,  476.) 

"  The  provisions  of  this  paragraph  relate  to  precious  stones  pre- 
pared to  be  set  in  articles  of  jewelry  *  *  *." — (Smith  v.  Computing 
Scale  Company,  147  Fed.  Rep.,  890,  T.  D.  27263.) 

"  Pieces  of  hematite,  *  *  *  suitable  '•'•for  jewelry  settings  ex- 
clusively?—(Q.  A.,  6669,  T.  D.,  28437.) 

A  number  of  similar  decisions  were  made  under  the  acts  of  1894 
and  1890. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  so-called  reconstructed,  scientific, 
and  synthetic  rubies  and  so-called  reconstructed  emeralds  have  after 
litigation  been  held  dutiable  as  precious  stones,  the  importers  of  these 
artificial  stones  unanimously  voted  to  ask  your  committee  that  they 
be  classified  with  imitations  of  precious  stones  in  the  future  at  20 
per  centum  ad  valorem,  instead  of  10  per  centum  ad  valorem  which 
they  pay  at  present,— (G.  A.,  6336,  T.  D.,  27278;  G.  A.,  6637,  T.  D., 
28295.) 

We  also  include  doublets  specifically  among  imitation  stones,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  it  is  possible  to  make  a  doublet  entirely  of 
genuine  precious  stones  as  well  as  partly  of  precious  stone  and  partly 
of  glass — the  importers  are  willing  to  have  all  doublets  classified 
at  20  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

A  new  paragraph  is  suggested,  which  for  convenience  we  call 
436b — to  take  care  of  articles  made  of  coral,  shell,  ivory,  porcelain 
paintings,  and  mosaics,  if  suitable  for  jewelry  purposes,  and  not  set 
or  mounted,  at  10  per  centum  ad  valorem;  all  imitations  of  coral, 
shell,  ivory,  porcelain  paintings,  and  mosaics,  if  suitable  for  jewelry 
purposes,  and  not  set  or  mounted,  at  20  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

This  hew  paragraph  covers  coral  which  has  been  held  to  be  a 
precious  stone  and  therefore  does  not  change  the  rate  of  duty  now 
collected  on  this  article. 

Hitherto  the  trifling  importations  of  shell  cameos,  ivory  paintings, 
porcelain  paintings,  and  mosaics,  suitable  for  mounting  into  jewelry 
have  been  assessed  under  a  number  of  remote  schedules  as  follows: 

Shell  cameos  have  been  held  to  be  included  in  miscellaneous  manu- 
factures under  paragraph  450,  although  they  have  always  been  recog- 
nized as  properly  belonging  to  the  precious-stone  line. 

Ivory  paintings  are  now  assessed  under  paragraph  454  of  miscel- 
laneous manufactures,  although  the  ivories  which  are  suitable  for 
jewelry  purposes  should  have  no  place  in  the  "  art  "  schedule. 


6782  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Porcelain  paintings,  though  clearly  suitable  for  jewelry  purposes 
only,  are  now  dutiable  under  the  earthenware  and  china  schedule  and 
are  assessed  at  60  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

Mosaics  are  rarely  imported  for  jewelry  purposes,  but  when  they 
come  in,  the  only  schedule  which  seems  to  cover  these  beautiful  little 
bits  of  raw  material  for  the  jeweler's  art  is  in  paragraph  120,  covering 
slate  chimney  pieces,  roofing  slates,  etc. 

Uniformity  of  the  tariff,  where  it  does  not  materially  affect  the  rev- 
enue, is  certainly  a  consummation  to  be  wished  for,  and  the  suggestion 
jof  10  per  centum  ad  valorem  on  all  genuine  stones  and  articles  and 
*20  per  centum  ad  valorem  on  all  imitations  thereof,  providing  always 
that  the  stones  and  articles  are  not  mounted  or  set  and  are  suitable 
for  jewelry  purposes,  is  respectfully  urged  for  your  consideration. 

It  is  suggested  by  your  committee's  expert  that  paragraph  435  be 
amended  so  as  to  provide  for  diamonds,  rubies,  sapphires,  and  emer- 
alds without  regard  to  size,  and  for  other  precious  stones  and  jewels 
not  exceeding  1  inch  in  any  one  dimension;  and  that  all  such1  precious 
stones  exceeding  an  inch  in  any  one  dimension  be  taken  from  the 
precious  stone  paragraph  and  scheduled  as  articles  of  mineral  sub- 
stance at  some  advanced  rate  of  duty. 

The  attention  of  the  committee  is  respectfully  called  to  the  fact 
that  while  certain  qualities  of  diamonds,  rubies,  sapphires,  and 
emeralds  are  generally  more  valuable  than  other  precious  stones, 
there  are  a  number  of  precious  stones  where  the  fine  or  specimen 
pieces  are  many  times  more  valuable  than  at  least  three  of  the  stones 
above  enumerated. 

Inferior  qualities  of  rubies,  sapphires,  and  emeralds  can  be  pur- 
chased for  a  few  dollars  a  carat,  whereas  it  is  possible  to  pay  $50 
and  upward  a  carat  for  fine  alexandrites,  sphenes,  catseyes,  spinels, 
opals,  precious  topaz,  etc. 

If  an  inch  in  one  dimension  was  the  limit  of  size,  it  would  either 
shut  out  the  largest  and  probably  most  valuable  of  these  gems  or 
offer  special  inducements  for  undervaluation  and  smuggling. 

This  limit  of  1  inch  might  also  prevent  the  importation  of  impor- 
tant specimens  of  aquamarines,  amethyst,  topaz,  peridot,  etc., 
through  legitimate  channels. 

Regarding  the  expert's  comments  on  paragraph  115,  it  is  respect- 
fully submitted  that  this  paragraph  was  never  intended  to  cover 
or  refer  to  precious  stones  or  stones  suitable  for  jewelry  purposes. 

We  shall  take  this  paragraph  up  later  and  will  propose  a  slight 
change  in  its  wording  to  conform  to  the  decisions  and  prevent  fur- 
ther litigation. 

The  suggestion,  therefore,  that  precious  stones  should  be  arbitra- 
rily divided  into  different  classes  and  further  subdivided  according  to 
size  should  not  receive  serious  consideration  at  the  hands  of  your 
committee. 

Regarding  the  proposed  amended  or  reconstructed  provision  which 
insists  upon  excluding  certain  kinds  of  imitation  stones  such  as  are 
"  engraved,  painted,  decorated,  or  ornamented,"  we  beg  to  say  that 
there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  reason  for  so  excluding  this  group  of 
imitation  or  paste  stones. 

This  is  all  raw  material  for  cheap  or  popular  jewelry,  and  there 
is  no  reason  why  certain  colors  or  combinations  of  glass  or  paste 


PRECIOUS  STONES  AND   PEARLS ALFRED   KROWER  ET  AL.      6783 

should  pay  twice  as  mucTi  as  other  colors  or  combinations.  There  is 
no  question  of  protection  involved,  unless  indeed  it  be  the  question 
of  affording  protection  to  the  manufacturer  of  American  cheap 
jewelry  who  is  now  so  strongly  pressed  by  his  German  competitor. 

As  we  have  stated  before,  the  importer  does  not  ask  for  rates  which 
will  materially  affect  the  revenue,  but  does  plead  for  uniform  sched- 
ules so  that  he  can  tell  with  measurable  certainty  under  which  sched- 
ule a  stone  or  its  imitation  is  to  be  entered. 

We  call  your  attention  further  to  paragraph  436  which  now  reads : 
"  Pearls  in  their  natural  state,  not  strung  or  set,  ten  per  centum  ad 
valorem;"  for  which  we  propose  an  amended  paragraph  as  follows: 
"Pearls,  whether  whole,  split,  drilled,  matched,  or  strung,  but  not 
mounted  or  set,  10  per  centum  ad  valorem;  all  imitations  of  pearls 
not  clasped,  mounted,  or  set,  20  percentum  ad  valorem." 

Pearls  were  not  enumerated  in  the  act  of  1883 — in  the  acts  of  1890 
and  1894  "  pearls  "  were  noted  at  10  per  centum  ad  valorem. 

The  reason  for  inserting  the  words  "  in  their  natural  state,  not 
strung  or  set,"  in  the  act  of  1897  has  always  been  an  enigma  to  "the 
trade. 

Of  all  the  precious  stones  and  objects,  pearls  are  unique  in  being 
adaptable  for  use  in  jewelry  without  grinding,  cutting,  polishing,  or 
such  other  processes  as  are  necessary  to  bring  out  the  beauty  of 
diamonds  and  other  precious  stones — all  pearls  therefore  are  in  their 
"  natural  state  "  so  long  a>  chey  ;u  not  mounted  or  set  as  jewelry. 

'  While  many  pearls  are  handleu  by  dealers  in  the  exact  condition 
in  which  they  are  found  in  the  mussel,  many  more  are  drilled  and 
temporarily  strung  and  arranged  in  bunches  or  masses  in  order  to 
display  them  to  the  best  advantage  and  enable  buyers  to  see  the 
shapes  and  quality  without  being  obliged  to  take  up  and  examine 
each  pearl. 

Pearls  so  strung  are  sometimes  smaller  than  the  head  of  an  ordinary 
pin,  and  from  this  they  range  upward  to  the  more  important  sizes. 

In  no  event  does  the  drilling  enhance  the  value  of  a  pearl ;  on  the 
contrary,  it  restricts  the  uses  to  which  it  can  be  put,  and  therefore 
pearls  that  are  drilled  have  a  lesser  rather  than  a  greater  value  than 
undrilled  ones. 

Pearls  are  sometimes  improved  by  removing  a  poor  outer  skin, 
although  there  is  generally  no  way  of  detecting  if  this  has  been  done. 

Another  method  of  preparing  pearls  for  jewelry  purposes  is  to 
saw  them  and  so  produce  what  are  called  half  pearls. 

All  of  these  processes  leave  the  pearl  in  its  "  natural  state  "  under 
any  rational  construction  of  these  words,  and  the  courts  have  tried 
very  hard  to  give  effect  to  such  a  construction. 

The  words  of  exception  "  not  strung  or  set "  are  understood  by  us 
to  emphasize  the  fact  that  pearls  in  this  condition  are  not  complete 
articles  of  jewelry  and  are  therefore  dutiable  at  10  per  centum  ad 
valorem. 

"  Drilled  pearls,  unassorted  and  unmatched,  and  of  various  sizes, 
colors,  and  qualities,  but  not  set  or  strung,  are  dutiable  by  similitude 
as  pearls  in  their  natural  state,  not  strung  or  set,  at  the  rate  of  10  per 
centum  ad  valorem  under  this  paragraph  and  section  7,  tariff  of 
1897."— (Tiffany  v.  United  States.  112  Fed.  Rep..  672 ; -G.  A.,  5149; 
T.  D.,  23751.) 


6784  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

See  also  Neresheimer  v.  United  States,  136  Fed.  Rep.,  86,  and  G.  A., 
5899 ;  T.  D.,  25986 :  "  Drilled  pearls  strung  on  cotton  cord  were  held 
to  be  dutiable  at  10  per  cent  as  pearls  in  their  natural  state  and  not 
at  60  per  cent  as  pearls  set  or  strung,  the  board  finding  that  the  string- 
ing was  done  merely  for  convenience  in  transportation,  and  that 
pearls  in  this  conditoin  are  not  known  in  the  jewelry  trade  as  pearls 
strung."— (G,  A.,  5892;  T.  D.,  25966.) 

Here  we  have  two  cases  where  "  drilled  pearls  loose  "  and  "  drilled 
pearls  strung  "  were  decided  to  be  "  pearls  in  their  natural  state  "  and 
"  pearls  in  their  natural  state  not  strung  "  and  in  Hahn  v.  United 
States,  131  Fed.  Rep.,  1000;  T.  D.,  24873. 

See  also  Citroen  v.  United  States,  United  States  circuit  court  of  ap- 
peals, second  circuit,  January  12,  1909,  reversing  United  States  v. 
Citroen,  June  2,  1908,  reported  in  T.  D.,  29124,  and  sustaining  the 
board  of  United  States  General  Appraisers. —  (G.  A.,  6617;  T.  D., 
28246.) 

The  court  decided  that  "  half  pearls  produced  by  sawing  away  the 
imperfect  portion  of  true  pearls  were  dutiable  at  10  per  cent  by 
similitude  to  pearls  in  their  natural  state." 

Nothing  would  have  been  left  of  this  paragraph  besides  the  word 
"  pearls  "  and  the  words  "  or  set  "  if  the  courts  had  not  felt  that  Con- 
gress must  have  had  the  intention  to  except  some  kind  of  pearls  from 
the  general  designation,  and  they  therefore  decided  that  collections 
of  pearls  which  had  been  or  might  be  used  as  necklaces  were  dutiable 
practically  as  jewelry,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  were  not 
"  literally  "  strung,  or  the  further  important  fact  that  "  drilled  " 
pearls  and  pearls  strung  for  the  sake  of  convenience  had  been  ad- 
judicated by  the  same  courts  as  being  pearls  in  their  "  natural  state," 
and  therefore  dutiable  at  10  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

The  reasoning  for  such  a  distinction  is  hard  to  follow.  If  we 
admit,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  pearls,  carefully  matched  and 
sufficient  in  number  to  be  formed  into  a  necklace,  have  a  larger  col- 
lective value  than  the  value  of  the  units  of  the  necklace,  it  is  only  a 
way  of  saying  that  this  can  be  taken  into  consideration  by  the  ap- 
praiser in  estimating  the  value  of  the  collection. 

The  same  consideration  is  undoubtedly  present  where  a  pair  of 
finely  matched  rubies,  emeralds,  or  even  pearls  are  appraised  at  the 
custom-house. 

Pairs  and  sets  of  unmounted  precious  stones  suitable  for  earrings, 
studs,  or  necklaces  have  never  been  considered  otherwise  than 
"  precious  stones  unmounted,"  and  there  does  not  appear  to  be  a 
logical  reason  for  applying  a  different  rule  to  pearls. 

Drilled  pearls,  therefore,  whether  temporarily  strung  without  a 
clasp  or  imported  loosely  in  lots  which  might  be  formed  into  a  neck- 
lace, should  not  be  singled  out  and  placed  in  a  class  by  themselves 
any  more  than  a  collection  of  loose  diamonds  suitable  for  a  necklace 
and  so  imported  would  be  singled  out  to  pay  six  times  the  duty 
which  is  now  assessed  on  other  cut  diamonds. 

Pearls  were  scheduled  at  10  per  centum  ad  valorem  in  the  act  of 
1890  and  remained  at  that  rate  of  duty  even  in  the  act  of  1894,  where 
the  duty  on  precious  stones  was  increased  to  25  per  centum  ad  valorem 
and  uncut  precious  stones  were  taken  from  the  free  list  and  scheduled 
at  10  per  centum  ad  valorem. 


PRECIOUS   STONES  AND   PEARLS ALFRED    KROWER   ET   AL.      6785 

The  disastrous  effects  of  these  increases  in  duty,  both  on  the  reve- 
nue and  on  the  business  of  reputable  dealers  in  precious  stones,  is  a 
matter  of  record. 

In  1892,  two  years  before  the  act  of  1894,  imports  of  precious 
stones,  cut  and  uncut,  were  $14,521,851;  two  years  after  that  act  the 
imports  through  the  custom-house  dropped  to  $4,618,991.  Two  years 
after  the  act  of  1897,  when  the  duty  on  precious  .stones  had  been  re- 
duced to  10  per  centum  ad  valorem  and  the  duty  on  uncut  stones  had 
been  removed,  the  imports  rose  to  $17,208,531. 

Some  shipments  of  pearls,  though  imported  loose  in  packages  of 
various  sizes  and  values,  have  been  construed  to  be  necklaces  at  60 
per  centum  ad  valorem. 

This  construction  might  apply  to  all  drilled  pearls  (even  by  a 
stretch  of  the  imagination  to  undrilled  pearls),  for  it  is  estimated 
that  most  of  the  drilled  and  many  of  the  undrilled  pearls  are  made 
into  necklaces—surely  all  of  them  are  finally  made  into  jewelry. 

Therefore,  if  pearls  suitable  for  jewelry  are  to  be  taxed  60  per 
cent,  this  necessarily  includes  all  pearls,  drilled  and  undrilled. 

If  this  rule  were  applied  it  would  drive  the  price  of  pearls  and 
pearl  necklaces  so  high  that  nobody  could  afford  to  buy  them  in  this 
country,  thereby  not  only  depriving  the  Government  of  the  duties 
now  collected  on  pearls,  but  also  depriving  the  legitimate  American 
importer  and  dealer  of  the  business  he  is  rightfully  entitled  to. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  no  one  has  ever  paid  60  per  cent  duty  on  pearl 
necklaces  or  drilled  pearls,  construed  to  be  necklaces,  except  in  two 
instances  which  are  now  in  litigation. 

While  importers  of  drilled  pearls  have  not  paid  over  10  per  cent 
duty  the  impression  is  general  among  wealthy  people  who  go  abroad 
that  strung  pearls  are  dutiable  at  60  per  cent,  and  the  retail  dealers 
in  London  arid  Paris  do  not  hesitate  to  confirm  this  mistake  in  order 
to  sell  pearl  necklaces  to  Americans. 

The  temptation  for  tourists  to  smuggle  an  article  of  great  value 
in  order  to  save  60  per  cent  duty  is  probably  geometrically  greater 
than  the  temptation  would  be  to  smuggle  the  same  article  in  order  to 
save  only  10  per  cent,  and  under  the  proposed  schedule  it  is  safe  to 
assume  that  many  private  persons  would  declare  pearls  if  they  knew 
the  duty  was  but  10  per  cent. 

The  iact  that  diamonds  pay  but  10  per  cent  duty  has  greatly  re- 
duced the  sale  of  these  gems  to  Americans  when  they  are  abroad, 
(ireater  confidence  in  the  home  dealer  has  gone  far  to  prevent  these 
purchases;  the  exception  has  been  pearls,  and  here  the  supposed  sub- 
stantial saving  has  often  been  the  make  weight  which  has  deprived 
the  American  merchant  of  the  business  and  the  American  Govern- 
ment of  the  10  per  cent  duty  which  would  have  been  paid  on  innumer- 
able valuable  pearl  necklaces  which  have  been  smuggled  by  private 
parties  during  the  past  few  years. 

In  answer  to  the  arguments  that  may  be  made,  that  these  articles 
of  luxury  should  be  made  to  bear  a  higher  rate  of  duty,  we  respect- 
fully submit  that  experience  has  shown  that  more  than  10  per  cent 
can  not  be  collected — that  is,  that  a  high  duty,  considering  the  small 
bulk  of  precious  stones  and  pearls,  encourages  smuggling  and  under- 
valuation— and  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  has  been  proven  that  the 
Government  will  probably  collect  less  duty  on  precious  stones  at  25 


6786  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

per  cent  than  at  10  per  cent,  while  the  honest  merchant  is  practically 
put  out  of  business. 

Taking  up  paragraph  115,  we  suggest  that  this  paragraph  be 
amended  by  the  insertion  of  the  words  "  designed  for  industrial  pur- 
poses and  not  suitable  for  jewelry  purposes  "  after  the  word  "  spar." 

This  will  'bring  the  paragraph  squarely  within  the  recent  decision 
of  the  Board  of  General  Appraisers  (G.  A.,  6825,  T.  D.,  29337,  Nov. 
6,  1908),  where  it  was  held  that: 

"  Small  pieces  of  agate,  carnelian,  garnet,  jasper,  onyx,  etc.,  ad- 
vanced in  condition  or  value  from  their  natural  state  by  cutting,  pol- 
ishing, or  other  process,  for  the  purpose  of  fitting  them  for  use  as 
setting  for  jewelry,  the  same  being  unset  and  belonging  to  the  group 
of  precious  stones  known  and  dealt  in  in  trade  under  their  specific 
names,  such  as  '  agates,'  '  garnet,'  '  rock  crystal,'  etc.,  are  dutiable  as 
'  precious  stones '  under  paragraph  435,  and  not  as  manufactures  of 
agate,  etc.,  under  paragraph  115,  tariff  act  of  1897." — (United  States 
v.  Benedict,  145  Fed.  Sep.,  514;  Hahn  v.  United  States,  100  Fed. 
Kep.,  635 ;  Erhardt  v.  Hahn,  55  Fed.  Rep.,  273 ;  Hartsanft  v.  Weig- 
mann,  121  U.  S.,  615,  followed  United  States  v.  Lorsch,  158  Fed. 
Rep.,  398,  distinguished.) 

It  is  suggested  by  your  expert  that  the  words  agate,  chalcedonyr 
chrysolite,  coral,  carnelian,  garnet,  jasper,  rock  crystal,  and  spar  be 
stricken  from  paragraph  115,  and  in  this  manner  all  "  manufactures  " 
of  these  stones  would  fall  under  "articles  of  mineral  substance" 
(paragraph  97). 

This  would  partly  straighten  the  tangle,  but  it  would  still  leave  jet, 
malachite,  and  onyx  to  be  the  subjects  for  further  litigation. 

Genuine  jet  is  rarely  imported  for  jewelry  purposes,  but  malachite 
and  onyx  are  not  uncommon. 

It  is  believed  that  the  "  onyx  "  referred  to  in  paragraph  115  is  not 
onyx  (quartz)  at  all  but  a  species  of  marble,  one  variety  of  which  is 
known  as  "  Mexican  "  onyx. 

We  think  our  suggestion  of  the  insertion  of  the  words  "  riot  suit- 
able for  jewelry  purposes"  would  be  the  surer  and  safer  way  to 
amend  paragraph  115,  as  it  would  leave  all  "  manufactures  "  of  the 
various  stones  enumerated  in  that  paragraph  subject  to  50  per  cent 
duty. 

We  also  submit  a  collection  of  stones  to  show  your  committee  the 
various  kinds  of  stones  upon  which  the  Government  has  been  assess- 
ing duty  at  10  per  cent  ad  valorem  for  ten  years  under  paragraph 
435,  and  50  per  cent  during  the  past  year  on  the  same  variety  under 
paragraph  115. 

It  is  true  this  duty  of  50  per  cent  has  been  collected  because  of  a 
special  Treasury  order,  against  which  the  importers  protested,  and 
which  protest  has  been  sustained  by  the  Board  of  General  Appraisers 
(G.  A.  6825,  T.  D.  29337,  Nov.  6,  1908)  ;  but  we  submit  that  the 
tariff  schedules  should  be  made  so  clear  that  such  a  disturbing  order 
could  not  be  issued. 

We  have  no  suggestions  to  make  concerning  paragraph  545  other 
than  the  elimination  of  the  words  "  from  their  natural  state  "  and 
the  request  that  your  committee  either  leave  this  paragraph  exactly 
as  it  is,  with  this  change,  or  if  any  other  change  is  made,  that  great 
care  be  exercised  in  retaining  "  diamonds  and  other  precious  stones, 
rough  or  uncut,  and  not  advanced  in  condition  or  value  (from  their 


PRECIOUS   STONES  AND  PEABLS ALFRED   KROWEK   ET  AL.      6787 

natural  state)  by  cleaving,  splitting,  cutting,  or  other  process,"  on 
the  free  list,  as  the  diamond-cutting  industry  in  this  country  de- 
pends absolutely  on  the  protective  duty  of  10  per  cent  on  cut  stones 
and  free  rough  diamonds  for  its  existence. 
All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

ALFRED  KROWER, 
JACOB  GOODFRIEND, 

LUDWIG     NlSSEN, 

EDWARD  E.   HARKED, 
MEYER  D.  ROTHSCHILD, 

Committee. 

Authorized  to  represent  the  undersigned  importers  of  diamonds, 
pearls,  and  other  precious  stones,  cutters  of  diamonds  and  precious 
stones,  lapidaries,  gem  cutters  and  engravers,  importers  and  dealers 
in  precious  and  imitation  stones,  and  retailers  of  fine  jewerly. 

F.  W.  Bromberg,  Birmingham,  Ala. ;  O.  A.  Hesla  Com- 
pany, Prescott,  Ariz.;  Chas.  S.  Stifft,  Little  Rock, 
Ark.;  The  American  Jewelry  Company,  Bakersfield, 
Cal. ;  Birnbaum  Bros.,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.;  Brock  & 
Feagans,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.;  S.  Nord linger  &  Sons, 
Los  Angeles,  Cal.;  The  Baldwin  Jewelry  Company, 
San  Francisco,  Cal.;  M.  Schussler  &  Co.  (Incorpo- 
rated). San  Francisco,  Cal.;  Shreve  &  Co.,  San  Fran- 
cisco, Cal.;  W.  K.  Vanderslice  Company,  San  Fran- 
cisco, Cal.;  Chas.  Haas  &  Son,  Stockton,  Cal.;  J.  C. 
Bloom  &  Co.,  Denver,  Colo.;  The  W.  W.  Hamilton 
Jewelry  Company,  Denver,  Colo.;  Hansel,  Sloan  & 
Co.,  Hartford,  Conn.;  The  Ford  Company,  New 
Haven,  Conn.;  Gait  &  Bros.,  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
Greenleaf  &  Crosby  Company,  Jacksonville,  Fla.; 
Hyman  Berg  &  Co.,  Chicago,  111. ;  Jnergens  &  Ander- 
son Company,  Chicago,  111.;  Lapp  &  Flershem,  Chi- 
cago, 111. ;  Norris  Alister  &  Co.,  Chicago,  111. ;  C.  D. 
Peacock.  Chicago,  111.;  Spaulding  &  Co.,  Chicago, 
111.;  Julius  C.  Walk  &  Son,  Indianapolis,  Ind. ;  E.  H. 
Carpenter  &  Son,  Burlington,  Iowa;  Wm.  H.  Beck 
Company,  Sioux  City,  Iowa;  Rudolph  H.  Baude, 
Louisville,  Ky. ;  A.  B.  Griswold  &  Co.,  New  Orleans, 
La.;  Leonard  lyrower,  New  Orleans,  La.:  Wm.  Sen- 
ter  &  Co.,  Portland,  Me.;  The  James  R.  Armiger 
Company,  .^Baltimore,  Md. ;  Hennegen-Bates  Com- 
pany. Baltimore,  Md.;  Saml.  Kirk  &  Son  Company, 
Baltimore,  Md. ;  Maynard  &  Potter  (Incorporated), 
Boston,  Mass.;  Shreve,  Crump  &  Low  Company, 
Boston,  Mass.;  Smith-Patterson  Company,  Boston, 
Mass.;  A.  Stowell  &  Co.,  Boston,  Mass.;  Wright  Kay 
&  Co.,  Detroit,  Mich.;  Charles  W.  Warren  &  Co., 
Detroit,  Mich.;  J.  B.  Hudson  &  Son.  Minneapolis, 
Minn.;  S.  Jacobs  &  Co.,  Minneapolis,  Minn.;  Weld  & 
Sons,  Minneapolis,  Minn.;  White  &  MacNaught, 
Minneapolis,  Minn. ;  Cady  &  Olmstead  Jewelry  Com- 
pany, Kansas  City,  Mo.;  Jaccard  Jewelry  Corpora- 
tion, Kansas  City,  Mo.;  J.  R.  Mercer,  Kansas  City, 


6788  SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 

Mo.;  F.  W.  Drosten  JeAvelry  Company,  St.  Louis, 
Mo. ;  Eisenstadt  Manufacturing  Company,  St.  Louis, 
Mo.;  A.  Kurtzeborn  &  Sons,  St.  Louis,  Mo.;  Mer- 
mod,  Jaccard  &  King  Jewelry  Company,  St.  Louis, 
Mo. ;  Whelan,  Aehle,  Hutchinson  Company,  St.  Louis. 
Mo. ;  J.  L.  Teeters  &  Co.,  Lincoln,  Nebr. ;  Albert  Ed- 
holm,  Omaha,  Nebr.;  A.  F.  Smith  &  Co.,  Omaha. 
Nebr.;  L.  A.  Piaget  &  Co.,  Paterson,  N.  J.;  T.  W. 
Howe,  Trenton,  N.  J. ;  Charles  Adlers'  Sons,  New 
York,  N.  Y. ;  American  Gem  and  Pearl  Company, 
New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Arnstein  Brothers,  New  York, 
N.  Y.;.Wm.  Barthman,  New  York,  N.  Y.;  Benedict 
&  Warner.  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Bonner  &  Co.,  New 
York.  N.  Y. ;  Bonner  Manufacturing  Company,  New 
York!  N.  Y.;  R.  A.  Breidenbach,  New  York,  N.  Y.; 
Maurice  Brower,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  C.  Cottier  &  Son, 
New  York.  N.  Y.;  Eichberg  &  Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y.; 
Eisenmann  Brothers,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Fox  &  Co., 
New  York.  N.  Y. ;  Jos.  Frankel's  Sons.  New  York, 
N.  Y.;  Jules  Franklin,  New  York,  N.  Y.;  E.  M.  Gat- 
tie  &  Co.  New  York.  N.  Y.;  David  L.  Gluck,  New 
York,  N.  Y. ;  Goodfriend  Brothers,  New  York,  N.  Y. ; 
Adolf  J.  Grinberg  &  Son,  New  York,  N.  Y.;  L.  Hel- 
ler &  Son,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Himalaya  Mining  Com- 
pany, New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Sig.  Hirschberg,  New  York, 
N.  Y.;  Nathan  Hyman  &  Co..  New  York,  N.  Y.;  The 
International  Gem  Company,  New  York,  N.  Y. ; 
Jacobson  Brothers,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  L.  &  M.  Kahn 
&  Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  J.  Ed.  Kingsland,  New  York, 
N.  Y. ;  H.  C.  Kionka  &  Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Theo. 
A.  Kohn  &  Son,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Geo.  W.  Korper, 
New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Jac  Kryn  &  Wauters,  New  York, 
N.  Y. ;  John  Lament  &  Son,  New  York.  N.  Y. ;  Al- 
bert Lorsch  &  Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y.;  Low  &  Flo- 
renzie.  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Ludeke  &  Heiser,  New 
York.  N.  Y. ;  Julius  Mamluck  &  Co.,  New  York, 
N.  Y. ;  Marchand  Freres,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Louis 
Marx,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  L.  Meisel  &  Co.,  New  York. 
N.  Y. ;  L.  Misrah,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  R.  G.  Monroe 
&  Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Moser  &  Whyte,  New  York, 
N.  Y.;  Mount  &  Woodhull,  New  York,  N.  Y.;  S. 
Nathan  &  Co.,  New  York.'N.  Y. ;  Ludwig  Nissen  & 
Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  H.  Nordlinger's  Sons,  New 
York,  N.  Y. ;  Henry  E.  Oppenheimer  &  Co.,  New 
York,  N.  Y. ;  Oppenheimer  Brothers  &  Yeith,  New 
York,  N.  Y.;  Patterson  &  Stark,  New  York,  N.  Y.; 
Reichman  Brothers,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Saunders, 
Meurer  &  Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y.;  L.  Schuler  &  Son, 
New  York,  N.  Y.;  Wm.  Seckel,  New  York,  N.  Y.; 
Alfred  H.  Smilh  &  Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y.;  Estate 
Theo.  B.  Starr,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Stern  Brothers  & 
Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Louis  Strasburger's  Sons  & 
Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  L.  Tannenbaum  &  Co.,  New 
York,  N.  Y. ;  Van  Antwerpen  Vanden  Bosch  &  Co., 


PBECIOUS  STONES  AND    PEARLS ALFRED    KROWER  ET  AL.      6789 

New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Van  Gelder  Brothers,  New  York. 
N.  Y.;  S.  L.  Van  Wezel,  New  York,  N.  Y.;  C.  Irving 
Washburn,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Hayden  W.  Wheeler 
&  Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y.;  Herbert  Wild,  New  York, 
N.  Y. ;  J.  R.  Wood  &  Sons,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Zim- 
meren,  Rees  &  Son,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Arthur  M. 
Field  Company,  Asheville,  N.  C. ;  The  Bowler  &  Bur- 
dick  Company,  Cleveland,  Ohio;  The  Cowell  &  Hub- 
bard  Company,  Cleveland  Ohio;  The  Webb  C.  Ball 
Watch  Company,  Cleveland,  Ohio;  The  Frank  Her- 
schede  Company,  Cincinnati,  Ohio;  The  Oskamp- 
Nolting  Company,  Cincinnati,  Ohio;  Augustus 
Rhoades,  Lancaster,  Pa.;  Bailey,  Banks  &  Biddle 
Company,  Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  J.  E.  Caldwell  &  Co., 
Philadelphia,  Pa.;  S.  Kind  &  Sons,  Philadelphia, 
Pa. ;  Z.  J.  Pequignot,  Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  J.  C.  Grogan 
Company,  Pittsburg,  Pa. ;  The  Hardy  &  Hayes  Com- 
pany, Pittsburg,  Pa. ;  J.  M.  Roberts  &  Son  Company, 
Pittsburg,  Pa. ;  W.  W.  Wattles  Sons,  Pittsburg,  Pa. ; 
Sylvan  Brothers,  Columbia,  S.  C. ;  Geo.  T.  Brodnax 
(Incorporated),  Memphis,  Tenn.;  C.  J.  Kleine,  San 
Antonio,  Tex.;  Richard  Vaeth,  Tacoma,  Wash.; 
Chas.  N.  Hancher,  Wheeling,  W.  Va. ;  Alsted  Kasten 
Co.,  Milwaukee,  Wis. ;  C.  Preusser  Jewelry  Company, 
Milwaukee,  Wis. 


EXHIBIT  A. 


Achroite   (white  tourmaline). 

Adularia    (moonstone). 

Agate. 

Alexandrite. 

Almaudine. 

Amazon  ite. 

American  ruby  (garnet). 

Amethyst,  American. 

Amethyst,  Brazilian. 

Amethyst,  Siberian. 

Amethyst,  Uruguay. 

Andalusite  (chiastolite). 

Aquamarine. 

Arizona  ruby  (garnet). 

Arkansas  diamond  (quartz) 

Asterias   (star  stone). 

Avanturine. 

Azurite  malachite. 

B. 

Balas  ruby  (spinel). 

Beryl. 

Bobrovka  garnet  (demantoid). 

Bloodstone  (heliotrope). 

Brazilian  emerald  (green  tourmaline), 

Brazilian  ruby  (pink  topaz). 

Brazilian  sapphire  (blue  topaz). 


C. 


Cairngorm  (quartz  topaz). 

Californite  (vesuviauite). 

Cape  ruby   (garnet). 

Carnelian. 

Catseye. 

Chiastolite. 

Chlorastrolite. 

Chloromelanite  (jadeite). 

Chrysoberyl. 

Chrysocolla. 

Chrysolite  (peridot). 

Chrysoprase. 

Colorado  ruby  (garnet). 

Cordierite  (iolite). 

Crocodolite  (tiger  eye). 

D. 

Demautoid  (oil vine). 
Dichroite  (iolite). 


Emerald. 
Epidote. 

Essonite. 


Fancy  sapphire. 


E. 


F. 


6790 


SCHEDULE   N SUNDRIES. 


Q. 

Garnet. 
Golden  beryl. 
Grossularite  (garnet). 

H. 

Haematite. 

Hair  stone. 

Heliotrope  (bloodstone). 

Hyacinth  (garnet). 

Hidden! te  (green  spodumene). 


Idocrase   (Californite). 

Imperial  yu  stone  (green  avanturine), 

Inca  stone  (iron  pyrites). 

Indicolite  (tourmaline). 

lolite. 

J. 

Jacinth  (zircon). 
Jade  (Chinese). 
Jade  (New  Zealand). 
Jadeite  (chlorornelanite). 
Jargoon  (zircon). 
Jasper. 


K. 


Kunzite. 


Labradorite. 
Lapis  lazuli. 


M. 


Malachite. 

Marcasite  (iron  pyrites). 

Matura  diamond  (white  zircon). 

Montana  sapphire. 

Moonstone. 


Nephrite  (jade). 


N. 


O. 


Obsidian  (volcanic  glass). 

Odontolite  (fossil  turquoise). 

Oligoclase  (sunstoue). 

Olivine  (garnet). 

Onyx. 

Opal,  Australian. 

Opal,  black. 

Opal,  brecciated. 

Opal,  Mexican. 

Opal,  matrix. 

Orthoclase  (sunstone). 


P. 

Peridot  (true  olivine). 
Persian  turquoise  matrix. 
Pink  topaz. 
Pistacite  (epidote). 
Pyrope  (Bohemian  garnet). 

E. 

Rhodolite  (garnet). 

Rhodonite. 

Rock  crystal. 

Rose  quartz. 

Rubellite  (tourmaline). 

Rubicelle  (yellow  spinel). 

Ruby. 

Ruby  (Siani). 

S. 

Sapphire  d'eau   (iolite). 

Sapphire  (Ceylon). 

Sapphire  (Burma). 

Sapphire   (Montana). 

Sapphire   (Australian). 

Sapphire  (Cashmere). 

Sapphire   (yellow). 

Sapphire   (green). 

Sapphire  (pink). 

Sapphire  (white). 

Sapphire  (violet). 

Sardonyx. 

Sodalite. 

Sphene  (titanite). 

Spinel. 

Spodumene  (kunzite). 

Star  ruby. 

Star  sapphire. 

Sunstoue. 


T. 


Thompsonite. 
Thulite. 
Tiger  eye. 
Topaz  (Brazil). 
Topaz  (precious). 
Topaz  (Madeira). 
Topaz  (golden). 
Topaz  (Spanish). 
Tourmaline. 
Turquoise. 

U. 

Utahlite  (variscite). 
Urallan  emerald  (garnet). 
Uvarovite  (garnet). 

V. 

Venus  hair  stone. 
Vermeille  (garnet). 
Yesuvianite. 
Variscite. 

W. 

White  sapphire. 
White  topaz. 
White  spodumene  (kunzite). 


Zircon. 


Z. 


O 


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